When wedding planner Toni Goschl arrives on the sun-drenched Tuscan island of Elba, she can’t wait to finally meet her online friend Gabri in person.
There’s only one small problem… instead of the female florist she’d been expecting, waiting for her is heartbreakingly handsome, jaw-droppingly gorgeous, Gabriele Orzati. With only a week to go until the beach-front wedding Toni and Gabri are working on, they decide to make the best of an awkward situation and spend the time together as planned.
For seven unforgettable days, as Toni gets to know the breathtaking island – and the open-hearted man who calls Elba home – she finds it increasingly difficult, in the close quarters of Gabri’s clifftop villa, to resist turning their friendship into something more.
But Toni and Gabri both have heartache in their pasts, complex lives and commitments and as the week of the wedding gathers pace, real life swims back into focus. When the time comes for Toni to head home, there’s only one question she will have to answer – can a romance begun under the dreamy Italian sun ever become a happily-ever-after?
About The Author
My Review
This book is about a carefully structured woman whose tidy life begins to unravel the moment she arrives on Elba expecting to meet an online friend and instead finds Gabriele, a surprise that sparks instant tension, curiosity, and a slow-burning romance. In this story, sunshine and sea breezes frame a story that balances dreamy escapism with grounded emotional stakes.
Toni is wonderfully relatable: organized, capable, and quietly carrying emotional baggage. Gabriele complements her beautifully—warm, steady, and layered in a way that keeps their connection feeling natural rather than rushed. Their relationship grows through small, intimate moments and meaningful conversations, creating a believable friends-to-lovers journey filled with tension and tenderness.
The island setting becomes a character in its own right, wrapping the romance in a golden, suspended-in-time atmosphere while wedding chaos hums in the background. Yet beneath the idyllic bubble lies the real question: can a holiday romance survive once real life returns?
Blending forced proximity, second chances, and gentle slow burn, this is a heartfelt, immersive escape.
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