I strongly disliked "In Five Years" by Rebecca Serle, but I am usually willing to give an author another try--you never know, right?

Well, I hate this book too. Somehow I hate it more because it has the same things I didn't like before:

1. Materialism. Serle crafts nice phrases but it seems so frivolous to waste them on what luxury goods a person owns or how impeccably decorated their mansion is. It's like having someone describe a copy of Town and Country magazine to you.
2. One-dimensional characters, a few who are idealized and perfect and universally beloved, and others who are boring or unaccommodating and therefore we're not really supposed to care about them, I guess?
3. Selfish, codependent main characters that fixate on the perfect people and mistreat everyone else. Both books feature cheating on a spouse whose feelings they seem uninterested in, and this book even has the heroine trying to dictate the future of the town she is a tourist in, as if she has more right to decide that than the people who live there.
4. Magical time-traveling. If this exists, why is it only for the most garbage human beings in the world?

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

To read and appreciate Rebecca's Serle's books, the reader must first set aside reality and enter this story's world. This is really quite easy as Ms. Serle provides interesting characters, wonderful settings, and an intricate plot. I suppose there are some women who have this fantastic relationship with their mother--I did not, so I had a hard time relating to Katy, but I really liked her mother. What I loved best about the book was the setting, having been to Italy, but not the Amalfi coast, I found it most intriguing. If you want to take a vacation and take the characters at face value this might be read for you...

This book was such a delight. I loved the descriptions of the scenery and the food- this made me want to travel to Italy asap. I also love Rebecca Serle’s relationship with grief. It’s portrayed so beautifully and complicated, and it always brings me to tears. Beautiful!

I had a hard time connecting with Katy, as it just feels like she goes on and on about her being her mom's one great love and back. It felt super childish, and she was not relatable or even understandable.

In this story, Katy, grappling with her mother's death, feels adrift without her best friend. Questioning everything, including her marriage to Eric, she seeks solace in Positano, Italy, a trip she and her mother, Carol, had dreamed of making together. Carol's cherished memories of a youthful summer spent there draw Katy into an unexpected encounter with her mother's younger self, sparking a journey of exploration, secrets, and revelations about her mother's past and Katy's own future.

Italy, with its enchanting vistas and delicious cuisine, became a character in its own right, enchanting me with every page. The love and loss Katy experiences are both heartwarming and heartbreaking, a testament to Serle's narrative prowess. The twist of meeting her mother as a young woman offered an intriguing spin, requiring a suspension of disbelief that was both challenging and rewarding.

The book's exploration of life, friendship, self-growth, and the essence of our dreams and regrets struck a chord with me, echoing Mary Oliver's poignant question about what we plan to do with our "one wild and precious life." Katy's journey through pain, uncertainty, and an extraordinary encounter with her mother's past forced me to reflect on my own relationships and life's path.

A heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for granting me access to this digital review copy in exchange for my honest opinion. It was an unforgettable experience that touched my heart and mind, reaffirming Rebecca Serle's position as a master of semi-sweet, sad, yet profoundly heartfelt stories.

A solid magical realism novel with characters that truly drew you in. Yet another great read from Rebecca Serle!

I love Rebecca Serle's writing style. Her detailed settings and character development are engaging and almost visceral. I enjoyed One Italian Summer and recommend it to fans of Serle's other books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I requested this one because it had to do with Italy and I liked the title...lol. I wasn't sure what to expect from it but I loved everything about this one...except for the main character lol...which is kind of important. But the story line, I loved, the location, I loved, and most everyone in it, I loved. I'm not gonna lie, I probably looked up more locations from this book to see if they were real than any other book I have ever read. I am so glad the author put real places in it instead of fake ones where you can't find out anything about them...this way, I was able to picture what she was describing. I have never wanted to go to Italy more than I did after reading this book.

I love this book as I have loved the others by this author. A beautifully written story on how we move on after loss and those we love never really leave us.

I didn't like this book. The MC is whiny, self-centered, and thinks that cheating is okay if you’re trying to find yourself. The only saving grace is the setting and the postcard description of Positano,

One Italian Summer has all the feels.. summer and a Italy.. who could ask for anything more? Katy was getting ready to take the trip of her life but her mother has passed away. They had waited forever to take the trip together and now Katy doesn’t know what to do.. Carol, her mom spent a summer in Positano and wanted to share this beautiful place with her.
Some how Katy, gets herself on the plane and finds herself in the most beautiful place and immediately feels her mother’s spirit. She is in love with the water, the views and the town. One day she meets Carol.. not her mother Carol but her mother 30 years ago. She is healthy and vibrant and full of life. Katy doesn’t know how it has happened or why but she enjoys every second with her. She is surprised how her mother is and the decisions she has made. The summer turns out to be the most magical time. Katy has the time to make sense of the mother she knew and the young lady she was. This is such a good story about a mother and daughter and choices. Rebecca Serle, is a great story teller. The characters were so real.. it was heartwarming.. it was a four star read for me. I want to thank Netgalley and the author for my copy of One Italian Summer, for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this book. If your like me and love Italy, this story will bring you right back to it.. enjoy

This book is the perfect sentimental beach read. It is so good to see the main character fall in love with Italy.

