Bless Rebecca Serle for reminding us that our parents were once young and vibrant! In a novel guaranteed to make you long for the luscious meals the characters are eating, she delivers a marvelous twist that underscores how precious family ties can be. A quick read with many moments to savor--and lots of heartwarming and provocative themes.

I was a huge fan of In Five Years so was thrilled to get my hands on One Italian Summer! Rebecca Serle has a real talent for bringing a story to life. It’s like I was Katy’s shadow in Italy - I could feel the breeze, hear the water, see the views, and taste the coffee! Often times I feel bogged down with the descriptions of the places and characters but not with Serle. Exceptional writer!

So what’s this about? Katy’s mom has passed away so Katy is left to go to Italy on a planned vacation without her mother who is also her best friend. Her mother spent a summer there prior to getting married so it was going to be a trip where she shares Positano with Katy. Instead, Katy goes in search of herself, not knowing who she is without her mother and not knowing if she wanted to be married. What follows is an extraordinary tale of Katy finding her mother as she’s there for that one summer. The present collides with the past and it does not disappoint!

This story is a very honest depiction of dependency, overcoming loss, and finding your true self. I very much recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an ARC to review. Publication is my birthday - March 1!!

This is a really lovely book. I liked how Katy ends up back in time with her mother when she young and really gets a look into her life. The setting of Italy was beautiful and really helped Katy step out of her comfort zone and become who she is meant to be.
This will be a big hit when it comes out next year. It's a fast read with romance and family and a beautiful setting.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

When Katy Silver's mother passes away, her entire life is turned upside. But the once in a lifetime trip to Italy that they had planned is hanging over her head, and she knows her mother would want her to go. As she packs her bags and heads to Positano to see the city her mother fell in love with 30 years ago, she leaves her husband in limbo, unsure of where her future is taking her. As she explores the city, she befriends the hotel staff, and a woman named Carol, who just happens to be her mother from 30 years ago. As she unravels her grief and falls in love with Positano, she befriends her mother and realizes that there is more to the story than what she knows, and her mother is more than just her mother. Follow Katy's journey through love, loss and Italy as she finds her way through this new, mother-less life that she must navigate.

It's rare that I finish a book in one day anymore. With work, family commitments and social activities getting back into the mix - there is less and less time to just sit and read. BUT, I made time for this one! I couldn't put it down. This story just begs to be read and I happily complied.

If you've read Rebecca Serle before, then you know she has a knack for creating stories with a splash of magical realism - just enough to throw your expectations of where the story is going right out the window. I love how she plays with time. In this book, Katy's mom, Carol, has just died and Katy is left grieving her best friend. She questions her marriage, she questions her own abilities and she questions her motivations.

What starts out as a sad premise turns into a beautiful exploration into a past Katy never knew. A daughter getting to glance at her mother before she was a mother. Katy takes the trip to Italy, originally planned for she and Carol, alone. The trip was supposed to be one where Carol could share Positano with Katy. Carol spent a summer there before she was married and it is a time she treasures. Although Carol won't be able to share her memories of the Italian city, Katy decides to move forward with the trip to try to get as far away from her mother's death and her indecision in her marriage as possible.

Without giving away the magic of the story (which needs to be uncovered by each reader for themselves), this book will make you want to experience the beauty of Italy, will make you yearn to learn more about your parents' past and will help you look at your relationships with new eyes.. (and it will also make you hungry for pasta and bread!!)

I loved everything about this book. I loved the honest portrayals of dependency, love, responsibility, commitment and trust. You will see new meaning in the phrase, "if you love it, you will let it go." Don't just take my word for it though - grab this read as soon as you can. It will be one of my favorites this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for an advance copy to read and review. Pub date: March 1, 2022.

One Italian Summer brought back good memories of the Amalfi coast and the town of Positano, the Isle of Capri and other places nearby; a beautiful place and the story told accurately of the feeling of wonder at how a pretty place could capture your heart.

The story starts with the death of Carol and the loss her daughter/best friend feels at her passing. Carol seems to have really made all decisions for her daughter, who soaked it all up to the point of not listening to her hubby's advice, but only that of her mom. The loss feels overwhelming. Though it was to be a mother daughter trip to Italy, it is only the daughter who makes the trip.

Imagine her surprise when she meets Carol in Positano, a younger Carol, along with Adam and a small group of supporting hotel employees. Anything more would give away the story so I will stop here.

