Lizzy's books take me on a foodie adventure, and I just love it. This is a heartfelt journey of finding love, enduring loss, and grappling with big life changes while appreciating the beauty and amazing food that Italy has to offer. I seriously need a trip to Italy, stat!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This story had me salivating and wanting to devour plates of pasta! Overall, it was a story about food critic Olive's estranged chef father leaving her his restaurant Nicky's when he unexpectedly passed. The culinary aspect of Olive and her father's sous chef Leo adventures through Italy to complete her father's cookbook really came alive on the page. Their slow burn romance was a tension bubble and once it burst, it kinda fell flat in that department.

If Lizzy Dent writes it, I 👏 will 👏 read 👏 it 👏

LONGER REVIEW TO COME!

What’s in store for you…

👨‍🍳 The Bear vibes & hot chefs
✍️ Writer FMC
🇮🇹 Italy/European vacation
💔 Navigating grief

Big BIG thank you to NetGalley, Putnam, and Lizzy Dent for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

Olive Stone is a restaurant critic, but that was not her original plan. She was going to become a chef and take over the family business, Italian restaurant Nicky’s. But then her family fell apart, and she went to university to study journalism instead.

But then she got the news that her dad had suddenly passed away. And even though she hadn’t spoken to him in years, he left her the restaurant as well as the building it’s in, valuable London real estate. But before she can make any decisions about the restaurant, she has to go to Italy for a month. Her father had been working on a cookbook when he died, and he only had 3 chapters left to write. The cookbook took readers through the regions of Italy and using one ingredient, something special to the area, to create 3 recipes. Olive could write the chapter introductions, but she wasn’t a chef. So the chef from Nicky’s, Leo, is going to Italy with her. They will start in Sicily, move on to Tuscany, and end in Liguria.

Olive hadn’t been back to Italy since the falling-out with her father. As a child, she had loved being in the restaurant, and she and her parents had traveled to Italy every summer, especially Sicily, where her father’s mentor lived. Rocco owns the Italian restaurant where Nicky had showed up, wanting to learn how to be a chef, and Rocco had taken Nicky under his wing and taught him everything he knew. Years later, Nicky would move to London and open his own place. He even had a television show, briefly, back in the restaurant’s heyday. But when the restaurant started going downhill, Nicky chose the business over his family and made an unforgiveable mistake. Olive saw how broken that had left her mother, and she sided with her. She was no longer interested in the restaurant.

Now she’s forced back into her old life, a restaurant owner and a cookbook author, but with a broken heart and a soul weary with grief and regrets. And she has to spend a month in Italy with the chef her father thought of as a son. And worse yet, Chef Leo is devastatingly handsome. At first they fight, as they’re coming from different backgrounds and contrary ideas of what the cookbook should be. But as the beauty of Italy softens their respective pain, they find themselves slowly making steps toward each other, first coming to a mutual understanding about the cookbook, and then enjoying the food and drinks that Italy has to offer them.

As Olive finds her anger towards her father start to ebb, she starts to open up to the possibility of keeping the restaurant open. Can she figure out how to make it successful without making her father’s mistakes? Or will she be better off selling the property and starting a new life with the proceeds, letting her heart heal away from the restaurant that broke her family apart?

Lizzy Dent’s Just One Taste is a delicious romance through Italy, with decadent descriptions of pasta dishes, seafood, stews, cakes, gelatos, and just about any other kind of Italian dish you can imagine. There is a little comedy in with the romance, but the story line of grief keeps it from getting too light. Olive and Leo have both lost someone close to them in this story, and they’re dealing with their pain as best they can, making this a compelling story but not one I could categorize as a rom com.

I am a big fan of Lizzy Dent, so I had high hopes for Just One Taste. I was sad, because it’s a sad story, but I was not disappointed. I thought it was a lovely journey through grief to acceptance, through anger to love, through sadness to restoration. I am not in a position to take a trip to Italy right now myself, so the descriptions of the towns and the food and the people made me feel like I got to take a quick trip, and I loved all of that. There are a lot of strong emotions in this story, but there is also a lot of hope and healing, and I am so glad I took this trip.

Egalleys for Just One Taste were provided by GP Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I love Lizzy Dent! I was super excited to be approved for this digital ARC! I always find her novels to be quirky and cute with likable characters and delightful banter. This one was no exception.

Olive Stone—-food critic and daughter of recently deceased pseudo-celebrity chef Nicky Stone, has to finish her late father’s cookbook with his surrogate son and sous chef Leo Ricci in order to inherit the family restaurant. In order to sell, and get some closure on her strained relationship with her dad, she agrees. The setting: Italy. The bonus: SO much good food! The catch: Leo Ricci is the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on.

This one had really good emotional background. I found myself heavily invested in Olive’s journey of self discovery and closure. I was crying by the end so you know it’s good!

I highly recommend! It’s a super fun read and will get you in the feels.

