ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – A Place in the Sun by Jo Thomas

A Place in the Sun by Jo Thomas is published by Penguin and is out now. I purchased my own copy of the book.

It’s never too late to find where you belong…

Thea knew the holiday house her late husband Marco bought in Tuscany wasn’t pristine. But when she relocates to Italy for the summer with her children, she’s shocked by how much work Casa Luna needs. And she only has six weeks to fix it up ready to sell! Her only option is to ask the tight-knit Italian community for help.

In return, Thea and her children become involved in the community kitchen, working alongside handsome chef Giovanni and three very competitive nonnas. Gradually, Thea begins to open up to the people around her for the first time in a long while. But just as she’s beginning to wonder whether this small Tuscan town could become a new place to call home, a surprise visitor turns everything on its head . . .

Thea arrives at a small village in Tuscany with her two children ready to take up residence in the house her late husband Marco bought for them. She doesn’t know what her long-term plans will turn out to be but she soon becomes embroiled in village life, with Giovanni who runs the community kitchen and the three feuding Nonnas, fighting over whose lasagne is the best.

I loved the idea of the community kitchen, a place where anyone can go for a meal or the dishes can be brought to you if you can’t get there yourself or need the company at home. Thea has a lot to get over with losing Marco and their family life together but slowly she starts to integrate with the locals and realises that she has a future after all.

A Place in the Sun is full of Jo Thomas’ particular winning blend of food and travel fiction, making me both want to eat the food that the characters enjoy and to travel to the destination, in this case it’s Tuscany. This is feel-good fiction at its very best, a joy to read from start to finish. I always enjoy books by this author but this one might just be a particular favourite as it’s light-hearted and so easy to read, yet doesn’t shy away from some difficult subjects. I absolutely loved it!

Jo Thomas worked for many years as a reporter and producer, including time at Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Radio 2’s The Steve Wright Show.

Jo’s debut novel, The Oyster Catcher, was a runaway bestseller and won both the RNA Joan Hessayon Award and the Festival of Romance Best eBook Award. Her book Escape to the French Farmhouse was a #1 bestselling eBook. Jo loves to explore new countries and discover the food produced there, both of which she thoroughly enjoys researching. Jo lives in Pembrokeshire with her husband and three children, where cooking and gathering around the kitchen table are a hugely important and fun part of their family life.