Welcome to my stop on the First Loves Blog Tour! This tour is to promote the “If Only” books, new line of clean teen standalone novels from Bloomsbury which focus on first loves but are appropriate for readers as young as 12. I love the idea of this new line. There’s something very special about falling in love for the first time and these books sound like a lot of fun.

 One of the books in the If Only series is Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae. I’ve wanted to read this book since I first heard about it. Fun, flirty and shows off a gorgeous Italian summer – Wish You Were Italian was a book I could not put down. The main character, Pippa, has to face some tough issues and these are portrayed in a realistic and relatable way.  I went to Italy when I was 16 and I thought Kristin captured the vibe of the country perfectly. And the romance? Oh my… it’s sweet and lovely and if this book is anything to go by – I have a feeling I’m going to adore the rest of the books in the If Only line.

Make sure you check out the bottom of this post to read an extract of Kristin’s novel!

I was lucky enough to ask Kristin if she has always loved to travel – and if it was love at first sight when she first went to Italy. 

Kristin’s response:

My family went on some road trips when I was growing up (Disney World, Grand Canyon, etc.), but our first major vacation was to Hawaii just after I graduated high school. I’d just gotten a fancy Nikon camera and I flew through twelve rolls of film trying to take all these special shots. The travel bug had bitten. I couldn’t wait to go somewhere else to take more pictures! Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to travel back to Hawaii several times, visit Italy with hubs and some friends, fish in Alaska with my husband’s family, tag along on a business trip to Hong Kong and China, and visit some other great spots around the US (California and Colorado are favorites!). And I did it all with a camera around my neck. I knew I was going to love Italy before stepping foot off the plane in Rome, but when I actually stood face to face with buildings and ruins I’d only ever read about in history books, something inside me definitely changed.

 

I love that Kristin and her main character Pippa share a love of photography and how they were both similarly moved when first experiencing Rome’s ancient buildings. Maybe with Kristin’s love of travel one day she may find her way down here in Australia!

 

Wish You Were Italian on 2014-05-06
Pages: 352
Goodreads

The summer before senior year of high school. It’s supposed to be one of the biggest summers of her life, but Pippa is headed to an art program she has no interest in. The one saving grace is it’s in Italy. And when the opportunity strikes, she decides to ditch the program and travel Italy accomplishing her own list of goals. Things like swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, eating a whole pizza in one sitting…and falling in love with an Italian boy!As she explores the famous cities of Rome and Pompeii, Pippa finds herself falling for two boys: a local guy she knows is nothing but trouble and a cute American archaeology student who keeps disappearing and reappearing at the strangest moments. Will Pippa find her true love before her parents find out the truth about her summer program?

 

Here is a sneak peek of the novel – the first chapter of Wish You Were Italian!

Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae – Chapter 1