3.0
The Invitation
By Lucy FoleyPublisher Description
From the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Paris Apartment and The Guest List, an evocative love story set along the Italian Riviera about a group of charismatic stars who all have secrets and pasts they try desperately — and dangerously — to hide.
Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again.
But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film.
Of all the luminaries aboard — an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director — only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us — no matter how much we try to escape them.
Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again.
But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime -- acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film.
Of all the luminaries aboard — an Italian ingénue, an American star, a reclusive director — only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, The Invitation is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us — no matter how much we try to escape them.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities312 Reviews
3.0
Janey Byun
Created 3 days agoShare
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Carol Wilson
Created 10 days agoShare
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BelievableChange and growMultilayeredDeathDomestic violenceGriefViolencePredictable but satisfyingSatisfying conclusionSlow-paced
Kati Kennedy
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Kate Beagley
Created 10 days agoShare
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“I have read all of Lucy Foley’s more recent books, so it was interesting to go back to a first book she had written. She does multi perspective stories so well! This book moves at a slower pace than many of her current books. Though, I’d still love to meet her characters and sail the Italian coast en route to Cannes.”
Change and growMultilayered
Sarah B
Created 12 days agoShare
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DeathWar violenceDisjointedNonlinear narrativePredictable but satisfyingSlow start, strong finishBland/genericClear but uninspiredClunkyEasy to read
About Lucy Foley
Lucy Foley studied English literature at Durham University and University College London. She then worked for several years as a fiction editor, during which time she wrote The Book of Lost and Found. Lucy now writes full-time and is busy traveling (for research, naturally!), painting, and working on her next novel.
Other books by Lucy Foley
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