Five Days in Venice by Fiona Collins

Five Days in Venice by Fiona Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I recently returned from an incredible trip to Italy and immediately started adding more Italy set books to my reading list because apparently I was not ready to leave. Five Days in Venice by Fiona Collins completely transported me back.

This romance unfolds over the course of twenty years and follows Olivia and Leo, two aspiring writers from the UK who meet at the very beginning of their careers. We watch them grow into the authors they were always meant to become while their lives continue to intertwine through friendships, missed opportunities, timing issues, and years of unresolved feelings.

And yes, this includes one of my favorite tropes, second chance romance.

Their relationship is layered, messy, emotional, and full of the classic “will they ever get this right?” energy. The story moves between the present day literary event in Venice and memories from previous trips to Italy, showing how their friendship ebbs and flows over the years.

I do want to mention that this is written by a UK author and uses quite a bit of British slang. I found myself looking up phrases a few times, but honestly it felt refreshing after reading so many similar sounding contemporary romances by US authors.

If you enjoy:
• Second chance romance
• Friends to lovers vibes
• Slow burn tension
• Literary characters
• Nonlinear timelines
• Travel romance
• Italy settings
• Emotional relationship drama
• Minimal spice romance

Then this is absolutely worth adding to your list. Thoughtful, romantic, and perfect for readers who love character driven stories with years of history between the main characters.

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