This is a quick easy read with good characters, great beach/holiday read. The references to corfu and it’s atmosphere just encourages the escapism in the reader.

Thank you to Netgalley for an electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I can see how this book could be successful, but unfortunately it was not my cup of tea. I was so excited to read this based on the synopsis, but I had to put this down after only five or six chapters in. I have a lot of titles in my TBR, and if a book doesn’t capture me, or rubs me the wrong way, early on, I’ve started to DNF them. And unfortunately this was one of them.

The writing style was not my favorite, and felt inconsistent at times, like it should’ve gone through another round of edits. The dialogue seemed unnatural to me. And the main character, Libby, and her friend Caroline, immediately rubbed me the wrong way.

That being said, there are lots of people who like this book, and if the synopsis interests you, give it a try! You may be surprised :).

But just because

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

I loved this book. A book that you’d love to re-read.

At one time Lydia was a very good chef, but now she writes about food. Caroline is her best friend but doesn’t know much about food, and only eats it if it’s fried.

In order to put together an edition of Luxe Living, Caroline arranges a trip to Corfu to write about the Greek dishes.

Working as a chef, Thanos, getting tired of filleting tuna every Tuesday, after a accident occurring in the family he now has to look after his brother who’s fourteen, called Onassis.

He needs to work, and he loves food. His neighbour Ismena, who looks after the two brothers, isn’t a person to be messed with and has plans for them both.

Lydia comes to a restaurant where Thanos is working, as a favour to his friend. She eats the food cooked by him. They meet again, in the town where Thanos lives. He helps Lydia reconnect with her love of cooking, in the process he tells her more about him and finds what he’s passionate about.

Both Lydia and Caroline are two different people, where Lydia is a warm person, Caroline is funny. I loved Ismena, I’d love to have her as a friend.

Recommend this book.

Mandy Baggot is the queen of summer romance… I love her light, easy reads, always set in Corfu. They are delightfully predictable in that girl always meets boy, so if you are looking for something which you can read in one sitting with a happy ever after, you can’t go wrong with one of Mandy’s books.

This time we have a peek at Culinary Corfu, with Thanos as a the sexy and frustrated chef, while Lydia the food critic visits the island on a work trip. High jinks ensue and Lydia confronts her issues from back home.

Great fun, perfect treat for your summer hols. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fabulous slice of Corfu from Mandy Baggot!!
A really enjoyable read as always, easy to get immersed into quickly!! Its a laugh, its poignant and at times grrrr with frustration!
Lydia is very good at her job as a food critic for an upmarket magazine, with her love and knowledge of food and taste. Her colleague and friend Caroline whisks her off to Corfu on an assignment for all things Greek, where they embark on a fabulous and interesting tour of the island. No spoilers!! Uncover the story for all the ensuing revelations!!
Fascinating top tips of places to go, wonderful characters, a joy to read!!
Highly recommend this one especially for summer reading!!
Thank you for the early read NetGalley!! Loved it!

This honestly just isn't my kind of book. I can't stand a heroine whose life is falling apart and can't stop complaining. To me this reads like early 2000s Bridget Jones type novels. Just not my thing at all.

A Taste of a Greek Summer is a fabulous escape to the Greek island of Corfu. We are transported to a place where food and family take front seat and life falls into place along the way.
Lydia is a little bit broken, and we discover how deeply she has been affected by betrayal as the story unfolds. Her former passion for cooking has been forced to take a back seat and she is unable to even consider working with food ever again. As a lead character, Lydia is perfect and her relationship with her best friend and colleague Caroline is the perfect foil to her cautious nature. As Lydia craves Michelin inspired food, Caroline craves anything that has been in recent contact with a deep fat fryer. None of this is helped by her difficult relationship with her parents.
Thanos is the archetypal Greek God. Described a tall dark and brooding he is definitely as reason to consider Corfu as a holiday destination. That said, he’s not just eye candy, he is a kind, gentle man with a strong sense of family and responsibility. He may be a gifted chef who can create unrivalled food, he is also a brother and a part of a lovely community.
Of course, Lydia is only visiting Corfu as part of a magazine assignment so there’s no point in them becoming involved as it will be over before it has begun. However, what they can do is help each other from a culinary perspective. Thanos needs to recognise his ability and Lydia needs to rediscover her passion for the culinary arts. With help from a meddlesome octogenarian and a street-dance loving teenager, there’s an enjoyable summer to be experienced.
Ismena was probably my favourite character. Whether you’ve visited the Greek islands or the mainland, you have definitely met a woman like her. Fiercely determined and impossible to defy. I could imagine her tiny house and her grumpy cat.
This is a fun book, and it has a comedic undercurrent that is a signature style for Mandy Baggot. With Caroline’s sketchy itinerary and Ismena’s increasingly wilder publicity stunts, there’s a lot going on. But this light-hearted story has romance at its core and a generous portion of sexual tension.