It was good, but not great. Daughter needed to break the ties and mother needed to not tie them so tightly.
Thank you BetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I intentionally wrote a review about this book right now! Because this is my 1000th NG review! Yay to my nerdy and extra caffeinated brain cells and tired eyes!

I’m so happy to read a brand new book belongs to queen of semi-sweet, sad, heartfelt stories: Rebecca Serle who blew my mind again and again!

She created another emotional, moving, powerful story located in dreamy Italian island with three dimensional, well-developed, easily connectable characters. There are impressively depicted landscapes and mouth watering food which are also tempting to enjoy our reading journey!

This is purely effective story questions meaning of life, friendship, self growth, our purposes, dreams, regrets!

What will happen when you lose not only your family member but also your best friend? Don’t you question the meaning of your own life, your own purpose? Don’t you suffer from irreplaceable emptiness the person left in your heart? Don’t you get lost in your own mapped out life and think about as like Mary Oliver asks for: “Tell me what is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

Kathy’s in deep pain, having no idea how she’ll deal with the loss of her mother who is her mentor, best friend, the first person she shares her happiness and sadness.

Now she questions her marriage, her main purpose in life, her place in the earth. She talks to her husband that she’s not sure she can stay in this marriage. She offers to take a break ( yes, this is true break: not fake one Rachel and Ross had)

She heads to Positano: the mother and daughter she’s planned for years and made manifest. She travels alone, starting to enjoy her me-time till she bumps into 30 years old version of her mother. Of course her young mother has no idea who she’s and they become friends but this woman is so different from the wise guide she knows.

Did I get your attention by giving scoops from this emotional paranormal mother- daughter, family, second chances women’s fiction! Yes, buckle up and enjoy each chapter, savor each minute, seize your time with this amazing read!

I’m not giving away more! Just experience this remarkable, sentimental, perfectly written story and keep your napkins close! You gotta need them to dry your red eyes!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Rebecca Serle's books just keep getting better and better! This was such a beautiful story. The setting of Positano and all it's beauty really came to live, but the true heart of this book was the love story between a daughter and her mother. It was heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. Serle was able to convey so much heart without making the book longer than necessary. It's another magical book by Serle and my absolute favorite one to date!

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for providing me a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Having enjoyed Serle’s novel In Five Years, I have been eagerly awaiting her next work. One Italian Summer does not disappoint. While it begins rather intensely with the main character Katy grieving the loss of her mother and best friend, it’s with a heavy heart that she travels to Positano, Italy and there the novel changes in tone, at once brighter, wistful, and full of hope and adventure. Because of this, One Italian Summer works beautifully as a beach/vacation read. It’s incredibly atmospheric. Regardless of where you actually are, reading this book you’ll be transported to the glittering and colorful coast of Italy.

Another touching and inspiring novel by Rebecca Serle about a beautiful mother and daughter relationship and how our parents will always be an enigma to us.

This delightful story allows the reader to meet and feel for Katy, who's just lost her mother; Carol, her mother who gave up a lot to marry and have a family; and a family in Positano that will do just about anything to keep their restaurant running. Wonderful descriptive language makes you feel as though you are experiencing the charm and beauty of the Italian coast, flirtation and romance in a foreign town, and the warmth and positivity of the townspeople. It's never easy to lose someone, especially when it's a beloved family member. But as "One Italian Summer" illustrates, it can also prompt us to move ahead with our lives in the most unexpected ways. Bravo!

Thank you to Atria Books for my gifted review copy.

One Italian Summer was a memorable and unique read! I love time travel books and before I started this one, I didn't realize it was! This book covered it all- mother/daughter relationships, grief, the challenges of starting adulthood, and as I loved, time travel.

My favorite part was the descriptions and details of the Italian countryside- I actually found myself googling mentioned locations and imagining a visit myself someday...especially after the past year and a half. I definitely recommend this one for anyone looking for a unique heartwarming read that is full of life.

This was such a cute and emotional book. Katy and her mom planned a mother-daughter trip to Italy, but when Katy's mom passes away, she decides to take the trip alone. In Itay, she has space to think about her young marriage, her life, and when she meets a new friend Carol, she is able to view her mother in another light.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this novel.

