Author: Isabella May
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Author supplied copy
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: 18th May 2019
Rating: 5 Stars
Giovanna Tonioli is a successful stockbroker with a famous sports star boyfriend, but things aren't as sweet as they seem. When life in the city of Bath goes from Vanilla to Rocky Road, she takes herself off to Italy for an 'Eat Pray Love' style tour of all things gelateria. What she doesn't expect to find on her travels is one smooth, hot dollop of temptation that she just can't shake.
How will her spiteful twin sister react when Giovanna returns to open a rival ice cream parlour? Will Natalia get her just desserts? Or will things become even stickier? All's fair in love, war and ice cream. Isn't it?
*Marian Keyes meets Paulo Coelho meets Nigella*
The Ice Cream Parlour is a mouthwatering tale of fate, family, love and jealousy - with a delectable drizzle of alchemy besides.
How will her spiteful twin sister react when Giovanna returns to open a rival ice cream parlour? Will Natalia get her just desserts? Or will things become even stickier? All's fair in love, war and ice cream. Isn't it?
*Marian Keyes meets Paulo Coelho meets Nigella*
The Ice Cream Parlour is a mouthwatering tale of fate, family, love and jealousy - with a delectable drizzle of alchemy besides.
Warning: Don't read this book without a mountain of ice-cream or food around you, every time I picked this book up my stomach was rumbling within seconds of losing myself within the pages!
I'm really not sure what to make of this book or how to describe it, but what I can safely say is that I definitely enjoyed it.
The opening feels as though the story is part autobiographical, still fiction, but had a this is my life to date sort of feel to it, with assorted key instances from Giovanna's childhood and early life to date. The writing was lyrical in style and flowed wonderfully.
Then at the point that Giovanna's boyfriend of 10 years is caught cheating, with the one person you would like to think would never do such a think to Giovanna, we are caught up with the present day, and the next section of the book was definitely my favourite.
It involved our heroine travelling around Italy for a few months, and sampling gelato and ice cream and coming up with flavour combinations that sounded mouthwateringly delicious for her own parlour, Not to mention the Italian men that try to chat her up!
We also have parts of the book featuring Kelly, the new age best friend, who persuades Giovanna to try something that I was really sceptical about, but I found it quite interesting the way it was all explained.
And then the finale felt like another genre again, full of action, pulled together assorted threads and was impossible to put down.
In between all of that there was ice-cream. Lots and lots of ice cream. If Isabella May ever decides to stop writing books, or wants a new career on the sidelines then she needs to make The Bath Ice Cream Parlour into a reality. Who wouldn't want to visit a place with 100 flavours, all that sound wonderful, with fabulous concepts behind them.
The travel elements in Italy all seemed well researched too, and a lot of it matches up to either bits I've seen myself, or what I've imagined the country to be like from other fiction. I loved all the places that were visited and just wish I had been Giovanna's assistant or something to experience it with her!
This is the second book I've read by the author and this is definitely my favourite of the two. It's a bit unusual in places, if feels as thought it could be a mix of many genres, but its also got great characters, fabulous descriptions and most importantly, it has ever flavour of ice cream you could ever imagine!! And what more could you want from a book simply titled The Ice Cream Parlour?!
Thank you to Isabaella May for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
I'm really not sure what to make of this book or how to describe it, but what I can safely say is that I definitely enjoyed it.
The opening feels as though the story is part autobiographical, still fiction, but had a this is my life to date sort of feel to it, with assorted key instances from Giovanna's childhood and early life to date. The writing was lyrical in style and flowed wonderfully.
Then at the point that Giovanna's boyfriend of 10 years is caught cheating, with the one person you would like to think would never do such a think to Giovanna, we are caught up with the present day, and the next section of the book was definitely my favourite.
It involved our heroine travelling around Italy for a few months, and sampling gelato and ice cream and coming up with flavour combinations that sounded mouthwateringly delicious for her own parlour, Not to mention the Italian men that try to chat her up!
We also have parts of the book featuring Kelly, the new age best friend, who persuades Giovanna to try something that I was really sceptical about, but I found it quite interesting the way it was all explained.
And then the finale felt like another genre again, full of action, pulled together assorted threads and was impossible to put down.
In between all of that there was ice-cream. Lots and lots of ice cream. If Isabella May ever decides to stop writing books, or wants a new career on the sidelines then she needs to make The Bath Ice Cream Parlour into a reality. Who wouldn't want to visit a place with 100 flavours, all that sound wonderful, with fabulous concepts behind them.
The travel elements in Italy all seemed well researched too, and a lot of it matches up to either bits I've seen myself, or what I've imagined the country to be like from other fiction. I loved all the places that were visited and just wish I had been Giovanna's assistant or something to experience it with her!
This is the second book I've read by the author and this is definitely my favourite of the two. It's a bit unusual in places, if feels as thought it could be a mix of many genres, but its also got great characters, fabulous descriptions and most importantly, it has ever flavour of ice cream you could ever imagine!! And what more could you want from a book simply titled The Ice Cream Parlour?!
Thank you to Isabaella May for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
Now that wasn’t what I expected when I saw the cover. I imagined a physiological thriller. It sounds interesting and am always looking for new authors to try.
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