The House in The Olive Grove by @emmalloydcowell a NetGalley read. Set in Petalidi Greece, Maria is running a very successful cookery school. Although on the surface Maria seems in control and contented she’s also running from her past. Kayla and Alessandra join Maria’s cookery school, both running from their own secrets but they get so much more than they could have every thought possible from the school. I finished reading this last wk, but have been away and I definitely recommend as a holiday read. I loved this authors first book and even though personally I preferred the first book, this is also great. The author is great at getting the story, it’s characters and it’s location to jump of the pages, making them feel tangible and real. I loved the aspect of something beyond the hear and now, something more after we all die this part really appealed to me and I couldn’t put it down. The three main characters are three woman, three strong, successful and formidable woman, stronger than they know. All three woman from the outside in seem to have it all held together, confident it what they are doing in life, yet as the story develops not all is as it seems and we then see these woman go through this amazing journey, a journey that isn’t a case of quick fixes but there’s a raw honesty. This book will give you the feels, you will laugh and reach for the tissues and you without a doubt won’t want to put it down or even want it to finish. As I said a great holiday read, one I will be recommending and again can’t wait to see what’s next from this author ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A beautiful story about friendship, acceptance and forgiveness.

Maria runs a cooking school in her native Greece, having returned home from New York after her marriage ended. Kayla, a famous British TV chef and Alessandra, a beautiful and feisty Italian dancer, are Maria’s guests for the week and they have no idea how much they will need each other.

Maria has a beautiful spiritual connection to people, food and her beloved bees. But someone wants her to leave and is leaving sinister threats.

Kayla has just discovered a huge betrayal and struggles with living her life in the celebrity spotlight; “It’s the worst thing to be judged or rejected just for being who I am”

Alessandra’s shocking revelation about her marriage causes tensions, until the three women are drawn together when her secret is revealed.

I absolutely loved the descriptions of the scar on Maria’s neck, which she describes as the “Scar of the Americas”.
📚“Her eyes travel down my neck through the Florida Keys to Hawaii”.
📚“I feel my scar tickle around Cape Cod to Vermont”.

I did work out who was threatening Maria very early on, but the story is so much more than a “whodunnit”. It’s an emotional rollercoaster and I highly recommend it.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely adore books like these! This is a story of female friendships, of self-discovery and of asking yourself what life is all about, set in the amazing country of Greece.

Chef Maria runs a cooking school in her home town of Petalidi, Greece. On the surface, she has it all together and she is an inspired cook, however, the scars that she has aren't only on her skin.

Kayla is a very successful cook in the UK, known by a lot of people, with a successful marriage, a child and a business. However, there are cracks in her life that she would rather not examine too closely.

Alessandra was a dancer, an Italian woman who does what she wants, without thinking about the consequences. She shares her stories with the others, without actually sharing the most important thing about herself.

These three women, all very different, come together at Maria's cooking school. Learning new recipes, sure, but learning more about each other and themselves in the process.

A beautifully written novel, this is not some lightweight story about women at a cooking school, it goes much deeper than that. And I loved it. I also wanted to go to a Greek restaurant, immediately.

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books.

Three women, all facing their own demons.

Maria has been running her cooking school in Greece for ten years, having come back from New York with both physical and emotional scars. However, the village she grew up in is not very keen to have her back.

Kayla is a celebrity chef who has come to Greece to interview Maria. However, secrets and past trauma threatens to bring her perfect life down around her.

Alessandra is bold and doesn’t hold back but behind the bravado lies heartbreak.

Can these three women hold each other up when outside forces want to see them fall?

This was my introduction to Emma Cowell and I was very keen to get reading.

It took a couple of chapters to settle in as the characters are all introduced. As I got further into the novel, I became completely engrossed in the lives of these three women. The plot got richer as I progressed through and by the end, I was smiling, laughing and crying with these characters. I also wanted to push Maria and Leonidas together and tell them to stop being daft. Whether they do stop getting in their own way is something I’ll leave you to discover yourselves.

Maria has the kind of courage I wish I had. She faces adversity head on and I loved that.

Kayla is trying to hold her life together – she wants to show the world she’s strong and, as a celebrity, she believes she needs to keep that facade going at all times. She has an idea of what her life should look like and is too hard on herself.

