Italian royalty was abolished long ago, and yet there were still some families who believed their royal lineage could never truly be gone. So, instead those families kept their traditions alive, within their social circles, they still considered themselves Dukes, Lords, princes, princesses, and Duchessa’s such as, Caresa. Caresa De Parma had always known from a young age, that one day she would marry a prince, she’d imagined her wedding dress, and the man of her dreams waiting at the altar for her. Cut to the present, at twenty-three years old, Caresa was finally set to marry Prince Zeno Savona, and move to Italy. One would imagine this was the start of a beautiful fairytale come to life, but through an unexpected meeting, Caresa would then go on to meet a man by the name of Achille, who would change her life forever.

Right away, when I read the synopsis for this book, I was immediately intrigued with the royalty aspect of the storyline. Despite not officially being Royals due to the abolition of the royal line being shut down years ago, Caresa was still considered a Duchessa due to her family and people within their social circle. Had the practices and traditions in Italy not been taken away, Caresa would have been recognized as a true royal in the eyes of the government in Italy. In a way, it felt like I got to experience the life of being a Duchessa through Caresa’s perspective, and live vicariously through her.

The idea of Caresa being engaged to Prince Zeno, I would think would have been exciting, but just through their initial meeting, it was clear that there was no sense of romance going on. Both Zeno and Caresa were perfectly aware their marriage together was essentially a business deal, one that would help the investors and people in the company Zeno and Caresa’s father own to assure their fears that Zeno was capable of maintaining their wine empire. While Caresa had dreamt of one day getting married to her own prince, she wasn’t naive, and realized right away there wasn’t chemistry between her and Zeno. On the other hand, when Caresa stumbled upon a ruggedly, handsome man working in a vineyard, she was taken back by his beauty, and of course his name was, Achille.

When Achille was first introduced in the story, he kind of gave me Archer Hale (“Archer’s Voice” By: Mia Sheridan) vibes due to him being shy, introverted, and quiet. Something about the initial meeting between Caresa and Achille was sweet to watch unfold. Caresa couldn’t help but be mesmerized by Achille, and with her descriptions his blue eyes, tan skin, dark hair, and lean yet toned muscles, I was like, “HELLO GORGEOUS!” He sounded so dreamy to me, and that was just with me reading about his first encounter with Caresa. Through Achille’s chapters, I loved reading his perspective on what he thought about Caresa, see just how much she had a strong effect on him. Achille was an absolute sweetheart, and whenever he was around Caresa seeing him relax and find that sense of peace with her was heartwarming. Also, Achille was the perfect mixture of romantic, strong, vulnerable, endearing, wholesome, and thoughtful. I couldn’t get enough of Achille and learning about his struggles truly opened up more about him. Achille was a multilayered character that just kept delivering more insightful details. I liked seeing Achille feel comfortable enough to share his fears and insecurities with Caresa, especially not having a support system after being along for such a long time. In essence, I fell madly in love with Achille and his ever sweet, loving romantic self. 

Caresa was equally sweet as well. Despite being named Duchessa Di Parma, Caresa wasn’t stuck up like some people would imagine some royals are. Caresa was refined, educated, and still found herself to be casual. When Caresa started to spend more time with Achille, it was equal parts endearing and wholesome. I thought it was so cute how Caresa would get lost in a trance when she looked at Achille, and him with her as well. Both, Caresa and Achille couldn’t help the growing chemistry between them. Even from their first meeting, it seemed like their feelings for one another kept climbing and climbing until suddenly it snapped, and they truly went all in with the passion that had been building over their time together. 

I feel like one of the words I would use to describe this book would be romantic. The romance in this book was my favorite and I cannot get over how obsessed I became with Caresa and Achille. The passion that emanated between Caresa and Achille was so strong that even while reading their scenes, I felt myself losing my breath over it. The passion that steeped through their spoken words, whispers of love, and touches of affection made me swoon and it was everything my hopeless romantic self loved! Both Caresa, and Achille cherished each other, and even when they desperately wanted to hold each other and give in to one another again and again, there was that line that kept them separated, kept them from truly being together which was the sad part in their story. The attention to detail in describing Caresa and Achille’s relationship was beautiful, and once you read this book, I feel like you’ll understand what I mean. 

There were many instances while reading that I felt that magic spark hit me, that I knew I was in love with the characters and book, but also the writing style that spoke to me. The book was phenomenally beautiful and had me captivated from beginning to end. I fell in love with Caresa and Achille. There was such beauty to the romance, and vulnerable in both Caresa and Achille. I can’t get over how much I love this story! The revelation was something i wasn’t expecting, but some parts I was correct about. The ending was beautiful, heartfelt, and yet again romantic. By the end, I was feeling emotional because I was so happy to see that Caresa and Achille got the happy ending they deserved, especially with the epilogue, it was absolutely perfect, and cemented the love that Caresa and Achille had for each other. Highly recommend this book, you’ll love it!