Product Description

Elizabeth has wanted two things her entire life to keep her happy and fulfilled - an Italian husband and lots of rosy-cheeked bambini. The first is ticked off now she's bagged dark and sexy Roberto, the second is proving harder to achieve. But when Roberto loses his job and decides to leave London for Italy and the family business, Elizabeth hopes the change in lifestyle might help her relax and boost her chances of conceiving. Except, no matter how much ice cream she eats in the sun-drenched piazza, it's impossible to relax when her wily mother-in-law (the original black widow) seems hellbent on destroying her marriage. The language barrier is tricky, as is Roberto's beautiful, significant ex who practically lives next door. Is Elizabeth's desire for a baby enough to hold her marriage together or is it ripping it apart? And why is she suddenly craving the company of a gorgeous, blond American stranger? Her filthy, flirty thoughts about him are totally inappropriate. Yet undeniably temperatures are rising ... and it's nothing to do with the Mediterranean sun.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6626 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Review
Another sure-fire hit (Closer )

Parks has produced another sassy blinder (Mirror )

Back at her pacy best (Company )

We've come to expect a lot from Adele Parks. She's dazzled us with tales of broken hearts, new loves and girly adventures in the likes of Young Wives' Tales and Playing Away, and now she's back with her eighth novel . . . Another gem (Heat )

About the Author
Adele Parks was born in Teesside, north-east England, and now lives in Guildford with her husband and son. She is the author of seven bestselling novels, including the iconic Playing Away and, more recently, The Other Woman's Shoes, Husbands and Young Wives' Tales.

Customer Reviews

A feel good read
A story that every girl can relate to, especially where evil mother-in-laws come in. Just when Elizabeth thinks she has everything she needs it is all turned on its head. She already has her handsome Italian husband but numerous attempts at conceiving the babies, that Elizabeth so desperately wants, has pushed him into the arms of his ex leaving Elizabeth to fend for herself. Following a move to the country she loves, Italy, Elizabeth finds that it is not all its cracked up to be and the language barrier is proving difficult. In a search to give her life some meaning and get away from her disapproving mother-in-law, Elizabeth enlists the help of a handsome American language teacher. He becomes a very close friend, but Elizabeth secretly wants more. Torn between making her marriage work against all odds or falling into the arms of her American friend, Elizabeth has to search her heart. A wonderful happy ending. Romance is not dead!

Pity about the wet central character!
Adele Parks is a superb author of contemporary women's fiction and her latest book, Tell Me Something, tells the story of Elizabeth whose desparate need to have a baby with her Italian husband Roberto over-rides every other aspect of her life. Parks' prose, as ever is punchy and excellent and the novel zips along well, but I must confess that I got rather annoyed with Elizabeth's self-centred approach to life and it made her rather shallow as a result.

On the plus side, the descriptions of Italy are fantastic and the character of Elizabeth's fearsome mother-in-law are well-crafted. Actually, apart from Elizabeth, all of the other characters are fairly believable and have the requisite amount of personality to appear believable. There are a few twists and turns towards the end of the book to maintain interest and overall it's a good read, but not one of Parks' best works I'm afraid.

Tell me Something
On reading some other reviews I see that this book is not one of Parks' most popular, though some of the reasons cited for this are very basic, considering the apparent full read of the baak.

The protagonist, Elizabeth, has a string of bad circumstances to deal with, all of which are completely credible and can be related to; the evil mother-in-law, problems conceiving, the dwindling affection of her husband and the casual-but-wanting-to-be-more relationship with a tall blonde stranger. Her character is comical in that she bases her opinions of people on her (slightly) prejudiced stererotypical view of them, though I think we're all guilty of this sometimes. Her desperation to have a baby is heart-rendering, and it brings to light a rising problem in todays society (in fact, scientists believe that the end of the human race will be down to the eventual near total infertility, so this IS relevant). This problem, as well as her desperation to be accepted into a foreign family and country, are credible reasons for her insecurities and irrational, hormonal behaviour.

In short, I find Elizabeth's character highly developed and expertly portrayed by Ms Parks in the novel. The quick wit of some characters creates a happy diversion from Elizabeth's problems, and this further adds to the story. Its been a while since I read a book which made me laugh and cry simultaneously, for being both happy and sad.

The locations for the book are well observed and well describes, which further adds to the depth of the book, as do the observations of people who just amble through the plotline on the peripheral of the text.

I'l admit the first few chapters were slow, but it quickly picked up pace and by a quarter of teh way in I was utterly engrosed. I highly recommed this book as a light, girly read.