The Enchanted April

A holiday in a book in many ways. These men are trash though.

This has been on my TBR for a long time. I just want to start by saying I don't read classics while looking through a modern lens but this is a case of expecting one thing and getting something completely different.
What I expected: In between the Great Wars, four women rent a castle by the sea in Italy and spend a month discovering truths about themselves.
What I actually got: Bored out of my mind and a plot that goes no where until the men show up.
If a reader is looking to experience life in an Italian castle, forget it. All of the action takes place in a garden and about 4 rooms. This could have been set anywhere. Also the staff are thieves because no one gave them a menu to prepare so they source the items themselves (locally) and spent a small fortune. Thieves!
For a hot second I thought it was going to get interesting with some magical realism. Lottie develops the ability to “see into” other characters and Lady Caroline has some super power in which her beauty stuns people into not noticing she is an asshole. But no, that didn't go anywhere.
I should have put the book down when they decided to invite the husbands. Yes, the WHOLE reason they left England to come to Italy was to get away from their husbands. They are there, what? a week and they are writing to them.
Sigh.
This was obviously not for me.

A very calm, aesthetically pleasing novel. There were a few characters who annoyed me at first, but it was intentional and very well done. Reminiscent of A Room With A View.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Period.

This took me way too long to read, but ultimately I enjoyed it. The descriptions of San Salvatore are gorgeous. The characters are charming and quite funny (“she wouldn't be silly; she would think of the poor; the thought of them always brought her down to sobriety at once”). I enjoyed the getting to Italy and then once all the extra people arrived; I got bogged down in the middle and that's what took forever to read. Really enjoyable overall.

Such a wonderful, soft, and soothing reading experience. Now I absolutely want to see the movie

one of those books that makes you want to visit the place described in it, or possibly move there :)
beautiful and heartwarming.

Quite a delightful read! Very easy and comforting.

I loved the movie. The movie sticks pretty close to the book.

One of the rare books where I liked the movie a bit better than the book.