My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I try very hard not to make these kinds of judgements, but sometimes I honestly believe I am not the right audience for a book. I found this to be true of Very Valentine. I enjoyed it, but believe someone in a different situation might find themselves enjoying it more.
Valentine is a 33 year-old, Italian American shoe maker. The story centers around a few key aspects: Valentine's new relationship with chef and restaurant owner Roman, Angelini Shoes which is owned by Valentine's grandmother Teodora with Valentine as the key designer, and the very Italian American family surrounding them. Angelini Shoes, it turns out, is very deep in debt and is not really making enough money to call itself a profitable business. And, to top it off, Valentine's father is diagnosed with what he calls "prostrate" cancer.
Valentine is, therefore, struggling in several ways. She wants a romantic and loving relationship with Roman, but his business is taking up the majority of his time. In addition, Valentine's brother, Alfred is on her Gram to sell the building that houses Angelini Shoes in order to get herself out of debt and allow for a retirement, given she is 80 years old. Valentine is coming into her own as an artist and creator of shoes and is heartsick to think of the business going down without a fight. An opportunity arises for her to enter a competition to win the chance to display her shoes in the windows of Bergdorfs. This could be the making of both her and the shoe company, although it is a long shot.
Basically, this is a coming of age story for a late bloomer. Valentine has never had to take anything in her life too seriously, but now everything is hitting the fan at once. How important is the shoe business to her, and is she capable of putting her all into it? She loves Roman, but is she willing to give him her all, as well as demand from him what she needs? Can she get the support she needs from her family to finally break out of her role as "the funny one" and be considered a serious business woman? What about the health of her parents and grandmother - will she be capable of stepping into their shoes?
Although an enjoyable story with a lot of fun and funny sequences, I just found Valentine too immature for my tastes. She seemed to fly and back and forth between her concerns about developing as an artist and business woman and her sensitivity about being taken seriously. She continues to rely on her Gram while wanting to be independent. She wants to be special to Roman without having to allow him to be special to her. This story may appeal more to women in a similar age group to Valentine. For me, it was a case of it having just been too many years since I have needed to focus on these issues.
The story was fairly predictable as well. We could pretty much see each situation coming. But, the family was enjoyable, although somewhat stereotypical. All in all, not a bad read, but not one I would go out of my way to recommend. I personally found it boring.
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