Fantastic read! Carla, the main character, is a simple Italian girl, who believes that her life is, as she wants it; boy, job, and food. She is easy to read about, you hate and love her simultaneously, but through all of her struggles, with the mysterious Lucilla, and their "jobs" together, you want the world to realign for Clara, in the way that even she herself, might not realize. Very good. ( )

This was a bit different. Though I like the way that she ends up saving the one she loves in the end. Though she does not know that it her guardian angel that is trying to help her. This stranger help her in the long run. She makes a deal with her. That deal is something that she agrees too.

Clare finds her true love though out the book. Though I like I said it a good book. Though I will let you decide for yourself. ( )

A delightful contemporary romance by a talented new author. I discovered this book as a quarter finalist excerpt in this year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest and knew I wanted to read the whole thing. The plot is original and pleasantly unpredictable, yet light enough to make wonderful beach reading. Clara is a highly likeable protagonist but I especially adored the cast of secondary characters. These included the brilliantly named Miss Shake-Your-Bum and Clara's lively family, who at times seemed in danger of stealing the show. Strongly recommended for your summer holiday. ( )

I received “Deal with a Stranger” by Martina Munzittu through a LibraryThing giveaway. I started, then stopped, and then started again. For me, the book seemed like it would be a sappy romance novel (no offense to romance readers, but I’m not a romance lit reader) with the characters Clara and Paolo. It turned out to something a bit more interesting (at least in my view). I won’t go into detail into about what the main character chose; although you probably already can guess what the main character, Clara , decided.

The unique thing is that the book doesn’t go the way you expect it. Just when you expect this book to follow along a typical path, Munzittu drops another wrench in the path that keeps you reading. I found myself getting stumped and intrigued at the same time, which is something I relish in books.

The book also has an exotic allure to it as well. It is set in Italy, but not in an abstract kind of way. The author knows Italy and Italian culture very well (from what I can tell) and uses that knowledge to expertly put in the right words, the right foods, as well as use of Italian words to give it an exotic, but highly authentic style.This is also supported by the author’s conversational tone that really gets into the character’s head. As a result, you get to read about all of the insecurities, triumphs, and struggles of the main character as she sees it. My favorite part of this was Clara’s description and impersonation of “Miss-Shake-Your-Bum”. (I’m not saying that because I’m male…Wait, yes I am…)

The book was overall great, but I did have a problem understanding some of the logic behind the smaller parts of the story. The book’s premise is a great one, but there is a great leap of faith. When Clara first encounters the situation known as the “deal”, I felt that she accepted this strange event rather too quickly. This moves the story along, but it also threw me for a loop. If someone popped up in the middle of my home, I would be a little more terrified and less accepting than Clara was. There were other little small instances that required a leap of faith, but the content was good enough for the leap.

Still, this was a great story with interesting characters, and plot twists and a touch of Italian culture and mystery to match!

A gentle story with no big surprises but told in such a way that the story telling carries you along. Lovely descriptions of Italy that made me want to visit to enjoy the scenery. However, story wise it was a bit strange the way in which Clara didn't ask any serious questions of where her new friend came from, or lived, but apart from that I enjoyed the journey. 3.5/5 ( )