Intriguing tale set against an amazing backdrop of Italy scenery. The book features characters you can love and hate with the added bonus of ‘who dunnit’. I haven’t read the first book in the series and it did get referred to quite a lot which became quite tiresome. Overall a good summer read but probably worth starting with the first book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley.

I had already read the first book and couldn’t wait to read this book.
The cover of the book drew me in. I feel in love with this book from page 1. The description in the book made me want to book a flight to the location straight away. This is potentially the best book I have read by this author

Summer Dreams at Villa Limoncello was a sweet, light and engaging feelgood read set in Italy. I loved Izzie and Luca and I'm tempted to try a few of the recipes in the back of the book.

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - the thoughts and opinion are my own and unbiased

This is part of a series - I haven't read any of the others but feel no loss because of it

A light mystery set in Tuscany - my favourite place in the world - what could be better !!

I loved this

a great holiday read that I would highly recommend

I loved the cover of this book, and figured it would be a great read for the summer! The story takes place in Tuscany, and revolves around Izzie and Luca as they launch their first "Pasta & Painting" venture at Villa Limoncello. When the first group of guests arrive, everything is going according to plan until one guest is inexplicably poisoned. In order to save their Villa, Issie and Luca must work together to solve the mystery and make sure their names are cleared in the process.

If I'm being completely honest, I wasn't a huge fan of this book. When I first read the synopsis I was expecting a much more serious mystery, but it ended up being quite minor. I also wasn't a huge fan of the writing, and some points of the book seemed quite juvenile although it was still mildly entertaining. I did end up finishing the book, but really only because I wanted to find out who was the culprit behind the poisoning.

Thank you Netgalley and Canelo for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you haven't read the first books in this series about Villa Limoncello, you're in for a treat. It does make Summer Dreams a bit more challenging to follow. This is a sweet treat.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Perfect novel for the summer....easy and enjoyable with the wonderful sounds of delicious food and the atmosphere in Tuscany!

Following on from 'Wedding Bells at Villa Limoncello' we have a return trip to the Tuscan sunshine in this second offering from Daisy James. An engaging read, likeable protagonists and perfect for a Summer sojourn - ideal for the Summer armchair traveller. Very enjoyable.

I loved being back at Villa Limoncello, it’s such a happy summer read, I was able to jump right back in and it felt like I’d never left. Back with the adorable Izzie and Luca and I can’t air for even more books from Daisy. Her books are full of fun, but also heart and relatable but loveable characters.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

The story of Izzie and Luca. Part love story and part mystery as they try and work out who tried to poison one of the guests at the inaugural pasta and painting holiday.

I loved reading book one in the Tuscan Dreams series, Wedding Bells at Villa Limoncello, so when the opportunity arose to request the ARC from Netgalley for book two, Summer Dreams at Villa Limoncello, I jumped at the chance. These books are so evocative of the sights and smells of Tuscany, and it’s very easy to feel completely transported to this location. As a foodie, this book is incredible, it left me craving Italian food like nothing else! There are even recipes in the back to recreate some of the recipes mentioned in the story.

The main protagonists are Izzie and her love interest and sexy chef, Luca. This book follows on a few weeks after the end of the first book, and it’s wonderful to watch as their relationship slowly develops, although their relationship is not the main focus of the book. In order to financially support their decision to keep the villa, they decide to run their first workshop week, Painting and Pasta, in which Izzie will teach their customers to paint, while Luca will teach them how to make their own pasta.

The customers who come are Carmen, a former model and now fashion designer, her friend Beth, her friend and model Zara, her personal assistant Hannah and her accountant Tom. It is fascinating to see the dynamics between the five of them, and when Carmen appears to have been given food poisoning as a deliberate act, all four of her friends and colleagues seem to have personal justifications for wanting to do it. Izzie and Luca decide to act as sleuths, to find out who did it, because otherwise it could appear that Luca’s cooking was responsible, and that could damage not only the future of the villa, but also his reputation as a chef and restaurateur. It is clear from their sleuthing that they should probably stick to their day jobs! I did enjoy this aspect of the story, the mystery element where everyone is a suspect, and each one is eliminated in turn before finding out who did it and why.

I found the book utterly charming, and it was lovely to see familiar faces from ‘Wedding Bells’. This is a perfect summer read, and if you haven’t already read ‘Wedding Bells’ and you have a vacation coming up, get both, and be transported to the cerulean blue skies of the Tuscan countryside, and the lemons of Villa dei Limoni.

I am so looking forward to being transported back to Villa Limoncello for Christmas in Book 3.

Cute but cheesy. Really way too easy to figure out. None of the characters were very deep or interesting, so while it was a quick and easy read, it's not one I'll read again.

