My Big Fat Italian Break-Up: An absolutely hilarious, delightful, and uplifting rom-com to read in 2024!

The Amazing Erica #2

by Nancy Barone

Erica Cantelli has found her Mr. Right. Hasn't she...?

After a long overdue divorce, Erica has finally made it to Italy with her two children and, amazingly, her dreamy now-fiancé Julian Foxham.

The plan was to start fresh and for Erica to run a country B&B, but two years in and her business is failing miserably, while Julian's career as a novelist is soaring and taking him all over the world with his gorgeous agent.

Despite having set a wedding date, with every day that goes by, their dreams are heading in opposite directions. And when her sexy Italian chef Alberto offers her a shoulder to cry on – as the saying goes, When in Rome...

Now Erica needs to decide what she wants her future to look like. Will their wedding cake hold together or are she and Julian skating on thin icing?

Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Kirsten Bailey and Lindsey Kelk.

***

Readers love My Big Fat Italian Break-Up!

'Humor, love, and happy ever afters all rolled into one big fat italian romance! I so enjoyed this book by Nancy Barone!' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

'Whirlwind of a story... Will have you laughing and crying... Funny and uplifting... I enjoyed it so much.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

'Lovely read... You can never go wrong with a book written by Nancy... Well worth 5 stars.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

'Wonderful romantic comedy set in the gorgeous region of Tuscany, Italy... Full of smiles and giggles... A must read for fans of rom-coms.' CYI Reads Books, 5 stars

'Absolutely adored this book!! Such a cute & fun summer read and the pacing made it easy to finish in a day.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

'Perfect beach read. This was a one-sitting read and kept me on the hook the whole time.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

'Perfect fresh start love story!' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

'Cute and funny! It hooked me from the beginning and kept my attention the entire time. I laughed out loud at so many points and just loved it so much!' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

'Absolutely loved this book! Kept me hooked the entire time.' NetGalley Reviewer, 4 stars

'Loved all the family dynamics (and dramas!)... This book has all the feels.' NetGalley Reviewer, 4 stars

Genres: Contemporary, Rom Com

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2022

About the author

Nancy grew up in Canada, but at the age of 12 her family moved to Italy. Catapulted into a world where her only contact with the English language was her old Judy Blume books, Nancy became an avid reader and a die-hard romantic.

Nancy stayed in Italy and, despite being surrounded by handsome Italian men, she married an even more handsome Brit. They now live in Sicily where she teaches English.

Like Erica, the heroine of The Husband Diet, Nancy is of Italian descent, but she swears that is where the similarities stop. And she’s absolutely never fantasized about murdering her husband.

Nancy has had a number of romance novels published, but The Husband Diet is her first Women’s Fiction book. She is a member of the RWA and a keen supporter of the Women’s Fiction Festival at Matera where she meets up once a year with writing friends from all over the globe.

Reviews

[CYIReadBooks (Claire) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Big Fat Italian Break-up is a wonderful romantic comedy set in the gorgeous region of Tuscany, Italy. The novel is the second book that I have read from author, Nancy Barone and it was so much better than the first novel that I read from her.

The characters in the novel are very colorful and entertaining. I loved all of the characters as each of them had very distinct personalities. Barone’s talent in creating unique and distinct characters really shine in this novel. I especially loved how Barone captured the sensitive and thoughtful personality of her BFF, Paul — a gay friend for the ages.

The story is easy and light. There are some LGBTQ background noise but that just added to an already engaging story.

Oh, and did I mention food? OMG! There’s mention of dozens of delectable dishes! And boy did these mentions make my mouth water. I swear I gained at least ten pounds just reading about them. I’ll have to look up the recipes for some of these desserts, antipastos, and entreés one day.

Though I was expecting a different outcome (based on the book title,) I was still very pleased with the finale. Full of smiles and giggles, My Big Fat Italian Break-up is a must read for fans of rom-coms like, Romantically Challenged, In a New York Minute, and Island Affair. Five outstanding stars.

