Bella Fortuna

Chiofalo’s debut tells the story of Valentina DeLuca, a young woman in Queens who is set to marry her childhood crush, Michael Carello. She and her mother run a faux-couture bridal shop in Astoria, but while Valentina’s life is all wedding gowns and lacy veils, she has yet to walk down the aisle. With her dream wedding in Venice just a few months away, her fiancé suddenly breaks off the engagement. Devastated, Valentina resolves to go to Venice on her own and see the city of her dreams. There she meets Stefano, a handsome tour guide with whom she has a whirlwind romance, and whose affections force Valentina to reconsider all she knows of love, forgiveness, and family. Chiofalo, a first-generation Italian-American whose parents emigrated from Sicily in the 1960s, brings the Italian immigrant community and neighborhoods richly to life. However, her Venetian romance is contrived—full of gondola rides, linen pants, and cold Prosecco—and supporting characters are thin. While the tale is charming, it has little substance to distinguish it from similar stories. (Sept.)