The Second Date-4 Stars

Love Italian-American Style

Mary Lyndon Simonsen

Create Space, 2009, 170 Pages

ISBN No. 978-1442157217

Sonia Armundsen seems to have everything going for her except for a real love life.  Sonia is just turning thirty, is employed by a successful publishing house and has published several books of her own.  Sonia’s father is Norwegian, her mother is Italian, and Sonia has inherited good traits from both sides of the family.  Most people think of Sonia as a beautiful person, not only in looks but also in temperament and personality.  She has the ability to get along with even the most difficult people.  Then why does she make a career out of going on blind dates? She allows herself to be set up for a blind date, goes once, and never accepts a second date.

Loretta is a co-worker as well as a friend.  She shares everything with Sonia and cannot understand why Sonia can’t settle down and find the love of her life.

Sonia is afraid of many things.  The few men she has become involved with work in high-risk occupations.  She has broken off these relationships based on the man’s occupation.  In order to understand what Sonia is seeking in life you must understand her background.  The author reveals the love story of Sonia’s parents and her grandparents.

This is a lovely book that spans several decades and gives the reader a very vivid idea of what it is like to grow up in an Italian-American family.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid