A novel from brilliant author, Jo Thomas, full of tradition, family values and feisty Italian woment proving that you can't keep a good woman, especially one that makes pizza, down. After working ridiculous hours as a lawyer in Wales, Lucia takes her annual holiday to stay with her grandparents (Nonno/Nonna) in southern Italy. She realises she needs to find out where she belongs when things do not work out the way she'd hoped. Nonno is retiring from his Pizza Restaurant which has been in the family for generations and needs someone, preferably family, to take over. However, tradition dictates differently.

Lucia feels deeply about her family and despite having taken a different path as a lawyer, she makes a life changing decision to prove that her skills in the kitchen can make an impact. This idea is thwarted by her almost ex-husband, Giancomo adding to the competition, soon past feelings rear their head. With Giancomo and the locals to win over Lucia is up for a challenge. Together with her Nonna (who believes the best ingredient in the food is to make it with love) along with some old and new friends to assist, Lucia sets out on her quest to win over her Nonno and and prove to him that she can keep the restaurant going.

An emotional story that brings everything about Italy into your home and heart. Good home cooked food, prepared with the best ingredients Italy has to offer (you can smell the basil bursting with flavour and taste the sweet ripe tomatoes), friends and most importantly family.

A thoroughly great read which I read in a weekend. Again, Jo Thomas doesn't disappoint. You are immersed in the Italian life, almost sitting outside the restaurant. I wish I was there experiencing it first hand. Absolutely worth reading. Brilliant and thank you!

Food, love and sunshine. A great escape with a cast of lovable characters. Lucia has left her high pressure job as an attorney in Cardiff to spend her annual leave, as she does every year, with her Italian grandparents in a small village near Naples. Nonna and Nonna have a pizzeria that has been in the family for generations. What Lucia finds amidst the sun, lemons, and pizza is the key to life, food and family is what life is really all about.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy. This will appeal to many.

Another amazing read from Jo Thomas! I could not put this down and its the book I've read the quickest in a long time. Left me dreaming of being able to travel and feeling the sun on my face. Italy has certainly moved further up the top of travel list and it also left me craving pasta. A story of how love conquers all and that women really are equal, not to be under estimated and can do what they put their mind to. If you want a story that ticks all the boxes you won't be disappointed!

I received an advance copy of, Chasing the Italian Dream by, Jo Thomas. I love reading books by this author and this book does not disappoint. The scenery, location, characters, story, its a very good book.

Another brilliant book from Jo Thomas incorporating everything one needs to escape in these dull times. Set in sunny Italy evoking the atmosphere of a small historic town together with all the aromas and bustle of a family run Pizzeria. Wonderful characters in the form of close knit families that the reader can take to their hearts with only an occasional passing villain. The book also sets about tackling the issue of the Italian traditional suppression of women to become wives and mothers and not to work, to just stay hidden behind the scenes. Particularly touching is the involvement of Nonnas in the preparation and production of food with knowledge passed down through the generations. Plenty of love but lot's of misunderstandings, disappointments in the mix to keep the reader hooked but more fun, laughter, romance and sun along the way.

Perfection in a book! Totally sublime from start to finish! The reader is instantly transported to Italy, the descriptions of nonnos restaurant,the delectable Italian fare cooked daily, the smell of the lemons, the ripe tomatoes, the pizza straight from the paddle set amongst a traditional Italian family restaurant! A sense of belonging, traditions and upholding family history, strong independent women the backbone of the family, a well fought battle to determine the restaurants future, old relationships, new friendships and a challenge like no other! Great characters particularly Lucia and her grandmother, a touch of romance and a great storyline make for a beautiful summery read perfect for the holidays!
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

