As she gets out of her car on her way to her job, Alice
Sommers is attacked by the loan shark to whom she owes
money. Or rather to whom her sister Rachel owes money. He
gives her 7 days to find $20,000, which Alice doesn't
have. It has not been a good day for Alice, but when she
reaches the penthouse where she works as a nanny, things
begin to look up a bit. Lorenzo Baldi, her boss, is away
on business, his daughter is at camp, and the pool looks
very enticing after the unbearable Austin heat. Alice has
often thought of skinny dipping in that glorious pool,
and she jumps on the occasion.
Of course, Lorenzo would
choose that specific moment to bring in a woman: Viola
Campello. Lorenzo wants to get his father's paintings
back, and Viola has them. Lorenzo's father was a man of
dubious character and if it became known that Lorenzo is
his son, Lorenzo's reputation would be irremediably
damaged. Viola had been very hard to sway, she still
isn't convinced, and just as Lorenzo notices Alice coming
out of the pool naked, Viola sees her as well; there's
only one way out: pretend Alice is his fiancée. And to
Lorenzo's utter astonishment, the two women get on
swimmingly. Viola invites them to Capri, where another
potential buyer will be present; it's crucial to win
Viola over. Alice then gets the most brilliant idea she's
ever had: Lorenzo absolutely needs her, she needs $20,000;
a piece of cake!
If Ms. Falcone could bottle what makes A WEEKEND OF
MISBEHAVING work, the world would be a much happier
place! From the opening pages, Carmen Falcone comes out
of the starting blocks and is off and running! What a
fabulous beginning to a fantastic story! I loved Alice
from the get-go: she is spontaneous, unconventional,
direct, and best of all, she feels absolutely authentic.
Lorenzo, on the other hand, is straight-laced, rather
serious, but together they are the ultimate "opposites
attract" couple. Alice talks too much, which is a good
thing for the reader, because A WEEKEND OF MISBEHAVING
contains some of the best dialogues I have ever read.
Alice is one of the best female characters I have ever
read: she is a plus-size woman, and it only defines her
as much as her height or eye colour would: she is sexy,
independent, self-assured, and ever so relatable. Ms.
Falcone is known for her colourful metaphors and turns of
phrases, and she had me giggling and smiling all along,
and her eloquent and crisp prose paints Italy in all its
vibrant beauty.
In A WEEKEND OF MISBEHAVING, Carmen Falcone hits all the
right notes: the story is great, the plot air-tight, the
writing lively and fresh; it is a fabulously entertaining
read. And did I mention the unforgettable Alice Sommers?
A WEEKEND OF MISBEHAVING is not to be missed!
When fantasy becomes reality… The last thing nanny Alice Sommers needs is to be caught skinny-dipping by her sexy, cranky-pants boss—in his pool. Her sister owes a crap-load of money to a slimy loan shark and Alice really needs this job if she has any hope of saving her family. Fortunately, her boss is richer than sin and needs her just as much. Art dealer Lorenzo Baldi will lose his prestigious career if his anarchist father’s paintings are revealed to the art world. He’s determined to persuade the paintings’ eccentric owner to sell them to him, even if to pull it off, he’ll have to blackmail his daughter’s nanny—a woman with the sexy curves of a Botticelli masterpiece—into being his fake fiancé. The gorgeous island of Capri inspires some major misbehaving. But even as the loan shark breathes down Alice’s neck and the paintings move closer to the art scene, Lorenzo drops one more bomb that will change everything.