I received a digital ARC from Head of Zeus, through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

[Emily Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Big Fat Italian Break-up
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 7/21/22
Author: Nancy Barone
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Pages: 320
Goodreads Rating: 3.92

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing a digital advanced readers copy of the book for me to read for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: After a failed marriage, Erica Cantelli has finally made it to Italy with her two children- and, amazingly, their delicious school principal Julian Foxham. The plan was for him to run the farm and for her to run her the country B&B, A Taste of Tuscany. Two years in, however, her business is failing miserably, while Julian's career as a novelist is soaring. As is he, jetting off with his younger- and gorgeous- publicist. When she discovers that a rival B&B is scheming to run her into the ground, Erica, a former hotel manager and butt-kicker extraordinaire who has been a ‘dormant’ housewife until now, finally unleashes all her cut-throat instincts to fight back and protect her family’s livelihood.

My Thoughts: This was a follow up book and I did struggle a little bit, even though the author did make an attempt to provide some backstory from the first book in this series. As a person who has always struggled with their weight and body image, and while appreciating our MC is a plus size heroine, I just felt the topic could have been more positively attacked rather than negative. Tuscan was described beautifully and I felt like I was part of it. The characters could of used a little more embellishment since this is a book in a series and not all readers would have read the prior books. While this was a good book, it could have been better with what I mentioned before. I would try other books by this author.

[Keo Naidoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Big Fat Italian Break Up

Format : Physical copy || gifted by Jonathan Ball Publishers
Rating : 3.5 stars
Genre : Contemporary Romance
No spoilers

Talk about a cute slightly dramatic contemporary! I can definitely see this being adapted as a early 2000s rom com for sure !
Definitely was in the mood for something a little more light hearted and fun and this hit the spot for sure.

Truly felt that Erica was relatable in a lot of her situations and was a great protagonist

Things that I liked :
1. Plus size representation
2. Determined and motivated main heroine
3. Fun cast of side characters
4. Drama on fronts
5. Family secrets

Worth picking up if you’re looking for a no string cute contemporary


Thank you Jonathan Ball Publishers for the gifted review copy!

[L. Soper · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot, in good faith, recommend this book. I felt like I was trapped in a delusional Erica's spiralling mind and I couldn't keep up or get out.

Throughout the entire story, she constantly and continuously flips back and forth between Julian is the best, most loving partner and he's a (unfounded) potentially cheating bastard. The poor dude was literally just working the whole time. He was also the one who was always trying to pin down a wedding date even though Erica kept blaming him for it not happening.

Additionally (and I know that I was commenting in this in my progress updates), but the self-deprecating fat jokes were too much for me. I didn't find them funny, I found them hurtful and toxic. It's the one consistent thing at the forefront of her mind, and the reader is just trapped in her self-destructive thought patterns about food and weight. It's just too much.

On top of that, Erica's body issues are projected on literally every person she interacts with - even her children are aware of Mommy not eating pasta today bc she needs to fit into a dress - it made me shudder with revulsion. And bc of Erica's obsession with weight and body issues, the reader doesn't get to know any of the other characters beyond the most vapid surface descriptions. We know that Renata has big boobs (she's her BEST female friend and THAT'S what we know about her), Paul is thin and I guess what she deems a textbook gay man (He's been her BEST FRIEND since childhood and he's basically chalked up to a cartoon), Julian is built like a God, and poor Sienna is a bombshell with a perfect body, so obviously (in Erica's mind) not to be trusted (even though she's a hardworking agent who is literally helping Julian with his career and trying to keep him closer to home for his family). I hated that people were just categorized by their body types and not given much credit for who they were as people.

Add the flip-flopping between American and British English and the grammatical errors to boot and I just wanted the entire book to end ASAP- I really had to force myself to finish this to give an honest review.

Terrible, just terrible.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

[Stacy! · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a DNF for me. Right from the start the MC uses extremely toxic language as she discusses her weight and her struggles with it and with her body image, and I tried to push through as this was such a small part of the plot, but I made it to about 37% before having to stop.

As someone who has struggled with body dysmorphia and battled eating disorders for a large part of my life, I found this book to be triggering AF. I am all for body diversity and size acceptance, and normally I’d love that this story features a plus size main character, but I can’t get past her referring to herself as “enormous”, her fiancé calling her “sausage” as a term of endearment, and her stepmother telling her she should’ve “just gotten the damn stomach bypass like I told you to”.

