Doomed passions and perfectly cooked pasta figure prominently in this taste-quenching, often hilarious memoir. Giulia Melucci's search for a reliable lover is unfailingly reignited by her seductive kitchen skills. Men drawn to her culinary flame soon stray or disappoint, leaving Giulia to console herself with her mother's recipes for chicken and fish specialties. Adding to the appeal of this good spirited tell-all are the delicious Italian-American recipes included in its pages. Perfect pre-dinner reading.
Publishers Weekly
Melucci, a publicity executive, clearly knows her way around the cucina, and her clever memoir of being loved and left includes the recipes she associates with her exes. The recipes are mostly Italian, and the men are mostly losers, but listeners will have a good time laughing with Melucci at her various boyfriends' foibles (even as they wonder why such a smart and funny woman chooses the same type of childish man over and over). Melucci does a wonderful job narrating; her voice carries the listener through the first flush of new romance to the final indignities of a relationship gone wrong. The audio format does not work well for the recipes, however; listeners eager to cook these fabulous meals should get a copy of the print version to keep from rewinding the audio book repeatedly while jotting down recipes. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 26). (May)
Library Journal
This delectable memoir follows New Yorker Melucci through failed relationships from college to midlife, detailing the recipes she used to reel the men in, sustain the romances, then comfort herself when they fizzled out. The book's heart lies in Melucci's gradual accretion of culinary wisdom, which leads her to acknowledge her identity as a writer. Anyone who has wondered, "Will I ever find Mr. Right?" will appreciate this sprightly debut. [See Prepub Alert, LJ12/08.]
—Elizabeth Brinkley
Kirkus Reviews
Giada De Laurentiis meets Candace Bushnell in this debut memoir from romantically challenged yet resilient Melucci. The author grew up Catholic, Italian and squeaky-clean in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Melucci's mother played a consequential role in shaping her personality and taste buds, but the most touching early sections revolve around her father, an Italian immigrant. He was a serious man more concerned with facilitating his children's education than fostering a sense of intimacy, but they grew closer when Melucci studied Italian and art history in college. He was pleased to share his native culture and food with her, and took her to Salerno to meet her Italian relatives. He died three days before she graduated from college; she still cherishes the envelope on which he wrote an impromptu note expressing his love when she was studying in Florence. Melucci warily moved to Manhattan, where she quickly-much to her surprise-landed both a man and a job. Her career as a book publicist, then VP for public relations at Harper's magazine, proved to be a lot steadier than her love life. First there was Kit, who preferred alcohol to angel hair; Ethan, who loved halibut but hated cohabitation; and Mitch, the friend-with-benefits for whom Melucci made bowls of peppery farfalle. Her memoir is strewn with numerous other relatable scenarios and stereotypical lovers, none as satisfying as the homemade and borrowed recipes that accompany each escapade. Using cooking as catharsis after crumbled relationships, Melucci sprinkles sweet and savory homespun meals, ranging from traditional to eclectic, among anecdotes describing the angst of dating in your 30s. The urban backdrop includes Brooklyn's buddingneighborhoods, Greenwich Village's underground music scene and SoHo's sleek eateries. In the absence of a reliable male companion, strolling the aisles of Dean & DeLuca gets Melucci's heart pumping. Frustrations whisked into a tasty treat of a story. Agent: Lisa Bankoff/ICM
