The Olive Branch
Jo Thomas
Rating: 5 stars
Escape to Italy with The Olive Branch - the irresistible new novel from Jo Thomas, author of ebook bestseller The Oyster Catcher.
'It's time to let love grow.'
You can buy almost anything online these days. For Ruthie Collins, it was an Italian farmhouse.
Yet as she battles with a territorial goat and torrential rain just to get through the door of the new Italian home, the words of Ed, her ex, are ringing in her ears. She is daft, impetuous and irresponsible.
But Ruthie is determined to turn things around and live the dream.
First, though, she must win over fiery neighbour, Marco Bellanouvo, and his family... Then there's the small matter of running an olive farm. As the seasons change and new roots are put down, olives and romance might just flourish in the warmth of the Mediterranean sun.
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I've had this on my TBR pile for a while now but I never managed to get into it when deciding which book to read. However, since reading this - I have no idea what took me so long to read it! First up, I love the cover. It looks warm and inviting, the colours jumping out of the page and it looks very romantic. I will say that I knew I was going to love this novel from the very first page. It started off interesting, funny and just really exciting - I couldn't wait to see what happened!
From the off, there was humour and drama. It starts with Ruthie and her friend drunk and Ruthie buying something online. Cut to the next chapter we see Ruthie turning up to a farmhouse that she'd bought and having a bit of a standoff with a goat and a Kit-Kat. We then meet Marco and his family - and it just seems really manic! I warmed to Ruthie instantly and I really enjoy reading novels like this set in a farm or abroad like France and Italy.
I also love Jo Thomas' style of writing, The Oyster Catcher was one of the first Romance novels I read when I first started reading them and I absolutely loved it. This one was no different, I really wondered at points how it would turn out but I needn't have questioned it as I loved every page. It was just written so beautifully and I found it really engaging. With regards to main character Ruthie herself, I really felt for her. I could see that she was lonely and feeling quite down about the whole situation and I really started to feel sorry for her when nothing was going her way.
One character I found myself really disliking was Marco's mamma. She just seemed so cold and heartless and it was when I read about her treatment to Ruthie that I really didn't like her character! However, everything turns out for the best in the end and I was really happy with how it did end for Ruthie! After everything she had been through she deserved to have a happy ending. Overall, a perfect summer read. 10/10 would recommend.
One character I found myself really disliking was Marco's mamma. She just seemed so cold and heartless and it was when I read about her treatment to Ruthie that I really didn't like her character! However, everything turns out for the best in the end and I was really happy with how it did end for Ruthie! After everything she had been through she deserved to have a happy ending. Overall, a perfect summer read. 10/10 would recommend.
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