This is a romance story, set in both London and Venice. I LOVE love love Venice, Italy which is why i picked it up. But then I discovered that the MC Penny is also a trained Art Historian - and I was hooked. I adore art history!!! I read this in maybe 3 hours.

Penny lives in London and is currently working as a waitress in a cafe because she is a struggling artist. (NOT an actress, but an artist) She loves painting and she desperately wants to be able to put on her own solo exhibition in a gallery.

In chapter 1, Penny rescues a baby from the rail tracks in a tube station, just as a train came thundering into the station. For that heroic act, her face was plastered all over the media.

The next day a woman comes to see her and offers her a mysterious but well paid job but wont give any details.

Since Penny is struggling and the bills are now overdue, she decides to take the offer and see what happens.

It turns out that since her face was plastered all over the media, she is a doppleganger of a rich young lady who is currently in a deep depression (After the death of her father) and is not doing her job of running the family foundation. Instead the girls mother is doing the hob nobbing, but she hates it so she is becoming more upset and angry. And the clients are starting to make noises.

So Penny is plucked out of the crowd to become an actress and pretend to be the young daughter recovering from her depression. After getting a complete makeover, hairstyle, wardrobe and a fat envelope full of cash, Penny gets to become Olivia for a few hours a day, several times a month. This is not a permanent job. Only until Olivia recovers. And Penny is very well paid for doing this too.

A couple of months later, Penny, Olivia and Olivias P.A., who started the whole idea in the first place, all end up in Venice and amazingly enough, they all find their romantic partners there as well. Olivia has slowly being coming out of her shell and is now ready to take over again, and Penny finds the best new job ever. Working for a world famous art historian at a new gallery in her favourite city - Venice!!

The ending was a little abrupt - which is why this is only 4 stars, and not 5 - but otherwise I really enjoyed this very much. It's a light romance, partially set in Venice, one of the most romantic cities on this planet!!! Tons of description of Venice culture and locations. ( )

I would like to thank NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC of "Dreaming of Venice" by T.A. Williams for my honest review.
The genres of this story are Women's Fiction and Romance.
This is such a good feel book, and I find the author's descriptions of Venice are enticing and amazing. I can picture the canals, the hotels, the Renaissance feel of the architecture. I also have images of Gondola Rides and Canal tours. I wish I could purchase a ticket and travel to Venice right now!
I like the way that the author describes his characters, as down to earth people with flaws and imperfections.
Our heroine Penny is an aspiring artist, working as a waitress to make ends meet. She rescues a baby in a carriage that is headed to fall in front of a train. Penny has terrible luck in her love life, but has a positive attitude.
Penny is offered a strange opportunity to make some money. Part of this job is to travel to Venice on business. One of Penny's biggest dreams is to go to Venice. Will Penny find happiness and love? Is Venice the city where dreams come true?
This was an enjoyable and enchanting read, and I would recommend it highly. ( )