Lovely read! There is something about Italian food, Italian country side, and Rome that always leaves me spellbound. This book took it to the crescendo. ( )

NOt much of a plot here although the cover promises much. The book starts off well but meanders a bit before getting to the end. However it takes reader on a the great culinary journey of the Italian cuisine which makes for a fascinating read. The author does a good job of using the plot as a medium to introduce the italian palate to the reader. ( )

A wonderfuly delicious romantic tale. A sort of Italian Cyranno de Bergerac with food. Simply delightful! ( )

A very light story about Italians falling in love with tourists. To be honest, if I wasn't about food, too I would have stopped reading after the first 20 pages or so. All in all a lot of illogical events etc. I loved his other book "The various flavors of coffee" better. It had more substance. ( )

Think Cyrano de Bergerac helping Christian de Neuvillette woo Roxane, but instead of wooing her with words, he cooks for her and you have the premise of this book. Bruno is in love with Laura, an American exchange art history student in Rome, but in his shyness he believes he's not worthy of her. Unbeknownst to her, he helps his friend Tomasso, a waiter woo her, by cooking amazing and inventive meals for her and letting Tommaso take credit for the work. What ensues is a comedy of errors and descriptions of some incredible Italian dishes that will leave the reader salivating and craving Italian food.

The scenes between Laura, Tomasso and Bruno are pretty bland and I found myself just skimming, until the author starts describing ingredients, the preparation and the taste of the food. That's where his genius lay. He took us through a culinary journey through Italy. He also generously included some recipes at the back of the book that I am going to try. ( )