I read this book while on vacation, in Italy! A cute idea right? Well this vegetarian started questioning my food options - did I dare ask the waiter if bone marrow was in the red sauce? Something I haven't thought about before reading this book. I'm happy to say everywhere I went I was able to pick the cold marinara (seasonal for summer), which is basically tomato, basil and garlic. YUM!
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Synopsis: Holly Maguire’s grandmother Camilla was the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Maine—a Milanese fortune-teller who could predict the right man for you, and whose Italian cooking was rumored to save marriages. Holly has been waiting years for her unlikely fortune: her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing old-world delicacy. But Holly can’t make a decent marinara sauce, let alone sa cordula. Maybe that’s why the man she hopes to marry breaks her heart. So when Holly inherits Camilla’s Cucinotta, she’s determined to forget about fortunes and love and become an Italian cooking teacher worthy of her grandmother’s legacy.
But Holly’s four students are seeking much more than how to make Camilla’s chicken alla Milanese. Simon, a single father, hopes to cook his way back into his daughter’s heart. Juliet, Holly’s childhood friend, hides a painful secret. Tamara, a serial dater, can’t find the love she longs for. And twelve-year-old Mia thinks learning to cook will stop her dad, Liam, from marrying his phony lasagna-queen girlfriend. As the class gathers each week, adding Camilla’s essential ingredients of wishes and memories in every pot and pan, unexpected friendships and romances are formed—and tested. Especially when Holly falls hard for Liam . . . and learns a thing or two about finding her own recipe for happiness.
Type: Fiction
Quick Take: I loved this book. A perfect selection for summer, and we had so much to discuss with the author (mother/daughter relationships, family, friendships, cooking, self discovery, food, and more).
Mia was delightful and I enjoyed reading her quest to bring her parents back together and how she hoped Holly's cooking school could help her. Holly is a sweet character, someone trying to find happiness and along the way she gets more than she hoped for.
I was surprised to learn that this is Senate's tenth novel. I will check out a few other books by the author.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Source: Review Copy