It's never too late to find where you belong...
Thea knew the holiday house her late husband Marco bought in Tuscany wasn't pristine. But when she relocates to Italy for the summer with her children, she's shocked by how much work Casa Luna needs. And she only has six weeks to fix it up ready to sell! Her only option is to ask the tight-knit Italian community for help.
In return, Thea and her children become involved in the community kitchen, working alongside handsome chef Giovanni and three very competitive nonnas. Gradually, Thea begins to open up to the people around her for the first time in a long while. But just as she's beginning to wonder whether this small Tuscan town could become a new place to call home, a surprise visitor turns everything on its head . . .
Review: I do love a book from Jo Thomas. I know when I pick one up to read I will find myself transported to a world of new characters and usually another country with interesting sights, sounds and smells. Often, I find myself keen to try out some new dishes that I have read about, because food always plays a big part in Jo’s stories. This latest book promised a trip to Tuscany, its bright cover giving a clue to a busy time for the characters.
The story centres on Thea and her young family, who have travelled from the UK to spend the summer in a small town in Tuscany where her late husband, Marco, bought a house as a surprise for the family. Thea learns that Marco bought the rundown house cheaply on the understanding that it would be renovated within a given time period, and that time has almost run out. There is so much to do to bring the house up to standard that Thea realises she must ask for help from the local community. She makes a deal with chef Giovanni, who runs a community kitchen in the town, that he and his friends will help with the house if she and the children will help run the kitchen, side by side with three elderly nonnas who have lived in the town most of their lives and pride themselves in their cooking skills. As the young family become immersed in the community, Thea finds herself relaxing more than she has been able to in a long time, and even wondering if this small town could become home to her and her children.
I very much enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it as an absorbing summer read. It has so much going for it, with its combination of drama, mystery, romance and comedy, combined with a cast of captivating characters and a wonderfully warm community feeling. I absolutely loved the three nonnas, who were at loggerheads for most of the story. I could almost picture them hanging out of their windows shouting at each other. On the other hand, Thea’s children were almost too good to be true; she was very lucky to have such compliant companions. Thea herself was a courageous woman grieving for her husband but always doing what she thought best for her young family. I hoped she would find time to examine her feelings for handsome Giovanni. All through the story, the reader and Thea are presented with mouthwatering dishes made using traditional Italian recipes. This is definitely one of those books liable to leave you hungry for some good food.
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