I have long been obsessed with Paris and France as a destination, but this year I have added Italy to my list of obsessions. I mean, Italy has always been somewhere I wanted to return to, but right now if I see a book with something Italian in the title I stop and take a closer look. And now we are planning to visit Italy early next year, along with Netherlands and France so I am even more attracted to such books.

And so it was that I saw that this book was available for a blog tour through Rachels Random Resources so I said yes, both because ....Italy and also because Sandy Barker is an Australian author that I have thought about reading for a while now. However, there turned out to be a couple of issues with this. One, I was so blinded by the word Tuscany I neglected to look closely at the description so I didn't realise that this was the fifth and final book in a series, and that all the books featured the same characters. I really dislike reading a series out of order at the best of times.

The other issue is that my day on the blog tour ended up being a Saturday which is my Weekend Cooking day. Once I realised I crossed my fingers that there would be plenty of food in the book that I could reference for my Weekend Cooking post, but I hadn't really been inspired until later in the book.

First, a little something about the book. As I mentioned before, this is the fifth, and final, book in the Holiday Romance series which features Cat and Sarah Parsons, Australian sisters who love to travel. Sarah is just about to turn 40 so her partner Josh has decided to surprise her with a trip to Tuscany. When Cat gets engaged to her partner Jean-Luc, they decide to get married there so that all of their closest friends and family can attend both events.

However, both Cat and Sarah are having emotional crises. For Sarah, the prospect of turning 40 has her contemplating the "something" that is missing from her life, something that she can't even identify herself. It's not her job or her relationship though. And Cat wants to marry Jean-Luc but she doesn't really want to move to Paris to live with him, and she doesn't want to have to organise a full blown wedding either. Luckily she has people amongst her family and friends who are happy to take care of the organisation side of thing.

Once everyone arrives in Tuscany, there are a number of issues that need to be worked through and resolved (lost wedding dress, uninvited guests, a host who is reluctant to let them use the space that they wanted) but there is also time for some sightseeing. It is really the sightseeing aspect of the book that I enjoyed the most and would make me want to go back and read the earlier books in the series. I suspect that if I had read the books in order, this would have been a much stronger reading experience for me.

As an aside, the prologue is the moment that Cat realises that she has misplaced her wedding dress. It actually brought back memories of my own wedding when I left my wedding dress on the plane, fortunately after we had already had the ceremony. It was only 15 minutes or so before I got it back, but I do recall the panic!

I had a few passages bookmarked as possibilities to talk about froom a food perspective, but as soon as I read this passage I knew that I had my quote for today!

"Are you sure this is what Cat wanted?" I ask, eyeing the 'cake' curiously. The baker was lovely - not a word of English - but all smiles and Jaelee managed to understand 'refrigerate' before he drove away leaving me holding an enormous white box. We've brought it into the apartment and it's now opened on the small kitchen table. It's beautiful, but it's not exactly a cake - more like a stack of flaky pastry sheets with custard, cream, and fruit in between.
"You said that she wanted a traditional Italian wedding cake. This is what is considered traditional here in Tuscany. It's called a millefoglie." I am extremely sceptical that this is what Cat meant.
"Hey, Sez," says Cat from the doorway to the kitchen. I flip the lip on the cake box closed.
"Heyyy," I say enthusiastically, "what's up?"
She looks at me oddly. "Why are you being weird? Oh, is that the cake?" She enters the kitchen as I place a flat palm on the lid of the box.
"It is, but it's bad luck to see the cake before the wedding." Jaelee tuts. I deserve it. I've essentially pulled a wedding superstition out of my bum.
Cat gives me the odd look again. "What? No, it isn't. Let me see." She steps past me and lifts the lid of the box. All the air is sucked out of the room as my sister gasps. Cat eyes the 'cake' and Jaelee and I eye each other. It's the first time I've seen even the slightest hint of panic in those brown eyes.
"It's...." A thousand years roll by "...absolutely stunning."
Jaelee and I expel sighs of relief and Cat tears her eyes from the 'cake' and looks between us, then laughs. "Did you think I wouldn't like it?""Sarah did.""You dag," says Cat. "It's exactly what I wanted." She tuts at me and I'm too relieved to care that I'm the butt of the joke.
"We better get it in the fridge though," says Jaelee. She lifts it carefully and I hold open the door as she slides it onto the middle shelf.
"Oh!" I look at Jaelee, panicked. "What are we gonna put it on?" I ask. "We can't serve it out of the box." Or can we?
"This." She crosses the short distance to the other side of the kitchen and holds up an ornate ceramic platter. It's large enough, though I'm not sure what farmers working the fields have to do with a wedding. Hmm, I suppose all but one horse will be covered by the 'cake'.

