Love, Loss, and Pasta Sauce by Stephanie Taylor

What’s a girl to do when her husband leaves her for a recent college grad? She buys a falling-down villa in a rustic Italian village for a dollar and rolls up her sleeves to renovate it–that’s what.

Sunday Richmond is thirty-two, newly divorced, and ready for a complete life overhaul when she arrives in a charming Tuscan village that’s essentially a pile of stones and unrealized promise. In no time at all, her expat neighbors become her new family, and a sexy, floppy-haired Australian pediatrician with a penchant for surfing and skateboarding becomes her closest friend.

Max Gallo has come to Italy to take a break from the high-stress world of pediatric oncology, and to buy a villa in the small town where his grandparents once lived. His big plans include catching his breath, forgetting his last breakup, and learning how to make olive oil in his grandfather’s old shop. The last thing on his mind is starting up any sort of relationship with an American divorcee who clearly has some control-freak tendencies.

As the holidays approach and the village takes on a magical quality, Sunday and Max are considering taking things a step further. But a major misunderstanding throws everything off-balance and leaves them both wondering if the new lives they’ve chosen are really any better than the ones they left behind.