Last Bite: A Novel of Culinary Romance

Warning: this book will make you hungry! Great descriptions of food (with recipes at the end of the book), wonderfully light-hearted romance, and a tour of Florence all add up to an entertaining experience. I couldn't put it down! I hope Nancy Verde Barr writes many more books like Last Bite.

I started reading this book at 10pm on a work night and couldn't put it down. I finished it around 3:15am. Casey, the protagonist, does the food prep for a celebrity chef on a Good Morning America type show. Casey's mother is Italian and her father is Irish, so there is lots of fantastic cultural humor. And of course, thanks to Casey's job as well as her family's method of relating to stress and one another, there is LOTS of food in this story. Tons of pasta, cannolis, cakes, and a squirming eel. There is also a lovely little mystery and a fluffy/angsty romance. This book is a prime example of how a story's opener can really captivate a reader. The humor and brains are evident from the first paragraph and really set the tone for this delicious novel. There's also a magnificent amount of cursing in Italian, which I really need to get translated for personal application. Although I can't cook and I'm neither Italian nor Irish, I found that I related immensely to Casey because the author made her so relatable. I could never cook like this. (Or more to the point, I would never choose to cook like this.) I don't have the time or patience for it at all. It's an amazing art, but I'm way too pragmatic in the kitchen to give a frip about whisks vs. beaters. But because the protagonist cared about it, while I was reading the book I cared about it. And to me, that's the mark of a fantastic author: she made me care about stupid crap so much I sacrificed sleep. Ultimately, the only thing I regret about Last Bite by Nancy Verde Barr is that it ended and she hasn't published any similar novels. Hopefully that will change soon.

Oh Nancy -- what a good twist of the word you manage!! Like a well trained linguini around the fork with just enough sauce!! I will tell you that each of my food friends howled with laughter as I re-told the choice lines: [The Tonys] tripped over each other to help her. It was like watching puberty on speed. Oh, and the all-too-true (speaking as a single woman) comment about Danny : In my day, they would say that young men just need to sow their wild oats. Well then, my guess is that Danny O'Shea qualifies for a farm loan. !! My feeling is that this book is worth re-reading with a highlighter for those delightful one liners, and will be the greatest hit with the foodies in my area. Some of us HAVE done prep for cooking segments and personally know the truth in the 'show plus 2 backups'. Nancy Verde Barr manages to artistically entwine her food styling and culinary loves with a great story. Bravo and Bon Appetit!

This book was exactly as promised, breezy, light, entertaining. A perfect escape and a quick read. I enjoyed the characters, was kept interested by the two story lines - the love affair and the mystery - and above all, felt she got it just right. The descriptions of television food production, of travel in Florence and Tuscany, of the food, all were enticing, correct and appealing. Anyone who knows food, and television, and the celebrity culinary world, which I do from my own job experience as an NBC Producer and a restaurant consultant, will find it credible. They will recognize the high pressure, the pacing, and the exactitude of backstage work in what ultimately appears in its on screen presentation to be a fluff piece. Nancy Barr also has great wit and a keen eye for social interaction. I had a great time reading the book and was sad to say goodbye to the characters. I hope they'll be back.

Last Bite was totally satisfying. I loved the "inside" peek into the world of food fashionistas, particularly enjoying the build-up of the romance, the vicarious trip to Italy, and even before coming to the last page was ready for the sequel, or better yet, the movie. I wished Casey's family had been the one I got to grow up inside of. Last Bite is a good, fast read that made me both want to cook again and fall in love again!