The little Italian bakery - Valentina Cebeni

Friendship, food and romance await on this magical Italian island. It's the perfect summer read.

'A true feast for the senses' Jenny Ashcroft, author of Beneath a Burning Sky

'A bit of sunshine and romance and a whiff of ethereal mystery. What's not to like?' Trip Fiction

The scent of freshly baked biscuits, lemon and aniseed reminds Elettra of her mother's kitchen. But her mother is in a coma, and the family bakery is failing. Elettra is distraught; she has many unanswered questions about her mother's childhood - Edda was a secretive woman. The only clue is a family heirloom: a necklace inscribed with the name of an island.

Elettra buys a one-way ticket to that island, just off the coast of Sardinia. Once there, she discovers a community of women, each lost in their own way. They live in a crumbling convent, under threat from the local mayor and his new development plan. It is within the convent's dark corridors and behind its secret doors that Elettra discovers a connection to her mother's past. She also falls in love again: with friendship, baking and adventure.

**Features real recipes throughout including aniseed bread, rose- and honey-infused wine and spiced biscuits**