It’s one thing to experience secondhand stress while reading, but I was almost in physical pain because of how triggering the horrible language was. This book was a giant red flag and a whole lotta nope for me.

I was given an ARC of the book by NetGalley and Head of Zeus. All opinions are my own.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was easy for me to relate to Erica. As well as having weight problems, she is extremely frightened about her marriage. But that is where the comparison ends. The setting of Tuscany was really charming. Her character was all over the place to me because of her careers of running a B&B and how she struggled then she decided to pursue another career.
As a result, I struggled to read these parts. I did enjoy the other characters, like her gay best friend and wedding planner. Her aunts and stepmom were great too. The Italian food descriptions were delicious. It was a fun book and very entertaining,


Thank you and NetGalley for the ARC. This is a honest review.

[sathvika · Rating 1 out of 5]

While the plot, writing and characters weren't bad, I still couldn't enjoy it. The amount of weight-related comments and honestly fat-shaming things said is appalling. I understand that she struggles with he weight, but the way it was presented was really disappointing. We don't need this type of representation in society.

This is my honest opinion, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

[Sam | Sambooka23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a cute book. I found myself at the start of it relating to Erica and how she had big plans for her life, she was following her dreams and trying to get her new business ventured known and build her clientele.

I related to her when Julian was trying to tell her to calm down, they were comfortable etc. I thought he was quite belittling in a way, he wasn’t supporting her as much as I wanted him to. They seemed like a great pair but I didn’t feel Julian was as supportive of Erica as she was him. Having him jet set off around the world every so often to follow his dreams.

However, then we meet sexy Alberto… Mmmmhm. He was a lovely man and I feel much better paired for Erica than Julian. But I have to say, the ending is too cute and I am glad that it turned out the way it… no spoilers!

It was a cute, romantic read and a great one for summer. Perfect holiday read for me! Thank you to @netgalley and Nancy Barone for allowing me an e-ARC copy of this book.

[Karen Axnick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a follow-up book to “The Husband Diet,” which I have not read. I felt that while the author did make the effort to provide some background from the first book, I was missing a lot of context that would have enhanced my appreciation of this latest offering. In that regard, this isn’t a strong stand-alone book.

The protagonist, Erica, has moved to Tuscany with her fiancé, Julian Foxham and her two children from her previous marriage to pursue her dream of the good life. The fly in the ointment is her overwhelming insecurity and lack of self-worth that seems rooted in her dislike of her overweight body. Despite the ongoing reassurances of Julian’s love and desire to be with her, Erica seems determined to fulfill her worst nightmares through self-sabotage. Amidst all this angst, there are a multitude of challenges – a toxic relationship with her stepmother; rival B&B owners determined to undermine her success; a natural phenomenon that shuts down her business; and Julian’s success as an author and his subsequent travel schedule.

I had several issues with this book. First and foremost is that I didn’t like the main characters. Erica’s lamenting about her weight and her insecurities throughout the book became tiresome. Her inability to set boundaries with her stepmother contributed to her martyrdom and the hurried resolution of this life-long, difficult relationship was unrealistic. Paul, Erica’s BFF, is the ubiquitous gay male that has become an all-to-common literary device to provide humor and style to a storyline. One aspect from the first book that I didn’t understand: Julian has legally adopted Erica’s two children, yet they moved as a family to a foreign country without the benefit of formalizing their own relationship. When he and Erica have a significant rift, he leaves abruptly without saying goodbye to the children…hardly a role model for parenthood.

