Jun
Valerie,
a middle-aged woman, leading an average life as a head teller at a bank finally
finds her soul-mate, Franco. He’s sixteen years younger and studying for a Ph.D.
in Archeology, but they click. Suddenly, the evil hand of fate causes their
lives to fall into a downward spiral. They lean on each other. Trying to find
happiness they happen to commit a little crime – make that a little felony, and
dash out of the country. Now they’re happy – mostly.
A couple
of weeks ago I received a copy of ‘Valerie’s Retreat’ in exchange for a review.
Not really knowing what I could expect I dived into this book.
Retreat’ we follow Valerie. A forty year old single woman working at a bank.
Together with her best friend she decided to go to a singles dance. There
Valerie meets twenty five year old Franco. They immediately hit it off and soon
they are inseparable. The big age difference doesn’t bother Franco at all, and even
though Valerie has her insecurities, they spend more and more time together.
When Franco loses his job and Valerie is being harassed by her colleague, they
begin to fantasies over a different life. When things get worse they decide to
take drastic steps to purchase their dream. Together, Valerie and Franco, come
up with a plan to steel money from Valerie’s work and start a new life in
another country. Everything goes as planned and soon Valerie and Franco are in
their new country. But what they didn’t expect was the different and sometimes
difficult rules and culture in their new country and soon there dream doesn’t look
very good anymore.
At the
beginning of this book we meet Valerie. Having watched the book trailer, I kind
off knew what would happen to her and so I was waiting for her to meet Franco. When
that happened I was a little disappointed, I didn’t really feel any kind of
chemistry. I sort of felt like Valerie just found it interesting to get the attention
of a much younger men. From my point of view, she just wasn’t interested in
anything more. But apparently she was because soon they were ‘together’.
book we learn a lot about Valerie’s work and how everything goes on in the
bank. I understand why this information was in the book but I found it a little
boring. I felt like it took away the attention of Valerie’s and Franco’s
relationship.
did like about this book was the archeology stuff. I loved Franco’s passion for
his work and how hard he had worked to come where he was. Franco really studied
hard to become an archeologist and I felt very bad for him when things got rough
for him.
this review very hard to write. This book really wasn’t for me. I couldn’t relate
to the characters and I didn’t really enjoy it. I felt like things were going
much too fast. Like the part when Valerie and Franco meet. They meet and BOOM
they are in a relationship and they are telling each other how much they love
one another. It’s possible off course but I really didn’t feel it. Still, if you’re
a romance thriller fan you should check this one out. It really is a
one-of-a-kind book.
About the Author:
Born in Illinois, I nevertheless spent most of myformative years in Kentucky. I attended The Ohio State University and am an
avid Buckeyes fan. I currently work in finance, am married, and am the father
of a wonderful young woman with Down syndrome.
I have written four novels that have been published. A Spy At Home, Hazardous
Choices, A Mormon Massacre, and my newest release, Valerie’s Retreat are
currently available on Amazon.
Check out the book trailer of ‘Valerie’s Retreat’ by Joseph Rinaldo.
You might also like:
Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always! Facebook | Instagram
Thanks for the great and honest review. This one doesn't really sound like it would work for me either, sorry it wasn't more enjoyable for you. I hate when the romance in a book lacks any kind of chemistry because then it's hard to find the coupling believable.
You’re welcome! 😀 I really tried to enjoy it but sadly it just didn’t work for me.
Maureen, I appreciate the review, even though it wasn't "your kind of book". Requesting reviews means taking the not-so-good with the good, so I still thank you.
Joe Rinaldo
Thank you so much for your comment. It was really hard for me to write this review and I'm glad you still appreciated it. 😉