Read/Listen If You Like:
🇬🇷 Books set in the Greece
❤️ Dual POV
👩🏽‍🍳 Chef’s and Food Critics
🍱 Food Descriptions

Book Review:
I had a really hard time getting into this one, which I wasn’t expecting because from the cover and summary it looked as though it would be a perfect fit for what I enjoy from a book. However, it just wasn’t up to the standard that I was hoping for, within the first 20 pages I already was fighting the urge to skim sections of content that didn’t seem to need to be there, or didn’t make sense why they were included multiple times. Also, there were points when the POV changed without any indication of the change and that’s a big pet peeve of mine in books with dual/multiple POVs.

I’m sure if I would have given this one more time, I might have been able to get into it, but I just didn’t like any of the characters and the plot was blah and full of food descriptions that took much of the space in the pages instead of actual plot, there where mostly positive reviews on Goodreads, so I’m guessing it’s just not a great fit for me- but if you like those aspects listed above it may be a great read for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A book for a cold, dark winter’s evening, to bring sunshine and good food into the reader’s life. In Corfu Lydia rediscovers her food mojo and Thanos, with the help of an eighty year widow, finds a way to realise long held dreams. I did feel this was a travel piece rolled into a novel and there was more focus on food than romance but I felt my spirit uplifted by the Greek visualisations.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mandy Baggot hasn’t written a book yet that I didn’t enjoy! This was another fantastic romance from Mandy Baggot, with real characters I could connect with and adore and if it doesn’t have you planning a trip to Corfu, pronto, then we were reading different books!

Lydia and Thanos brought all kinds of complex emotions to the story as they struggled with their own personal grief and trauma, and all the hang ups their pasts had left them both with. Their connection with each other allowed them to open up and face their fears, and it was clear they brought out the best in each other. This was a story of mending broken hearts and building relationships.

One downside for me was Caroline. I found her to be a bit irritating and despite being a large part of the book, it seemed like we only scratched the surface with her character. That being said, this book definitely had the fleshed out backstories and complex relationships I look for in a good romance, whilst still being fun and relaxing to read. The addition of Lydia and Thanos’ family and friends, all of whom had their quirks, provided an extra depth to the story which made it feel very real - like you could step into Corfu and see Onassis and his friends dancing, or Ulrika and Per hiking the Corfu trail.

I’m a big fan of Mandy Baggot and this book did not disappoint.

In a nutshell, food critic and former chef Lydia goes to glorious Greek island of Corfu with her friend and colleague. Lydia meets a local chef Thanos, and the romance starts. As is usual with Mandy’s books, there are lots of fun secondary characters that we get to know and love along the way too.

I always love the way this author describes the locations in her books so beautifully and accurately, enough to make me want to jump on a plane at my earliest convenience! In this book however, she’s gone the extra mile describing delicious Greek dishes which really got my tastebuds longing to sample local cuisine in the sun.

Thank you to the author, publisher and of course NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Loved the characters and the setting of Greece. I thought the way she got back into cooking was great and how they helped each other and eventually came together.

When food writer Lydia meets Corfiot chef Thanos, sparks fly from more than the cooking pot. But will their sizzling hot romance get off the ground in the face of various obstacles?
I loved this story - it's so redolent of Corfu with its sunny beaches, flowery villages and charming tavernas. It really made me feel I was there, savouring the stifados and partaking of the baklava.
It has a great cast of characters - Lydia and Thanos are both lovely people -each with challenges, of course, but all the more interesting for that. The folk around them add colour and interest to the narrative, too - people like Lydia's madcap friend and colleague Caroline, Thanos's brother Onassis and his old neighbour Ismena (along with her mad cat) whose well-meaning efforts to keep Lydia and Thanos on course for a happy ending are often more hindrance than help.
Funny, emotional, with a well-paced and believable plot and a simmering backstory waiting to come to the boil before the final resolution - this was the perfect romance for sunny days.

What a wonderful summery romance read A Taste of Greek Summer was. This author knows how to tickle the tastebuds with sumptuous sounding food and with a nice helping of romance as well.