I expected a humorous, breezy story based on the title and instead found a soap-opera level of drama. The premise and pace of the writing did keep me engaged and I did enjoy the description of the Italian countryside, but the overall experience was disappointing.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Big Fat Italian Break-Up by Nancy Barone is a study in a woman with low self esteem. Erica is living the life of her dreams in Tuscany with her two children and her fiance, Julian. She had opened her own B & B and Julian was writing, as he was meant to. He had adopted her two children and they were trying to set a wedding date, working around his travel schedule. But his travel got worse and worse and they date kept shifting. To make things worse, her stepmother was arriving and Erica was afraid the woman would stay for months. She was the twin sister of her mother, but had never really like Erica and seemed to take joy in criticizing everything about her. Then, Julian got a European agent to complement his US agent and she was gorgeous and Erica was jealous. Things went from bad to worse when another B & B opened that was a carbon copy of hers, except that one was busy. Erica was not young and beautiful, which was why she was astounded when the chef they had hired for the wedding came on to her. She was miserable because it seemed like Julian was pulling away from her and she behaved poorly, nearly destroying the best thing that had ever happened to her. She did that herself when she told Julian what had happened.

Erica was an amazing character, embodying many of the insecurities that plague modern women. Each of us reading could identify, which is a truly fantastic feat for an author. Her insecurities drove her to disrupt her relationship, not only with Julian, but with her best friend, Paul, and even with her children. It made me laugh. It made by cry. It made me scream in frustration. Living her dream with the man of her dreams was intriguing and when it began to fall apart, my heart bled for her. At the same time as I felt she was being unreasonable, I saw her point. Then, there was the trip to the home from which her grandmother had left Italy, and the discoveries she made about her husband’s gorgeous agent. It just all came together so well. Such a good book.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of My Big Fat Italian Break-Up by Head of Zeus Publishing, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone. #Netgalley #HeadOfZeus #NancyBarone #MyBigFatItalianBreakUp

[Hannah Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5)

We follow Erica Cantelli who moved to Italy with her two children and fiancé Julian. She is recently divorced and she wanted to start fresh with her new family. However, she has spent the past two years trying to grow her B and B but it is not doing as well as she had hoped. Her fiancé on the other hand is a successful author who spends a lot of time promoting his books and traveling. Despite trying to plan their wedding, she feels like things aren’t working out the way that she wants them to and turns to her sexy Italian chef’s shoulder to cry on.
*
I didn’t realize when I requested this book on NetGalley that it was the second in a series that I haven’t read yet. I struggled a bit at times with some of the information even though the author did a good job helping the readers try to understand the backstory and what happened in the first book. I thought it was a cute and fun story that provided good laughter at times. I did struggle with the way her body was portrayed at times because I felt like it was just constantly being referred to in a negative light instead of being confident in her skin. It was definitely triggering at times when the mother would make negative comments towards her body. Overall, I thought it was a good story and if you can get past all the other things, I thought it was definitely enjoyable and I loved picturing the setting of Tuscany throughout the book!

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t always have a hard time getting through a cute, contemporary romcom, but I did with “My Big Fat Italian Break-Up.”

The second in a series, this book is the continuation of Erica’s happily ever after with Julian, the former principal of her children’s school. Now, she runs a B&B in the Tuscan countryside while Julian pursues a prolific writing career. When they set a date to tie the knot, life finds a way to throw everything off balance and (maybe) pull them apart.

I thought this would be a fun read, but within the first few pages I already disliked the main character, our narrator for the plot. First person POV usually doesn’t bother me, but hearing some of Erica’s internal monologue I wanted to follow anyone else’s thoughts. There was just something that made me instantly dislike her.

The constant personal commentary on her weight and projecting her own issues on the other characters, even in the first chapter, made me nearly give up on the book immediately. So many of them made me uncomfortable and annoyed. And then they kept coming in the subsequent pages. I almost started rooting against her.

On the other hand, I did enjoy the author’s skill in depicting the setting. Sometimes I felt like I needed to take a huge leap and head right out to the Tuscany and forget the rest of my worries, perhaps without all of the worries that accompanied Erica’s plunge into Italy.

[Diya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diving into this book was like wading through a sea of boredom at first. The book felt way too long, and I struggled to stay engaged. Erica, the main character, does show some commendable progress in terms of self-love, but she makes a lot of decisions that had me shaking my head in disbelief.

One thing that really got to me was the inclusion of the slight 'cheating' trope. I usually DNF books that feature cheating, but I pushed through this one, trying to understand the author's intention. Even so, I felt that Erica could have learned her lesson without this trope—it just didn’t seem necessary and added to my frustration.

