This book is a 10/10 not oy because of the delicious recipes, but because the gorgeous photographs! I felt like I took a vacation while flipping through.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Von Diaz remains one of the foremost authorities on Puerto Rican and Caribbean cooking. But this cookbook, in particular, is a warm blast of island color, making me reminisce of a time when I lived in an eternal summer with tropical bounty all around me. Those photos!

And the stories! Most cookbooks have forgettable author remembrances or lectures on food. Diaz has interviewed women from islands around the world, like a girl-empowerment leader in Guam, a conservationist in the Seychelles, a fisherwoman in Madagascar, a restauranteur in Curaçao, her own bohemian cousin in Puerto Rico. Reading about these women was as good as the recipes — and that’s high praise, indeed. (There’s a male Haitian environmentalist, as well.)

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this cookbook from NetGalley and Chronicle Books in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I saw this book I was excited to have the opportunity to take a peek inside of it. Tropical cooking, yet providing more than just Latin flavor? Yes, please! The book has beautiful pictures and a history of the techniques used on the islands for cooking. I was so excited to see so much Puerto Rican food (even ones that I hadn't seen before!), yet I could also see recipes from the Philippines and St. Lucia, among other islands. The book was informative and beautiful, and I can't wait to do some of its recipes.

Thank you, NetGalley, Von Diaz, and Chronicle Books for providing me with this eARC.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook.
Beautiful photos of islands etc. There is not really any photos of the food. I wish they would have done that. These recipes absolutely sound delicious and fresh. The book is stuffed full with instructions that I didn't know before. So I cannot wait to study more and try some of these recipes.

Interesting recipes. Lots of good information. I only wish there was a picture of each dish. That always inspires me to make a dish after I’ve seen a beautiful photo of the meal.

This is an absolutely beautiful cookbook. The recipes in it are right up my alley too. They ate beautiful, healthy and vibrant. I also love how unique and original the ideas in this cookbook are. I feel like a lot of cookbooks have very similar recipes but this one definitely takes on recipes that I havent come across in other books.

I loved the whole idea of this cookbook!

Presenting recipes and dishes from "a way of life" (rather than by county/region) is very fresh and innovative. I also liked that recipes are sectioned by the manner of cooking or preparation and not by main ingredients - again, very innovative!

I just wish that there are more variations to sweets/snacks/dessert recipes, like steamed, fried or grilled rice cakes or fruit.

Nevertheless, I am going to place a pre-order for this cookbook! It is my first time to come across such an original cookbook, both in terms of subject, recipes and recipe presentation.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

GORGEOUS. Excited to make every single recipe. The images, the descriptions, the amazing individuals. Truly fantastic and beautiful.