Lily Prior

Ramona Drottoveo, an albino with unusual looks, is a chambermaid at a lush Italian estate, La Casa. Further distinguished by the intoxicating scent she exudes, Ramona effortlessly bewitches all men, who are driven into an erotic frenzy each time they inhale her aroma. Ramona -- haughty and misguided -- eagerly satisfies their inexhaustible lust, while the women at the estate scold and despise her.Ramona's life changes when she marries a sweet beekeeper, a victim of her enchantment. But the show more marriage doesn't last long: the beekeeper dies after discovering his bride with a new lover on their wedding day. When the beekeeper's body disappears, the superstitious villagers blame Ramona and her lover and exile the couple from the estate to the neighboring city of Naples. The story follows Ramona through her tragicomic misadventures in Naples, where her life is transformed once again. by the birth of an unwanted daughter, Blandina, who "steals" Ramona's scent, depriving her mother of her only asset in life. No longer able to seduce men into blind submission, Ramona returns humbly to La Casa to an unexpected welcome -- and revenge.A hilarious and naughty celebration of the senses and the strange places they can lead us, Nectar is a wildly entertaining fable on the mystery and cruelty of sexual attraction and the frivolous nature of divine justice. show less

An amusing novel about a servant on an Italian estate whom all the men find irresistible, very much to their detriment. The cover of the version I read implies that this is a romance book, and this is not the case – it is black humour at its finest. The book is a little bit naughty, especially in the opening few chapters, but the sex is more comical than sexy. The novel is filled with amusing imagery, such as Ramona going about in her goggles, and it made me laugh out loud several times. I show more will be checking out the author’s other works. show less

This novel is much too easy to mock, and so I dare not, since I might get carried away. The author raises "food porn" to a whole new level, and I don't mean in a good way. OK, I just can't help myself: one teensy little mockery: the narrator is more full of herself than a Mario Batali cannoli! Read at your peril. (Or if you want to laugh out loud, when you really shouldn't.) On the other hand ... maybe it was meant to be this funny.

In the beginning of the book I was surprised there was no film of it yet, as there are loads of scenes that could be very visually interesting. But I understood later that it could be quite difficult to incorporate all the sex scenes without making it an X-rated film. The story was quite sensual, both in the food and the sex department, with some surrealist touches. If it were to be made into a film, it should be directed by Peter Greenaway. The narration was quite clumsy though, too much show more "but I wasn't to find out about X later". Those devices weren't necessary either, the story is gripping enough by itself. I wasn't sure about the treatment of Silician culture either: the author is clearly fascinated by it but it always stays weird, you don't really get to share it, understand the weirdness. show less