Lovely story about Erica and the people around her. What I liked was that this was a book about a relationship after having children and all the dynamics of having a step family. Erica even has a step mother too. So I loved all the family dynamics (and dramas!)

Loved that it talked of Nutella and some lovely sweet treats. Also, set in a gorgeous location. So this book has all the feels for a rom-Com.

Many thanks for letting me review this book on NetGalley for an honest review.

This book was fun. I didn't read the first book in this series but I feel like the author introduced the characters and backstory well so it didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. This book was fun and messy and overall very entertaining. I loved all of the descriptions of Tuscany and the olive groves. One thing I wish was health with better was the topic of ericas body image. It bugged me so much how negative everything was surrounding HER body. Since it was a prevalent topic in this book I wish it was dealt with in a better way where erica came to love her body or become more confident. As a whole, this book was enjoyable and a very quick read.

My Big Fat Italian Break-up
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 7/21/22
Author: Nancy Barone
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Pages: 320
Goodreads Rating: 3.92

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing a digital advanced readers copy of the book for me to read for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: After a failed marriage, Erica Cantelli has finally made it to Italy with her two children- and, amazingly, their delicious school principal Julian Foxham. The plan was for him to run the farm and for her to run her the country B&B, A Taste of Tuscany. Two years in, however, her business is failing miserably, while Julian's career as a novelist is soaring. As is he, jetting off with his younger- and gorgeous- publicist. When she discovers that a rival B&B is scheming to run her into the ground, Erica, a former hotel manager and butt-kicker extraordinaire who has been a ‘dormant’ housewife until now, finally unleashes all her cut-throat instincts to fight back and protect her family’s livelihood.

My Thoughts: This was a follow up book and I did struggle a little bit, even though the author did make an attempt to provide some backstory from the first book in this series. As a person who has always struggled with their weight and body image, and while appreciating our MC is a plus size heroine, I just felt the topic could have been more positively attacked rather than negative. Tuscan was described beautifully and I felt like I was part of it. The characters could of used a little more embellishment since this is a book in a series and not all readers would have read the prior books. While this was a good book, it could have been better with what I mentioned before. I would try other books by this author.

A fun read about a beautiful B & B in Tuscany, Italy. The innkeeper is following her dream and is concerned about bookings being down. Her fiance is pressuring her to secure a wedding date.
Enjoy this lovely beach read!

This book was ok. I hadn’t read the previous. Really I wanted Erica to own her body shape and be a goddess living her best life in Tuscany with her husband to be. I was upset by the language surrounding her body type by her mother. The Tuscan surroundings were described beautifully and we could be there in an olive grove. It was all a bit silly.
This arc was provided in exchange for and honest review for netgalley.

Erica, owner of an Italian B&B in Tuscany is an extremely busy woman. She has to cope with business and,

natural disasters, a larger-than-life family, and plan a wedding!!!

A whirlwind of a story that will have you laughing and crying. with her. as she tries to muddle through.


A funny and uplifting story. I enjoyed it so much.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Head of Zeus and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Fun, cute, quick, clever read.

Perfect fresh start love story! I love second act romances

Erica Cantelli has found her Mr. Right. Hasn't she...?

After a long overdue divorce, Erica has finally made it to Italy with her two children and, amazingly, her now dreamy fiancé Julian Foxham.

The plan was to start fresh and for Erica to run a country B&B, but two years in and her business is failing miserably, while Julian's career as a novelist is soaring and taking him all over the world with his gorgeous agent.

Despite having set a wedding date, with every day that goes by, their dreams are heading in opposite directions. And when her sexy Italian chef Alberto offers her a shoulder to cry on – as the saying goes, When in Rome...

Now Erica needs to decide what she wants her future to look like. Will their wedding cake hold together or are she and Julian skating on thin icing?

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book to read and review. Unfortunately, I did not know it is the second book in a series. Since I did not read the first one, I cannot accurately and fairly review this one. Thank you.

This is a follow-up book to “The Husband Diet,” which I have not read. I felt that while the author did make the effort to provide some background from the first book, I was missing a lot of context that would have enhanced my appreciation of this latest offering. In that regard, this isn’t a strong stand-alone book.

The protagonist, Erica, has moved to Tuscany with her fiancé, Julian Foxham and her two children from her previous marriage to pursue her dream of the good life. The fly in the ointment is her overwhelming insecurity and lack of self-worth that seems rooted in her dislike of her overweight body. Despite the ongoing reassurances of Julian’s love and desire to be with her, Erica seems determined to fulfill her worst nightmares through self-sabotage. Amidst all this angst, there are a multitude of challenges – a toxic relationship with her stepmother; rival B&B owners determined to undermine her success; a natural phenomenon that shuts down her business; and Julian’s success as an author and his subsequent travel schedule.