The most obvious thought when I read this was the similarity between millefoglie and the more well known (and original) French version, mille-feuille. In both cases, the meaning of the name is 'thousand leaves' refering to the layers in the puff pastry which forms the basis of the pastry dessert. One of the differences is that the Italian version sometimes includes a layer of sponge cake.

It turns out that there are many different names for this type of dessert, depending on where you live. For example, apparently in Canada, this could be called Gateaux Napoleon where they might use almond cream for filling, or there is a version in Sweden and Finland called Napoleonbakelse, which includes jam and currant jelly as part of the filling and decorations. There is also a South American version which include dulce de leche. The same site did suggest that vanilla/custard slice is a version of mille-feuille but, in my mind at least, it should have at least three layers of pastry! I am, however, happy to eat vanilla slice or millefoglie or whatever name we use.

It is possibly not a surprise that I know have some version or another of millefoglie or mille-feuille or whatever you want to call it on my to bake list! In a way that is kind of ironic as everything I could find suggested that this is not a dessert that Tuscans necessarily make themselves, but rather one that you order from a pasticceria.

Finally, as I was looking for some images of millefoglie, I found this video of one being made as part of a wedding reception. Rather than delivering the completed dessert, the baker assembles the cake (almost like a performance). I thought it was lovely so I thought I would share it with you all.

As this book is the series finale, I’ll admit I approached it with a bit of a personal wish list. I really wanted to spend more time in the company of sisters Sarah and Cat, feel the specialness of their relationship – on the same continent for once, rather than supporting each other over FaceTime. Well, the author certainly delivered on that one, and this book made me feel like a VIP guest at their joint special occasion – Cat’s wedding to the gorgeous Jean-Luc, and Sarah’s 40th birthday. Neither event is without its issues – Cat is swerving the difficult one of where their future home will be, and Sarah has a whole load of heavy baggage about her milestone birthday.

And I was looking forward to seeing both their gorgeous partners again – Jean-Luc and Josh – perhaps with some of that heat of attraction that made them (and me) rather sweaty under the collar when they first got together (and that didn’t disappoint either…!). And then there were the female friends – such a massive feature of the earlier books, perhaps one of my favourite things about them – and the promise, fully delivered, that they’d all be brought together for one last time. And there they all were – with some last minute surprises to make things complete. Do you know, I didn’t really take to Jaelee when I first met her, but got to know her better over her experiences in Bali – she’s certainly a bit of a star turn in this book with her dubious language skills and her unique approach to crisis handling.

And there were a few newer characters too, some of them rather more welcome guests than others, along with a lovely focus on the older generation with the introduction of the girls’ parents (“Sixty-four, not dead” – that became their mother’s catch-phrase, and I absolutely adored their father!). The other thing I’d hoped for was one of those magical locations the author captures so wonderfully – and as soon as the couples walked out on the balcony of their castle apartment at the Montespertoli vineyard, I knew this book would have everything I could possibly have asked for.

The story’s told through the alternating viewpoints of Cat and Sarah, really distinctive voices, their narratives laced with humour but also dipping at times into the realms of the more challenging problems facing them both. There are moments of real drama as both big days approach, the preparations detailed and simply fascinating (distinctly challenging at times too), and the emotional aspects so beautifully handled. There’s a perfect balance between the laugh-out-loud comedy set pieces – you’re going to particularly love the star turn at the hen party – and other moments that really touch your heart. When it was all over, and everyone was dispersing around the world once more, I found I was really tearful – but the ending (there’s the most wonderful “eight months later” postscript) is just about as perfect as it could possibly have been.