Alessandra is also not one to shy away from life. She doesn’t apologise for who she is but even she is eventually scared when having to face things from her past and inevitable events in her future.

What these women have in common is that they don’t realise how amazing they truly are and how they all have the potential to inspire each other. It’s like they all hold a mirror up to each other and between the three of them, there is a lot for the reader to relate to.

The setting is just stunning. I could feel the sun, see the village and smell the incredible food made. Tip…. don’t read this when you’re hungry. LOL!

The inclusion of the bees with the occasional paragraph from their point of view was a great touch. The feeling of magic is threaded through the whole book and I loved that. It gave me that ‘anything is possible’ feeling.

It deals with themes such as loss, illness, friendship, trust, faith and love and does so with care.

I really hope this isn’t the last we hear of these characters. I hope we get to check in with them again.

This book was lovely and would make a perfect holiday companion or if you’re looking for a book to read in garden, lounge, whatever. I throughly recommend this one.

I look forward to seeing what Emma Cowell does next.

(Thanks to Avon and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.)

Follows the story of Maria, Kayla & Alessandra who are brought together for one week at Maria’s cooking school in Petalidi, Greece.
They each have an unique story to tell.
Heartwarming story, celebrating friendship and how magical bonds are created when you cook and share food.
Food as they say is the language of love.
The tasty delicious descriptions of Greek food make you fell you can almost taste the food and immediately transport to Greece and it’s culture.
Perfect summer read, sit back with a glass of ouzo and enjoy
Thanks @emmalloydcowell, @avonbooksuk & @netgalley for the eARC

I loved Emma Cowell's first book, so was looking forward to this second one. I spent the entire book, though, expecting to see Sophie again, only to realize once I did some digging, that this is a completely different little town in Greece (with a very similar feel) than in the first book.

Setting that aside, I still found the characters, situations and locale enchanting. Maria's relationship to the honey bees and their contribution to her cooking was enjoyable to read about, and the friendship between Maria, Kayla and Alessandra was wonderful, especially how helped each other find the strength to pursue the best paths forward for each of their lives.

It's a beautiful story about the power of women to cut down and to build up that really makes you look at your own female relationships and assess, how can I do more building up?

Thank you to Emma Cowell, Avon Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

A delightful book by Emma telling the story of three different women who meet at The House in the Olive Grove. Each has their own secrets but form a lovely friendship in the sunshine of Greece.

The House in the Olive Grove is an evocative novel set in Messinias the first finger in the Peleponese peninsulas. I live much of the year in the Mani just over the bay. I was impressed at how Emma Cowell has written such a delightful story set here. It’s an homage to Greek cooking, bee keeping and to the closeness of small communities though there are no village greens ( maybe Corfu) and I would change that to village ‘square’ or Plateia. The book has an exceptionally strong emotional pulse. It is a story that displays the endurance of love, forgiveness and character growth as a result of interactions and circumstances. Its three main protagonists, Maria, Alessandria and Kayla gather together in Maria’s Kitchen, a cooking school and all three have adventures, trials and are changed over an Easter period of cooking and celebrations. All experience ‘lessons in love’. It is a wise, funny and heart warming novel filled with traditions and also superstition. It reminds me of Joanne Harris’s Chocolat and readers who enjoyed that book will love this one. This beautiful novel is uplifting. I look forward to reading more from Emma Cowell. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an arc of this excellent novel.

I was very much looking forward to this book set in Greece. The author sets the scene well with the descriptions of the land and of course the food. Sadly I found the story very predictable and not very interesting. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC

This is my second outing with Emma Cowell and I was not disappointed. The House in the Olive Grove opens with a window on each of the three main characters’ lives. Maria lives in New York where she runs a successful restaurant. Kayla is from the UK and a celebrity food writer, and finally Italian Alessandra, who used to dance but now creates beautiful jewellery.
From there, the narrative moves on to the present. A tragic accident has seen Maria returning to her native Greece. She now runs a successful cookery school – Maria’s Kitchen, although she finds she experiences difficulties with the locals in the village where her business is based.
When Kayla and Alessandra enrol on a week’s course with Maria, they cannot anticipate the changes they will go through. Despite early difficulties between Kayla and Alessandra, the three eventually bond and a strong friendship develops.
Great characters and a beautiful backdrop. After all, what’s not to like about Greek food and life in the sun? Kayla and Alessandra learn not only more about cooking, but about themselves as well – who they are and what they now need from life. A lovely descriptive book which caught my imagination and kept me reading well into the early hours.
My thanks to Emma Cowell, Avon and Netgalley for an ARC of The House in the Olive Grove in exchange for an honest review.
Recommended.

