The Villa - Hardcover

Roberts, Nora

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0399147128 ISBN 13: 9780399147128

Publisher: Putnam Pub Group, 2001

Synopsis

The top PR executive for the family winery, Sophia Giambelli finds her life turned upside down by the merger with the MacMillan family's winery, her powerful attraction to professional rival Tyler MacMillan, and acts of sabotage that threaten the family business and members of the family itself. 750,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

Set in beautiful Napa Valley, California, Nora Roberts's novel The Villa portrays a rich world of family-owned wineries, complete with enough romance, sophisticated business intrigue, betrayal, and murder to cow the Medicis of Florence. The Villa focuses on the merger of two prominent winemaking families, the Giambellis and MacMillans, and the incendiary combination of the two upcoming leaders of those dynasties, Sophia Giambelli and Tyler MacMillan. Tyler is the manager of the MacMillan vines and the distilling process, a job that suits his frank and no-frills personality. Creative and flashy, Sophia is head of Giambelli's public relations, and her job has been to put the best spin on whatever her family business produces--hard to do when the merger requires that she and Tyler switch jobs, and particularly hard to do when her own heart seems to spin out of control whenever they're together.

Soon after the merger goes through, Tony Avano, a Giambelli executive and Sophia's father, is murdered, and threats surface against the Giambelli women. As a quiet woman, Sophia's mother, Pilar, has made few enemies, except for Tony's new wife, Rene. The matriarch of the family--known simply as La Signora--may have knocked some rivals aside as she clawed her way to the top, but few would have reason to threaten her now. When poison is discovered in Giambelli wine, Sophia and Tyler learn the killer is much closer than they thought.

In description, dialogue, and plot, Roberts's talent and control are as fine as ever. But while the relationship between Pilar and David, the new COO, feels complex and mature, Sophia and Tyler's romance can at times feel slightly forced. As Roberts explains repeatedly, Sophia approaches sex "as a man does," which apparently means with no strings attached. And while that does tend to take the "romance" out of the romance to some extent, the positive aspects to be found in The Villa outweigh this flaw, ensuring another hit for the talented and prolific Roberts. --Nancy RE O'Brien, Amazon.com

Review

"A page-turner...intoxicating."--"The Fort Worth Star-Telegram"
"Juicy...smoothly written."--"The New York Times"
"Vintage Roberts."--"People"
"[Roberts]...renders the Napa Valley so clearly, with so much affection, that at times you'd swear "The Villa" is illustrated...an intelligent, fast-paced story."--"The Minneapolis Star Tribune"
"Rich in emotion and rife with conflict...this sweeping saga of Northern California wine-making steeps the reader in a heady mix of sex, scandal and the excesses of the supremely wealthy."--"Publishers Weekly"

"A page-turner...intoxicating."--The Fort Worth Star-Telegram"Juicy...smoothly written."--The New York Times"Vintage Roberts."--People"[Roberts]...renders the Napa Valley so clearly, with so much affection, that at times you'd swear The Villa is illustrated...an intelligent, fast-paced story."--The Minneapolis Star Tribune"Rich in emotion and rife with conflict...this sweeping saga of Northern California wine-making steeps the reader in a heady mix of sex, scandal and the excesses of the supremely wealthy."--Publishers Weekly

A page-turner intoxicating. "The Fort Worth Star-Telegram"
Juicy smoothly written. "The New York Times"
Vintage Roberts. "People"
[Roberts] renders the Napa Valley so clearly, with so much affection, that at times you d swear "The Villa" is illustrated an intelligent, fast-paced story. "The Minneapolis Star Tribune"
Rich in emotion and rife with conflict this sweeping saga of Northern California wine-making steeps the reader in a heady mix of sex, scandal and the excesses of the supremely wealthy. "Publishers Weekly"

A page-turner intoxicating. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Juicy smoothly written. The New York Times Vintage Roberts. People [Roberts] renders the Napa Valley so clearly, with so much affection, that at times you d swearThe Villais illustrated an intelligent, fast-paced story. The Minneapolis Star Tribune Rich in emotion and rife with conflict this sweeping saga of Northern California wine-making steeps the reader in a heady mix of sex, scandal and the excesses of the supremely wealthy. Publishers Weekly"

Juicy...smoothly written. The New York Times
A page-turner...intoxicating. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Vintage Roberts. People
[Roberts]...renders the Napa Valley so clearly, with so much affection, that at times you d swear The Villa is illustrated an intelligent, fast-paced story. The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Rich in emotion and rife with conflict...this sweeping saga of Northern California wine-making steeps the reader in a heady mix of sex, scandal and the excesses of the supremely wealthy. Publishers Weekly
Take a mesmerizing trip through the vineyards of Napa and Italy as the amazing Nora Roberts delivers yet another exciting, sensuous and fantastic tale of love, murder, revenge and family. RT Book Reviews"

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Pub Group
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0399147128
• ISBN 13: 9780399147128
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 421