Could you read this book as a standalone? Yes, I think you probably could, there’s enough lightly dropped back story to establish the characters and their connections – but I think you might enjoy it even more if you’ve read at least one or two of the books that went before. But that wouldn’t be any real hardship, would it? This book really was the perfect conclusion to a series I’ve thoroughly enjoyed – one of my books of the year, and recommended very highly.

A wonderful story about the wonderful sisters Catherine & Sarah as they prepare to head to Tuscany for a wedding.

A story that will make you chuckle throughout as we get reacquainted with the sisters and their lovely partners and get to spend time with Mum and Dad too.

Full of family drama, wedding disasters and laughter, I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end and I've looked forward to having time to sit down and read it.

Keep the wonderful stories coming as I loved my trip to Tuscany, which is always a gorgeous destination that really sets the scene

The fifth book in the Holiday Romance Series. A Wedding in Tuscany is the first book of Sandy Barkers I have come across. This is the finale of the series, but I enjoyed it as a stand alone.

Cat and Sarah are sisters who live miles apart but they are still close. The story is told from both sisters viewpoints so I got to know them as the story developed. As the title suggests they go totally Tuscany to celebrate Sarah's 40th birthday and the fact that Cat is getting married as well.

They both have important events on the horizon and they are both struggling to be honest with themselves as well as not being truthful about how they feel. I got to know these sisters in no time and was so interested in what would happen to them.

Sandy Barker is a writer whose characters grab your attention and make you care for them too. I loved the cover, and the location gave me all the feels for Tuscany too. This was a story about how love can come in many forms; you just have to be open to it.

A story that made me want to know more about these characters. Such a great read. It has drama, fun and even emotional times. A book that reminded me how great it is to escape real life for a while, even if its just from my front room.

If you want an escapist read with fabulous characters that's so well written, pick up this series...I am planning to start from book one myself!
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and netgalley

A Wedding in Tuscany by Sandy Barker

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Parsons sisters are all loved up.

Sarah is living in Sydney with Josh and their cat, Domino, but is anxious about her fast-approaching fortieth birthday.

And Cat is still living in London with her flatmate, Jane, but is in a long-distance relationship with Jean-Luc, her childhood sweetheart and recently re-discovered love.

One of the sisters receives a surprise wedding proposal – it’s a yes! – and everyone heads off to Tuscany for a destination wedding.

This is the fifth and final book in the series, but I am reading this as a standalone. This is a must read if you have read the earlier books in the series but for me it worked well as a standalone. This book is full of love, misunderstandings and friendships. Full of summer and holiday vibes this book will leave you wishing you could be in Tuscany.

Rating: 4/5

Once again Sandy Barker has made a lovely escape read. And by that I don’t mean that people escape in the book, but that when you need an escape from the everyday, this is the kind of book you pick up. Full of romance, a fair bit of steam, family drama as well as sweeping landscapes and amazing food descriptions, there’s a little something for everyone. This was the last book in the series and though some of the characters carry through, this can definitely be read as a stand alone.
Sarah and Cat have always been super close, but when Cat gets engaged and Sarah is turning 40, they decide to make a big celebration out of it all and have a destination wedding/birthday party. Nothing goes smoothly but in the end it all works out and they get their happy ever after.
Lovely summer read that left me dreaming of shopping and eating and enjoying all there is to Tuscany.
Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

It’s been great catching up with all the familiar faces in the Holiday Romance series. Cat and Sarah are brilliant together - I loved how they constantly tease eachother but always have each other’s backs when needed - and boy was that needed at times during this story!
Tuscany sounded like the perfect place for a get together with their friends and family and throw in a wedding and a big birthday, and you’ve the perfect combination. I could almost taste the wine and see the stunning scenery from the castle and was just a little sad that this is the end of the series.

