Just One Taste is a deliciously heartwarming and emotional romance that is just all about finding your dreams and what family really means. Olive Stone has unexpectedly inherited her estranged father’s restaurant and finds out is her last wish is she finishes his cookbook through Italy with her late father’s sous chef Leo, and the more she sees Italy through her father’s eyes, the more she’s wondering what to do with the restaurant. This is a really heartfelt read. Olive’s journey with her late father is really beautiful and emotional. There’s so much depth and I love the way she handles it. Olive is so relatable and her friendships are so good and strong. I love seeing a strong female friendship like in this book. I also really enjoyed Leo, I think the romance was missing a little something, but I loved the banter of Leo and Olive and how they challenged each other. Their adventures eating through Italy too made me want to just jump on a plane. This is a lovely book.

I enjoyed the beginning and the end of Lizzy Dent’s latest book, Just One Taste, but I must admit the middle was a bit repetitive and hum-drum. One thing is certain, however, you will walk away from reading this book craving delicious Italian cuisine and daydreaming of an exotic Sicilian vacation of your own. .

The promise of Italy, food, and romance - I was hooked in by the cover and the description. But I only made it 25% in and couldn't keep going. I was in no mood to read another romance about grief. I've heard great things about the author's first book and will try that one intead.

I have tried to read this 4 different times. I cannot get past the first chapter. I love silly little romances but the writing in this is just not tolerable for me.

DNF

Fun and lively, but the romance at the heart of the story was missing something -- not enough build-up, perhaps? It was good, but not great. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

One of my favorite subgenres of romance is one that involves food; food trucks, rival chefs, or a beautiful country with decadent meals. Just One Taste fit the bill, feeding my foodie quota. However, the romance missed the mark. I felt like I connected with the food more than I did with Leo and Olive's romance. There was more heat in the Italian food than there was in their interactions.

When food critic Olive Stone’s dad dies, he leaves her two things: the restaurant that tore her family apart and an unfinished manuscript for his cookbook. Both come with one unwelcome condition: his sous chef Leo that has a lot of ideas about both.

Olive and Leo set off on a tour of Italy to finish the cookbook, but what happens after? Olive was dead set on selling the restaurant, but can she really leave it behind? And what will that mean for the slowly growing attraction between her and Leo?

This book was a fabulous love letter to Italy and the food that came from their wonderful country. The imagery was vivid and beautiful. It really made me want to go there to experience it all. Top notes for that! I just wish I felt a little bit more chemistry between Olive and Leo. I personally felt like it wasn’t built up as well as I’m used to with Lizzy Dent’s other books so I was a bit disappointed.

Despite that it was still a good read! I’ll still be recommending it 😊

Enemies to lovers set in Italy. If both of those work for you, you’ll like this book.

Grieving her father, Olive is tasked with finishing his cookbook with the help of his protégé who she doesn’t like. Really she DOESNT like him.

This book was cute. The setting. The real relationships. The passage of grief. It was really well done.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUINE Putnam Group for the ARC.

Just One Taste was wonderful! I loved Olive and Leo and their chemistry. Dent does an amazing job at setting the scene and I felt like I was right there in Italy with them. Olive storyline brought so much depth to the story making this more than just your basic romance. Perfect summer/beach read! Highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

(4.5 stars)

i. am. OBSESSED. this was such a beautiful story filled with love, self-discovery and growth, grief, the meaning of family, traveling and most importantly, FOOD. Dent was so descriptive with all the food scenes it felt like i was in the kitchen/restaurants with them. i really loved the slow burn between Olive and Leo and how it grew through their mutual passion for food in Italy (and a little forced proximity 😉). i also think the different POVs of grief over the same loved one really created a sense of connection between all characters & made for one cohesive story. i was completely taken aback by the twist & but was happy to see my anticipated ending still came to fruition.

overall, im fully entering my food romance era, and this book is at the top of the list! 😍

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. I enjoyed the author’s other books, so this was fun to read. I loved the setting and the ending.

3.5 stars, rounded down

A super cute, quick summer read that will leave you wanting to go visit Italy, or at the very least it'll leave you wanting a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine.

I enjoyed that this was food related, I really enjoyed all the different recipes. With that said, don't read this on an empty stomach because you will be craving all the dishes mentioned.

