RESTI? BY RICCARDO BERTOLDI
Matilde Sandon
Stars rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Number pages: 300
Original language: Italian
Genre and principals themes: romance, contemporary romance
Trigger warnings: death, medical issues, alcohol
Irene just arrives in Nosellari, and here, she meets Andrea, the love of her life. They spend the best summer of their lives together. With romantic walks through the nature of the mountains in Trentino, and night spent in tents. As soon as the summer ends though, Irene disappears and Andrea is left alone with his heart in his hand. Nature can deprive us from the most fragile and loving people we have in our lives. Love demands courage and faith, and if you stay (resti), everything will become a flourishing flower.
Sometimes stories can move you, forever. I personally hate reading in Italian, but one of my friends told me that this book would change my mind, so I read it, and I can say that she was right. I gave this book five stars because of it. The structure and language is easy to comprehend, but the content is intense. Love doesn’t mean giving a part of yourself to someone else, it’s more. The importance of friendship and the support they give to you. It’s also about dreams, and the memories you have to keep close to you the more you can.
“I can’t promise you “forever”. I believe in “now”. This is the magic that comes with it: to live small “nows” that put together will become “forever”. ”
ME BEFORE YOU BY JOJO MOYES
Matilde Sandon
Stars rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Number pages: 480
Original language: English
Genre and principals themes: Romance fiction
Trigger warnings: sexual assault, suicide, death, ableism
The story of the eccentric Louisa Clark, who lost her job and casually enters in the life of Will Traynor. Her job? Stay close to him and be a friend. Will Traynor has been paralyzed ever since a motorcycle accident. This really affected his life and Will struggles to accept the reality of his life. When their paths collided, Will’s and Louisa’s relationship was extremely superficial, almost cold. As time went on, something profound grew, and a special, passionate relationship began to flourish.
Reading this book made me travel through a rollercoaster of emotions to another extent of what I am used to reading. It somehow helped me view the world in a happier way, where Moyes allowed the reader to feel exactly the same dreadful emotions Will felt. Life can be hard and unexpected, painful and heartwarming. This book should be read with an open mind rather than an extremely critical one. It's about feelings more than the ethics of it. The morals about how to embrace life and live life at its fullest will make this an essential piece to read. I do recommend though to have tissues laying next to you.
“They say you only really appreciate a garden once you reach a certain age, and I suppose there is a truth in that. It’s probably something to do with the great circle of life. There seems to be something miraculous about seeing the relentless optimism of new growth after the bleakness of winter, a kind of joy in the difference every year, the way nature chooses to show off different parts of the garden to its full advantage.”