Book Review: The Villa Girls by Nicky Pellegrino

Escape, celebration, recovery, everyone goes on holiday for their own reasons. For Rosie, it is a chance to get away with her friends, a break from the worries of their normal lives. But of all the Villa Girls, it is Rosie whose life is changed  the most by those stolen days.
For Enzo, getting away isn't an option. The heir to an Italian olive estate, his destiny is clear. But when he uncovers a secret that tears his family apart, he must make one of the toughest choices of his life.
As the years go by and the girls grow up, each has their own journey to  make. But for Rosie and Enzo, time will lead them back to the same question: What will they do for love?

My lovely friend Kim from Still Reading sent me this book as she had enjoyed it so much. It was the perfect start to my holiday as it was such a great, easy read.
The Villa Girls follows Rosie, Addoloratas, Toni and Lou. It also follows Enzo, the heir to a vast olive estate in Italy.
The girls end up going on a villa holiday the year they finish school and they make a pact to go on a villa holiday together every three years, no matter where life has taken them. Rosie is the main female character and she has had more than her fair share of tragedy. The holidays are a chance for her to escape from it all and prepare herself to face everything again.
Enzo's life is so different  from Rosies, he is to inherit the family estate so his whole future is mapped out for him whereas Rosie is still trying to come up with  a plan for hers. However, there seem to be a few secrets in Enzo's family and he feels that it is his duty to get to the bottom of it. How will Enzo and Rosie come together and will their two very different lives be able to come together?
The Villa Girls is mainly about family, love, relationships and friendships but it is also about food. There are so many descriptions of beautiful Italian food and recipes that this book will make you hungry.
This is the first book by Nicky Pellegrino that I have read but I was really pleased to see that she has written several others. Her descriptions are particularly detailed and it is easy to image the world she creates. This book is perfect for on holiday but perhaps not great if you are on a diet!

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4.5/5

Publisher: Orion

Pages: 336

Book Review: Recipe for Love by Sasha Wagstaff

Summer in a luxurious villa in Sorrento and a rare interview with an amazing Italian chef should be a taste of heaven shouldn't it? For Cassia Marini it looks more like being a recipe for disaster...
Cassia should be excited about her trip to Italy, Rocco Disanti is one of Italy's most talented chefs, and the trip gives her the opportunity to research her own Italian heritage. But she's in the midst of her own wedding plans and handing this over to a frosty mother-in-law doesn't seem like the greatest idea. It gets worse as she arrives and realises that Rocco is less than thrilled about the interview, her summer break in Sorrento is looking less than promising. But maybe the unlikely ingredients of a hint of romance, a chance to find out more about her past and space from her own relationship, will combine to make an altogether more convincing dish!

I have really enjoyed Sasha Wagstaff's previous books so I was excited to receive her latest one, Recipe for Love. Sasha did not disappoint, Recipe for Love is a great read and would base the perfect book to take on holiday. The vast majority of the book is set in beautiful Sorrento. I went on holiday there myself a few years ago and it is the perfect location to set a book like this; glamorous, beautiful and very romantic.
Cassia Marini is passionate about food and is highly respected as a writer for Sumptuous magazine. Her latest assignment is to shadow Rocco Disanti, chef extraordinaire at his family's estate in Sorrento. It will also give Cassia the chance to look into her dead father's past; he was Italian and adopted but never got the chance to discover the identity of his birth parents. Spending the summer in Sorrento would be perfect but the problem is that Cassia has just got engaged to Finn and going away means leaving the wedding planning to her awful mother-in-law. The other problem, which Cassia is less than happy to admit is that she thinks that being away from Finn might be a good thing as it will test whether she is making the right decision or not but what happens if absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder?
Sasha Wagstaff packs so much into her books and they are always highly glamorous from start to finish. Recipe for Love has romance, lust, family secrets, passion, lies, curses and of course lots of lovely food. I loved that aspect of the book but I have to say that it made me very hungry when reading it!
Cassia is a really good character and I enjoyed her interactions with Rocco Disanti. My other favourite character was Diana, Carissia's mother. She is a successful actress struggling to come to terms with getting older plus protecting her daughters from past events that she she has tried to shelter them from.
I apologise if this review is a little scatty but there was so much that I enjoyed about this book. Sasha Wagstaff has a knack of grabbing your attention at the beginning and then continuing to hold it with a fast paced story full of plot twists and turns.
I would recommend any of Sasha Wagstaff's books, they are pure escapism.

Dot Scribbles Rating 4/5

Many thanks to Headline Review for sending me a copy of the book to review, Recipe for Love is out now!

Take5 Tuesday!

Needed something to kick start my brain this morning so decided to do this little thing:

1. 5 things you've read recently

• Wedding magazines
• A Friend of the Family by Lisa Jewell
• Lovely cards off my beautiful sister and best friend
• Trashy Heat magazine
• Guide to where to seat people at weddings so as not to offend anyone (was not helpful).

2. 5 sites you've signed up for

• Glad that I have discovered Simon Savidge's blog- very good!
• Signed up for the newsletter from Marian Keye's website- very excited to hear that she is working on a new book!
• Have become addicted to this- fuels my trashy celebrity gossip reading addiction.
• Loved this- some of these photos are very scary whilst others have clearly been photo-shopped
• Also loving Nicole's blog over at Linus' Blanket- great new look too!

3. 5 TV shows you've watched lately

• Watched The Great Sperm Race last night and I have a whole new respect for the little blighters- that is one HUGE journey they have to make. Jokes aside, it was a really well made programme; Mr S concurred in his medical student opinion!
• Am heavily addicted to Gossip Girl, think that I am actually bit old to be watching this but it is so good, Chuck Bass is a true hero!
• I watched the new Horne and Corden sketch show but was a little disappointed as I really like these two but there are only so many fat man jokes to be made.
• Enjoyed The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency on Sunday night, still not a patch on the books but still good, cosy, Sunday night viewing.
• Old episodes of Black Books- always cheers me up!

4. 5 things that you want right now

• More sleep
• More time to write
• Winning lottery numbers
• A cleaner
• A newly decorated bathroom

5. 5 things on your grocery list

• Kitchen roll- Alfie seems to have forgotten that he should go to the toilet in the garden and not the kitchen
• Fruit- I am very good at putting it on the list every week and buying it- just need to work on the actually eating it bit.
• Custard Creams- they are a regular on the list and also on my hips.
• Fresh Beetroot- these are for Mr S, he eats them as a snack, he is trying to eat 5 fruit and veg a day and put me to shame.
• Air Freshener- again for Alfie, think he is probably due a bath and a blow-dry!