This story centres around three women, Maria, Alessandra and Kayla, all successful in their own right, each with their own secret. To hide.
Meeting at Maria’s cookery school in Greece they form an unusual friendship and decide to work together to unburden their lives.
A beautiful book with glorious scenery and beautiful culinary descriptions.
For anyone looking for a holiday destination and a good book…..look no further.

This was a good book with strong female leads! I loved the setting of Greece and there were great descriptions of some delicious food.

Having three different female leads in the story did make it feel like it was jumping around a lot which was a bit too much. This could have been three different stories instead of one with each lead finding themselves and romance.

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

Following her marriage ending, Maria is back in Greece. She opens a cookery school,

But the locals are cautious of her, as she can see apparitions and therefore Maria is a loner.

Will she resolve sort out the past, and be liked for who she is?

Kayla writes cookery books and also writes reviews. She is coming to the school, but will she think about what she wants to do with her life whilst she’s there?

The other person booked to attend is Alessandra who is Italian, but, the person she portrays, is that her?

I loved how beautifully Greece and the food was described, making you wish you was there yourself.

I recommend this book.

Maria has come home to Greece and is running a cookery school. Kayla and Alessandra are her students. All three women are starting over. Cowell has written a lovely atmospheric novel that will engage and entertain you. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Maria returns from the U.S. to her native Greece to set up a successful cookery school after a devastating accident and subsequent divorce. She has two new students, Kayla, a successful food journalist and Alessandra, a jewellery maker and free spirit.
The story managed to evoke Greece for me, especially the cooking which kept me feeling hungry all the time. All three main characters have secrets that are gradually revealed, there is also a mystery, with Maria receiving spiteful messages from an unknown person. There is also some spiritualism, where Maria's abilities result in her being an outcast from her village. I did enjoy Maria's talking to her bees, a main part of the story, with some interesting insights from them. Add a touch of romance and tragedy and you have a story well worth reading.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influenced my review of the book.

As a young woman Maria decided to go to America and explore her talent for cookery. Now after running a successful business in New York, a horrifying accident and a divorce she is back in her home village of Petalidi in Greece.
Her cookery school has provided help and solace to many over the years and she is hoping her two newest guests will be no different.
Kayla is a food journalist who seems to have the perfect life but appearances can be deceptive.
Alessandra makes her own jewellery and enjoys her life but some bad news has left her questioning some of her decisions.
All three women are hiding things but will Maria and her cookery school work their magic and help to heal wounds old and new and bring the women the answers they are looking for.
This is a book about love, loss, friendship and bees. It’s beautiful, moving and perfect to escape into. The colours, smells and tastes almost leap from the page and you can imagine yourself there.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this especially as it was set in Greece and the evocation of Greece culture and people was well done.

I found the switching between the three women’s stories a little unbalanced at times. I’ve read several books which have three women as the heart of the story and I almost always feel annoyed when we leave one of them to turn to the others. It’s distracting and frustrating for me. The plethora of additional characters that ensued as a result of having three female main chapters made it a little messy for me.

I thought the resolution of the ‘who did it’ mystery rather odd. I simply could not believe that Maria could be so instantly forgiving and understanding. I also thought the romance with Leonidas was underwritten. Maria seemed a little saintly at times.

An enjoyable read.

Maria Leventi runs a successful cookery school in the village of Petalidi, Greece, and despite it being her home town, a group of locals don't like her and think she's weird. Maria has always been a bit of an outsider, someone is sending her nasty text messages, leaving odd displays by her beehives and Maria is worried.