It's the final book in The Holiday Romance series, and it's a fabulous finale for sisters Sarah and Cat and their friends. Set in Tuscany, the wedding of Cat and Jean-Luc has angst, humour, romance and poignancy and more than lives up to its dramatic setting. I love the sisterly dynamic between Cat and Sarah, the vividly described location and the authentically written characters and relationships. The story has a good mix of laughter and reflective moments, and the ending is lovely.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I loved reading this series and sad that this book is the last one. It’s full of laughter, friendships and so much more.

The story is about Sarah and Catherine, two sisters, Sarah is nearing her 40th birthday and Jean-Luc has asked Catherine to marry him.

A surprise has been organised by Sarah’s boyfriend, in Tuscany and her sister and fiancé decide to get married at the same time as all they’re loved ones will be there, so it’ll be a fabulous celebration.

But there’s problems when they arrive in Tuscany, but despite these, both the 40th birthday, and the wedding are celebrated without there being major issues.

I highly recommend this book and the previous books in the series.

Two Aussie sisters, live a world apart,
But the distance is never there in their heart.
Sarah lives in Sydney, with Josh who is making plans
For a special surprise fortieth birthday treat in other lands.

Meanwhile Cat lives in London but has a rekindled romance,
With Jean-Luc - for these childhood sweethearts it is a second chance!
A Wedding in Tuscany is one bride-to-be's dream
But sometimes things aren't quite as simple as they seem.....

Get ready for misadventures, language barriers and more
As folks from around the world come together like they did before.
With decisions to be made and things (accidentally) left behind,
There are surprises galore and new things to find.

In a glorious setting this story is filled with fun
Laughter, friendship and challenges in the sun.
There are family dramas and mayhem in a brilliant mix
As they work together trying the wedding venue to fix!

A lovely read, one that I thoroughly enjoyed, too
So I have no hesitation in highly recommending it to you!
For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review

🌄🍷Good setting, oodles of detail: slow🤔

3.5-4 🌟 stars
The sentiment was good, as two Aussie sisters who live on either side of the world get together with family and a global entourage of friends in pastoral Tuscany to celebrate some major milestones. But, for some reason, this book seemed to move along at a glacial pace. I could not wait for the albeit happy end.

Yes, there are mishaps and minor crises to give it drama but some, or at least one in particular, were totally unnecessary. When an important item gets left behind at one of Cat's transit stops enroute to the gathering, rather than getting on a train (yes, Veronica, they do have a good train service in Europe) or even taking their car to retrieve it, they act like it's lost in space! 🙄

So, yes, it's a feel good, triumph your way despite the roadblocks kind of adventure; I just thought it lingered too long on each scene, the mundane along with the emotional ones. Not my favorite in the series, but I did like returning to see Cat and Sarah Parson happy and working through their issues. The whole novel is written in the two sisters' voices. Jean Luc and Josh, their guys, don't get as much play but it's obvious these two sisters lucked out in the romance department! Only one evil fairy godmother (oops, prospective sister-in-law!) to sour the sweetness of the events.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

A lovely romantic book that I couldn't put down. A stunning location with lots of love interest - a perfect summer read. My first read of this author but I will seek her out again

Can I just tell you how refreshing it is to read a Sandy Barker novel? You don't know how many romcom books pop up on my feed that are too sweet, too unbelievable, and just not authentic. The characters in Sandy Barker's books are believable. They talk like real people and think like real people. They cuss, and they don't dance around topics or situations. And isn't this what you want in a book? (The prologue is a perfect example. LOVED IT and this set the stage for me.)

Anyway. A Wedding in Tuscany (5th book in the series, but as with all the books, they are so well written you could read them as standalones): I loved having Cat and Sarah as mains in the same book. Brought the whole series together for me. I had just read the author's Bali book and so it was a treat for me to find Jaelee (main in Bali) in this book too! This is a fun romcom worth reading any time of the year, but I particularly think this would be a fantastic book to read in the summer. Tuscany is a star too in this book. I have never been to Italy, but boy do I feel like I've traveled there now! Sad this is the last book of the series, but equally excited to see what this author writes next.

