The
Secrets of Villa Rosso:
Escape
to Italy for a summer romance to remember
When Ellie Maddison
is sent on a business trip to Southern Italy, she's reminded why she
loves her job – set amongst rolling vineyards and rich olive
groves, the beautiful Villa Rosso is the perfect escape from her life
back home. But what Ellie isn't prepared for is the instant
connection she feels to the estate's director Max Johnson, or the
secrets they share that are as intertwined as the rambling vines that
cover Villa Rosso.
It's not long before
Ellie finds herself entangled in the history of the place, trying to
understand the undeniable effect Max is having on her. As their
relationship grows, what will Ellie discover about this idyllic villa
and those who have walked through its doors?
What started as a
simple work trip will change Ellie's life forever.
Available
to pre-order now in eformat and paperback
eformat
release date: 21 July 2017; paperback 5 October 2017
Published
by: Harper Impulse
KOBO:
http://ow.ly/2ANQ30bbpBZ
Author bio:
Bristol-born Linn B
Halton lives in the Forest of Dean, in the UK.
"I'm a hopeless romantic, self-confessed chocaholic, and lover
of strong coffee. For me, life is about family, friends, writing ...
and house renovation! Oh, and the occasional glass of White
Grenache..."
An Amazon UK Top 100
best-selling author with A Cottage in the Country in November 2015,
Under the Stars and A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love also became
best-sellers in 2016 & 2017. Linn's novels have been short-listed
in the UK's Festival of Romance and the eFestival of Words Book
Awards. Linn won the 2013 UK Festival of Romance: Innovation in
Romantic Fiction award.
Linn writes chick
lit, women's contemporary fiction and psychic romance for Harper
Impulse, Choc Lit and Endeavour Press.
Excerpt:
It isn’t just the
sunshine and the electric blue sky, but the musical calls of the
countryside that reach out to me. A chorus of low-level sounds play
like a soft melody in the background. It’s breathtakingly beautiful
and I feel like I’m watching a re-run of a favourite film. I could
stand here for a long time simply taking in the detail and with each
sweep of my eyes noticing something new.
Spinning around I
look back at the villa, taking in the rustic beauty of the stonework
and the pale orange-red hue of the sun-bleached roof tiles. This is,
quite simply, unreal. It’s a little piece of heaven and, so far
removed from my daily life that it’s hard to believe this is on the
same planet. The sheer scale of the landscape literally steals your
breath away. I’m a mere speck, small and insignificant in the grand
scheme nature is presenting to me. But rather bizarrely, it doesn’t
feel alien in anyway at all. The vastness isn’t overwhelming, but
strangely comforting.
I walk back to a
cluster of wooden tables surrounding a small fountain and take a
seat. As I dive into my bag to extract some sunglasses, I hear a
polite cough and look up at the face staring down at me.
‘Mrs Maddison? I’m
Max, Max Johnson. Welcome to Villa Rosso.’
I stand,
automatically plastering a pleasant smile on my surprised face as
recognition kicks in. I know this man, I mean, I’ve met him before.
At least I think I have, but there’s nothing similar reflected back
at me, only a warm smile. The sort of smile that radiates out from
mysteriously deep, hazel eyes. We shake hands. He’s younger than I
expected, probably in his early forties and tall. Six foot something
that’s for sure, because I feel he’s towering over me, but then I
am seated.
‘I’m sorry to
disturb you. I just wanted you to know that I’m here at your
disposal whenever you are ready to begin. Would you like me to fetch
you a coffee so you can sit for a while and enjoy the view?’
Although I knew he
was British, his tan and elegant demeanour lend an air of
cosmopolitan sophistication. I would not have been at all surprised
if he had been Italian. He’s hovering politely and I still haven’t
answered him…
Ah, thank you so much Nikki for being a part of the cover reveal - and for all of your support over the years, my friend! xx
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