I had several issues with this book. First and foremost is that I didn’t like the main characters. Erica’s lamenting about her weight and her insecurities throughout the book became tiresome. Her inability to set boundaries with her stepmother contributed to her martyrdom and the hurried resolution of this life-long, difficult relationship was unrealistic. Paul, Erica’s BFF, is the ubiquitous gay male that has become an all-to-common literary device to provide humor and style to a storyline. One aspect from the first book that I didn’t understand: Julian has legally adopted Erica’s two children, yet they moved as a family to a foreign country without the benefit of formalizing their own relationship. When he and Erica have a significant rift, he leaves abruptly without saying goodbye to the children…hardly a role model for parenthood.

I expected a humorous, breezy story based on the title and instead found a soap-opera level of drama. The premise and pace of the writing did keep me engaged and I did enjoy the description of the Italian countryside, but the overall experience was disappointing.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Erica lives in Tuscany with her partner and children; she runs a b&b and is chasing a dream. With the business struggling, her partner away being a successful writer and after an abusive first marriage, will Erica overcome her struggles with trust and self worth to see what she really has?

Initially, this book is too stilted to enjoy - the author clearly peppers through information from book 1 (which I haven't read!) But it's not some naturally and makes the initial read quite stilted.

This is a shame as, once you get past this, the story becomes more gripping to follow. The characters are fairly believable and the setting often idyllic. It's an easy read, if very American in parts! Some of the description is fantastic - particularly of the food and setting.

Thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

Starting Afresh..
Starting afresh in Italy is a dream for Erica. Divorced and with new fiancé and her children in hand, plans are afoot and a wedding date is fixed. This time, Erica thinks, she has finally found Mr Right. Surely this will pan out as anticipated? Or are the new couples dreams about to veer in completely opposing directions? Perhaps. A lighthearted romcom with heart.

This was a DNF for me. Right from the start the MC uses extremely toxic language as she discusses her weight and her struggles with it and with her body image, and I tried to push through as this was such a small part of the plot, but I made it to about 37% before having to stop.

As someone who has struggled with body dysmorphia and battled eating disorders for a large part of my life, I found this book to be triggering AF. I am all for body diversity and size acceptance, and normally I’d love that this story features a plus size main character, but I can’t get past her referring to herself as “enormous”, her fiancé calling her “sausage” as a term of endearment, and her stepmother telling her she should’ve “just gotten the damn stomach bypass like I told you to”.

It’s one thing to experience secondhand stress while reading, but I was almost in physical pain because of how triggering the horrible language was. This book was a giant red flag and a whole lotta nope for me.

I was given an ARC of the book by NetGalley and Head of Zeus. All opinions are my own.

This was an easy, light read. I thought that both Julian and Erica were likeable characters and bought into their connection. I think this book will please anyone looking for a quick second chance romance. The B&B and farm setting in this book really complimented the story well and focused the narrative on the characters and them finding their ways back to one another. This is also FUNNY! While I enjoyed this book, I did wish for more Italian culture sprinkled throughout. It would have been great to see my family and common traditions scattered throughout.

A quick, easy and adorable read that I couldn't put down. It was funny and unopredictable and although I wasn't a huge fan of the ending I did love the book.

Thank you Netgalley for this ACR for an exchange for an honest review.

Excellent book, Pleasure to read.

Lighthearted and cute. Tied in nicely with the book before. Perfect for a summer read with a nice flow!!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book was super cute. I really enjoyed it. I did not think it was going to end the way it did, I thought it would go another direction. I am trying not to give any spoilers so I will just say I believed the worst of the male character and was wrong. I was happy to be wrong though. I just felt like a lot of things were left hanging. Two storylines in particular. Now i will never know happens.

Erica has found her second chance at love with Julian. The fairytale seems to come with many bumps after Julian starts getting too busy to spend time with Erica while he’s promoting his book, and Erica feels left behind and consumed with guilt and insecurities that have built up over the years. Only time will tell if Julian and Erica can overcome their obstacles and remain true to their love. I enjoyed this book and the relationship Erica and Julian have. Julian’s relationship with Erica’s kids from her first marriage is precious and rare. I will definitely read more books by this author in the future!

Such an easy and quick read! Loved the story and would actually like to visit the b&h and farm! The relationship between a Julian and Erica was well written! A perfect beach read.