I liked the writing style, and the descriptions of the food and scenery were really strong.
Olive Stone’s estranged father dies and leaves her his struggling restaurant. His devotion to the restaurant over his family is what caused the estrangement, so Olive wants to sell it and collect the money as soon as possible. The chef there, Leo Ricci, wants her to keep it and let him update the restaurant and menu in a way that her father refused.
Before she can settle that issue, she has to finish her father’s cookbook, which is on deadline and needs the last three chapters completed. Olive must travel with Leo to three regions in Italy to come up with recipes and stories to fulfill the obligation. Leo uses the time to sell his vision of the restaurant. Olive comes to terms with the reasons for the estrangement. And of course, the two discover feelings for each other along the way.
This reads almost more like women’s fiction than romance, as Olive’s emotional journey is more central than the romance. I think Lizzie Dent managed this well - trying to get some sort of closure for Olive given their complicated relationship. (Major spoiler coming….) Also, in romance there is a third-act breakup, which often feels forced and formulaic to me. In this case it wasn’t so much a break up as a pause, and it’s when Olive learns her father wasn’t her bio dad. It felt natural to the story. Leo’s life and personality was little less developed than Olive’s, but it wasn’t really his story. I’d definitely read more from this author.
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