One Italian Summer was a classic Rebecca Serle novel - with some element of the story that doesn't take place in reality. For that, I love her twists. Although, now that I know that's what she's going to write, I'm waiting for the big twist. I was expecting a different twist, so she got me there! I had trouble relating to Katy's relationship with her mother, which I usually don't put down as being part of my review, but for this novel, I think having a very close relationship with your mother was important to relating to the novel.

Her descriptions of Italy were absolutely stunning. This book made me wish more than anything that I had an Italy trip on the books!

Most people are lucky if they get to experience true love. Katie’s true, soulmate worthy love was her mom who she’s recently lost to cancer. Without her guiding light, Katie is lost, going so far as to asking her husband for a divorce. Instead of giving in, her husband insists she take the trip she and her mom planned to Positano, Italy, a place Katie’s mom, Carol, held dear. Once there, Katie’s days are filled with magic that doesn’t just include the gorgeous scenery. Rather, she’s greeted by a very unexpected guest who will help her rediscover herself.

As a fan of In Five Years, I was really looking forward to this book. I didn’t realize that Serle’s style includes a little bit of suspending disbelief and a bend in the time-space continuum. That said, the story was captivating and the writing was strong. Katie’s grief was well written and her confusion about how to process her life without her mom’s guidance read realistic.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

I was hoping that this book one blow me out of the water after absolutely loving IN FIVE YEARS but this has a very different vibe. This is a contemporary fiction story of a woman grieving the loss of her mother and trying to find herself in the small coastal town of Positano, Italy.

The descriptions of Positano made it seem as if I were truly there. The writing was immersive and no one can tell me they don’t want to go visit Positano after reading this book. But that’s kind of where the good things end. This book took a turn that I was not a fan of.

I wasn’t sure what our MC was thinking the entire time I was reading. I found her to be very selfish and she didn’t really bother looking at the bigger picture? The plot was convoluted and made it difficult to follow along.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me!

Katy Silver has just lost her mother. (Cue instant tears.) On a whim, she decides to take the trip to Positano she and her mom had planned. Once there, she meets her mother, in the flesh, from 30 years ago. Thus begins a heart warming and, sometimes heart breaking, eye opening experience for Katy.

I liked this one. Albeit a little predictable at times, it drew me out of a reading slump and was a sweet story about a mother daughter love, the love between friends, marriage, and perhaps most importantly, self love. Rebecca Serle’s writing flows so well.

One Italian Summer is about a woman dealing with the loss of her mother. In an attempt to feel closer to her mom and work through her grief after her death, she takes a solo trip to Italy and visits the same town where her mother once lived. And while there-- she finds her mother, alive and well and only 30 years old.

This story has a touch of magical realism, which I liked! I think it's fun to read contemporary, realistic stories that play around with the rules of time and logic. Unfortunately it was one of the few things that I did enjoy about this book.

Generally I enjoy books about travel and being able to experience a new place through the story. For some reason, I didn't love it so much in this story. I felt like a LOT of the story was about exploring Italy and that overshadowed the story for me, and I struggled to stay interested.

I also struggled with the romantic elements of this story. We didn't know enough about Katy's husband to be invested in him, and then we didn't know enough about the guy we met in Italy to be invested in him. I also don't love stories about infidelity, so in general-- the romance didn't work at all for me in this one.

This one was a miss for me, but I have seen others who enjoyed it. So perhaps it could be just right for you??

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

*** 4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account***

"I felt a fierce pull of love for her, for all the women she had been before me, all the women I never got to know."

There is no greater love, no more a contentious relationship than mothers and daughters and I speak from personal experience. One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle explores this dynamic in an emotional story that should come with a box of tissues.

Only child Katy is spiraling from the grief of losing her mother to cancer. She can't even cry. She doesn't think she will ever stop if she starts. She decides to take the trip to Positano, Italy her and her Mom, her best friend, had planned together. It's where her Mom says she discovered herself when she was 30, the same age as Katy now. Once there the beauty of the place just adds to her sorrow knowing her Mom isn't there with her. But then she is there. Not the older sickly Mom but the young vibrant woman who became her mother.

