This city she loves is a reflection of the life she’s made with Alberto. He’s everywhere, he’s part of the fabric of Venice – the gardens where they’ve taken the children, the schools they’ve been parents at, the markets where they do business, the cafés where they eat and the churches where they pray.’

The Venice Hotel follows four vastly different women: the matriarch and Venice Hotel owner, Loretta, who runs the hotel and cookery school her way. Visitors are desperate to eat the food that she cooks as she has become a social media sensation, but she remains deeply rooted in her traditional life. Sophie, the Australian food writer finds herself doing more than writing about the hotel’s sensational food and becomes an integral part of Loretta’s family. Gayle, an American tourist has been desperate to try Loretta’s food, together with her overbearing husband, who would do anything for her, but has deeply rooted traditional ideation which is currently leading to a division in their family. And lastly, Elena, who is married to a handsome doctor, although not everything is as perfect as it looks.

These four women come together under the roof of the Venice Hotel. While the novel is set against the beautiful backdrop of the city, it also explores the current environmental crisis the locals are facing and how the tourists and cruise ship visitors potentially threaten their community.

The lives of these four women and their personal stories intertwine with one another, which leads to unlikely friendships and loyalties towards one another. Woods addresses society issues with such grace and integrity that you’ll become the women’s biggest supporters.

The Venice Hotel is such a satisfying and entertaining read that it led me to want to book a visit to the hotel immediately.

Reviewed by Claire Stanley

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tess once had a simple life until her compulsion to write made-up stories complicated everything. She’s now an award winning and best selling author of contemporary fiction. Her novels have been published across North America and sold into Europe for translation. Her fourth novel, The Venice Hotel, is due for release with Penguin Random House this coming September.

Tess also works as a physiotherapist in private practice and she shares a clinic and a home on the stunning Western Australian coast with her lovely and long-suffering husband. She’s a mother of two brilliant grown-up children and one grumpy grown-up cat. She’s obsessed with her Little Red Street Library and her veggie patch, she hoovers desserts with complete disregard for all health advice, she’s forever dreaming about moving to Italy, and she’s the first to deep dive any celebrity scandal. Her favourite thing to do is to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea, ignore the book, forget the tea and doom scroll social media instead.

Visit Tess Woods’ website