I hadn't read the first book in this series, and so I felt like I was missing out on a little bit. Even so, this author writes well and I loved being transported into the gorgeous Italian landscape. I liked how each chapter started with a location - "garden," "pergola," "gazebo" - and a color - "peacock green," "dusky magnolia," "damson plum." I also liked the Agatha Christie-like ending to the mystery. On the whole, this was a lovely, quick read. Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc.

A great escape read which whisks you away to warm summer days. A lovely book that held my interest throughout

A cozy set in Tuscany! Lizzie and Luca (what a pair!) are working together on new venture for the villa- a pasta and painting course. Unfortunately, a villain shows up and Carmen is poisoned (don't worry). OF course, Carmen is not the nicest person in the world but the other guests, well one of them is not who they seem to be (no spoilers). It's light and good for a beach read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Oh- and there are recipes!

Loved it! The perfect summer read. It’s not your usual chick-lit which always follows a basic pattern ending in romance as the couples are already ‘coupled’. Instead there’s a wonderful twist of mystery and uncovering a saboteur which works brilliantly. A definite feel good sunshine book.

I'm always happy to spend time at Villa Limoncello as it's a place that makes me feel good and smile.
I had a lot of fun reading this book, it was perfect for the lazy summer afternoon and made me crave the be there.
I appreciated the plot, the characters and the setting.
I look forward to reading the next book by Ms James.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Canelo and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is the perfect sit in the hills in Cyprus reading book (I know it’s set in Tuscany, but I’m not in Italy, I am literally in the hills of Cyprus!). It was exactly what I was looking for whilst on holiday. It was a fun and easy read.
This is the second Villa Limoncello book by Daisy James, following the life of Izzie and her new ‘family’ in a Tuscan villa. We follow-on quite soon after the first book ends, and, instead of planning a wedding, Izzie and Luca have arranged a Pasta and Painting course at the newly renovated villa. Not everything goes to plan, and Izzie ends up playing detective to a series allegation.
The formula for this book and the first are quite similar, even down to Gianni causing havoc and Izzie needing to call on their neighbour for help. Even though it was an easy summer read; I didn’t think it was as good as the first book. The storyline felt a little empty and the characters just sort of floated around with not a lot really happening other than discovering Tuscany again. I’m not sure a second book was needed, or if it was then maybe, it could have followed different characters in that world, such as Meghan and Gianni.
I would have hoped that the relationship between Izzie and Luca would have moved on somewhat from the first book, but that was going at a snail’s pace. I even had to try and remember whether they’d even got together at the end of the first book or not as they were acting like boss and employee, to begin with. I understand that Izzie is putting her life back together after tragedy, but when a book ends on a happy ever after kind of scenario, you expect to leave them like that. Not to come back and them still be unsure and still at the same point in time at the end of the second book.
Even though I enjoyed the book, and it was effortless to read, it lacked something. A little more excitement and progression of the characters, maybe?

The 2nd book in this series, this book is about Izzie and Luca. They decide to set up a business at the Villa called Painting and Pasta which combines their 2 loves. Izzie books their 1st guests who is a world renowned fashion designer and her staff. Things dont go according to plan and there is some drama, but you get to live vicariously thorugh all of the cooking of the pasta dishes which sound amazing, there are even recipes in the book.

Really enjoyed it and hope the series continues.

I've really been looking forward to this novel ever since I saw it was uploaded on Netgalley. I really enjoyed the first novel in the series but couldn't wait for this one as the synopsis just drew me in completely! As well as the synopsis, the cover absolutely caught my eye and I couldn't wait to get stuck in. It's possibly the most beautiful cover I have ever seen! I love the bright blue sky, with the shimmering sea underneath and the pretty flowers surrounding the cover. It all looks stunning and makes me want to visit the location immediately - I just wish I was reading this novel whilst lounging by the sea/pool - instead of in England!!!

I fell in love with this novel as soon as I started reading it. I absolutely loved the location, every description of the land and setting had me wishing to book a flight to Tuscany, and every description of the delicious food that Luca cooked had my mouth watering. I really enjoyed the characters as well, it was clear that Izzie had been through a lot but it was really nice seeing her come out of her shell a little bit with every page. It was also lovely to be reading about Luca and Izzie's blossoming romance. It was interesting to see where that was going to go.

This is possibly my favourite novel by Daisy James so far. I just felt like I related to the main character, Izzie, and loved the venture they were starting up with the 'Pasta and Painting' courses. It was so elegantly written, and I just fell in love with the story as well as the location. As well as main character Izzie, I also really liked Meghan's character and the holiday makers who are there for a team building exercise. This is no usual romance novel however, as there's a bit of mystery included too which makes it even more interesting. I couldn't wait to read about who was the person responsible for Carmen's 'poisoning'! It was just unputdownable from the first page.

Overall, an amazingly lighthearted summer read. Perfect to welcome in these hotter days. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read this novel via Netgalley, which I have reviewed honestly.