The Italian Wedding by Nicky Pellegrino

Paperback: 362 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Fiction
Publisher:  Orion 2009
Source:  Tywyn Library, Wales.
First Sentence: The mannequin was propped up in the corner of Pieta's attic room.
Review Quote:

“If your soul needs some nourishing, The Italian Wedding is a great pick.” 

– Mindfood magazine

 My Opinion:  A novel to lose yourself in for a few hours undemanding read.

This is the second title by this author that I have read and I doubt it will be the last as I believe they are all set in Italy. Although I am already living the Italian dream it was a pleasure to lose myself in the setting for this delightful novel for a few hours of undemanding reading. A relaxing read written by an author whose passion for Italy is obvious from the delightful way she writes, even including some authentic recipes in the storyline.

With a simple plot about love, feuding families and plenty of recipes for delicious Italian food, I was quickly immersed. The Martinelli family live and work in the area of Little Italy in London, running the family business of a restaurant.  Father, Beppe resides over the kitchen at home and at work, the latter with his younger daughter Addolorata. The older daughter Pieta is a designer of bridal gowns so it is only natural that she should be designing and making the wedding gown for her sister's forthcoming nuptials. She is helped by their English mother Catherine who has always seemed to the girls to be quietly in the background of family life. It is when she is helping Pieta with the time consuming intricate beading for the dress that the two women start to chat about the past and for the first time Catherine opens up to her daughter about how she and Beppe met and fell in love. The story also eventually explains why there is a long standing feud with another local Italian family. With realistically portrayed characters the unfolding story is a charming read. Romantic fiction with an Italian theme which will appeal to many fans of this genre.

My earlier review for Recipe For Life

Author Profile

Image credit: New Zealand Woman's Weekly

Nicky Pellegrino's Italian father came to England and fell in love with a Liverpool girl which is where Nicky was born on the first of January 1964. Bringing his passion for food to his new family, his Italian mantra that you live to eat not eat to live is one of the inspirations behind Nicky's delicious novels. Now living in New Zealand, where she works as a journalist, Nicky hordes her holidays so she and her husband can return to Italy to see family, eat the best mozzarella and research her books.

When Nicky first started writing fiction it was her memories of childhood summers in Italy that came flooding back and flavoured her stories: the passions, the feuds but most of all the food.

She works as a freelance journalist, has weekly columns in the Herald on Sunday newspaper and the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly and her novels are distributed in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and have been translated into 12 languages.

She loves cooking for friends, drinking red wine, walking on New Zealand’s amazing beaches, riding her horse through the forest and lying in bed reading other people’s novels.

The biographical information and photo used in this post are with thanks to the following websites, where you can also find more information about the author and her writing. 

Goodreads   Nicky Pellegrino - Official Website   Nicky Pellegrino - Twitter