The Love Goddess' Cooking School

by Melissa Senate

[Leah]

Holly Maguire’s grandmother Camilla was the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Maine–a Milanese fortune-teller who could predict the right man for you, and whose Italian cooking was rumored to save marriages. Holly has been waiting years for her unlikely fortune: her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing old-world delicacy. But Holly can’t make a decent marinara sauce, let alone sa cordula. Maybe that’s why the man she hopes to marry breaks her heart. So when Holly inherits Camilla’s Cucinotta, she’s determined to forget about fortunes and love and become an Italian cooking teacher worthy of her grandmother’s legacy. But Holly’s four students are seeking much more than how to make Camilla’s chicken alla Milanese. Simon, a single father, hopes to cook his way back into his daughter’s heart. Juliet, Holly’s childhood friend, hides a painful secret. Tamara, a serial dater, can’t find the love she longs for. And twelve-year-old Mia thinks learning to cook will stop her dad, Liam, from marrying his phony lasagna-queen girlfriend. As the class gathers each week, adding Camilla’s essential ingredients of wishes and memories in every pot and pan, unexpected friendships and romances are formed–and tested. Especially when Holly falls hard for Liam . . . and learns a thing or two about finding her own recipe for happiness.

People have been telling me for ages to read See Jane Date by Melissa Senate but I’ve never gotten around to finding myself a copy. When I saw Melissa had a new book coming out called The Love Goddess’ Cooking School, I loved the sound of it and when a preview finally came up on Amazon, I had a quick sneak peek and I thought the book sounded like my kind of thing so I bought myself a copy. As soon as it arrived, I quickly finished my previous book and got stuck into this one. It took me about a week to read, but not a moment of it was dull.

The Love Goddess’ Cooking School has a wonderful plot, and I was drawn into the book immediately as we find out that when Holly Maguire was told her fortune by her grandmother Camilla and all that she’s told is that the great love of her life will like Sa Cordula, an Italian dish made of lamb intestines that nobody likes. It was a great way to start the novel and I was sad I couldn’t dedicate more of my time to the book. We learn Camilla has recently died and left her business Camilla Cuchinotta’s to Holly so Holly rapidly has to learn how to cook her grandmother’s famous Italian dishes so she can teach Camilla’s cooking class as well as sell her wares. I thought the cooking class plot was fantastic and I enjoyed getting to know Holly and her students, Tamara, Simon, Juliet and young Mia. Throw in Mia’s dad Liam and we have a fantastic and well-rounded cast.

I truly didn’t know what to expect from the novel. Just because the Amazon preview I had was good didn’t mean I would necessarily love the rest of the novel so I was pleased to find that I did enjoy immersing myself in the book. I thought Camilla’s recipes were wonderful, and I liked the way Senate made them unique by making sure every time Holly or one of her students cooked, they added in a memory or a wish to help it along the way. During the novel we also have some diary entries by Camilla written way back when she first started her fortune telling and Camilla’s Cucinotta and I found them incredibly interesting. In fact, I could have read an entire book dedicated to Camilla’s diary during the 60′s at Blue Crab Cove. I must also mention where the book is set, in Blue Crab Cove in Maine. It’s fictional, but it sounds like a wonderful place to live.

I was thrilled that I took the chance on the book. I loved it so much that I’ve ordered myself another Melissa Senate book and should I love that, too, I’ll definitely be getting Melissa’s other books. The setting was perfect, the plot was everything I expected and more and I absolutely loved each and every one of the characters and was rooting for them to get their happy endings. I would hugely recommend the book to all Chick Lit fans. It’s a very sweet read, and one I am so so glad I took a chance on. It’s lovely when you buy a book and it ends up being a fantastic read.