What a beautiful, feel good book that lifts the mood and transports you to another world, if only for a while. Great characters, an idyllic setting, food and family, all brilliant components for a great story. Totally wonderful book.

Ragu and Romance in Rural Italy. When Lucia sets off to Italy, she expects it to be a holiday visiting the Italian side of her family. Then her expected promotion at work doesn't materialise. What should she do? Return home to an uncertain future or take the chance to live in the country she loves? There is one major problem. Her ex-husband still lives in the small town where she grew up. Then there's the question of who will take over her grandparents' restaurant when they retire. What makes this story come alive are the mouth-watering descriptions of Italian food and the warmth and kindness of her family and friends (or most of them!). Perfect feel-good romance by the author of Escape to the French Farmhouse.

I am a huge fan of all things Italian so this book was a real treat. I could almost taste the pizza. A beautiful story. Highly recommended.

The book gives you a real insight into Italian life and how cooking is the heart of living in Italy and the passion behind the cooking, The story has a feel good factor behind it and I think early on you can guess how things will end, I do think it would be nice to have a follow on book to this to let us know how their lives went afterwards.
I would recommend this book

this book was a dream to read from start to the last page it was so easy to get into and you knew how it would end but it is a book you pick up and get lost into it and the food and and way of life plus the sun was everthing i will have no probs telling my friends to look out for this one brill

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

A wonderful, light summer read making you long for hot days in Italy and leisurely pizza lunches washed down with wine and perhaps some grappa.

Loved it.

AWESOME BOOK!
what is not to love about this book, its all about pizza. Well there is more to it than that of course. I loved every page. Lucie is fighting a pizza challenge and in between mouth watering pizza conversations we have Italy and a story that all exciting and had me shouting at my book.

In particular when the fridge is unplugged, I had a full allsortnent of emotions while reading this book in less than a day. I could not put it down.

A definite Must Buy Book for 2021!



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Lucia's promotion to partner in a firm of lawyers in Wales is almost assured when she goes to visit her grandparents in Italy. But when she gets to Italy she finds out her Nonno (granddad) is thinking of retiring and selling the family pizzeria, he desperately wants to pass the pizzeria on to a member of the family but Lucia's brother has his own successful business in Wales. Then in an added blow, her Nonno announces that he will instead give the pizzeria to Lucia's estranged husband Giacomo.

Lucia and Giacomo have been separated, but not divorced, for seven years. Lucia can't bear the idea of her family's heritage, being transformed into a chain coffee shop by some conglomerate, but even worse would be to see her family's traditions trashed by Giacomo and his quest for new flavour combinations as a pizzaiolo, a master pizza-maker. When he tells her he intends to install an electric oven to bake his pizzas it's the last straw.

Nonno agrees to a limited period competition between Lucia and Giacomo, the two of them will cook their pizzas in the restaurant. Whoever sells the most pizzas by the time of the annual Bocce competition on 31 August will win the restaurant. But because Nonno believes the village would not stand for a pizzaiola (a woman master pizza-maker) the competition must be a secret.

Lucia may have grown up helping her Nonno make the pizza dough and adding the toppings she has never physically made a pizza before in the wood oven. At first it seems like an impossible task, especially when Giac uses all the ingredients, but then Lucia's Nonna (grandmother) introduces her to the Nonna-network, the unsung women who grow the ingredients and cook at home while the menfolk get all the glory in the restaurants.

This book should come with a warning, or two. First its all about pizza-making so you end up craving a handmade wood-fired pizza with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and rocket. Second, everyone is forever drinking wine and grappa so by 3pm I was also craving a glass of something Italian to wash it down with!

I thoroughly enjoyed this, there were no surprises but it was a fun read and I could almost smell the Italian coffee as I read the book.

I was invited to read this book by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Jo Thomas has done it again.
Family, love, food and Italy. All of my favourite things are brought together in this wonderful story. Straight away you are drawn into the depths of family love and the realisation of what you truly need in life to be happy when you have support around you. It was great to escape to Italy and even better to become part of this family.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I really enjoyed this book it had great characters, beautiful location and great storyline, a real feel good read.

