I was excited with a chance to review “Just One Taste” based on its premise of taking place in Italy (I have been twice and want to go again) and (Italian) food. I also enjoyed “Summer Job” (which takes place in Scotland), so was excited to see what the Lizzy Dent could do with one of my most favorite destinations.

Olive, a food critic, has been estranged from her dad for several years. Hence, she is surprised when he wills her his (failing) restaurant. Yet, the gift has one stipulation: Olive must travel to Italy with his protégé, Leo, and finish researching and writing his cookbook. As any rom-com reader can predict, Olive and Leo cannot agree (even to disagree). Olive wants to sell the restaurant and move on, while Leo hopes to revamp the restaurant and make it successful.

I love the novel’s rich descriptions and gorgeous setting but could not relate to Olive in particular the way I wanted to. Her eventual connection with Leo felt forced and not organic. Overall, I did like the book, but felt like it did not realize its full potential.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for a chance to read “Just One Taste.”

I'm of fan of Dent's books for light and entertaining rom-coms. This story doesn't disappoint, delivering a delightful mix of romance and culinary passion as it follows a determined chef working to revive a struggling restaurant. Dent yet again delivers witty writing and charming characters, now alongside vivid descriptions of food that will leave you hungry! At times the plot can feel predictable and the pacing inconsistent; however, there are heartwarming moments and a satisfying ending.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, & G.P. Putnam's Sons for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Olive’s estranged father suddenly dies and leaves her his Italian restaurant she just wants to move on from all the unpleasant and conflicting memories that go along with it. Olive also needs to finish the cookbook her father was working on and that includes going to Italy with his soups chef Leo in order to complete it. Leo has a hard time understanding Olive and her father’s estrangement and therefore has a negative attitude towards Olive. Olive has a hard time not feeling jealous of her father and Leo’s relationship. As Olive and Leo slowly move on from their first impressions they use food, friends and Italy to learn about each other.

This destination romance not only encompasses the beauty and food of Italy but the personal journey of embracing our deepest and most complicated emotions. I absolutely loved this book!

Lizzie Dent is one of my favorite authors. She did not disappoint me with Just One Taste! I loved it!

I have really enjoyed most of Dent’s books and I am happy to say I loved Just One Taste! This is the perfect travel read for foodies and winos. The romance was very sweet and I especially loved the wedding/the stay at Leo’s aunt’s. All in all, a fun summer read!

*3.5

This was cute. I liked her journey of learning about her father and getting close to Leo. I kind of wish that it a little bit more happened but I had a good time.

I received an arc through netgalley.

The story of Olive and Leo who meet when she is left her dad's restaurant and Leo.is the sous chef. A trip around Italy to finish a book is the main part of the book and it makes you want to visit there yourself.

Olive Stone’s estranged father suddenly and unexpectedly passed away, and left her his restaurant. But she left that restaurant when her parents separated years ago, and never looked back until now - and her father’s last wish is for her to complete the cookbook he had been working on, which requires her to travel through Italy with the (extremely good looking) chef he had been training as his successor.

This book is an utter delight that will absolutely make you want to book the next flight to Italy. The way it immerses you in each setting is so good, the characters make you wish you were a part of their community, and the food! Oh, the food. Just as you’d expect from a book all about chefs and restaurants and recipes and travel, the food is not only the main focus of the story, but the descriptions are done so well, and it’s clear the author has a vast amount of experience with cooking and eating the food of Italy. This was one of my favorite books I’ve read this year!

This journey was an absolute delight! And one that made me really, really hungry while reading it. The characters were delightful, the setting superb, the food descriptions out of this world. I truly loved every second of this book! It was incredibly well done and was so fun to read. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A new Lizzy Dent rom-com is always a reason to celebrate, in my opinion. And her newest one is a fun romp into the culinary world of Italy. It's armchair travel at its finest to the sunny coast of Italy, and you will crave a big, delicious bowl of pasta. The story centers around Olive, who is still mourning the loss of her father, Nicky. Nicky is a famous chef and has left his London restaurant to her and the task of finishing his cookbook. Alongside his handsome (of course) sous chef, Leo, the two travel to Italy to finish the cookbook. This one has a ton of Dent's signature humor and witty banter. It's also a touching exploration of a complicated father/daughter relationship, much like Funny Story. This one is a lot of fun if you're looking for a really solid romance to round out your summer!

Just One Taste is my second novel by Lizzy Dent after reading The Sweetest Revenge. I had some mixed feelings on that story and I some similar ones with this novel. This story follows food critic Olive Stone who had a falling out fourteen years ago with her Italian pseudo-celebrity chef father and owner of the restaurant “Nicky’s.” When he passed away, he ended up willing the restaurant to his sous chef turned surrogate son, Leo Ricci. His dying wish was also to have Olive and Leo work together on a tour of Italy to complete his cookbook. Even though Olive and Leo do not get along, both want to fulfil his wish. Olive wants to sell the restaurant while Leo wants to keep it and the two of them now must spend lots of time together as they travel from Sicily to Tuscany to Liguria.

