I am delighted to share my review today for A Taste of Greek Summer by Mandy Baggot. It is so nice to travel vicariously and especially when it is to Greece!

My huge thanks to Embla Books for my e-copy of this book and to join the Blog Tour to share my review.

Next summer, on the Greek island of Corfu, sparks will fly as dreams come true…

Lydia Broom is living her second-best life. With her dreams of being a chef left in the dust she instead finds solace writing about the dishes she wished she created. When Lydia’s sent to Corfu on an assignment, she’s excited to see what culinary delights the island has to offer, but nothing seems to tickle her fancy – until she tastes the creations of local cook, Thanos Nicolaidis.

After one sizzling afternoon in the kitchen together, Lydia and Thanos both allow themselves to dream of the futures they desperately want. And as they grow closer, sharing secret ingredients and family recipes, Thanos begins to realise he has to show Lydia the parts of him he’s done so well to hide… 

MY REVIEW

What a wonderful summery romance read A Taste of Greek Summer was. This author knows how to tickle the tastebuds with sumptuous sounding food and with a nice helping of romance as well.

When Lydia is hoodwinked by her best friend and co-worker Caroline she doesn’t expect it to have such an impact on her life as it does. Once a brilliant chef and now a food critic and columnist, Lydia still loves food but has put her knives away. What on earth could have happened for her to turn her back on a wonderful career that made her so happy. Well, you will find out when you read this book!

Lydia is the quieter one out of her and Caroline. While Lydia savours and thinks about things, Caroline rushes in and demolishes. The two are real chalk and cheese characters and it would have been so easy for Lydia to disappear in Caroline’s wake, instead, the author balances the two characters and does so with a wonderful storyline and also with some fun.

Going to Greece to get content for articles for the magazine they work for is a great way6 for Lydia to relax and go with the flow. She has got rather stuck in a rut and the trip to Greece may well revive her writing, but it also revives something else.

Food is never far from the pages of this book, from simple mouthwatering local Greek dishes to extravagant and minuscule portions, there is a gastronomic theme throughout, and of course Caroline and her love of chips!

You may think that the wonderful scenery and gorgeous foods would make for a completely happy and fulfilling holiday. Well, that would be too simple and we know that life is never that way. So the author has written a rather interesting story of Lydia and it gives the explanations needed for her backing away from creating menus to just writing about them. It was a revelation that I didn’t expect, but one that felt right. Caroline also has a past that comes out as well.

So. a holiday wouldn’t be a holiday without a little romance. And what a wonderful romantic theme this was. Again wrapped around the love of food and done so well. Tempting, tantalising and tasty.

This book was a one-sitting read for me, I started it while sitting out in the garden on a sunny afternoon and finished later the same night. I needed to know the ins and outs, the mystery and also to find out how things would wrap up. This is definitely one for those who love to travel vicariously, love food, and like their romance. It is one I would definitely recommend.

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