Love, Lies & Lemon Groves
Book three in the Zorba’s Taverna series
Welcome back to Zorba’s, where love is complicated, lies are well-intentioned, and nothing is ever quite finished.
Zorba’s Embrace: Love, Lies & Lemon Groves is the third book in Peter Barber’s much-loved Zorba’s Taverna series, a warm, funny, and heartfelt story of belonging, second chances, and village life in Greece.
Winter has arrived in Telios. The tourists have gone, the sea has teeth, and the taverna survives on olive oil, stubbornness, and a fridge with attitude. With gossip brewing and inspectors looming, the village prepares for surprises, secrets, and a wedding that may or may not go to plan.
The familiar cast returns: Zorba, retired in theory; Alex, accidental mayor and force of nature; Theodora, queen of the kitchen; Dimitri the fisherman-poet; Maria, guardian of gossip; and Spiros, philosopher of the bench.
Pull up a chair. Eat what you’re given. No substitutions.
Reviews: 5.0 out of 5 stars
A better Romance Than Romeo and Juliet, and With More Goats
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 January 2026
It’s winter in Telios, and where is Mary? Will she come back to the village that misses her? Another rollicking read from the pen of Peter Barber. There is a new character that the village (and the book) didn’t know it needed. And a romance better than that of Romeo and Juliet – and with more goats. Yes, all our favourite characters are back to spread philosophy, gossip and fun. The words unhinged and beautiful seem to sum it up rather well. Don’t miss this fabulous, funny, well-written book. It’s a triumph.