It Takes a Villa by Kilby Blades


What a wonderful story! It combines armchair travel with a bit of family mystery, all in a region of Italy that I was able to visit last year. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Natalie has done what so many have thought of doing when seeing the advertisements for the $1 homes in Italy. We ask ourselves questions. Is it too good to be true? In some ways, because the rules for purchasing the homes are quite stringent, i.e., earnest money has to be put down and the updates/repairs have to be made within a specified amount of time which requires ready money to pay builders and contractors. Another thing to consider is timing as Natalie found out. Italy and much of Europe are on vacation typically for one full month in the Summer. Permits for the building have to be purchased and there are rules that must be abided by for some of the homes that have historical value to them. That historical value dictates the type of update that must be completed. This of course is just the minimum of what a buyer is signing up for when they purchase a $1 home, especially if they do not have the ability to do any of the work themselves.

Natalie is an intelligent, quick learner who can follow videos she has found on the internet. She had grand plans for purchasing one of the $1 with her grandmother. This property is not just a typical home. It was a much-beloved hotel in a city that is counting on these renovations to draw jobs and visitors to this beautiful region of the Amalfi Coast. The creation of jobs is also another requirement of the purchasers of these homes, so it does draw buyers with dreams of opening their own businesses also. Things really start going wrong for Natalie from the time she lands in Italy, some of which relate to not speaking Italian. Some of the property is in pretty good shape, but, there are things that require update that she is not prepared for either physically or financially.

She is lucky enough to start crossing paths with Pietro, who decides that Natalie needs help and he wants to ensure the renovations to the hotel bring the property back to the standards that are required. Pietro is very knowledgeable and he is also purchasing and renovating many of the properties in their town. Natalie does not want to accept help, but, as she meets others in the renovation program, she realizes that she is one of the few that are working alone and she needs help to meet the deadlines. Pietro, who is also part of the committee responsible for the renovation program, is also butting heads with others on the committee who are more concerned with bringing jobs, money, and people into the area than they are about the renovations being done properly. All of this makes for a great story with a sweet romance, not just between Natalie and Pietro, but, also between the reader and the Italian town on the Amalfi Coast.