Ari Reviews: Kiss Carlo by Adriana Trigiani

I am a big fan of Adriana Trigiani’s books. When I came across this book at the library I had to read it this one to add to my list of books to read by her. The book is set in late 1940’s South Philadelphia after World War II. The main character Nicky Castone is a cab driver who works for Uncle Dom’s cab company called the The Palazzini Cab Company &Western Union Telegraph Office. However, a decade feud split his Uncle Dom and Dom’s brother Mike that made a rift between the families and the business. Nicky is a young man at 30 who is seeking more in life than being a cab driver for Car #4 for his Uncle’s business and being engaged to a longtime fiancée Peachy DePino a bookkeeper. When a telegram comes from Italy that changes Nicky’s life things begin to change for him from seeking the theater life for a local Shakespeare company to pretending to be an important ambassador from Italy. The story line was very good and kept me hooked. I could not put this book down because I wanted to see how Nicky’s life will turn out at the end of the story when he starts to take risks and seek what he wants out of life compared to the one he thought he had figured out. I loved how also Trigiani used themes of Shakespeare’s works in the novel that was brought out in all the characters from unmasked identities to true love reigns. The story had a great theme of love, family, secrets, and finding your place and dreams which I loved about the book in finishing reading it. If you are big fan of Adriana Trigiani’s books, fiction lover, or looking for a great page turner, I highly recommend this book.