The Right Place
Carla Caruso
Reviewed by Helen
This book has been languishing on my ever growing TBR pile and I decided it was time I read it and I am so very glad I did, what a beautiful warm hearted story of finding yourself and what you really want by going back to the place that has always been in your heart, along with the beautiful recipes and fabulous characters Nella Martini found herself and the love of her life in her childhood friend.
Nella is returning from Melbourne to the family market garden Torrent Blu where she spent so many fabulous days with her Italian grandparents and playing with the neighbours Davide and Adrian Tomaso. Sadly her Nonna has passed away and it is time to tidy up the place, sell up and get back to Melbourne and restart the life she planned and spend the least amount of time with Adrian as possible he has become a very hard man to get along with.
Adrian has been leasing the land from Torrent Blu to add to his land and struggling a little even though he grows the best tomatoes and veggies and with Nella back home he is very worried about what she is going to do with the place. He has always had a pull towards Nella but his twin brother Davide won that one years ago and then left but he still feels a pull towards Nella all these years later.
Nella finds a very old cookbook of her Nonna’s and her thoughts change on what she might do perhaps if she can help Adrian expand his business things might work out better and the cooking and helping Adrian has Nella really thinking about what she wants out of life.
Esta Feliciano arrived in Australia with her young daughter in 1950 to join her husband Lucio on the market garden, things are very different for Esta in Australia it is nothing like Italy and Esta struggles but is strong even with the pain that she goes through, she makes friends and her and Lucio do well with their market garden.
I loved this story it is a page turner so many emotions, such fabulous characters I was cheering Nella and Adrian along throughout this one, they really were meant for each other even if it took them a bit to work that out and the food wow my mouth was watering I wanted to dash of to the nearest Italian restaurant, or start cooking myself, but I didn’t want to put the book down. I savoured every word, there were tears and lots of smiles. This is a book I would highly recommend, it is a fabulous story.
5 stars
Published August 20th 2018 by HQ Fiction
