okay but i really liked this book!!!!!!

it reminded me a bit of my big fat greek wedding and i’m just a huge fan of this genre in itself, it was funny and adorable. plus italians >>>

This, unusually for me, was a DNF. I found the language that Barone used was really patronising about weight issues, and having read the first book in the series, I could see that this was going to be pretty similar.
I found Erica's inner narrative, wondering about whether or not Julian was cheating on her or not quite believing her luck with what a good man she's got quite tiresome. Frankly, I just wanted her to get on with running the B&B and set a date and be done with the whole thing!

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book to Netgalley and the publishers.

This is book two in The Amazing Erica series. A fun and lovely addition to the series. The story is well-written with lively and engaging characters that have unique personalities and were realistic and easily relatable. If you like romantic comedies, then this is definitely a must read. Erica had many insecurities and it they were interfering with her life and her happiness. I enjoyed following her on her journey as she dealt with those insecurities and brought her life back on track.
The story was charming and had me smiling and laughing all the way through. Ms Barone did a nice job of creating the drama and bringing it all together in the end.
It was a quirky and fun, emotional, and simply heartwarming story. I found this to be a thoroughly entertaining and absolutely delightful read and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to read it.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

This feel-good romance came at the perfect time following a break up. Nancy Barone managed to successfully take me to Italy while I was cosied up under my duvet in gloomy London. 5 stars!

I'm so sorry but I really just didn't like this! It felt cliche and like it was trying to hard to fit certain tropes. I almost DNF'ed it. I had such high expectations but the book did just fall a bit flat...

My Big Fat Italian Break-Up by Nancy Barone is a study in a woman with low self esteem. Erica is living the life of her dreams in Tuscany with her two children and her fiance, Julian. She had opened her own B & B and Julian was writing, as he was meant to. He had adopted her two children and they were trying to set a wedding date, working around his travel schedule. But his travel got worse and worse and they date kept shifting. To make things worse, her stepmother was arriving and Erica was afraid the woman would stay for months. She was the twin sister of her mother, but had never really like Erica and seemed to take joy in criticizing everything about her. Then, Julian got a European agent to complement his US agent and she was gorgeous and Erica was jealous. Things went from bad to worse when another B & B opened that was a carbon copy of hers, except that one was busy. Erica was not young and beautiful, which was why she was astounded when the chef they had hired for the wedding came on to her. She was miserable because it seemed like Julian was pulling away from her and she behaved poorly, nearly destroying the best thing that had ever happened to her. She did that herself when she told Julian what had happened.

Erica was an amazing character, embodying many of the insecurities that plague modern women. Each of us reading could identify, which is a truly fantastic feat for an author. Her insecurities drove her to disrupt her relationship, not only with Julian, but with her best friend, Paul, and even with her children. It made me laugh. It made by cry. It made me scream in frustration. Living her dream with the man of her dreams was intriguing and when it began to fall apart, my heart bled for her. At the same time as I felt she was being unreasonable, I saw her point. Then, there was the trip to the home from which her grandmother had left Italy, and the discoveries she made about her husband’s gorgeous agent. It just all came together so well. Such a good book.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of My Big Fat Italian Break-Up by Head of Zeus Publishing, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone. #Netgalley #HeadOfZeus #NancyBarone #MyBigFatItalianBreakUp

The gay best friend was the best part of this book as the main character herself was pretty unlikeable. Also didn't appreciate the rather fatshaming language at the start. Not a hit with me at all.

I DNF'd this one at ~40%.

The writing was great but sometimes I can’t handle the plot line.

Everyone was ganging up on the main character and gaslighting her. When someone doesn’t have a single ally, it makes the novel painful for me, especially since this isn’t a memoir or non-fiction narrative.

I think if I had finished this novel it would have been a solid three stars, but I just couldn't keep reading how everyone was emotionally ganging up on the main character.


Thank you @netgalley @headofzeus for my gifted galley in exchange for my honest review!

I will be reading the first in the series before finishing this one. I feel like I am missing a bit by reading them out of order.

While the plot, writing and characters weren't bad, I still couldn't enjoy it. The amount of weight-related comments and honestly fat-shaming things said is appalling. I understand that she struggles with he weight, but the way it was presented was really disappointing. We don't need this type of representation in society.