Katy befriends this woman who doesn't know she is looking at her daughter. There are some surprising twists as Katy learns her Mom wasn't a perfect human, that life is for the living and grief should be an expression of love not the end of it.

I am glad I read and listened to Katy's journey. I missed some emotions from others in the book, like Katy's husband, that I found in the audiobook through the heartfelt performance from amazing actress Lauren Graham. Conversely, I appreciated even more the beautiful descriptive prose of Italy, its people and food in reading the book.

Having lost my Mom in 2020 I had a visceral experience with this story. We didn't always get along like Katy and her Mom but unlike Katy I got 60 years with mine. Her last voicemail was, "I love you. Talk later." We didn't talk later. Call your Mom!

I received a free copy of this ARC/ALC from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, this book didn't click for me! I had issues with the main characters (I won't get into it here since I don't want to spoil anything) but it made it really hard for me to get into this book. Bummer!

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Serle’s other books, so I pushed through reading this one. From the beginning I was turned off by the relationship that Katy had with her mother and unfortunately it never got less cringeworthy. I kept reading because of the great scene setting in Italy, but the main character was hard to get past. I would still read future books by the author because of my love of her past books.

Rebecca Serle always manage to add magic to her books…and crack. There was something so addicting about this book. Serle manages to describe Italy so beautifully that it felt like I was in Italy, Positano myself. After reading this book I long for it to be summer already, my love for summer got stronger after reading this. This might just start my obsession with stories set in Italy. This book made me forgot that I was reading, that’s how good it was.

It seemed like the only MC’s personality trait was being her mothers daughter if that makes sense??

One thing I wish was to see more of ERIC. I’m sure a book about him would be amazing 🥲

Flew through ONE ITALIAN SUMMER! It's a moving story that will allow you to be transported to glorious Positano (complete with descriptions of the food, drinks, scenery) while also taking you on an emotional journey of. daughter overcome with grief and questions after losing her mom to cancer.

I loved @library_journal's review on Instagram that said, "going down as easy as a limoncello on a hot summer's day, this daydream of a story affirms what it means to love and be loved. An enchanting book for the last cold day's of winter, but also suggest it to readers come summer."

In comparison to my other February reads, this one wasn't my favorite but it's definitely been getting lots of hype (and my guess will be a popular spring/summer read).

Similarly to IN FIVE YEARS, this book also contains a time-warp element, which to be completely honest didn't work for me (even though I typically love magical realism aspects). It just left me with more questions and confusion!

Rating: 4

This was a good book but wasn’t a book for me. I can appreciate a book that is well written and tells a story well even if I didn’t vibe with it. The problem with this book for me was timing. I wish I would have read this book a month ago because then I would have loved it. It felt like a different version of her other book, In Five Years. Almost like this was a rough draft before she finalized that story. This book had such a similar premise, main character, and the issues the main character dealt with were almost identical. This wouldn’t have bothered me a month ago because I hadn’t read In Five Years. Now that I have and I loved it, I do not know if similar books will be able to compete. I know you shouldn't compare two books but when they are almost identical it’s hard not to.

This is definitely a book you have to experience for yourself. Each person is going to have a different connection to the characters and the storyline. For me, I was expecting it to be more heart-wrenching and emotional and I just didn’t feel that. It could be that I don’t have a strong relationship with my mom. She left when I was 7 and I saw her once a year until I was 18. I think if you have a strong relationship with your mom then this book would really impact you. If you need a book that will transport you to a different location then read this one. The author did such a great job with describing the settings and making you feel like you were in Italy! Overall, I do recommend this one because it was a good book and just wasn’t a book for me.

Thank you so much @atriabooks for the #gifted copy on #netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love that this is a book about the mother/daughter relationship. I was closer to my mom growing up than my dad, and I really hope that my daughter and I keep a close relationship as well. This book definitely pulls at the heart strings, and I can’t imagine how lost Katy must have felt right after the death of her mother. The setting in Italy is amazing, and it makes me want to hop on a plane and visit!

