Author: Josie Silver
Series: None
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
Publisher: Dell
Pages: 328
Obtained: pubisher via Netgalley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: A moving love story about all kinds of love
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab
Summary: When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice. But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s? Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is recovering from a stroke and can no longer remember it, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place? Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long. ~amazon.com
Review: What would you do if you had a secret family recipe but it wasn’t for your family? Would you immediately give it back, even if brought you comfort? This is the quandary of Iris as she happens upon the gelatria that is in her mom’s scrapbook.
I absolutely adored Iris and her found family of Shen, Bobby and Robin in New York. Even the stray cat Smirnoff provided a comfort to her when she needed it. It's not happenstance that brings her to New York but a way to stay connected to her deceased mother. It was always just them since Iris' father was absent and she feels a bit untethered since her death. She also fled London to get out of a horrible relationship.
Gio has also gone through hardships of his own and is pretty closed off emotionally except for his daughter. HIs family is also loud and loving, constantly pushing him in ways he doesn't want. It doesn't help that his Papa suffered a stroke and can't remember their family recipe for their famous vanilla gelato. This is where Iris comes in and their lives intersect. Neither of them planned on falling in love and it really complicates things when a family member of Gio's returns.
When Iris tries to run this time, there are people who love her and try to stop her. She needs to face her past to have a future, any future.
Yes, this is a romance novel but it’s also about family, found family and letting go of the past. I loved Iris and her struggle to do what is right for her and also this new found family in the Belotti’s. This is another great novel by Josie Silver who is now an auto buy for me.
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