One Italian Summer is about relationships - between mother and daughter, husband and wife and more. Katy is grieving the loss of her mother and she's having a hard time. She tells her husband she wants a break and he attributes it to her grief. Her mother was her best friend. They were close - closer than many mother/daughter relationships. Only her mother got sick and before they could take a trip they planned to Italy, she died.

Katy decides to take the trip anyway. She heads to Italy and the descriptions of the country are amazing. While this isn't a travel guide, it is clear the author is very familar with Italy. The country is described so vividly, the food makes you just want to enjoy some Italian cuisine. The characters in this book are three dimensional and you get to know Katy really well. Her decisions, while questionable at times, are understandable. I loved reading about her and her relationship with Carol (her mom). This book is a Rebecca Serle book, so there is an element of the supernatural. When she arrives in Italy, she sees her mom. Yes, her dead mom. Only it's her mom 30 years ago. And she befriends her. It sounds really odd, but it works.

Katy and Carol's relationship in Italy is great and even though we never get to see Katy's relationship with her prior to Italy, we get a feel for it. I thought this book would make me sad, but it really didn't. It's positive and uplifting and a fun story with a great setting in Italy.

This was my first Rebecca Serle novel, and probably the last. "One Italian Summer" relies on a very popular plot line (time travel) and fails to breathe new life into it. The characters seemed shallow and impulsive, and the element of magical realism was hardly acknowledged even by the heroine. The reader is expected to take at face value that a young woman meets her deceased mother in Italy, and only expresses minor interest in the mechanics of such a miracle. The vivid descriptions of Italy made up for some of the plot, but certainly not enough to make this more than a 3-star read.

I usually don't love "sad" books/stories, but I love Rebecca Serle! She has an uncanny ability to describe the settings of the story so that you actually put yourself in the location. As someone who has never been to the part of the world where the book was set, I felt like I could see it clearly. The story was as sad as I had anticipated, which was good!

I adored this book! I know how fortunate I am to still have my 85 year old mom when my closest friends have lost theirs, so that was always an under current for me while reading this. Aside from the story between Katy and Carol, the setting was the star. I found myself googling the restaurants, hotels and locations Katy, Adam and Carol visited, and as a result Positano is now on my bucket list.

At first I felt the relationship between Katy and her mother was unhealthy (and still do to an extent) but as the story progresses and Katy realizes that she is indeed a separate person from her mom, I began to understand why she felt that way. .

It was a beautiful story of love and loss, the complexities of mother daughter relationships, and growth in a marriage.

This is the 3rd Rebecca Serle book I’ve read and I am a big fan. I love that touch of fantasy that keeps you guessing in her books. I flew through this book and I absolutely loved the setting! Positano is now on my bucket list! Can’t wait for her next read!

I was given an advanced copy of the the book from Net Galley.

What a charming, sweet book.

In the aftermath of her mother's death, Katy takes the mother/daughter trip she and her mom had dreamt of during her final days. Once on the Italian coast, Katy meets her mother as a young person and gets to know her and herself in a way she never considered.

This book was like the coast of Italy, gorgeous, moving and special. I cannot recommend it enough.

Wow! This is very emotional story about mother’s and daughters and finding yourself! This author always has a unique way of telling a story and this one is very impactful. Katy cannot get over the loss of her mom and decides to take the mother daughter trip they had planned or I should say the mom had planned. Katy visits Italy and follows the itinerary set forth. Once there she is in another time and has a relationship with Carol, her mom who is the same age as her. Experiencing her mom in a whole new light, she gains insight as to the woman she was and impacts her future. Delightful story that speaks to life and who we are and who we could become. I have read this author’s other books and have loved them all. Anxiously looking forward to the next one! #OneItalianSummer #RebeccaSerle #NetGalley

I never know what to expect with Rebecca Serle's books. I always like them, but they're always just slightly different than what I think they're going to be about based on the description. <i>One Italian Summer</i> is no exception to that rule. Katy travels to Italian on a trip that was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with her mother to visit the place where her mother spent time in her youth. However, Katy's mom dies even before the book begins, so Katy must go on the trip alone to deal with her grief and to figure out who she is and who her mother was. This book is wildly sad (the first few pages are especially tough) because the main character's grief feels so real. Serle does a great job of setting up the mother-daughter relationship throughout the book, and the magical realism doesn't feel too heavy-handed. This might be my favorite of Serle's books.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of this book.