And then there’s the rushed 'make-up' between Erica and Julian. After their breakup, the resolution felt hurried, almost as if it was shoehorned in to wrap things up neatly. This left me disappointed and somewhat unsatisfied with the story's conclusion.

Overall, the book didn’t quite hit the mark for me. While it had moments of good character development, the initial boredom, unnecessary cheating subplot, and rushed ending were significant drawbacks. I’d rate this book a 2.75 out of 5.

[Erica Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was pretty good. I give this one 4.5 stars because not only did it pick up exactly where the last one left off, but the main character Erica and her new beau Julian are off in Italy trying to run that B&B and the horse farm.

This story introduces new, amazing characters, new conflicts, and it is just so well told.

The only ones who are sane here are Erica's children and Julian. I liked Erica in Book 1 but she loses her mind in this one and many times I've had to step away from the book for a couple of days. I understand her ex-husband Ira messed her up mentally with his verbal abuse and cheating ways-- which is why Erica should not have moved on so quickly to Julian, because her insecurities do backfire on her in this one.

Julian does play a small role in her mental demise because heck, I don't know if he'd been paying attention to her or not, and he admits as much. It's just that I'm not a fan of hers in this one.

I understand the whys behind her reasons but I am not a fan.

This was a great follow up and I am looking forward to Book 3.

[Anonymous 5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book two in The Amazing Erica series. A fun and lovely addition to the series. The story is well-written with lively and engaging characters that have unique personalities and were realistic and easily relatable. If you like romantic comedies, then this is definitely a must read. Erica had many insecurities and it they were interfering with her life and her happiness. I enjoyed following her on her journey as she dealt with those insecurities and brought her life back on track.
The story was charming and had me smiling and laughing all the way through. Ms Barone did a nice job of creating the drama and bringing it all together in the end.
It was a quirky and fun, emotional, and simply heartwarming story. I found this to be a thoroughly entertaining and absolutely delightful read and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to read it.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Colin Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read the previous book in this series, which means that I had to catch up with some of the backstory, although this want a real issue. To be honest I found this book frustrating, Erica is constantly worried about her weight, her business and her husband to be Julian's constant trips as part of his book publicity. Saying that this is probably more realistic than an idyllic life in such a wonderful location. There are parts that I can definitely relate to such as a rather over the top exercise class and perhaps the occasional overeating session, although I can honestly say that I've never kissed a chef. Lack of belief in self worth can be very debilitating, and it is good to read about how someone else actually deals with it.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

[B · Rating 1 out of 5]

I ultimately ended up DNFing this book very early on. Marcy as a character didn't make a lot of sense to me. It seems like a bit strange to not commit to a wedding date for 2 years - I always thought it took years to plan a wedding and it just felt unfair to her Fiancé who gave up his life for her to pull this childish antic. Honestly the writing and Erica's description of Julian reads as wattpad fiction and was just so cringey I couldn't keep reading.

Was 10% into the book and was over the over description of all the characters looks and features, I understand Erica is meant to have a hyper focus on others looks because she is insecure about her looks but honestly it didn't read like that due to poor writing.

There is this high focus on weight and as someone with weight issues I didn't appreciate the writing or jokes about the weight as it is very triggering.

[LAU®️EN · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was such a miss for me, which is so disappointing as the first book in this series was a winner.

There was constant repetition from the first book, and while I don't think it's a bad thing trying to clue readers in on what happened in the first book, it really just made no sense to rehash basically everything that happened in the prequel.

If I had known I would get the whole breakdown in this book I wouldn't have invested in the first book. I feel like lots of time was wasted here, and even Erica's character was getting too much for me. She complained about literally everything and took so much for granted.

I honestly had such high hopes for this book, but I regret reading it. Oh well 🤷‍♀️

[Tamsyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially I found this book very slow in the beginning, but once it picked up, I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was not what I was expecting and I adored each of the characters, especially Erica, who has a funny sense of humor. The scene that the book was set in (Italy) was beautiful and so fun to read about. Paul was such an iconic character, I loved him and the relationship he has with Erica. I also loved the comedic aspect and it was a light-hearted read.

