A really lovely book filled with stunning scenes and all the cheesy, girly romance you could possibly want.

I liked this book, but I wanted to like it more than I did. I can't really explain why it didn't do it for me as it's the kind of setting I like and plot I often enjoy. I just wanted more from it then it offered. That said it did take me out of myself and it was a quick read that I wanted to return to and finish.

This is pure Girly fluff. Not for me on this occasion

I am always partial to a book that takes me to sunny climes and if food is involved then that's even better, the addition of an enticing cover meant that this book was starting to tick all the right boxes. Happily the story was equally entertaining and was a perfect holiday read. 

Margherita was a fun and likeable character, determined to make a fresh start when she discovered her husband was having an affair. Despite his quite literally wanting to have his cake and eat it, she rejects his various pleas to come home and moves back to the small Tuscan village she grew up in. With her passion for cooking she is persuaded by her old friend to make a living as a chef, this brings her into contact with the handsome but less than sympathetic character of Nicola Ravelli. Let's be honest, I think we all know in advance how the plot will run, it was a little formulaic, but that said, I didn't care - I loved it. 

The will they, won't they romance aspect, didn't just apply to Margherita and Nicola, but was a strand that applied to Margherita's gambling addicted father and his dance teacher, as well as Margherita's friend who had carried a torch for her since their school days. Add in the machinations of unrequited passion from a devious and jealous work colleague and there were plenty of sparks flying around to keep me reading. Those sparks got quite hot at times between Margherita and Nicola and they did not always restrict themselves to the kitchen so it did get a little hot and spicy!

I loved the depiction of  the countryside and village life, and meeting the other villagers, I could easily imagine myself there. As far as I'm aware Roccafitta is a fictional village, but it could stand in for any Tuscan village of choice if you want to imagine your favourite and be transported. The other great feature of the book has to be the food. The descriptions of the ingredients, the creative process and the final presentation meant you could almost taste the food. As one of the authors, Gabriella Giacometti is also an accomplished cook, she clearly had a hand in this aspect of the story, which will really appeal to foodies. Better still, the book comes with recipes to go and try yourself - though I'm not sure I'd be able to source all the ingredients easily.

So in short, a fun, light-hearted romantic read, with beautifully described locations and mouth-watering food. A perfect, escapist read that worked for me.

I received an ecopy via NetGalley for review purposes.

I enjoyed this book - a lighthearted romance. The descriptions of the food and recipes in the back of the book were great and made me feel very hungry! The Tuscan setting was beautifully described and made me want to holiday in Italy soon. I liked the character of the main character Margherita with her passion for cooking. I didn't really like the character of Nichola and the romance between him and Margherita. The surrounding characters in the book were interesting and well written.

Overall, an easy light romance read perfect for a beach holiday.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Another really good feel good book with wonderful descriptions

A really lovely book.
Yes it is cheesy and very obvious how it's going to end, but Margherita's story is not without it's issues.
I love Italy and it's amazing food so I particularly liked the recipes at the end of the book.
I would definitely recommend this book for a holiday read.
Thank you to Netgalley, Elisabetta Flumeri, Gabriella Giacometti and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

With her marriage over Margherita decides to cut her losses and leave Rome and return to her home village in the Tuscan hills. Not all is good there though - her father is gambling and a man called Nichola is buying up as much of the land and vineyards as he can

As she is the best chef around Nichola persuades her to cook for him for business dinners and although she really doesn't like him she agrees to do so because her dream is to reopen her mother's old restaurant. Is she going to just stick at the cooking though or is her dislike of Nichola going to turn into something else!

I enjoyed the descriptions of food - definitely not a book to read if you are hungry - and the Tuscan countryside, although I couldn't really take to Nichola - a nice easy read if you are looking for something light hearted

Feel good book. But just to much like the rest in this genre. Feel like when you read one at times you have read them all and this one fell into that category. Nice character and storyline, but it just lacked oomph

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the main character Margherita, she is full of life and has a passion for cooking. I loved all of the descriptions of the food that Margherita made, it all sounded wonderful. The author really took the time to describe the creative process of cooking. I also loved the setting, Roccafitta sounded like a wonderful place to visit.

What I didn't like about the book was the romance between Margherita and Nicola, I thought it was boring. I didn't like Nicola at all and by the end I didn't care if they ended up together or not. I found Margherita's fathers romance more interesting than hers. I also didn't like the ending, it felt very rushed and I found it rather unbelievable.

I probably wouldn't recommend it, there are much better romance books than this one.

Sorry, did not like this book and could not get into it.

This story will give you delicious food and sensous, hot Italian men infused dreams. It's a foodies treat with the right balance of romantic attraction mixed in. Definitely yummy.