There was a lot of wisdom in these pages, but I found myself having a hard time connecting with Katy. While I am close to my mom, and I hope that Zoe is always close with me…I am not narcistic enough to think that I am the love of either of their lives. I also think that Katy treated her very supportive husband like complete garbage, and those parts were really hard to read. Overall, I really enjoyed this book but I am also left wondering exactly what we were supposed to think of Katy seeing her mom in Italy. If you read it, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Bottom Line: Read it.

**I received a copy of One Italian Summer from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions of of my own.**

What a delightful read! I really enjoyed reading about the beautiful Italian scenery and the food. I loved hearing about the delicious food and I wanted to eat it through the pages!

I thought for awhile that Katy's relationship with her mother was too close for parts of the book, but as the book progressed and as things were revealed, it made more sense. I liked how she reconnected with Eric and strengthened their relationship.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
A fantastical story set on the Amalfi coast with great scenery and lots of yummy food.
Love and family and and twists of time. A light, entertaining read.

This book is the reason I read! This was perfect escapism and such a beautiful story. First off, the plot is unusual, I did not expect the turn it took and that made me want to read the book in almost one sitting. Writing is incredible and emotional, but not overly complex. And Italy, just WOW! I am ready to book my ticket to Italy today if I could, this book just made me fall in love with the place I've never been to before.
This book screams summer from the cover to the last page and will be perfect to match any summer vacation.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book fell a little bit flat for me, but I think it's because I loved her other book so much. In this one, there is quite a bit of magical realism, which didn't really intrigue me that much. However, I did love the description of Italian food and scenery. If this book doesn't make you yearn for a trip to Italy, I don't know what will. There was also major marital infidelity in this book, and I really could see no reasoning for it. Not a big fan of that plot point.

Although upon quick glance at the title, One Italian Summer might seem to fall into the cliché chick-lit category, there is much more to the story and overall it was well executed. This is not the type of book I would normally gravitate towards and honestly, at different points of the book the relationship between Katy and Carol was hard for me to read due to my own recent experience with loss. There is always something to be said for an author that is able to convey an emotion in an authentic way, and I believe Serle was able to do so in this novel. I’m glad I read it, and perhaps at a different time, I would have enjoyed it just that much more. On a lighter note, this was an extremely visual book that captures the essence of the Italian coast (and makes me want to travel in Italy again ASAP).

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

This book reminded me of Mamma Mia vibes but make it Italy!

I may be biased, but I think reading this in Italy really elevated it for me! The setting was everything from the descriptions of the scenery to the the food and everything in-between 🤌🏻. It truly described my experience, and I was living for it.

I loved the sentiment of Katy and Carol’s relationship, the messiness and realness that reflects real life relationships with everything that comes with it; the highs and lows, the love and loss, and the hurt and heart were all so evident in every word.

The magical realism was woven in a way that worked for me, but you have to suspend some belief and just go with it.

I really enjoy her writing style, and can’t wait to see what’s next for her!

Believe it or not, this is my first book by Rebecca Serle but it won't be my last. One Italian Summer has a vivid Italian setting that makes you wish you were there. All the imagery and my goodness, the descriptions of all the amazing sounding food had me daydreaming of an Italian getaway.

One thing that had always deterred me from her books is the magical realism aspects that I know they have. For whatever reason, that's just a hard genre for me, but it worked with this plotline.

A good vacation/beach read or one for when you just need to escape even if you can't physically travel.

3.5/5⭐️

Katy's beloved mother, Carol, dies and she is lost. Her marriage seems to be in trouble as she grieves the loss of the woman who was her best friend. Katy and Carol had planned to take a mother-daughter trip to the Amalfi Coast of Italy to visit Carol's old stomping grounds. After Carol's death, Katy makes the trip on her own. She learns more about her mother than she ever could have expected and rediscovers herself along the way. This one kept me guessing and makes me want to plan a trip to Italy!