Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Return to the Jersey Shore with a new romance by Summertime Punchline author Betty Corrello in which a young woman recently diagnosed with lupus attempts a no-strings fling with a former television star.Â
Nadia Fabiola wants to lose herself in Evergreen—the Jersey Shore town where she grew up vacationing with her family—and never look back at her glamorous, gainfully employed former self. After a shocking lupus diagnosis turned her life upside down, she’s desperate for a sense of control over her body, her life, and her mental health. Nadia plans on keeping her life small and boring, while continuing to ignore her sister’s relentless questioning.
Nadia’s sister isn’t the only person worried about her. When her rheumatologist not-so-subtly sets her up with his infamous former-actor cousin, Marco Antoniou, Nadia is skeptical. But Marco is gorgeous—despite carrying his own baggage from a very public burnout. After a messy (but fun) first date, they decide that a May-long fling could be just what the doctor ordered: no commitment, no strings, just one month of escape.
Their undeniable chemistry starts to feel a lot like something more and while Marco pulls Nadia deeper into his life, she is dead set on keeping her diagnosis from him. But there are only so many days in May, and only so much pretending she can do. As the stress of their whirlwind romance takes its toll on Nadia’s health, she’s forced to decide if a chance at love is worth the risk of trusting someone new.
Travel from the Jersey Shore to Rome and back in this delightfully funny, beautifully honest exploration of love, intimacy, and vulnerability while living with a chronic illness.
32 Days in May by Betty Corrello is fast-paced with several layers. The meaning and message of the 32 days in May are heartwarming and filled with love, and their true significance is only revealed to us in the end.
Nadia and Marco are the two primary leads. They agree to date for 32 days but don’t realize how entwined their lives would become. Nor how dependent they would be on each other or how they would feel not just friendship but genuine love for one another. It is a book with many stories, but Nadia’s story surpasses them all since she was recently diagnosed with Lupus, which has upended her entire life—an autoimmune disease that affects every stage of her life and also her body and every organ in it. I could feel her pain and how tired she was through the author’s words and having worked with someone who lived through it.
Marco’s life is filled with secrets, and he and Nadia hit it off from their first meeting. She has her own secrets but wants to live each moment without thinking about her illness. They are opposites in many ways but balance each other. He brings more joy to her life as her fake boyfriend than anyone has before. I loved the moments they shared—from the Jersey shore to Manhattan and Rome—vivid descriptions and scenes were described that painted pictures in my mind.
The story flows daily and sometimes moves ahead, then back again. The prologue segued us nicely into the story. The ending was a surprise and more romantic than I expected.
32 Days in May was often an emotional read with lows and highs that drew me in from the first page to the last.
Betty Corrello is a writer, comedian, and proud Philadelphian. Her first novel was Summertime Punchline. Despite her hardened exterior, she is biologically 95% marshmallow. Her greatest passion is writing stories where opposites attract, but love is chosen. When she’s not writing, she can be found fretting about niche historical events most have forgotten––or petting her very tiny dog.
