I chose The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake because it promised an immersive Italian summer – and I’m pleased to report that it delivers on that promise. However, author Rachel Linden focuses more on the connection between family and food than she does on the romance between Jules and Nicolo, hence my overall disappointment with the book.

Jules is a Seattle-based blogger who makes retro-style recipes on her You Tube channel. When Jules and her blogging partner miss out on getting a TV deal, the future of the channel is uncertain, leaving her unexpectedly adrift, so when her mother offers to pay for a summer in Italy, provided she takes her sullen half-sister with her, Jules agrees. She remembers happy times spent at an olive farm when she was a child, working and enjoying her extended family, especially her Nonna and her neighbour Nicolo. Jules hasn’t been back since her dad died there fifteen years before, so this is an opportunity to address her grief, reconnect with family and get to know her sister Alex. Another motivation is that Jules has the chance of a book contract, but to nail it, she needs to recreate recipes and stories that are personal to her. Nonna is a delight, full of love, but also gruff and tired. Cooking with her Nonna was part of Jules’ childhood, and she is convinced that she will be able to meet the stipulations of the contract if she can use the recipes in Nonna’s special cookbook.

Once arrived at the olive grove on Lake Garda. Jules meets up with Nicolo, her first love from her teenage years. Nicolo is gorgeous; good looking, hardworking and has never forgotten Jules. He recently gave up a flourishing legal career to return to his grandmother’s farm next door to the farm Jules’ family owns. Nicolo is a steadfast and patient influence, sticking around while Jules wonders and worries about what she should do, for herself and for the olive farm.

With Nonna aging and the farm struggling, Jules is the next-generation hope everyone has apparently been waiting for. Meantime, the cookbook has magical qualities, and when it opens, it provides the recipe that the reader needs in that moment. Yet when Jules opens it, the pages are blank. The mystery of the cookbook weaves a spell over them all, and somehow helps Jules to work out what she wants as she reconnects with Nicolo, cooks with Nonna, and slowly bonds with Alex.

The best part of the story is the delicious immersion in all things rural Italy – working in the olive grove, visiting the local farmer’s market, cooking and sharing fresh local food from traditional recipes, the weather and the stillness and quiet of the countryside. I could almost taste some of the traditional dishes that are true to the northern Italian region, not least of all the Orange Blossom Cake – the recipe is included and it looks delicious!

But even with the inclusion of a magical cookbook, the story is very predictable. For example, Jules needs to photograph her cooking, but she’s terrible at it. Surly Alex is right there, and she’s super-talented with a lens – who’d have guessed they could bond over photography? In the same way, problems and feuds that have existed for years are solved with one conversation. The author’s depiction of Italy is gorgeous and immersive, but the central romance is underdeveloped and there’s nothing at all magical about the family relationships. I can only recommend this one to Italy-buffs.