the intoxicating international bestseller about forbidden love, cooking and magic, perfect for fans of joanne harris and isabel allende. 'this magical, mythical, moving story of love, sacrifice and summering sensuality is something i will savour for a long time' maureen lipman the number one bestseller in mexico and america for almost two years, and subsequently a bestseller around the world, like water for chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness, bittersweet wit - and recipes. a sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female de la garza family. tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. but tita falls in love with pedro, and he is seduced by the magical food she cooks. in desperation pedro marries her sister rosaura so that he can stay close to her. for the next twenty-two years tita and pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds. 'a joy... has an energetic charm that's quite impossible to resist' literary review 'an epic love story with recipes and a sprinkling of magical realism' washington post 'enchanting...an open-eyed fairy story complete with ugly sister' barbara trapido 'a mexican culinary romance to make the mouth water' she 'ingenious' independent