This book was a story of senses. I could hear the waves against the Amalfi coast. I could feel the warm sunshine as Katy hiked up the trail. I could taste the fresh pasta. But it was also an experience of many emotions — grief, excitement, elation, confusion, and the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter. We as readers undergo a tumultuous journey alongside Katy is such a short period of time and this book is worth every up and down we encounter along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn’t want to leave Italy when the cover finally closed. I gave this title five stars! (I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)I

This was a mother/daughter fiction book set amongst the beautiful backdrop of the Amalfi coast of Italy. The time travel element was a unique twist and I loved the vivid descriptions of the characters travels.

Parts of the mother/daughter relationship felt a little intense at times which made it hard to relate as the reader.


Thank you Atria and Netgalley for my copy.

Rebecca Serle's books always have *just* the right amount of magic. I think this book was my favorite of hers so far, though I recognize that's likely a controversial opinion since "In Five Years" was so widely well-received. I think I just really enjoyed the main character and, of course, the idyllic Italian backdrop.

I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting and cannot get it out of my head! This book was the perfect mix of family, friendship, love and magical realism. The setting was immaculate and I need to go to Italy ASAP now! What an amazing book that will stick with me for a long time.

Rebecca Serle is the queen of writing unlikable protagonists. But somehow she still gets me on board with the story and pulls some empathy out of me for the character.

It’s a risky gamble to make the star of your novel so unsympathetic, and I’m not certain it pays off for her. Many readers end up not liking her books because it’s difficult to enjoy the story when you don’t care for the character you’re reading about.

I’m able to look past my disdain, though, which allows Serle to sweep me away. And this time, in "One Italian Summer," she took me to Positano, Italy, and her gorgeous descriptions of scenery and food were enough to make me forget how little I liked Katy, a woman who, after losing her mother, Carol, travels solo to Positano on a trip that was meant to be mother-daughter.

Serle’s writing is as lovely as ever, and she adds a nice touch of magical realism to Katy’s tale, because upon Katy’s arrival in Italy, she is reunited with her very dead, and very young, mom. Katy is shocked by the encounter, but she seizes the opportunity to get to know Carol as the 30 year-old woman she was before marriage and motherhood.

It's an emotional story of a daughter’s grief while in the midst of self-discovery. Katy has much to figure out, and though I didn’t agree with a few of her choices, I appreciated her journey.


My sincerest appreciation to Rebecca Serle, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

After loving Serle's other novels, The Dinner List and In Five Years, I was looking forward to reading her newest novel. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed when I read it - here's why:

The main character had zero ability to be independent or on her own. She comes across as needy and extremely dependent which was very annoying to me. This continues throughout the story when the main character makes large statements that made her come across as insufferable and privileged.

There was an incorrect part about University of California Santa Barbara (the university where the main character and her husband met, which I also attended in real life) - the novel states that it is on a semester system, but it is on a quarter system and that small inaccuracy irked me since there clearly wasn't much research done for this novel.

It was lovely to have the novel set in Positano, Italy, but it felt as if this was targeted towards those who had never been there, and it was a romanticization of the whole place. The writing seemed to ignore the fact that people have their whole lives and homes based out of Positano and the surrounding areas and made it seem like it was only a place that people went to go visit.

Overall, the concept was there - a story about a mother and daughter relationship and dealing with the loss of a loved one - but this novel was executed in a way that I was put off by and I would not recommend.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the gifted e-book in exchange for an honest opinion!

While the setting was amazing and made me want to hop on a plan to Italy... this book fell a bit flat to me. I am usually a fan of magical realism stories, but this one barely felt like that. The main character's relationship with her mother was way too romantic and fanatical, and at times was almost uncomfortable to read about. I felt like there wasn't a lot of development or progress at all, from any person involved, which is something that I tend to expect in a read. That the character(s) will start in one place, ending up in another. I really enjoyed In Five Years and was looking forward to this one, but unfortunately I wasn't a fan.

Thank you to Atria books for the eARC of One Italian Summer! Rebecca Serle brought me straight to Positano, Italy with her descriptions of the beautiful Amalfi coast. While I loved the setting and the premise, the aspect of Katy leaving her husband to go to Italy alone (and some of the choices she makes there), and maybe just the character of Katy herself were hard to connect with.