Just One Taste by Lizzy Dent
Rating: 3/5
Spice: 1
Primary Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction/Romance
Plot: 4/5
Blurb: Olive Stone is about to spend four weeks in Italy with the most beautiful man she’s ever hated. 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.
The Good:
* Lizzy is able to capture the raw emotion associated with losing a parent, a broken family and growing up without a father as part of a subplot which is quite a feat. And she does it well, in a real way.
* Olive comes off as a spicy girl but this book is decidedly un-spicy. Now, that could be good or bad depending on what you’re in the mood for. There is one open door scene that isn’t very descriptive at all but the remainder of the book is somehow written in such a sensual way that you don’t really miss it. Lizzy is also very good at sexualizing food in her writing.
The Meh:
* The beginning of the book feels slightly irksome. Olive’s grudge seems unwarranted and maybe even a little pathetic. Her mother clearly made some bad parenting choices after the split that influenced Olive’s view of her father. That’s a big no-no. I get that her father made mistakes but she was 15. How is she still holding a grudge against a father who loves her and wants to be around her? Makes no sense to me.
* Some of the Italy travel comes off as annoyingly pretentious and in the beginning Leo is an incredibly annoying jerk.
Bottom Line:
This plot is incredibly original and went places I definitely did not expect. Lizzy weaves a lyrical spell that any foodie can appreciate. There is an incredible amount of discussion about Italian food that will make you hungry. The plot just moved a little slow for my taste. The last quarter of the plot goes wild, though. If you’re in the mood for a tour of Italy, a little romance, and don’t mind eating some pasta while you read this book is a great choice.
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