Book Review: Five Days in Florence by Lorraine Brown
- Paola Santana
- Oct 8
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 9
Maddie just got engaged to Nick. It was all going well until they travel to Florence to meet his posh family—and perfect ex-wife. To make matters worse, Aidan (Maddie's ex) is staying in the same hotel. Enters drama. Need I say more?
BOOK SPECS:
Number of pages: 276
Format: Paperback
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Tropes: Love Triangle, Second Chance Romance, Forced Proximity
SHORT REVIEW:
If you're looking for a clean, cosy, easy read, you'll love Five Days in Florence. The love triangle resolution was the only reason I didn't give it four stars. Things just wrapped up too quickly and too easily when we all know matters of the heart are never that clean cut. But if you're seeking a good read to breeze through, this could be it.
HEART RATE:
SMUT SCORE:
BLURB:
This romantic getaway is about to get messy...
Maddie is over the moon when her boyfriend Nick proposes in Paris. And spending five days in Florence with his family sounds like the perfect way to get to know her future in-laws.
But Maddie is in for a rude awakening. Nick's parents are too posh for words, his daughter doesn't want to know her - and just why has his ex-wife come along?! And if that wasn't complicated enough, who should be at the same boutique hotel but Aidan, the one that got away two years ago...
Who knew so much could happen in just five days in Florence?
FULL REVIEW:
Plot
This is a story about what looks right on paper and what feels right.
Maddie was swept off her feet by charming, suave Nick. In the midst of their whirlwind romance, he proposes in Paris. It's super romantic and, on the surface, everything a girl should want; until she starts seeing the cracks—she loves travelling, he doesn't; his family are a punch of snobs; his ex-wife is still the favourite; and his daughter is not any better. Things are not as peachy as Maddie originally thought they were.
Aidan, on the other hand, might not be as polished, elegant, or affluent, but he's the one that really gets her. They're birds of a feather and really understand each other.
So who is Maddie going to choose? What looks right or what feels right?
Characters
There is a good number of characters in this novel, but all of them have very distinct personalities. Some of them are the type of people you love to hate. But they're all well-defined and with solid backstories that unfold nicely throughout the narrative.
As you read on, it becomes clear that Five Days in Florence is a love triangle romance, but it's also about family. More specifically, it looks at how family dynamics affect the decisions we make as adults, and Maddie is the poster girl for this—morphing and adapting to her surroundings, people pleasing, in order to feel loved.
Romance & Smut Score
I loved the love triangle in this novel. In one corner, you have the ex with who she really connects. On the other, the guy that is alluring but doesn't quite gel. And if you don't like cheating, you'll be happy to know this is not about a woman who cheats on her fiancé. It is, however, about a woman who has to make a choice: what looks right or what feels right; being herself or being what others expect of her.
There are sex scenes in this book, but they fade out before giving too much detail. All you read is the start of what is to come and the afters. For this reason, I would say it's relatively clean. Light, but still hot.
Writing
The story is told from Maddie's point of view and in dual timeline, flipping in between now and how she met Aidan. It takes place in Florence, London, and Loch Lomond in Scotland, so there are some gorgeous descriptions of setting, especially of Florence. All of which allude to Maddie's passion for travel.
Brown's writing is super easy to read and engaging. Before you know it, you have read several chapters. The only thing I would criticize is how quickly the love triangle resolved once Maddie has made her choice. I really would have liked to see her telling Nick and his family some truths, but everyone seems to go along with her decision like it doesn't throw a major spanner in the works and leaves at least one character with a lot of explaining to do. But all in one, a cosy, smooth read.
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