This series, and this author, is a gem among Australian lit,

In this the last of the series we have a joint celebration to be held in Tuscany, Cat for her wedding and Sandy for her 40th birthday. This is an opportunity for friends who met on the Geek islands sailing holiday to have a get together.
I have enjoyed the previous books in this series and this is no exception, the author manages to bring the locations to life for me with both the countryside and, in particular, the food. The friendships are enduring, counterbalanced by the occasional bad apple (looking at you Cecile), but them you can't choose your family. The only slight questions I have is Cat and Jean-Luc's inability to jointly choose where they are going to live once they are married. Also Sandy worrying about turning 40, I'm 70 next year....
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Two Aussie sisters, two milen stones, double celebration, two uncertainities.

Sarah, the older one turns 40 and her birthday party is in Tuscany, her beloved travel destination. Yet something is bothering her, something on her mind that won'tlet lose? She is in love, has incredible partner, yet what is the problem? The number? Or something else?

Catherine, the younger sister, is going to marry the love of her life, her best friend and while he lives in Paris and she in London, she can't decide what to do. Why is the imagination of living in Paris so bothersome?
Would he want to live in London after they wed?

I loved this book because it was easy to read, funny yet sad and I totally could feel with both sisters, simply exquisite.
I also loved setting, the Tuscany described in the pages, you almost felt like you were there.
Anyway I can only 100% recommend for someone who loves easy summer read full of fun and Aussie talks.

Gorgeous setting, a love story (or should I say stories?) that melts your heart and a heart-warming ending that leaves you with a wide smile, A Wedding in Tuscany by Sandy Barker is a charming and absolutely delightful read.

I loved everything about this book - the characters, the romance, the setting, the shopping, and of course, the main event for which everyone's gathered - the wedding! We also have a bit of humor, thanks to the Parsons sisters' parents.

If you are looking for a heart-warming and feel-good summer romance, you might want to give A Wedding in Tuscany by Sandy Barker a try.

Highly recommended!

I love Sandy Barker's style. A fun read, entertaining, but also touching on seriousness. It was nice to catch up with some familiar characters. I love the relationships between the friends and family. Showing that things aren't always easy in life, even when you think you have a normal, stable life. Tuscany sounds beautiful, and as always with books by this author she makes me want to visit there.
Loved the hen 'do' and Captain Tuscany :)
Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy.
Pure escapism at its best!

Feel-good escapism anyone? Yes, please! Somehow I've come across this series on the fifth and final book. It was clear I'd missed out on some backstory but this was easily read and enjoyed as a stand-alone. Definitely fun and romantic, but I wasn't expecting so much drama. It's presented in an understandable way but I kept thinking "Ladies, it doesn't have to be this hard!" The angst around goodbyes is for real, though. "As has been true each time I say goodbye to my parents, this one will hurt acutely for some time, then eventually dull into an ache that becomes part of my emotional landscape." Highlighted that and wrote it down. Being from the US and living in AU, I know that ache. This was beautifully expressed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I'm looking forward to going back and reading the first four now!

This is such a sweet ending to this series! It was so fun to read through all of the excitement and drama as all of the characters from the series came together. I loved the alternating view points between Cat and Sarah, as well as the highlights on Sarah's 40th in addition to Cat's wedding. I feel like often times romance novels focus on younger protagonists and I appreciated the representation throughout this series as these women experience so much of life (rather than just their early 20's). I found myself giggling and smiling to myself often while reading this, while Sandy still drove home important life decisions for the characters that kept me completely invested in this final chapter of their story. The ending was fantastic and overall I loved this all the way through!

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK & One More Chapter for giving me access to this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!

I didn’t realise this book was the last of a series but not having read the others I wasn’t sure if I should carry on. So pleased I did and what a heart warming story of love, family and friendship. I loved the relationship between the sisters, Sarah and Cat as well as the beautiful setting of the rolling countryside of Tuscany. Loved the book and now to read books 1-4 .
My thanks goes to NetGalley and HarperCollins, One More Chapter for the early read