This is my honest opinion, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

A fun, easy book that tells the story of Erica & her family who have moved to Italy for a new way of life. Nothing is how she planned it & there are so many problems have been thrown at her & she looses what is important to them all.
I wanted to shake Erica at times as she was focused on stupid things, but things turn out all right in the end.

I didn't know there was a book before this one, maybe if I had read that one first this one would have made a bit more sense to me, but that is just my opinion
Erica is divorced with 2 children and has opened a B&B in Tuscany with her partner Julian who is a writer but they haven't got married yet
Cue Julian suggesting they set a date but that's when things start to go wrong, will the wedding happen or not ?

Thank-you NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

If you're looking for a super cute quick read look no more!
My Big FAT Italian Break-Up plays like those of old 90's movies!
It was so fun and super fast to read!

I was interested in this book, but could not get into this one :( I unfortunately had to DNF this one. I have been in a bit of a slump this month, so could definitely be effected by that!

There are plenty of different emotions within this book and it was very enjoyable. Well described and a lovely read. You can never go far wrong with a book written by Nancy, this is well worth 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

I ultimately ended up DNFing this book very early on. Marcy as a character didn't make a lot of sense to me. It seems like a bit strange to not commit to a wedding date for 2 years - I always thought it took years to plan a wedding and it just felt unfair to her Fiancé who gave up his life for her to pull this childish antic. Honestly the writing and Erica's description of Julian reads as wattpad fiction and was just so cringey I couldn't keep reading.

Was 10% into the book and was over the over description of all the characters looks and features, I understand Erica is meant to have a hyper focus on others looks because she is insecure about her looks but honestly it didn't read like that due to poor writing.

There is this high focus on weight and as someone with weight issues I didn't appreciate the writing or jokes about the weight as it is very triggering.

📚✨Book Review✨📚

My Big Fat Italian Break-Up
Author: Nancy Barone

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Note: I received a copy of this book to review via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

What I Liked:
🍝The setting is such a dream. I love ALL things Italian and stories that take place in Italy. It’s my favorite place to visit in the entire world, so any chance to connect with the Italian countryside speaks to my soul.

🍝There is something about Italian men that does it. And Italian food. And then there are the Italian side characters. They all all truly so vibrant. They jump off the page in the most magical way!

What I Didn’t Like:
🍝DO NOT read while hungry!!!! Honestly I found myself reaching for a snack constantly because the me of food was all over. I’m dreaming of Nutella cornettos now….

Final Thoughts:
🍝I didn’t realize this was book 2 in series, but the author makes it easy to pick everything up. Heads up id you like to read the complete series on order, to start with book 1!

Be prepared to laugh, swoon, and fall head over heels in love with the unforgettable characters in this witty and wonderful novel. I was enthralled from start to finish, and I’m still floating.

This was such a cute book. I found myself at the start of it relating to Erica and how she had big plans for her life, she was following her dreams and trying to get her new business ventured known and build her clientele.

I related to her when Julian was trying to tell her to calm down, they were comfortable etc. I thought he was quite belittling in a way, he wasn’t supporting her as much as I wanted him to. They seemed like a great pair but I didn’t feel Julian was as supportive of Erica as she was him. Having him jet set off around the world every so often to follow his dreams.

However, then we meet sexy Alberto… Mmmmhm. He was a lovely man and I feel much better paired for Erica than Julian. But I have to say, the ending is too cute and I am glad that it turned out the way it… no spoilers!

It was a cute, romantic read and a great one for summer. Perfect holiday read for me! Thank you to @netgalley and Nancy Barone for allowing me an e-ARC copy of this book.

I haven't read the previous book in this series, which means that I had to catch up with some of the backstory, although this want a real issue. To be honest I found this book frustrating, Erica is constantly worried about her weight, her business and her husband to be Julian's constant trips as part of his book publicity. Saying that this is probably more realistic than an idyllic life in such a wonderful location. There are parts that I can definitely relate to such as a rather over the top exercise class and perhaps the occasional overeating session, although I can honestly say that I've never kissed a chef. Lack of belief in self worth can be very debilitating, and it is good to read about how someone else actually deals with it.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.