The Right Place – Carla Caruso (2018)
Released in August 2018
Can the past show you the way home? Charming and memorable, The Right Place is an Australian novel, combining warm romance with family drama and the longing to fit in. Perfect for readers who love The Missing Pieces of Us by Fleur McDonald and Josephine Moon.
With her dreams of dominating Melbourne’s fashion scene in tatters, Nella Martini has returned to the last place she wants to be – Torrente Blu, the market garden inherited from her late nonna. She just needs to clean up the property, sell it quickly, and avoid run-ins with her neighbour: surly Adrian Tomaso. But when Nella comes across her nonna’s cookbook things start to change. The place, with its endless tomato plants and gallons of olive oil in storage, gets under her skin, as does Adrian with his passion for this life. But her dreams have always meant being anywhere but here – haven’t they? Or has the right place been here all this time?
For Esta Feliciano in the 1950s, the right place was her Italian village. But in search of a better life than war-torn Italy has to offer, her husband has moved Esta and their daughter to this alien country, settling on a small, flat piece of land that he calls Torrente Blu. Can Esta come to grips with the harsh Australian sun and strange culture?
Woven with traditional Italian recipes, The Right Place is the heartfelt story of two women’s journeys, as they discover how the right place to call home can be where you make it…
My Review of The Right Place
(4 / 5)
Another Aussie author to watch! Carla Caruso has put together a beautiful story in ‘The Right Place’, a book about family, romance, and yummy FOOD!
Nella comes back to her hometown following the death of her beloved grandmother (or nonna) Esta. She has inherited the market garden and has come back to say a final goodbye before packing up the property and selling it. Unfortunately it is leased by her grumpy neighbour, twin brother of her first love, Adrian. However, when she starts to help him with his business, she discovers he may not be quite so grumpy after all. And in a side story – back in the 1950’s, Esta, her husband, and daughter have moved to Australia. Not understanding English and being totally out of her comfort zone, she has to navigate her way through the transition to this foreign country. There is lots of heartache to deal with along the way.
This book made me really hungry! It has Italian recipes throughout in between chapters which look amazing, and they also add a really homely atmosphere! They also relate to things that the characters were talking about or what they themselves were cooking in the book. I thought this was really clever and added a new unique dimension to it.
I thought the romance aspect was very sweet. The tension between the characters was palpable at times and I loved the history between them all.
The past story of Esta I didn’t find quite so engaging as the present story, but I still enjoyed it. Its interesting reading about the Italian culture and what life may have been like for those who were emigrating back in that time.
Nella was a great character. She was strong willed and I really enjoy main characters that are grounded. I also really liked the twins. Both of them! Their interactions with Nella and amongst themselves were full of drama and I loved figuring out what was really going on.
Would I recommend The Right Place?
It was a great Australian/Italian romance with some family drama and beautiful Aussie scenery throughout. Would be perfect for a women’s fiction fan, especially Australian women’s fiction!
Many thanks to Harlequin via NetGalley for a copy of The Right Place to review.
If you enjoy The Right Place, you may enjoy:
0 Comments