Justine Faeth

Life is good for twenty-seven-year-old Lucia Pia Fabbo. Lucia is a talent scout for the Big Apple Morning Show and a rent-controlled apartment in SoHo with Autumn Owen, a long-time friend. Well, life is good except for the pressure-filled conversations with her parents, married sister, and grandmother. When is she going to get married and have a family? Lucia wants that, too, but her recent dating life has been as successful as her past relationships. In other words, she’s single, with no prospects on the horizon. What’s a girl to do? Lucia’s friends suggest adding her profile like they have on the online dating app, Chat Love.

Lucia is someone you’d like to meet in real life, as evidenced by the camaraderie of female and male friends in her personal life, some of whom are also colleagues at work. Some of the conversations with her family members are timeless. Some readers will nod their heads, thinking of their current experiences. Some will walk down memory lane, especially those conversations with parents ready to be grandparents, siblings ready to be an aunt or uncle, and grandmothers prepared to see the grandchildren settling down. But, oh, the dating journey. The author’s descriptive writing captures it all with the inquisitions of family members, caring and supportive friends, career and personal life balance, and dates. Oh, the adventures of the dates. I loved it – the story, the characters, the dialogue with wit and humor, all taking place in my favorite city, New York, New York.

If you love romance, this novel is a must-read! It’s a treasure chest of fun reading. Don’t miss it!… (mere)

Lucia should get the surviving-the-most-worst-first-dates award. She has an incredible string of bad luck in trying to find “Mr. Right.” She would probably settle for “Mr. Okay” if it meant getting her parents off her back. She is finally talked into trying an on-line dating service, “Chat Love,” by her friends. During this dismal dating scene, she begins to realize a certain attraction towards a coworker. Horrors! Then she finally starts chatting with someone on-line, but delays the first date disaster syndrome by getting to know him first only online. There is some good humor here, and the dialogue is well written. Before the end, readers will have selected their choice for Lucia, and likely guessed the mystery that seems to elude Lucia. But give the girl a break! Dating all these guys and trying to please her Italian parents who badly want her married and having babies is bound to dull her senses. Entertaining chick-lit.… (mere)

I really liked this book. I was blessed to receive a free copy. I was pleasantly surprised. I found it to be charming. I loved the dynamic of the characters. The plot was realistic and witty.

I would definitely recommend this book to friends. It is lighthearted and entertaining. I fell in love with Lucia the main character. Her trials are very true to life. The only issue I had was at times the story became clichéd. I plan on reading more in the future from this author. She has certainly peaked my interest.… (mere)

Lucia Pia is a successful career woman in the television industry, but she is having absolutely no luck in romance. She is feeling loads of pressure from her traditional Italian-American family to "just find a nice Italian boy and settle down". Seeing her good friends in relationships only makes her feel more lonely. Out of desperation, she decides to join "Chat Love", and online dating site, in an effort to try to meet someone interested in a long- term relationship, possibly marriage. Successive dates, night after night that are complete failures, meeting jerk after jerk leaves her more discouraged. The whole time she works with a guy who she is attracted to but has a reputation for being a bit of a playboy. But things are not always what they seem, and the reader enjoys a happy ending.
I thought the book was funny, giving an accurate picture of the challenges in the modern dating scene, as well as the unique method of online dating and all the unusual people one is bound to come across. From men with disgusting personal habits, to stalkers, guys with one track minds (not only in the physical sense, but also with obsessions like politics) boring the listener to distraction, and guys that want to go to the poshest restaurant in town and order immense amounts of food, then skip out leaving their date with the bill. Plus the stigma associated with online dating that the subscriber must be desperate, or socially inept, or else, surely they could get a date like every other normal person? If you are looking for a light, humorous, modern day romance-- this is it. My thanks to the author from whom I received a copy for an honest review.… (mere)