Review: 'The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop' by Abby Clements (2015)

Anna and her husband Matteo are preparing to embark on a delicious Italian adventure. After a year and a half running their ice cream shop on Brighton beach and raising their baby Isabella, Matteo is starting to miss Italy. A shared passion for ices means it's easy to settle on a new business idea - they'll open a sorbet shop on the town's cobbled square, a short walk from the sparkling blue sea. For a while, life is sweet; but then Matteo's overbearing family get involved…
Anna's younger sister Imogen has settled in Brighton running Vivien's Ice Cream Shop with boyfriend Finn, and for the first time in her life, she's enjoying putting down some roots. But then, late in the summer, things start to change and her willpower is put to the test… ‎ After a few weeks of relaxing and a wonderful holiday in the USA, I’m really happy to let you all know ‘A Spoonful of Happy Endings’ is back from its hiatus! I can’t wait to update all of you on my latest reads and to see what has been happening within the lovely world of books. To celebrate being back online, I have a review of a great summer read to share with all of you today, namely Abby Clements’ ‘The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop’. This book was released on the 2nd of July by Simon & Schuster and I was so excited when I found a review copy of the book in my mailbox. I love Abby Clements’ writing style and this book promised to be the perfect summer read with its lovely cover and plot line focusing on an ice cream shop, yum! Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to pick up this read to get into the summer mood right at the start of my holiday!
Sisters Anna and Imogen both live in Brighton, England, and have a lot of fun running their late grandmother Vivien’s ice cream shop right at Brighton beach. However, Anna is getting more busy taking care of her new daughter Isabella and her husband Matteo is starting to miss his home country Italy more and more. Together they decide to relocate to Sorrento, Italy for a few months, starting their very own ice cream shop. The idea sounds like a brilliant one, but then Anna realises Matteo’s family might be getting a bit too close for comfort... At the same time, Imogen is dealing with her own issues in the form of her relationship with her boyfriend Finn (is she really ready to put down some roots with someone else?) and making her dream of becoming a professional photographer reality. This summer has a lot of changes in store for both Anna and Imogen, and how will the sisters get through it all when they’re both in different countries...? 
'The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop' is the sequel to Abby Clements' lovely novel 'Vivien's Heavenly Ice Cream Shop' which was released in 2013. I loved the first part of the series and couldn't wait to read more about the characters and their lives (and all the amazing ice cream flavours!). The novel includes several storylines, focusing on both Anna and Imogen. It's easy to like both sisters and their stories were really different but just as enjoyable. The chapters focus on each sister in turn, which made me want to keep on turning the pages in order to find out what would happen to them both. While both Imogen and Anna are interesting individual characters, I also loved the sisterly bond and friendship between them.
Abby Clements' writing is incredibly easy to get into and well-paced; really suitable for a summer chick lit read like this one. The setting is also great with part of the novel set in Brighton and the other part in Italy. I loved the idea of these great ice cream parlours with delicious ice cream tastes, and I definitely craved some of it while I was reading the book! While this novel is a sequel, the author provides the reader with plenty of background information so it's also possible to pick this up as a stand-alone. And though sometimes sequels can disappoint, that is definitely not the case with this one; I loved it just as much as the first part. Overall, 'The Heavenly Italian Ice Cream Shop' is a heart-warming, delicious, escapist read about family, love and ice cream. A fabulous read and one of my personal favourite summer 2015 novels!

Rating:10/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.