I enjoyed the romance between the main characters. I thought their friendship turned romance blossomed organically which is always a plus. I also enjoyed Olive's journey to overcome her grief from the death of her father.

My main complaint was the completely out of nowhere plot twist at the very end. I didn't really think it was necessary, and if it had to be in there, then more time should have been spent on it. It seemed like it was used as a plot device to speed up the ending, which I wasn't a fan of.

One thing I was a huge fan of was that there was no third act, completely unnecessary breakup. I know it's basically a standard now with romance books, but I'm not a fan and I found this super refreshing that there wasn't one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(This review contains spoilers.)

This was a cute story about Olive, a food critic working to finish her estranged late father's cookbook, and Leo, a sous chef at her father's restaurant. The Italian summer they spent with all the delicious food, scenery, views, and activities was written so descriptively that you would immediately get hungry (and FOMO) reading this. It was a slow-burn romance, and while I did enjoy their banter, the attraction sometimes felt a bit rushed, and the buildup also felt lackluster, to echo other reviewers. I found Olive's struggle to properly grieve her father's death pretty relatable since it was a very complicated relationship. While I wasn't necessarily invested in it, her experience with bereavement was executed well. This is a minor criticism, but the word "grin" was overused, in my opinion. I also appreciated that there was no third-act breakup, which was refreshing to see.

Overall, I did enjoy this and think it's great for a quick summer read. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lizzy Dent for the ARC!

I sooooo wanted to love this because I absolutely ADORE this cover! So fun and creative, probably one of my favorite illustrated contemporary romance covers; it was the main reason I picked it up.

I just thought the story fell a little flat! I didn’t jive much with either Olive or Leo, and their romantic relationship seemed to come out of nowhere. They were sniping at each other and then almost immediately Olive decided she liked him and just dove in headfirst. It felt like their feelings were based on nothing. I’ll admit that I also was not super invested in Olive’s relationship with her dad, and the plot twist that comes out of ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE in the end kinda seemed like a way to wrap up the story quicker? Idk, I will say that I enjoyed the ending more than I thought I would after being bored for most of the first half (kudos for no real third act breakup here), but overall I was disappointed with this one.

This was a cute romance! The food descriptions in this book had me drooling the entire time. And while I feel like there was a decent romance, I would've liked to seen more of their spark, or some sexual tension. A good size chunk of this novel read more like chick-lit, to be honest. However, if you're looking for a sweet romance with some serious food FOMO, I think you'll enjoy this one.

oh my god oh my god oh my god I have no notes, just that maybe this was longer?? can we have a movie??? Can I have a part two?? Can i spend an entire summer in Italy recreating every single scene in this book? WTF I LOVE LIZZY DENT IM BUYING ALL OF HER BOOKS 😭

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for providing me with the ARC of Just One Taste! I really loved the premise of this book, but I was expecting more romance and chemistry from the two characters. I found it was more about how she was grieving her father rather than growing her love for the main character.

This book is a quick, adorable story about a woman that inherits a restaurant from her estranged dad. As well as an unfinished cookbook, and planned trip to Italy to finish said cookbook, with the hot sous chef from her dad’s restaurant. I loved this book! It had me both laughing and teary eyed. The chemistry and build up between the main characters was great. The side characters added a lot to the story, but didn’t over shine. The Italian back drop was a fun insight into the different locations and cuisines found throughout the country. Altogether it was a great weekend read!! Snag this one in July!

This book was definitely cute & the Italian food talk was next level. I was quite literally hungry the entire time I was reading this and now I want to travel the world! No but seriously, Lizzy Dent did such a beautiful job in detailing every single bit of the setting. I could almost taste the pasta and feel the Tuscan sun on my face.

I wanted so badly to love Olive & Leo, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing and I struggled a bit to connect with them. I love a slow burn, but this form me was entirely too slow and the romance that we did get was a little lack luster. I definitely found myself skimming for dialogue quite a bit just waiting for something to happen. I did however really enjoy the friendship between Olive, Ginny, & Kate. The bater between them felt so genuine and their dynamic was very relatable.

With all that said, this book was good but it just didn't blow me away. I would recommend this to someone looking for an easy beach read or something to take on vacation.

Many thanks to Penguin Group Putnam & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange of my honest review. All thoughts are my own!

Yum! A delicious novel with a fabulous setting in Italy. I liked this one a lot. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I liked the characters and I was invested in the outcome.