The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake by Rachel Linden – a Review

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Description:
Rising star Jules Costa loves re-creating vintage recipes for her popular online cooking show. But when personal and professional disaster strikes, her only chance of saving her career is to complete her new cookbook before the end of the summer. Panicked, Jules returns to her family’s beloved olive farm on the shores of Italy’s stunning Lake Garda. Seeking culinary inspiration, she’s hoping to convince her spunky eighty-year-old Nonna Bruna to share her precious collection of family recipes.

Jules’ plans quickly go awry as she discovers Nonna’s cookbook has magical and unpredictable powers. It only reveals one recipe at a time, offering a cooking experience guaranteed to satisfy the chef’s palate and bring clarity to their life. Yet it remains stubbornly blank for Jules. To make matters worse, the olive farm is in deep financial trouble, and Jules soon uncovers a web of family secrets involving the cookbook and a lost recipe for orange blossom cake that holds the key to everything. And Nicolo, the boy next door who broke her young heart, is now all grown up, even more attractive, and the only person poised to help her find answers.  

In a whirlwind summer beyond her imagination, Jules begins to unravel the mysteries baked into her family’s history and discovers the essential ingredients to create the future of her dreams.

Review:

The Secret of Orange Bloosom Cake by Rachel Linden is a sweet standalone story. Juliana Costa is a fan of wonderful popular food, which she shows on social media, called The Bygone Kitchen.  She works at Trader Joe’s to help pay the rent, and her partner in these videos, is Drew. Juliana’s cooking abilities help save the day for several people who enjoy the videos. When Drew receives a chance to work with someone else in LA; Jules decides to create her new Cookbook.

When Juliana’s mother makes plans to travel, she must take her 15year old niece, Alex to Italy, returning to her beloved family after many years.  Jules has not been back to the family farm since a tragedy 15 years earlier. Shel loves her wonderful aunt, beloved Nonna Bruna, who has a lovable olive grove farm in the shores of Lake Garda.  Jules is hoping to get Noona to share her personal family recipes, to add to her cookbook. Her half-sister, Alex, would only eat vegan/vegetarian diet.  But Alex love taking pictures, and in time when Nonna and Jules created wonderful food.  Alex was always there to load the pictures on videos, which became very successful with thousands of people looking.

The story makes matters worse, when Jule’s overhears Nonna discussing that they are in deep in financial trouble. They had planned for Jules’s to stay and help increase the farm.  Jules uncovers an old cookbook filled with secrets, as well as the recipe for the Orange Blossom Cake, that could be the key. The legend of the magical orange blossom cake and a family cookbook itself, was passed down through generations

The romance between her and Nicolo, who was the boy next door, with her leaving 15 years old. As they rekindle their friendship, she sees how attractive he is, and determined to help her find the family cookbook.  This does turn into a whirlwind love story, as they are now grown up.  Will Jules leave when the summer is over, or will she stay and help Noona, and her feelings for Nicola.

The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake was a sweet, wonderful, romance that was filled with love and family. I got a kick out of all the Italian food they created with each session, such as lemons, olive oil, pasta and the Orange Bloosom Cake, with all the secrets. The epilogue was great when Jule’s found herself falling in love with Nicolo, and both she and Alex would remain. The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake was very well written by Rachel Linden.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher