Just One Taste by Lizzy Dent is a romance that is both sexy, fluffy and honest about life, tackling the emotional weight of love and loss with a deft hand. I blazed through this book, it was such an enjoyable read. And who doesn’t love the idea of a steamy Italian holiday full of amazing food adventures!
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BLURB:
When Olive Stone and her Italian pseudo-celebrity chef father fell out fourteen years ago, annoyingly handsome Leo Ricci slipped right in as his surrogate son and sous-chef. No one is more surprised than Olive when her father wills her his beloved (and now failing) restaurant. Or that his dying wish was for Olive and Leo to complete his cookbook … together.
She’s determined to sell the restaurant. Leo is determined to convince her not to. As they embark on four weeks in Italy, traveling from Sicily to Tuscany to Liguria, they’ll test each other as often as they test recipes. But the more time Olive and Leo spend together the more undeniable their attraction grows. Olive finds herself wondering whether selling the restaurant might be running away, and what it might be like to try just one taste of Leo Ricci. Because he isn’t who she expected, and this trip might reveal more about who Olive is than she’s ready for.
REVIEW:
Initially I found the opening chapter a little hard to connect with the main character Olive, but as I continued to read it was obvious that was where her journey needed to start, and it didn’t take long for me to get 100% on board with her characterisation. She is in the throws of confusion and grief after the death of her estranged father, who leaves his restaurant and incomplete cookbook for her to take over. I really enjoyed the depth and dynamics this element of her life had on the romance with Leo. And Leo, what a well crafted man, able to give her space, get her to open up, and help her through her complicated feelings for her father, and for him. He see’s all of her and doesn’t shy away from it but does give her space when needed. Some may say the space he gives toward the end of the book could be a ‘third-act breakup’, but I disagree, instead it is a man confident in himself and their relationship to give Olive the space she needs to heal so they can have a future together. How swoon worthy!
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The writing is a lush and delicious experience. The way Lizzy writes about food made me so envious (and hungry), I just might need to book myself a trip to Italy and explore the regions myself. There was a magic to it, the chemistry between characters, the bright world building, the complicated nature of being human. What sticks with me is how real it all felt, their struggles, their triumphs, their complicated messes. You can also tell it was written by an Australian as the humour is very much the style I find funny. And while there is humour and heart the depiction of grief is also beautifully written. Olive is a child of divorce dealing with a fresh loss of her father. Reading the interplay of this with the tentative exploration of new love and opening oneself up to change was an unexpected element, one I found refreshing in this genre but also one that generated a sense of hope for the future. Even more so with the plot twist that comes towards the end of the book (I won’t spoil it but it is hectic!).
Overall, this was a wonderful and easy read perfect for that weekend downtime.
Until next time,
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
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Note: Thank you to HarperCollins Australia for this gifted copy of Just One Taste by Lizzy Dent.