by Christine Simon
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon
Goodreads: The self-appointed mayor of a tiny Italian village is determined to save his hometown no matter the cost in this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming debut novel.
Vacuum repairman and self-appointed mayor of Prometto, Italy (population 212) Signor Speranza has a problem: unless he can come up with 70,000 euros to fix the town’s pipes, the water commission will shut off the water to the village and all its residents will be forced to disperse. So in a bid to boost tourism—and revenue—he spreads a harmless rumor that movie star Dante Rinaldi will be filming his next project nearby.
Unfortunately, the plan works a little too well, and soon everyone in town wants to be a part of the fictional film—the village butcher will throw in some money if Speranza can find roles for his fifteen enormous sons, Speranza’s wistfully adrift daughter reveals an unexpected interest in stage makeup, and his hapless assistant Smilzo volunteers a screenplay that’s not so secretly based on his undying love for the film’s leading lady. To his surprise—and considerable consternation, Speranza realizes that the only way to keep up the ruse is to make the movie for real.
As the entire town becomes involved (even the village priest invests!) Signor Speranza starts to think he might be able to pull this off. But what happens when Dante Rinaldi doesn’t show up? Or worse, what if he does?
Kritters Thoughts: What a fun story to dip into for an afternoon! Signor Speranza is a vacuum repairman and the self-appointed mayor of Prometto, Italy. After a visit from the water commission, he is advised that the town needs to find 70,000 euros to fix the town's pipes or water will be shut off to the village. Signor Speranza doesn't want to burden the towns people with this news and through a few miscommunication mishaps, word gets round that a celebrity wants to film a movie in their small town and the money starts coming in!
This book reminded me of those fun slapstick comedy movies where one might roll their eyes at the antics that the characters get into, but love the story so much they just keep watching - at least thats how I felt while reading this book! It was a fun reprieve from the serious books that I tend to read and I fell in love with the town and the quirky characters and was hoping they would find the money in time!
A fun debut that I just giggled and laughed my way through. I hope this author has many more up her sleeves!
Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row
Ebook 2022 Challenge: 30 out of 100
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of this book free of charge from Atria Books. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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