Spaghetti hasn't been this sexy since Lady and Tramp shared a plateful in their movie!
The neighbor who had befriended twelve-year-old Jane has just died. Jane had called her Nonna, or grandmother. She had taught Jane her recipes. Jane’s mother died when Jane was a baby. Her father raised her, but her entire life he's told her she's unlovable and will never find love. Jane hasn't seen her father since she left home at age eighteen, but she has remained close to Nonna, visiting her every weekend.
With her dying breath, Nonna pressed a tiny glass bottle into Jane’s hands, telling her to guard it with her life and to tell no one about it. She told Jane it was salt and that just a pinch—even a single grain—was enough.
Returning home from the funeral, she decided to comfort herself by preparing Nonna's spaghetti recipe. She used some of the salt in the pasta water and thought she saw something in the water, but decided it was her imagination. She whispered, "I love you," as she added the spaghetti to the water. Again, she thought she saw something in the water. Leaning over the pot to look, a tear dropped into the water. The water starts to spark, and the sparks turn into a flame. Screaming, she stands back as the fire almost rises to the ceiling. As she watches, the spaghetti begins to rise vertically out of the pot. A creature begins to rise out of the pot; its hands grasp the handles of the pot as it steps out. Only it no longer looks like spaghetti. It's a man—a very handsome, very naked man!
His name is Al. Alberto Dente. He explains that his family has been cursed for many generations. They were pasta makers in Campania, Italy. An old woman had come to the door and asked his great-grandfather for some pasta to eat. He explained that he'd be happy to feed her, but the pasta wouldn't be ready for several hours. She didn't believe him, and when he showed her the dough, she asked to eat it anyway. He was afraid that since it had raw eggs, it might make her ill. If she'd just wait, he'd feed her when the dough was ready. She told him she got cranky when she didn't eat, and since he withheld food from a starving woman, she was putting a curse on him and his entire line. Then she consigned him to the container of salt he kept on his worktable. His salty form can only come to life when used with pasta. His earthly visit ends when the pasta water is gone. He can choose to go to heaven, but doing so ensures his entire line will disappear with him. Then she smashed the container. The only salt that is left is in the tiny bottle Nonna passed to Jane.
Jane stumbled onto the first step to ending the curse. Al tells her what she must do to end the curse. Can she do it?
I received an ARC of this book from the author via Booksprout. I am voluntarily leaving this review.