Just one Taste by Lizzy Dent is a heartwarming rom-com about a woman grieving the loss of her estranged father while trying to figure out what she will do with the restaurant he gifted her through inheritance. She goes on a trip in his place to Italy with his sous chef Leo to finish the cookbook her dad was working on and ends up learning a lot more about her father and herself in the process.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it did not disappoint! I am a foodie so I loved the restaurant/cooking plot The MMC Leo was a sweetheart and I really enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. Also some really poignant points about healing from grief.

Just One Taste
Author: Lizzy Dent
Publisher: Putnam Books- Penguin House
Pub date: July 16, 2024
Genre: Contemporary romance
Recommend? Absolutely. For a mouthwatering culinary adventure turned romance throughout some of the most picturesque areas of Italy. This has all the right ingredients for a delicious summer/beach read.

Olive Stone a tough food critique has recently inherited her estranged father’s struggling Italian restaurant and the task of completing his cookbook. She embarks on this journey with her father’s sous chef Leo for the remaining three chapters covering Sicily, Tuscany, and Portofino, searching for the culturally significant ingredient and choosing three recipes for each region using this ingredient. Olive is intent on selling her father’s restaurant to let go of the past and the hurt she feels from a father that seemingly chose the restaurant over his family, but this Italian adventure uncovers desires she didn’t know existed- for Italian cooking, for Leo, and closure from the secret’s of her father’s life.
You’ll quickly fall for Olive and Leo, but I think the true romance in this novel is the food. I throughly enjoyed the cultural significance of each dish and the lush details of the travel. Ready to plan a trip to Italy ASAP.

Thank you NetGalley, Putnam Books and Lizzy Dent for my ARC in exchange for an honest review- I really enjoyed this one!

#arcreview #netgalley #lizzydent #justonetaste #summerread #beachread #arcreviewer #toberead

Just One Taste, by Lizzie Dent, is a delightful read! The story centers around Olive, who inherited her estranged father’s restaurant “Nicky’s”, and Leo the restaurant’s chef. Olive and Leo travel to Italy together to complete her dad’s cookbook. Not only do we get to come along with them as Olive and Leo’s relationship develops, but the book is also a testament to friendship and family and dealing with grief. And to top it in off, the story becomes a total love letter to Italy and to the country’s amazing and special food. Highly recommend!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

The cover of this and the premise made me interested in reading it. Olive’s estranged dad Nicky has passed away and left her his restaurant and the manuscript of his unfinished cookbook. Olive just wants to be done with it all. Enter Leo, Nicky’s sous chef and surrogate son.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The pairing did have good chemistry, but a big chunk of the book was just them going around and eating. It felt a bit repetitive at points.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

If you love a European romance filled with forced proximity, one bed tropes, and modern references, this book is for you! This was a very light-hearted read and I enjoyed many aspects of it. While reading this book I felt like I was transported to Italy and I was viewing the sights and eating the foods of the regions. Do not read this book hungry!! The descriptions of the food alone are enough to make your mouth water. The characters are loveable and the relationship between the FMC and her father is perplexing but also heartwarming, Watching her discover things about him through her grief and adventures was definitely my favorite part of the book! I will note that there was a lot of Italian thrown into this book. At times there were not enough context clues for me to fully glean what they were saying and I do not know a lick of Italian. I made extensive use of the translate feature on my Kindle but I do not know what I would have done if reading the physical book. The major downfall of this book for me personally was the chemistry between Olive and Leo, While it was made clear that they were physically attracted to each other, I had a hard time finding where they emotionally connected prior to them hooking up, It fell a little flat for me and the pacing of the romance threw my off as well. Some parts were moving faster than others. Overall this was an enjoyable read!

❤️Slowburn
❤️Enemies to lovers
❤️Forced proximity
❤️Food Critic and Chef

I really liked this book! The romance was very cute, but the story had so much more to it than a typical romance book.

It starts out with Olive, our FMC, inheriting her fathers restaurant. She was not close to him due to many family issues and the story focuses on her healing and overcoming these issues.

I was expecting a much “lighter read”, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed all the extra stuff thrown in!

Olive wants to sell the restaurant, which causes tension with Leo - the chef who was also close with her dad. They not only have to figure out the restaurant situation, but they also have to complete her fathers cookbook.

Leo and Olive had CHEMISTRY and a sloooow burn relationship and I really enjoyed them (especially with the backdrop of Italy!!)

This author did a great job with the world building and the amount of effort put into this book. You could picture the meals and the setting while reading!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was very enjoyable, like a mix of the seven year slip meets a much less dramatic version of the bear, and all in ITALY.

The setting goes crazy in this book!!
Food and the various travel in Italy made me want to hop on a plane immediately! Like on SAY LESS.

•Forced Proximity
•One Bed
•Italian vibes!!

When our main character loses her father she goes on the final leg of his Italian tour to finish his cookbook, but she goes with her father’s sous chef Leo, who turns out is a sexy Italian. YES CHEF!! I wish I was olive fr.

I wish there was even more of Leo I feel like he was so sweet and I would have loved to have seen even more of his personality and the building dynamic between him and Olive, it felt more plot heavy than character driven.

Thank you Netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s for the Arc.

I am ALWAYS excited when I get to read a book by Lizzy Dent! I have read her other books and instantly fell in love with each of their stories.

I heard about Just One Taste about a month ago and was really excited to get the advanced copy and I gobbled it up in one day! Leo and Olive completely had my heart from the first chapter.

If you love an enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance, look no further because our girl Lizzy has given it to us!

