Blog tour: Hotel Portofino

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Welcome to the blog tour for Hotel Portofino by J.P.O'Connell!

More about the book…

Hotel Portofino has been open for only a few weeks, but already the problems are mounting for its owner Bella Ainsworth. Her high-class guests are demanding and hard to please. And she’s being targeted by a scheming and corrupt local politician, who threatens to drag her into the red-hot cauldron of Mussolini’s Italy.

To make matters worse, her marriage is in trouble, and her children are still struggling to recover from the repercussions of the Great War. All eyes are on the arrival of a potential love match for her son Lucian, but events don’t go to plan, which will have far reaching consequences for the whole family.

Set in the breathtakingly beautiful Italian Riviera, Hotel Portofino is a story of personal awakening at a time of global upheaval and of the liberating influence of Italy’s enchanting culture, climate and cuisine on British ‘innocents abroad’, perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and The Crown.

More about the author…

J.P. O’Connell is a writer and editor who lives in South London. He was previously Books Editor for Time Out magazine, and has written for a variety of newspapers including The Guardian, The Times and the Daily Telegraph.

My impressions…

Was it a page-turner? Yes, the author has created a novel with so many fascinating characters and intriguing storylines that every chapter brings something new to discover and think about.

Did the book meet my expectations? I wasn’t alive in the 1920s but I am Italian and I have been to the Italian riviera, and this book took me down memory lane. I was expecting something along the lines of A Room with a View by E.M. Forster and I wasn’t disappointed. Such a great sense of time and place. I adored it and I can’t wait to watch the TV adaption later this year.

Three words to describe it. Glamorous. Escapist. Evocative.

Do I like the cover? I think I like the hardcover version more but even the paperback cover (pictured here) is able to transport the reader to another time and place.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, and I am excited that there is more to read!

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