Very Valentine: A Novel

This New York Times bestseller is the perfect read for Valentine's Day or any day, from the incomparable Adriana Trigiani—now a Lifetime original movie!

Poignant, funny, warm, and red hot, Very Valentine is a wonderful treat for Adriana Trigiani fans—a “delightful” (Boston Globe), “romance-soaked novel” (Marie Claire) from beloved playwright, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, and New York Times bestselling author. This irresistible story follows the adventures of an extraordinary woman as she attempts to rescue her family’s struggling shoe business and find love at the same time. Very Valentine sweeps the reader from the streets of Manhattan to the picturesque hills of la bella Italia.

Meet the Roncalli and Angelini families, a vibrant cast of colorful characters who navigate tricky family dynamics with hilarity and brio, from magical Manhattan to the picturesque hills of bella Italia. Very Valentine is the first novel in a trilogy and is sure to be the new favorite of Trigiani's millions of fans around the world.

In this luscious, contemporary family saga, the Angelini Shoe Company, makers of exquisite wedding shoes since 1903, is one of the last family-owned businesses in Greenwich Village. The company is on the verge of financial collapse. It falls to thirty-three-year-old Valentine Roncalli, the talented and determined apprentice to her grandmother, the master artisan Teodora Angelini, to bring the family's old-world craftsmanship into the twenty-first century and save the company from ruin.

While juggling a budding romance with dashing chef Roman Falconi, her duty to her family, and a design challenge presented by a prestigious department store, Valentine returns to Italy with her grandmother to learn new techniques and seek one-of-a-kind materials for building a pair of glorious shoes to beat their rivals. There, in Tuscany, Naples, and on the Isle of Capri, a family secret is revealed as Valentine discovers her artistic voice and much more, turning her life and the family business upside down in ways she never expected. Very Valentine is a sumptuous treat, a journey of dreams fulfilled, a celebration of love and loss filled with Trigiani's trademark heart and humor.

“This genteel and lush tale of soles and souls has loads of charm and will leave readers eager for the sequel.” - Publishers Weekly

“[Very Valentine] will have readers who love romantic novels...swooning. Trigiani’s closing is satisfying, even as it paves the way for the lovable heroine to reappear in a planned sequel.” - Booklist

“Trigiani offers plenty of reasons to stick around for part two.” - Kirkus Reviews

May be [Triginai’s] best work to date… Delightful, energetic… Trigiani is a seemingly effortless storyteller.” - Boston Globe

“Adriana Trigiani listens to her readers, then gives them what they want. That’s why they’ll be ecstatic about her newest novel…” - Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Trigiani has certainly not lost her ability to breathe life into everything she writes.” - Roanoke Times

“Well-crafted work with sometime lyrical, sometimes flat-out-funny writing.” - Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“No one ever reads just one of Trigiani’s wonderfully quirky tales. Once you pick up the first, you are hooked..... Trigiani fills her pages with snappy dialogue and luscious descriptions.... Reading Very Valentine is like tucking into a plate of homemade manicotti: irresistible and delicious.” - BookPage

“ Sex and the City meets Moonstruck … this first in a new trilogy from Trigiani is sly, sensual and dripping in style.” - People, Lead Review

“Load up on cappuccino and biscotti before getting lost in the super froth of Adriana Trigiani’s romance-soaked novel, Very Valentine” - Marie Claire

“Nicely written with vivid images of high fashion, New York City, and traditional Italy, Trigiani’s latest is sure to be eagerly anticipated by her many fans and attact some new readers.” - Library Journal