I think Just One Taste may still qualify as a top read of the summer. Olive and Leo head to Italy from London, to finish the cookbook her dad started, after he's unfortunately passed away. What ensues is a journey of self discovery, a deep dive into amazing food and wine, and, of course, a budding romance.

I read this book in two days and I could read it all over again already. It's completely swoon-worthy. I'm obsessed.

This book is, at times, fun and lighthearted, and at others, sad and serious. As two people start on a journey through all Italian dishes, they are near-strangers. Then the magic happens and feeling emerge and minds could potentially open up to new, exciting ideas! Enjoyed this romantic trip!

It is a must to eat pasta while reading this book 🍝

Happy pub day to Just One Taste!

Olive Stone is a food journalist for The London Times. She is better known as ‘Stone Cold Olive Stone.’
She never gives out 5⭐️s because there is always room for improvement.
Growing up, she spent most of her childhood at her father’s restaurant, Nicky’s. He always had plans for her to become his sous chef and take over the restaurant one day. But after a falling out, she had hardly seen her father over the last 15 years.
So when he tragically passes away, Olive was surprised to find out that he left her the restaurant, and everything in it, including his hottie sous chef, Leo Ricci.
Her father was in the middle of completing his cookbook, and was supposed to travel to Italy to finalize it. He wants Olive to go, but requested that she bring along Leo. A month in Italy, with the guy who got to spend everyday with the father she lost, and worked the job she always thought she would’ve done.
Olive just wants to get this cookbook over with, sell the restaurant, and be done with it all for good. But a month in Italy brings her back to her childhood as the two reminisce on where their love for food started.

This book got me so excited to travel to Italy in September! I can’t wait to eat all the pasta, cannolis, gelato, and everything orange and lemon flavor 🤤

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for this early release!

I’m such a fan of her previous titles and Just One Taste by Lizzy Dent sure didn’t disappoint either!
The book is full of funny moments and endearing characters. It was a fun, light beach read and my heart was filled.
The characters were fun and the plot was exciting and well paced.
This was an utterly riveting book that I literally could not put down.

Thank You NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Olive Stone’s estranged father has left her his failing Italian restaurant in his will, but the inheritance comes with a caveat. Olive must complete her father’s cookbook with sous-chef Leo who’s been like a surrogate son over the last decade and a half. Olive wants to sell the restaurant ASAP and Leo wants her to reconsider. As Olive reflects on her relationship with her father, she and Leo travel throughout Italy working on recipes for the book and rethinking their own lukewarm relationship.

I loved everything about this book which was really no surprise because I’m a big Lizzy Dent fan! The setting and sense of place in Just One Taste is perfect. If you need to go on a little mental vacation to Italy for a few days this is your book! You’ll feel like you’re walking down cobblestone alleys, and the descriptions of delicious meals and just ingredient talk in general will leave you craving a big bowl of pasta! Her relationship with Leo felt natural and progressed realistically. The banter, humor, and innuendo sparkled. I especially loved how much Olive relied on her girlfriends to work through her grief and her evolving feelings towards Leo. Olive’s journey to reconciling her own feelings on her relationship with her father and separating them from her mom’s packs quite an emotional punch. Overall, Just One Taste is everything I’m looking for in a book.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. #JustOneTaste #NetGalley #BookReview #LizzyDent

lizzy dent brought me to tears and moved me with her insanely beautiful and intricate imagery! this book was a full on immersive experience for me!
the way she describes every meal, every dish, every ingredient, the flavors, the textures— i felt like i was tasting it. the way she describes every Italian city, the streets, the people, the sounds, the colors, the weather— i felt like i'd just traveled thousands of miles and was standing in the middle of it all. the way she describes every memory, every dream, every feeling, every interaction, every intimate moment- it felt like they were my own.
i love how slow burning and thoughtful the romance between olive and leo was. the tension between them felt so tangible and the moment they gave in to their desire for each other was utter perfection! the blossoming of this love was so pure and so sweet!
the heavier themes of loss of a parent and the grief that comes along with that felt written with such honesty, empathy and care. i also really appreciate the representation for other less common but equally sensitive themes.
this book is such a gem. it's so so special and one that i'll think about for a long long time. i'm already craving to reread it and scribble a physical copy with so much underlining and all of my thoughts in the margins.
i will definitely be reading more lizzy dent!
thank you so much to Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for this eArc in exchange for my honest thoughts! ilyyy

I love forced proximity. I love Italy. I love a chef ((especially a hot one)). Therefore, I loved this book! Olive and Leo were such a fun duo to follow throughout their travels while they navigate every emotion from loss to love. Such a fun setting, such a fun pairing, such a fun book. Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for my honest review!

