"The ultimate beach read, with a Chocolat-esque touch of magical realism, this debut novel will delight and charm readers from start to finish, whisking them off to a Greek Island where food and wine are the stuff of life, where friendships lift you up, and love has a way of catching you when you’re least expecting it.

In a village on Naxos lies a gorgeous guest house and taverna that never opened. Cressida’s husband died suddenly three years ago – the taverna was their dream – but she’s been too lost in grief to keep that dream alive.

Marjory "Jory" St. James, a young traveler who always feels more at home on the move, arrives on Naxos in the middle of the night as if summoned by the island. She quite unexpectedly becomes Cressida’s very first guest.

Jory quickly discovers that this island vacation is more than just a sightseeing adventure as all of the women in town are more than what they seem. But when a hotel group offers to buy Cressida's taverna, it's going to take all of Jory and Cressida's drive and expertise to keep that from happening. With a generous dash of romance, deliciously tempting Greek food, and a growing friendship, can these two women find a way to finally open the little Greek taverna?" From the book's Amazon sales page.

Note: the bulk of my review is in "Further comments," near the bottom of this review.

People who like magical stories, friendship stories, romantic stories, travel stories and/ or just want a mostly fun and easy, relaxing read (there was one super tense part, and one kind of tense part, but most of the book was fun and easy).

The characters, the island, the Greek culture, the magical elements.

The parts I wasn't supposed to like.

Read another book by this author. It's her debut novel though, so there aren't any more yet. I hope she does write more. It was the perfect thing to read before bed for me.

Like I was part of the magic.

"About the Author
Erin Palmisano is a dual NZ and US citizen. She grew up reading books and has always wanted to write stories of food, wine, and travel that come together with a hint of magic. Erin and her chef partner live in New Zealand, where they own and operate three restaurants." from the book's Amazon page

It was a fun, nice summer read.

This book totally wasn't what I was expecting, but the author's lovely writing kept me interested from the first page. There were so many lovely little stories within stories and magical connections that I found it entrancing and fun. Yet, it wasn't so engrossing that I couldn't put it down and go to bed on time.

It was nice to generally end on a happy note at the end of a full chapter each night and go to bed thinking about lovely Greek island life and magical friendships.

The main romantic story is about Jory and Shane, and that provides the most dramatic section of the book too, but there were also a bunch of side romances of people of all ages and I loved that.

The Taverna was hugely featured in the story, and it's owner, Cressida, was a fabulous character. I loved her, Jory, Mago, and so many characters. It was fun for me to see Cressida come out of her shell and finally take action into making her dream of opening the Taverna come true. Though her real dream was about using her magical talent to nourish others, so the Taverna was really just the vehicle for unleashing her talent in a larger way. I liked that too.

I enjoyed exploring with Jory and loved all the different magical elements and the legend of the secret spring and how Jory found it.

Basically, I loved the book. If I had been in the mood for a fast-paced action book, it would likely have disappointed me, but I wasn't. I was in the mood for something nice to read before bed for a while so I wouldn't be tempted to stay up too late and could get to bed on time easily. I wanted to be left with happy thoughts and peaceful feelings. This book delivered that for me.

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Created Jun 14, 2024 at 1:47pm • Submit your own review...