My word I always have enjoyed Jo’s books but this one was so amazing from the first page I was hooked and couldn’t put the book down at all. The characters were amazing and the plot to the story was brilliant and of course set in Italy which is even better didn’t disappoint you at all. It’s full of families romance and learning about mistakes made in the past and correcting them and learning what you do want. You have to face up to people you weren’t thinking you would and plenty about pizzas to so makes you hungry. Fantastic read.
Lucia has a high powered job and is expecting a promotion and really wants it as well but she’s due to go back home to Italy to spend time with her grandparents. She makes it home to them and enjoys time with them and helping out in the family pizza restaurant. Her grandfather is deciding to sell the shop as know one in the family will take it over but Lucia doesn’t want this so says she will run it but from England but her grandfather says he has a solution and she wonders what it is and when she arrives in the shop to find her husband in the kitchen and she struggles with this as she left him 7 years ago to live the dream job but seeing him makes her wonder if she did the right thing and now wants to run the restaurant. Her grandfather sets them both a challenge that they run the restaurant together but Lucia sells the pizzas her grandfather has always sold and her ex sells what he wants and after a time who ever has sold the most can run the restaurant. Problem is everything for Lucia seems to go wrong and she has her friends helping her and her grandmother and secrets come out and in the end who will sell the most and who will get the shop or will it all go wrong and neither of them get the shop. Lucia also learns she didn’t get the promotion which makes her even more realise it wasn’t the dream job and staying in Italy will be but will her dream come true or not and will she find love in someone she didn’t expect to.
Worth far more than five stars as so amazingly well written.

Another winner from Jo Thomas! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and devoured it in one sitting, wishing I was in Italy sitting at a table at Nonno’s pizza restaurant eating fresh pizza. I loved the strong female characters - Lucia, Nonna, Veronica and Sofia - determined to fling off the discrimination of the past and be their true selves, along with a cast of supportive men and a baddy thrown in for good measure. Perfect holiday reading 😊

When overworked Lucia goes back to her old home in Italy for her annual 2 week holiday her grandparents have a bit of a surprise waiting for her. They are planning on giving up the family pizza restaurant that has been in the family for years. It would have been passed onto a son, but he died several years ago. The only other option is to leave it to Giacomo, Lucia's ex-husband.

Once again this author has transp[sorted me into a glorious setting with amazing food and fabulous characters. The author has such an amazing feel for what she writes and an obvious love as it really does come across in her work. Chasing the Italian Dream is such an addictive read and there are some deeper issues that are delved into. Bucking the trend of the traditions, confronting truths, wobbling stereotypes and nudging preconceived ideas about how things should be are gently and wind brilliantly woven into this story.

The story is not just about Lucia, it is about many more people than that. There is obviously the Grandparents and Giacomo but there are several more that really do help build up the story. They add an interesting balance as well as some entertainment. I could almost smell the food and I definitely wanted to taste everything the author described, well maybe not quite everything!

From amazing food descriptions to little nuggets of information about pizzas, the making of them and various ingredients to a wonderful system of support, this book really does have all you want and then some. It is such a delight to settle down with and feel the warmth of not just the writing but also the heat of the ovens as I read this on a very cold and wet January afternoon.

This is a book that will be a hit with regular readers of this author and also those who really enjoy contemporary fiction and romance. So easy sit and devour over the course of an afternoon and one I would definitely recommend.

I absolutely love Jo Thomas and her books ! From starting this book 24hrs ago it came to the end too quickly . Lucia is chasing her dream but what is it ? Wales or Italy ? Is her marriage really done ? The amazing Nonno and Nonna and pizzas like no other. An amazing team of ladies who just want to fight for what they believe in.
So enjoyed this book, it made me laugh about loud and cry, but it made my heart happy 🙂
Thanks to Transworld Publishers, Penguin Random House UK and NetGalley for the chance to have an early read 💜

Wow wow wow. Jo Thomas at her best . I loved the story. The description of the Italian of food was amazing. The power of the Italian grandmothers was great. The way sexism was covered and dealt with , fab. We had a nice love story with a twist I did not see. A very must read

I enjoyed this book so much. It was full of everything I love about Italy, the food, the smell and taste of their cooking and even the singing waiter.

Lucy has so much passion about the food and her grandparents and when the future of the family pizzeria is in doubt she wants to be the one to take over. But being a woman causes problems

It has to be one of my favourite books this year and it saw me reading late into the night/early morning as I didn’t want to put it down.

Lucia is back in Italy for a two week holiday, waiting to find out if she has been made partner in the law firm back home in Wales. She finds that her Italian grandparents are struggling with the pizzeria they run and want to pass it on - with no one in the family to inherit, it seems like it will go to the one person Lucia doesn't want to see, her almost ex-husband.

As they become rivals in the kitchen and spend more time together, will they fall back in love?

A great read - wish I could go on holiday to Italy!