In Lizzy Dent’s Just One Taste, Olive Stone is a fierce food critic, who never gives a five fork, top rating, to any restaurant that she reviews. Olive grew up in the food industry, the only daughter of Nicky Stone, the owner and head chef of Nicky’s, a staple in East London that serves traditional Italian cuisine. However, an argument over a decade ago made Nicky and Olive more like strangers than father and daughter. Until one day when Olive receives the heartbreaking phone call that her father has passed away. In his will, Nicky leaves Olive his beloved restaurant, on the condition that she finishes his cookbook with assistance from Leo Ricci, the current head chef at Nicky’s. Now Olive must spend a month touring Italy with the man that her father considered a son, trying to find the perfect recipes to complete Nicky’s lifelong dream of writing a cookbook.

If you aren’t starving after reading Just One Taste, I would be shocked. The novel lovingly describes a variety of Italian ingredients and cuisines in mouthwatering detail. The descriptions of the lush countryside and colorful towns made me long to journey through Italy. I would go as far as to say that the characters played second fiddle to the food and country of Italy. Olive and Leo have nice chemistry, and they work as a couple. However, their interactions never seem as interesting as the food they are eating. Just One Taste is a quick, enjoyable love letter to all things Italy and the role that food plays in one’s life.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENQUIN GROUP Putnam for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

The formatting of this book was strange and had the entire book formatted as essentially one chapter. It was frustrating at times.

I had a hard time connecting to these characters and didn't really feel a love connection between them. It felt forced.

Do not read this book while you’re hungry. The descriptions of food and wine are so detailed and so good that I couldn’t help craving every delicious sounding pasta and seafood and dessert Olive and Leo sampled in their trip around Italy. If the story handle been great, the food porn alone would have been worth reading.

But the story WAS great, All of Olive and Leo’s worries felt so grounded in real life. Her pain and stress at trying to finish the final work of her estranged late father was so beautifully rendered. Olive and Leo don’t start as enemies, but there’s a definite journey from goals that are at odds to trying to achieve the same success. I loved watching how their relationship changed so naturally and gracefully. Leo was utterly swoony - a gorgeous man who can cook and is emotionally intelligent is like, the dream, right?

There’s a small twist at the end I did not see coming, but it didn’t feel jarring at all. The whole book was so well done, I can’t recommend it enough.

There is just something about a book set in Italy that is going to do something to my heart. And when it's all about a food critic and a chef coming together to carry out a father's cookbook? Hello. Sign! Me! Up! to read that one!!!

When Olive's estranged father passes away suddenly, she is shocked to learn that he has left her his restaurant in the will. She's also shocked to learn that he has asked she finish out writing his last cookbook alongside his protegee, a very grumpy but handsome chef named Leo. Olive knows she wants to sell the restaurant, especially because she believes its what caused the downfall of her parents marriage, but she's cautious knowing its going to crush Leo's soul.

As the two set off on the trip of a lifetime to explore different regions of Italy and finish her father's work, Olive is forced to grapple with difficult feelings and a decision on whether or not the restaurant is worth keeping around.

Definitely don't read this one while hungry. And if you're not hungry, expect to be. I was literally salivating over the descriptions of food, and I am REALLY hoping that there's some sort of appendix in the official publication of this book that has recipes for some of the dishes described.

This definitely leans towards the cheesy side of romance, but in the best way possible. There's a tiiiiny bit of spice sprinkled in, but for the most part this is a story of two people denying their genuine attraction for each other. I was seriously rooting for Olive and Leo to end up together, considering that tension was sooo thick you could cut it with a knife.

I feel like any book about restaurants and Italy is going to be an automatic great read for me, no matter the plot, but Just One Taste was the sweet, heartwarming romance I wanted it to be!

Do you love Italian food? Do you love forced proximity? Do you love heartbreak but then your heart getting put back together by a hot Sous chef that you don't really like but kind of do like?

Read this book.

I really enjoyed Just One Taste by Lizzy Dent. The food alone was worth the read as I could just imagine each dish and it had me drooling!

Overall a 3.75 rating, rounded up to 4 stars.

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this novel.

I have so many conflicting feelings about this book so let’s start with the best parts. This book feels like a love letter to Italy and its food. Lizzy Dent did a fantastic job bringing us to Italy with the main characters and every time I picked up this book I was left hungry and craving Italian food. She did such a great job describing the country and the food.

What I didn’t love was the main character. I found Olive a little whiny and over the top. I enjoyed her relationship with Leo but she did get on my nerves through most of the book.

With all that being said her journey of forgiveness with her father really spoke to me and I felt that was very well done.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was 3.5/5 star read rounded up to 4.

I absolutely adored this book. It’s got two of my favorite things, Italy and food! I think I cooked Italian food every night for a solid week.
And the romance was perfect. They’re determined not to fall for each other but can’t help themselves. I was so disappointed that this one had to end, 5 enthusiastic stars.

Synopsis:
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.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The only traveling I’ve done this is has been through books I’ve read set in Europe and I’ve had a great time. Olive and Leo travel through Italy to finish her dad’s cookbook after he unexpectedly passes. Lots of food talk that had me frothing at the mouth because it sounded really good. Olive’s character arc was really good, she had to engage with the guy who her dad spent hours a day with, she was jealous but also angry and was difficult not to fall in love with him.