I sympathized with Erica at times, especially when Julian would leave for business and the whole "break-up" scene. But once they got married (which I was very excited about), I was happy for them both. I can't wait to see what the third book has in store for me.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erica has found her second chance at love with Julian. The fairytale seems to come with many bumps after Julian starts getting too busy to spend time with Erica while he’s promoting his book, and Erica feels left behind and consumed with guilt and insecurities that have built up over the years. Only time will tell if Julian and Erica can overcome their obstacles and remain true to their love. I enjoyed this book and the relationship Erica and Julian have. Julian’s relationship with Erica’s kids from her first marriage is precious and rare. I will definitely read more books by this author in the future!

[kiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun. I didn't read the first book in this series but I feel like the author introduced the characters and backstory well so it didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. This book was fun and messy and overall very entertaining. I loved all of the descriptions of Tuscany and the olive groves. One thing I wish was health with better was the topic of ericas body image. It bugged me so much how negative everything was surrounding HER body. Since it was a prevalent topic in this book I wish it was dealt with in a better way where erica came to love her body or become more confident. As a whole, this book was enjoyable and a very quick read.

[Kayleigh Finlayson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Received as an eArc.

This book just wasn't for me at all. The toxic way she spoke about her own body was off putting. Some parts unrealistic and by 20% in i started to notice some plot holes. It felt like her mind was spiralling out of control on multiply occasions. Being a mother to teenagers myself and a former immigrant i wouldn't dream off picking up my kids and dumping them into a country that they didn't speak the language, of course i know that this happens quite a lot in RL but i didn't read the first novel in this series to be able to see how she came to this difficult decision. Maybe there was different reasons than the ones mentioned in this book about living out her dream?

[Irene P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot is as witty as the previous one which I really enjoyed, however, I listened to the audiobook (no judgement please :) ) and I found it extremely annoying.
Out of the many Italian words there was barely any that was properly pronounced or even correctly spelled out! Bus mostly it was the fake Italian accent really getting to my nerves, it felt like a mockery - really really unpleasant. The 'British' accent was also a complete farse. Not posh or anything, just fake!
As I am still at the hospital, I am going to listen to the following book as well, and I really hope the reader will be less offensive or I might need to put it down before reaching the end :(

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]





Member Review



My Big Fat Italian Break-Up

by Nancy Barone

Pub Date: 21 Jul 2022

Review by



Rachel B, Reviewer

Last updated on 6 Nov 2022

My Recommendation

Though I liked the premise for this book and was interested in the outcome for the characters, for me it just didn't quite hit the spot. I felt some parts were undeveloped while others were drawn out. The setting was idyllic and the writer did a brilliant job of inspiring wanderlust. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the advance read copy.

[Dawn Probert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was ok. I hadn’t read the previous. Really I wanted Erica to own her body shape and be a goddess living her best life in Tuscany with her husband to be. I was upset by the language surrounding her body type by her mother. The Tuscan surroundings were described beautifully and we could be there in an olive grove. It was all a bit silly.
This arc was provided in exchange for and honest review for netgalley.

[Bella Aguirre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made sure to read The Husband Diet before tackling this one. It was a fun and easy read and the characters were endearing. Erica was a little frustrating and her relationship with food and body image didn’t do her any favors which made the book very repetitive and sometimes drawn out. A lot of the conflict seemed forced. Overall, I enjoyed the descriptions of Tuscany and its food as well as the characters - old and new.

[Caitlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This uses very outdated language such as prostitute instead of sex worker. The main character is self deprecating and feels like she has no control over her life or relationship with food. She places her worth in the eyes of others (mainly men). It’s disappointing that this kind of content was written by a woman.

[pat james · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed the sequel

Again a lovely book by Nancy Barone. It tied up all the loose ends, adding lots of humour, love and heart to hearts. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review My Big Fat Italian Breakup. I enjoyed the boom and could identify with Erica and her feelings about her weight. I found it an enjoyable summer read. I did t read the first book in the series, but I will go back and read it.

[Andrea Hancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining palate cleanser that you can finish within a day or two. I read this inbetween 2 of the books of the ACOTAR series.
An easy read with your usual dose of comical misunderstandings and mishaps!