I want to start off by saying a huge thank you to Lizzy Dent, the publishers, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

This book has everything you could want: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, one bed, heartbreak, love, food talk. I thought that Olive was a complex character that I could easily relate to and Leo was just the absolute sweetest. My favorite part, however, was the plot twist that even I did not see coming (and I'm pretty good at predicting things in books).

I found that the writing in this book had a similar feel to Emily Henry's, no doubt explaining why she loves Lizzy's writing so much. I definitely hope to check out other books of Lizzy's because this one was five forks out of five.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

When Olive’s estranged father dies, he leaves her not just his restaurant but the responsibility of completing his cookbook. The catch? In order to complete the book, she must travel to Italy and work alongside her father's longtime sous chef and surrogate son, Leo - a man who Olive may very well be putting out of job.

Where to start? I genuinely enjoyed this book – one of my favorites so far this year. There’s so much to love here – gorgeous locations, dreamy food, and a swoony male lead, all in wrapped up in what is primarily a story about Olive reconciling with her past and the tumultuous relationship she had with her dad.

Lizzy Dent does a fantastic job of creating believable conflict, writing grief, and describing some delicious food. Every character, location, and dish feels well thought out.
 
I’ve waffled back and forth on my rating because, while I did feel Leo and Olive had chemistry, there was nothing memorable about it. When I think back on this book, I’ll probably think more about Olive’s personal journey vs. her relationship with Leo. That’s not a bad thing at all – it’s still a very good book. But, as a romance novel, I feel like the chemistry between the two protagonists could have been amped up a bit. (And no – I don’t mean spice, necessarily. Just a little more spark.)
 
Everything else though – so well done, and the twist was truly unexpected but put things into perspective.
 
Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Forced Proximity, Shared Bed
 
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book.

This is genuinely one of the most incredible books I've ever read I enjoyed this so damn much. I will definitely check out lizzy's future releases

As a lover of “foodie” novels, I was looking forward to experiencing Just One Taste after reading the promotional blurb. Unfortunately, it was not what I anticipated. It had all the hallmarks of a solid story – the descriptions of sumptuous food, the evocative scenery of Sicily and Italy, and an enemies-to-lovers trope – but I never felt engaged with the lead characters.

Olive Stone is struggling with mixed feelings. Her parents’ divorce when she was fifteen left her with chronic anger and bitterness toward her once-beloved father. Now, after his recent death, she discovers that he has left his restaurant to her, the very place that sourced the rift in the family. In addition, she encounters Leo, the restaurant’s sous chef, who wants to continue her father’s legacy while Olive’s first impulse is to sell it and move on. The two embark on a four-week trip to Italy to fulfill her father’s life-long dream of publishing a cookbook celebrating Italian cuisine. During the journey, Olive learns a startling secret that shifts her entire perspective of her life and her relationship with her father.

The chemistry never felt authentic between Olive and Leo and repetition of Olive’s dilemma over her attraction to Leo and her conflicting feelings about her father and the restaurant grew tiresome. Overall, this was an adequate novel with a significant twist, but it missed the mark for me.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

This was just not for me. Found it difficult to appreciate the characters. The chemistry felt very forced and there was some “cringey” language in here.

This was such a cute rom-com! I loved the fact that the romance was between a food critic and chef who inherited her father’s restaurant. Definitely unlike anything I’ve read before. My only complaint is that the build up of their relationship was a bit too slow.

I found this be a charming little novel. Lizzy's last book was the same tone, not rushed just good dialogue.

My desire to travel to Italy is at an all time high. This book follows Olive and Leo as they fulfill her dad’s request to finish his cookbook together after his passing. They go to Italy to find recipes, and end up finding each other instead.

Things I loved about this book:
Olives tenacity, drive, and growth.
The grief. It was so well done. I cried several times.
Leo’s steady and patient love and care.
Those besties and their opposite advice.
Hot chef. 🔥
The Italian food and drink - I was drooling!
That bathroom scene had me cackling.
Only one bed!!
That first kiss in the rain.
The sexual tension.
Stop flirting with me, Chef.
The banter between our leads.
That ending packed a pretty emotional punch. I’m rooting for these two lovesick kids.
Such a sweet story!

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

I loved this book! It was paced really well and the romance felt realistic - no "I love yous" after 2 weeks or epilogues ending in a wedding. I also loved how it balanced realtionships with friends, family, and love interests. I genuinely enjoyed both of the main characters and their dynamic. The both were imperfect but so likable and had a very sweet romance.

The descriptions of the food and landscapes made me want to book a trip to Italy immediately. I wrote down a couple of the recipe ideas and even made an orange cake similar to the one they make in Sicily while I was reading because the food was seriously making my mouth water.

Will definitely be recommending this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute romance. I enjoyed it. It was sort of similar to an Emily Henry or Tessa Bailey book. I will consider reading books by Lizzy Dent in the future.

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70% of the time I read about the two main characters, I was tempted to yank my hair out because they were so damn annoying.
They also lacked chemistry.🤗

*Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for a DRC. All opinions are my own.

Olive Stone is a restaurant critic with a reputation for her harsh reviews. She never gives 5 stars, after all, there always needs to be room for improvement. When her estranged father dies and leaves her his restaurant, her first thought is to sell it since she blames the restaurant for her parents' divorce. But before she can go through with that, she has to go to Italy for a month with the restaurant's sous chef and her father's surrogate son so that they can finish his cookbook. You know right away that this is going to be an enemies to lovers story, though I wish that Leo had a bit more personality. I did love the connection to food, family, and place. It was a fun book to read, just not my absolute favorite.