Others: Positive The Viceroys was originally published in Italy in 1894, but didn't appear in English until 1962, 35 years after de Roberto's death. It also offers some fascinating bits of Italian history as it tells the tale of three generations of amoral Sicilian aristocrats, rapaciopus, ruthless, and intriguing, who struggle to retain their power in the changing world beyond their palace.
Genres: romance
Lists: …
Haruki Murakami
1987 · 389 pages · 5 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveAs his plane lands at a European airport, thirty-seven-year-old Toru Watanabe casually hears an old Beatles song. Suddenly, the music transports him back to his youth, to the turbulent Tokyo of the late sixties. He then remembers, with melancholy and unease, the unstable and mysterious Naoko, the girlfriend of his best—and only—friend from adolescence, Kizuki, and how Kizuki's suicide distanced them for a year until they reunited at university. There, they began an intimate relationship, which was soon cut short by Naoko’s fragile mental health, leading to her admission to a rest center. Shortly afterward, Watanabe fell in love with Midori, a lively and determined young woman. Indecisive and plagued by fears, Watanabe experienced only bewilderment and disillusionment in the very areas where everything was supposed to make sense: sex, love, and death. The unbearable situation led him to seek a delicate balance between his hopes and the need to find his place in the world. Mientras su avión aterriza en un aeropuerto europeo, Toru Watanabe, de treinta y siete años, escucha casualmente una vieja canción de los Beatles: de pronto, la música le hace retroceder a su juventud, al turbulento Tokio de finales de los sesenta. Recuerda entonces, con melancolía y desasosiego, a la inestable y misteriosa Naoko, la novia de su mejor -y único- amigo de la adolescencia, Kizuki, y cómo el suicidio de éste les distanció durante un año, hasta que se reencontraron en la universidad. Iniciaron allí una relación íntima, truncada, sin embargo, por la frágil salud mental de Naoko, a quien hubo que internar en un centro de reposo. Al poco, Watanabe se enamoró de Midori, una joven activa y resuelta. Indeciso, acosado por los temores, Watanabe sólo experimentaba el deslumbramiento y el desengaño allá donde todo debía cobrar sentido: el sexo, el amor y la muerte. La insostenible situación le llevó entonces a intentar alcanzar el delicado equilibrio entre sus esperanzas y la necesidad de encontrar su lugar en el mundo.
What made the match, strongest first
Michel Houellebecq
1998 · 274 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveZedenschets van de tweede helft van de 20e eeuw aan de hand van de levensgeschiedenis van twee halfbroers, de één een vergeestelijkt wetenschapper, de ander een jachtige erotomaan.
What made the match, strongest first
Nick Hornby
1995 · 256 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveNick Hornby's first novel, an international bestseller and instantly recognized by critics and readers alike as a classic, helps to explain men to women, and men to men. Rob is good on music: he owns a small record shop and has strong views on what's decent and what isn't. But he's much less good on relationships. In fact, he's not at all sure that he wants to commit himself to anyone. So it's hardly surprising that his girlfriend decides that enough is enough.
What made the match, strongest first
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1951 · 473 pages · 1 review
Others: Positive"The 43 stories in this collection include both the famous ones and several that are less well known." Booklist. "Collection of 43 short stories that illustrate Fitzgerald's depth and range of literary talent...including commercial work for the Saturday Evening Post."
What made the match, strongest first
Ali Hazelwood
2025 · 409 pages · 15 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveWhat is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the New York Times bestselling author of Deep End. Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life. Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him. It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life. But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists. When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.
What made the match, strongest first
Mila Finelli
2021 · 4 reviews
Others: PositiveFAUSTO I am the darkness, the man whose illicit empire stretches around the globe. Not many have the courage for what needs to be done to maintain power . . .but I do. And I always get what I want—including my son's fiancée. She's mine now, and I'll use Francesca any way I see fit. She's the perfect match to my twisted desires, and I'll keep her close, ready and waiting at my disposal. Even if she fights me at every turn. FRANCESCA I was stolen away and held prisoner in Italy, a bride for a mafia king's only heir. Except I'm no innocent, and it's the king himself—the man called il Diavolo—who appeals to me in sinful ways I never dreamed. Fausto's wickedness draws me in, his power like a drug. And when the devil decides he wants me, I'm helpless to resist him—even if it means giving myself to him, body and soul. He may think he can control me, but this king is about to find out who's really the boss. MAFIA MISTRESS is a full-length mafia romance written by a USA Today Bestselling author. It's the first book in the Italian Kings duet, **not** a standalone.
What made the match, strongest first
Loved ita lush and indulge and family Saga about the decadence of a sicilian family in the 19th Century it's a truly astonishing novel that turns some of the darkest aspects of The Human Condition and some of the darkest aspects of Italian History and Society into truly beautiful art
