Reviewed by Kay Brooks
Four women, each at a crossroads in their life, seeking a
new experience, book to spend two weeks at The Food of Love Cookery School in
Sicily. Their passionate host and food guide, Luca Amore, assumes he is in
store for the usual cooking, visiting vineyards, eating together and becoming
friends before saying goodbye to the women who will return to their original
lives with a heightened passion for Italian cooking. These women are going to
bring more than the usual interest in food to the trip and all will take more
than new cooking skills away.
This novel is a delicious combination of food and drama,
with just the right amount of intrigue to hook the reader in and keep you
guessing about the characters. The four women are all very different and all
contribute something to the storyline. Valerie, having lost her extroverted
husband, is looking for a way to feel young and enjoy life again. Moll, an
enthusiastic food-blogger is hoping to capture as many experiences as she can
before she returns to the reality of her life. Tricia is hoping to escape the
negativity of her career as a divorce lawyer after it has seeped into other
areas of her life, warping her view of relationships.
Poppy receives the most focus from Pellegrino. Having just
gone through a divorce and struggling to keep a business-only relationship with
her ex-husband, she desperately needs to find a way to move on and Sicily, her
grandfather’s childhood home, may prove to have the answers. All four women are
likeable and provide an example of how people who are drastically different in
terms of background and beliefs can enhance each other’s lives.
Luca seems distant at first and the reader is aware from the
beginning that he is hiding a secret from his past that, if revealed, may alter
our opinion of him. At first I assumed the secret would be something that Luca
has blown out of proportion due to his attractive sensitivity and religious
upbringing but when it was revealed, I found that it marred my experience of
the book. It broke the suspension of reality that I enjoy when reading. Luca’s
secret is linked to a real tragedy that occurred during my lifetime. For me,
this did alter my perception of him. This could just be me being an over-involved
reader, but I struggled to care as much as I did for his well-being before the
secret was revealed. I felt it was unnecessary to include this link to reality
and didn’t understand the decision to do so.
The ending wasn’t wrapped up neatly with a bow, leaving the
reader guessing what would happen to some of the characters who were returning
to potential difficult situations. I felt that the epilogue could have included
more information on characters other than Luca and Poppy, as I felt a stronger
attachment to some of them,
Overall, an enjoyable read that will leave you craving
Sicilian cuisine.
6/10