Jo Thomas always has a way of making you feel like your at all of the beautiful settings of the books. This really didn’t disappoint. Great characters and plot that kept me reading to the end.

I just love Jo Thomas

All of her books (including this one) just have a way of making me feel good when I read them.

That satisfied feeling instead of a huge book hangover.

Set in Italy - making me long for the summer - we follow Luce as she goes to visit her grandparents, a chance to relax after working so hard to gain a promotion at the law firm where she works in the UK.

But when plans go wrong she is forced to reassess and perhaps take a chance or two to make her dreams a reality.

With a great mix of love and friendship as well as a brilliantly entertaining supporting cast, I challenge you to not fall in love with Jo's latest novel.

My favourite character had to be Nonna, clever, sneaky and a little bit feisty. the Italian in her really shone.

Chasing the Italian Dream is the perfect escape for these times where we can't step away from our own realities.

This is the first book I've read by Jo Thomas and it definitely won't be the last! Italy is my favourite place to visit and when I saw the cover and read the title I thought it would be right up my street. The first couple chapters where the main character Lucia is chasing a promotion at work were a LITTLE contrived, I thought, when it was overemphasised exactly how she would be spending her time/money/career once she got the new job.
However, I am glad I stuck with it as the story progressed to an interesting, unpredictable and delightful celebration of women in Italy and lots of description of my favourite foods and scenery!
I loved the relationship between Lucia and her grandparents - I don't think there are enough books written about that special bond between generations and I loved the way Jo Thomas did this.
Overall it was a brilliant (if slightly undemanding) read with a big heart.
Many thanks to Netgalley for providing a pre-release copy in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful book set in Italy. Lucia is on her annual holiday to visit her Italian grandparents. She loves to be with them, helping nonna in the kitchen, and nonno in his restaurant. When nonno announces that it is time to retire, Lucia decides she wants to carry on the family tradition. But women don't make pizza, and Lucia's ex husband Giacommo turns up to take over. Nonno decides they must work in competition with each other to decide who will take over the restaurant. Can Lucia make it in man's world? I was transported to Italy, could smell the wood fired ovens, and could taste the pizza. Lovely escapism.

A wonderful Summer read.

Set in Italy I really felt like I was there when reading this.

A heartwarming easy read book that makes you smile.

I enjoyed reading this book. Following Lucia and her relationship with Giac working in her Nonno's pizza restaurant and hopeful of a happy ending for all kept my interest high. I would recommend this book as a feel good read !

A new Jo Thomas is always a treat and this is among the best. She transports you to a country where you immediately feel at home. Italy comes alive under her pen, the sights, the food, the Italian love of of family, and the difference between City life and the rural countryside. There is also a more serious message where traditionally women’s role is being wives and mothers and not work which Lucia tackles to great effect. There is always something to learn as well as we delve into the pizza business and learn about the ingredients, the sourcing and the difficulties of using a wood fired oven! The background romance is sensitively portrayed and I can see this becoming a summer hit. I loved it and recommend it to all romance readers who want that little bit more from the story.
Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an ARC. Wouldn’t have missed it!

Loved loved loved this book. Of course predictable but wonderful too. I have to admit to being irritated by the idea that lucia’s grandfather would rather give the pizza place away than give it to a girl but the introduction of the all girl kitchen tram made me smile. The characters were all great and the book just made me smile. I loved it

This was such a sweet read. Loved reading about Lucia and her family in Italy. Loved she was close her grandparents whom are wanting to retire and give the place to her ex husband. By doing this she works along side him and they start to fall back in love! Loved reading about the square and the neighbours too.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Lucia is visiting with her grandparents in Italy. She learns that they want to retire and sell to her ex-husband. Lucia can not let that happen. I enjoyed the chemistry between Lucia abd her ex. I enjoyed this book from the beginning.