Romance sparks in the sweet, YA book, “All Roads Lead to Rome,” by Sabrina Fedel.
It is an endearing love story, a modern “Roman Holiday” – gender swapped and reimagined which made for a fun, entertaining read.
Astoria (Story) Herriot’s life is changed when in a gelato shop she gets talked into a fake dating scheme with a handsome Scottish celebrity, Luca Kinnaird. In exchange for pretending to be his girlfriend to escape the paparazzi’s constant pressure on his true girlfriend, a pop star, Jasmine, Luca Kinnaird promises to help fund a scholarship in Story’s dad’s memory (something Story can only dream about at this point in her life). While fake dating to keep the paparazzi cameras off Luca and Jasmine, Story is absorbed into a lifestyle most of us can only imagine and dream about – the lifestyle of the ultra-rich and famous. But, the lines of fake dating get blurry when Story begins to fall for Luca and it is pretty clear he is falling for her too.
The chemistry between Story and Luca is evident throughout and you can’t help but wish for them to be girlfriend and boyfriend for real.
But, are their worlds too different to be together?
This book tugged at my heart and I found myself wondering and truly hoping that the characters in this story show up again in the author’s next novel.
I felt the author did a great job of writing in social issues such as addiction, fame, paparazzi and the impact that social media plays on our lives (in this book on a grand scale).
With landmarks, history, and the Italian landscape shining throughout, it’s a great beach read which will have you daydreaming and possibly planning a trip to Rome.