There is a romance that develops between Olive and Leo and appreciate that the author made it a slow burn. I still needed more exploration to feel a connection to it, but I did enjoy the progress of events. On the other hand, the friendships in the novel were well-written. The relationship between Olive and her father is also well-described as there is a lot to work through. The other part that is nicely written are the descriptions of food. Together the novel was a good read, but it just needed a little more, so the romance did not feel secondary. As the romance was written as a slow burn, I expected a little more tension into the will they-won’t they. Since this is a romance story, the reader does know that the characters will get together, but the tension between them is what makes it enjoyable, at least for me. Overall, this was a nice novel by Dent and I look forward to trying her next read.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Thank you G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin Group) for sharing this ARC with me.

Olive is the estranged daughter of a restaurant/owner chef who recently died and left her his restaurant in his will. Leo is the restaurant's chef who was co-writing a cookbook with Olive's father before he died. Olive and Leo travel together to Italy to finish the cookbook. "Just One Taste" is a lovely journey of Italy, food, self-discovery, and falling in love.

I really wanted to love this one. I've enjoyed the other novels written by the author. This one fell flat to me. I didn't enjoy the main characters. I never felt connected to them or wanted them to succeed.

When Olive’s estranged father dies, she is surprise that he leaves her his restaurant. Surprised because the restaurant is what caused her parent’s divorce. Olive immediately wants to sell, but the sous chef, Leo, convinces her to wait until they come back from Italy. Another caveat from her father’s will, she has to help Leo finish the book they working on. So Olive and Leo embark on a trip through the Italian countryside, meeting up with relatives and old friends, and eating and cooking a lot of Italian food. It’s no wonder they end up falling for each other.

Do Not Read This Book If You’re Hungry!!

This was a cute read. Olive and Leo are attracted to each other right away. She’s afraid to start anything because she may be selling the restaurant. And if she does keep it, she’s afraid their relationship would be ruined like her parents was. Leo is pretty lackadaisical about the whole thing. He loves the restaurant, but he’s been wanting to update if for years. He’s got a lot of ideas, but if Olive decides to sell, he’ll basically go with the flow and try his ideas somewhere else. He’s perfect to help Olive’s high-strung personality.

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. It was a cute book reminded me of a hallmark movie I watched recently.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved following our main characters through Italy, through the food and the scenery. The writing was well done; thought I've never been to Italy I felt like I was experiencing it along with them.

This was a fun romcom with lots of food, some discussion of grief, and a cute love story. I personally didn’t love it, due to the fact that Olive was stubborn and largely insufferable for the first third of the book, and I struggled to fully and deeply fall into investment with the romance between her and Leo. But there were some great elements to the evolution of her character, the story of her relationship with her father developed in some nuanced ways, and while I think those pieces could have been inspected and elaborated upon even deeper, I enjoyed the story. Overall, I give this book 3.25⭐, rounded to 3 on Goodreads!

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you to Penguin Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

On paper, this book is made for me. Food writing and explorations of grief? Sign me up! But the beginning is all exposition, and sets up what seems to be hundreds of romance cliches in one big dump. I knew exactly what was going to happen in the book and it didn’t seem worth reading at that point. I had to DNF.

London

Olive Stone is a food journalist for The London Times. For some years now, she has been estranged from her father after he and her mother divorced. Now, the man has died and Olive learns that he has left his beloved Italian restaurant, Nicky’s, to her. As a child she spent many days at the restaurant where both her father and mother shared duties. Her father had been in the middle of writing a cookbook and has requested that along with the restaurant’s long-time head chef, Leo Ricci, they finish it. Every summer, the family would spend four weeks in Italy eating delicious food and discovering new recipes to use in the restaurant. It seems that the trip for Olive and Leo has been planned and paid for. Now here’s the problem. Olive feels the restaurant may not be doing as well as it should and she wants to sell it. Leo is appalled and begs her to just take the trip and finish the cookbook and, hopefully, she will change her mind and keep the restaurant. So, she agrees.

As Leo and Olive spend time in different areas of Italy, they taste lots of dishes and come up with three different recipes for each of the three areas they visit. They meet up with an old friend of Olive’s father; Leo’s aunt; and

Spending time together and sharing food and wine brings the two of them together as they get to know one another. This soon leads to an attraction that cannot be denied. As Olive becomes more involved with recipes, she wonders if she can really sell her father’s restaurant.

This book was enjoyable especially in the descriptions of the food. I found Olive’s girlfriends and confidents to be clever and fun. I really liked Leo but did not care for Olive at all. She always seems to have to be the boss and have the last word. But an enjoyable story.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the E-Arc. I am not stranger to books by Lizzy Dent so it is no surprise that her books are very much about the FMC finding her way and her strength at least that is how I interpret it and this one was no different. Olive embarks on this journey to finish her fathers cookbook with her fathers protege Leo. The places they went the food ahhh it was like you were there. This book had it all the feels laughs with the Olive and her besties, the chemistry with Leo, but most importantly Olive finding herself in the world of her father and coming to terms with her grief. Once again Lizzy Dent did not disappoint.