Title: Everything That Was by E. Graziani

Pages: 323

Genres: Women’s Fiction, Romance

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press (Feb. 8th, 2021)

Summary: What would you do for a secret love?

Despite not speaking for nearly twenty years, Massimo Damiani, a ‘rags-to-riches’ oil executive, summons Sofie to his hospice bedside in picturesque Tuscany—his last wish?…to reconcile their stormy history and set long-buried secrets to rest.

Sofia Romano, a powerful Wall Street banker in Manhattan’s financial district, reeling with heartache in her rocky marriage, ignores her husband’s protests, and flies to Italy to comfort the dying man from her past.

With old promises tugging at her heart and the memory of a tempestuous love that grew and crumbled time and again, will Sofia ever come to terms with the flaws in her marriage and gain the strength to rebuild it?

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*I received a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. A huge thank you to the author and Writerly Yours!*

Everything That Was is such a beautiful story of love, heartbreak, regrets, and hope. Going into this book I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I appreciate that the synopsis doesn’t give too much of this story away. Because of that, I also didn’t know how much this story would break me (in the best possible way, of course). This book left me feeling all the emotions and I may or may not have cried several times while reading this one.

Alternating between the past and the present, the main character, Sofia, reflects on her first love with Massimo and how it has intertwined with her current life and shaped her into the woman she is today. When Sofia and Massimo first meet they are both very young and their relationship is definitely a case of insta-love. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, that is not my favorite trope. However, the author writes their relationship in such away that it does not feel unrealistic. When you’re a teenager, sometimes you do fall hard and fast in love.

As the characters grow, it is clear their passion and love for each other is more than just infatuation and is truly the real deal. Their constant wrong place/wrong time romance left me heartbroken for them and yet, always hoping they could make it work, as well.

The main focus of this story is definitely Sofia and Massimo’s romance. That being said, the setting was so beautiful. Reading about the descriptions of Tuscany left me longing to travel more than I have in quite a while. E. Graziani has such a way with words and when she described those lush descriptions, I truly felt like I was there.

Overall, this book was beautiful, heartbreaking, and yet, also satisfying. I would definitely recommend this book to those who love a good love story. Be warned, however, this one is a tearjerker!