When Lydia is hoodwinked by her best friend and co-worker Caroline she doesn't expect it to have such an impact on her life as it does. Once a brilliant chef and now a food critic and columnist, Lydia still loves food but has put her knives away. What on earth could have happened for her to turn her back on a wonderful career that made her so happy. Well, you will find out when you read this book!

Lydia is the quieter one out of her and Caroline. While Lydia savours and thinks about things, Caroline rushes in and demolishes. The two are real chalk and cheese characters and it would have been so easy for Lydia to disappear in Caroline's wake, instead, the author balances the two characters and does so with a wonderful storyline and also with some fun.

Going to Greece to get content for articles for the magazine they work for is a great way6 for Lydia to relax and go with the flow. She has got rather stuck in a rut and the trip to Greece may well revive her writing, but it also revives something else.

Food is never far from the pages of this book, from simple mouthwatering local Greek dishes to extravagant and minuscule portions, there is a gastronomic theme throughout, and of course Caroline and her love of chips!

You may think that the wonderful scenery and gorgeous foods would make for a completely happy and fulfilling holiday. Well, that would be too simple and we know that life is never that way. SO the author has written a rather interesting story of Lydia and it gives the explanations needed for her backing away from creating menus to just writing about them. It was a revelation that I didn't expect, but one that felt right. Caroline also has a past that comes out as well.

So. a holiday wouldn't be a holiday without a little romance. And what a wonderful romantic theme this was. Again wrapped around the love of food and done so well. Tempting, tantalising and tasty.

This book was a one-sitting read for me, I started it while sitting out in the garden on a sunny afternoon and finished later the same night. I needed to know the ins and outs, the mystery and also to find out how things would wrap up. This is definitely one for those who love to travel vicariously, love food, and like their romance. It is one I would definitely recommend.

I've not read anything by this author before but what appealed to me was that it was set in Corfu where I holidayed back in the eighties.
I loved all the descriptions of the island as it transported me back to that time. I was also staying in a hotel just outside Benitses.
Lydia and Caroline work for a magazine and head to Corfu for new experiences for features in the Greek edition.
Caroline is still in love with her ex husband.
Lydia is getting away from her ex boyfriend, her family and the restaurant she was working at.
Lydia meets Thanos who works as a chef.
Together they delight in cooking.
Set in a perfect location there really wasn't anything not to like about this book.
Ismena was a little overpowering but had her heart in the right place.
The conversation between Thanos and his brother Onassis about whipped cream and cheesecake was hilarious.
Thanks to Netgalley and Embla Books for the ARC in return for an honest review.

TW: fat shaming, food shaming, animal neglect.

I did not enjoy this book, I found Lydia a narcissistic bully who constantly put her friend down for enjoying food. She was snobby and stuck up constantly belittling her friend, calling her gluttonous because she like chips and kebabs?! It was fat shaming and made me very uncomfortable. You do not have to only eat at 5* restaurants to enjoy food. You should not be measuring your enjoyment of food by portion size - the two are not connected. It was very triggering.

There was also constant references to stray animals - cats with pus filled eyes, cats fighting etc. It was not a soothing read but left me upset and saddened that they were using animal neglect as a plot device.

What a truly stunning read this book is and Mandy never fails to disappoint. Heart warming and beautifully written.

To start, I just have to say that the descriptions and covers of Mandy Baggot’s books are amazing. Based on cover and synopsis alone, I want to read all of her stories! That’s how I felt when I picked this one up, however, once I started reading it, I remembered that I had previously listened to a book of hers on audio that I didn’t care for. My favorite part of this story was the beautifully described Greek island of Corfu and the yummy descriptions of the food. Past that, there wasn’t much about this book that was making me interested in the story. I found the writing to be inconsistent, I didn’t care for the characters, and I had no interest in the plot. There were many parts of the story that seemed to drag on for me, and I found myself skimming towards the end. This probably should be a 2 star read but the setting and food bumped it up to a 3.

If you have never been to Corfu then this story will make you want to visit and if you have been then this will evoke all the wonderful memories that you have of this island. On top of being a fantastic destination, the people are so lovely, warm and friendly.
Reading this book is a joy plus you get to know a few things from the menus at the many restaurants on the island. The story follows a woman where drama has put her off the most important thing in her life...cooking. Can a tall tanned gorgeous greek find her love and give her the spark to ignite her passion for creating wonderful dishes from homegrown produce.
This is not to be missed and will be the ideal book for the summer holiday.

Escape to the island of Corfu with this wonderful tale, of food, sunshine and of course relationships. What a great read, thoroughly enjoyed it