Kayla Moss is an English food journalist and television host. Prior to leaving for Greece on a work assignment, Kayla uncovers her husband has been keeping a devastating secret from her, and she’s not sure if she can forgive him? Alessandra Rossi is a Roman jewellery designer, she’s just received some bad personal news and she hopes a week in Greece will take her mind off her problems and recharge her batteries.

Maria has built her cooking school on her deceased fathers land, she grows her own produce and keeps bees. Maria takes Kayla and Alessandra through the steps to recreate her delicious dishes, the women chat as they cook, at first Kayla doesn’t approve of Alessandra and her free spirited ways. As the days pass, Maria, Kayla and Alessandra share information about their family's dynamics, all three women have experienced pain and loss, and an unlikely friendship and bond forms.

I received a copy of The House in the Olive Grove by Emma Cowell from NetGalley and Avon Books UK in exchange for an honest review. In her latest narrative, the author skillfully describes in detail the sights, sounds, traditions and delicious food Greece is renowned for. The characters of Maria, Kayla and Alessandra are all very different, you become emotionally invested in their struggles, tragedies, relationships and triumphs. A story about the joy of cooking, sharing food, friendship, kindness, self-reflection, forgiveness, second chances and the sweetness of honey. Four stars from me, I enjoyed both The House in the Olive Grove and Ms. Cowell's previous book, One Last Letter from Greece. I wish I could jump on a plane, fly to Greece and eat moussaka and baklava.

Three women from very different walks of life meet at an elite cooking school in a small village in Greece. Each woman finds themselves at a crossroads, and each hides a secret that, when discovered will change the course of their life.

Maria is a chef with an almost magical ability to combine ingredients creating unique, flavorful dishes. She harvests her own fresh vegetables, herbs and spices, and honey from the beehives she proudly keeps. She runs Maria’s Kitchen, sharing her passion and her ideas with the students she welcomes into her home.

Kayla is a food writer, anxious to begin her journey and write about the unique cooking school. The trip also offers her the chance to break away and find space to come to terms with her failing marriage.

Jewelry designer Alessandra has always been happy just being herself, no matter what other people think. She looks forward to the opportunity and adventure of attending Maria’s Kitchen.

The women are slow to warm to each other, but as they spend time cooking and creating, getting better acquainted, they begin to form a bond. In many ways, they are more alike then they are different. Searching for answers, they find the aromas, the flavors and the scenery of the small Greek village engaging and enlightening and lead them to unexpected revelations.

Ms. Cowell skillfully blends themes of love, loss, fear, friendship and self discovery, adding a magical quality using interludes of Maria's bees speculating on the narrative.. They open the readers'’ mind to new and varied ways of viewing the events of the story. The reflections become an allegory for the inner thoughts and feelings of the women.

Ms. Cowell weaves a beautiful, moving story of love and friendship. Her eloquent prose brings to life the feel of the breeze off the ocean, the enticing aroma drifting from Maria’s kitchen and the sweetness of the bees’ honey. Most important there is a soulful quality to her words that urges the reader to immerse themselves in the emotions of the story. This is a deeply moving, somewhat bittersweet story that is not to be missed.

Light your favourite candle, pour yourself a glass of ouzo, play Leonard Cohen’s ‘Bird on a Wire,’ and let author Emma Cowell transport you to Petalidi, Greece.

“It was exhausting, pointlessly regretting an impossibility. And that acceptance transformed me. So, instead, I focus on what makes me happy.”

Great advice for us all.

You’ll come to love this main character, a food guru, who dispenses wisdom and deliciousness. Guaranteed.

A chef who runs a cooking school in Greece, a food journalist whose marriage in on the rocks, and a bohemian jewellery maker who’s just received shocking news all meet in the olive grove for one week. Sure, they’re there to cook, but friendships and self-reflection mixed with a little magic of Petalidi take precedence…making this an unputdownable book!

The inner foodie was inspired with every page, I was continually in awe of the vivid descriptions and I was kept spellbound by the author’s writing style. I don’t know how she does it, but Emma Cowell continues to write winners! She writes what and how I like to read and I’ve been telling everyone I saw this weekend to pre-order this book because it’s creating some BUZZ!

Thanks to Maddie, the marketing manager at Avon Books, who made sure I got an early copy!

I was gifted this copy by Avon Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.