Review: The female lead grows and changes in this richly imagined series, not one-dimensional!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 29, 2014
In this richly imagined series, set in the recent past, Mina Calvi, an Italian-born woman, an immigrant to The United States, has to deal with some overwhelming events.  Her self-deprecating humor and her friends, loyal to the occasionally clueless young woman, help her survive.The author has made Mina a refreshingly realistic young woman.  Not a silly, kick-ass, one-dimensional character favored by so many publishers these days, Mina is a young woman who has yet to find her place in life.  She is moderately educated, foreign to many American ways, gullible, and has a wonderful sense of the ridiculous.Mina's humor is real plus to this traditionally written, third-person narrated, clean (cozy) murder-mystery series.  Her unpredictable reactions bring a spontaneity to the story, keeping us guessing about what will happen next, and what Mina will do or say next.I have read, and enjoyed, all three books in The Mina's Adventures Series.Italian Summer - Book ThreeThe author quickly brings the reader up to speed with the events of the previous books in the series, so I would advise readers to read the books in sequence, to avoid spoilers.Two years after then end of the previous book, Mina returns to her native Italy for a summer vacation.  Not having been there, in the Veneto region, since she was sixteen, Mina must rediscover many facets of Italy's culture all over again, or for the first time, as an adult.After her many adventures in the first two books in the series, Mina's naturally boisterous character has been subdued.  She is shyer, more reserved than before, and something of a loner.  Her few loyal friends in The States are often on her mind, her anchor to the tenuous life she has built for herself in America.Mina is also painfully, dangerously insecure now.  Her insecurity and inexperience with men gave me my biggest upset while reading Italian Summer.  Her credulity and her un-safe sex habits had me cringing.Small town life in northern Italy is not a good fit for Mina, a young woman who is by now more American than Italian.  She goes about casually dressed, talking to strangers, accepting dates with near strangers, and not understanding even the basics like how to do her shopping.The author gives Mina a mother-figure in Italian Summer, who is a lovely addition to the story, and who gives Mina a chance to learn a bit more about her own past.The story is wrapped up at the end, and Mina returns to California.  The next adventure for Mina Calvi is in the works, and the author hopes to have it published before the end of 2014.See my full illustrated review at Italophile Book Reviews.