I enjoyed this quick paced story about the perplexities of the mother-daughter relationship. Most daughters can relate to the main character's discovery of self in and apart from her relationship with her mother. The writing was both descriptive and heartfelt. The words transport you to the Italian coast. Prepare to be hungry by all of the deliciously described food and drinks.

a little quirky, but I enjoyed reading the book. I liked the idea of time traveling and meeting your mom when she was young and adventurous in Italy. It was a quick, great read. Good for a day at the beach!

Katy is beside herself after the loss of her mother, Carol. Her lifelong best friend, Carol was everything to Katy. She was a mentor, a listening ear, and by far the best cook she ever met. When she was diagnosed with cancer a few years before, Katy assumed they’d have more time. That’s when they booked a girls trip to Positano. For Katy it would be her first visit, but for Carol it would be a long awaited return.

In her mother’s absence, Katy is not only left reeling, she’s left holding two tickets to Italy. Logically she could go with her husband, but the loss of her mother has her reassessing many life decisions, one of them being her marriage. As a result, Katy does something she never thought she would, she goes to Italy alone, just like her mother did some thirty years prior.

Upon her arrival, Katy is instantly swept up by all that Italy has to offer. While grateful for the extravagant escape, Katy can’t help but feel a little sad and foolish that she’s on the trip alone. Then the unexpected happens- Katy runs into her mother in the past. It’s a proposition so preposterous, and yet it seems to be oddly true. Katy always said she wanted to take the trip with her mother, who knew she’d turn out to be right?

One Italian Summer is a definitive love letter to Italy, capturing many breathtaking sights and mouthwatering meals that are sure to inspire interest, or envy. In its short 272 pages it has a lot of ground to cover, both in homage to the country, as well as the relationships, both past and present, that unfold. This is why I felt the book fell short. In some ways it felt like going on vacation- eat, drink, explore- repeat. In between all of this we are seeing the pedestal Katy has put her mother on her whole life. The redundancy started to weigh down the story though, all drawn out unnecessarily until the anticlimactic climax. I also found myself having a hard time relating to Katy. Instead I saw her as rather childish and selfish throughout most of the book.

Readers looking to be transported to another place, and even, another time might consider giving One Italian Summer a try. I, however, was left wanting a little bit more out of the trip.

In similar style to her previous novels, One Italian Summer brings past and present together. While taking the trip of a lifetime, Katy somehow meets her mother…decades younger. Throughout the trip, Katy and her mother Carol become closer and learn all about one another in a new way.

One Italian Summer is the perfect summer read. I felt transported to the Almalfi Coast and loved the descriptions of the food and location. Between a semi-coming of age story and living with grief, I felt connected to Katy. I look forward to reading what Rebecca Serle comes out with next!

As the title suggests, this novel is set in Italy, Positano, on a trip that Katy was supposed to take with her mother Carol, who had spent a life changing summer in Italy years ago. Unfortunately, Carol passed away before the trip, and Katy goes solo to deal with her grief over losing her mother. Once Katy gets to Italy, she meets her mother Carol, as she was 30 years ago during that life changing summer, and learns her mother wasn’t always the person she thought she was, as well as about herself and her marriage.
I felt that the magical realism that had worked so well in Serle’s In Five Years just didn’t work in this scenario. Katy acts at times like an immature narcissist, and fully explored enough to be notable. The descriptions of Italy are nice, and in the end the story concludes well. This novel may appeal to those that are fans of magical realism, and especially those that like to travel via the pages of a book.
I was given a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

After losing her mother, Katy embarks alone on the mother-daughter trip she was set to take to Positano, Italy. While there, an unusual string of events occurs that may change the course of her life forever.

This was a heart-wrenching, yet also light and sweet romance/vacation read. The twist was slightly odd and the fact that it was never really explained kind of irked me. Overall this was the typical beach read. Entertaining, fun, enjoyable in the moment. Not at all groundbreaking or super memorable.

This was not what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it. The main character did bother me at some times throughout the book, and I could not tell if that was intentionally or not. Overall, I am not sure if I would have liked this as much if I did not love In Five Year as much as I did.

I really loved this book! I will continue to read and look forward to more from this author. The “time travel” aspect was handled really well and wasn’t what I expected

Katy and her mom Carol are a mother/daughter duo that are best friends. Katy doesn't make a decision until she talks to her mom and gets her opinion, usually following her advice, even to the detriment of her own relationship with her husband. When her mother dies suddenly, Katy is set adrift. They had recently planned a vacation to Positano, Italy, the place Carol had vacationed the summer before meeting Katy's father, so Katy decides to go, alone. When Katy arrives, she feels her mother's spirit and walks in her footprints to experience the Amalfi Coast, the same way her mother had. At this point the story has a timeslip, as Carol appears to Katy in person, as the young woman she was on her trip there years before. Katy comes to know her mother in a different way and learn a secret that will change her life forever.

If you read Rebecca Serle's previous book, In Five Years, you would be prepared for the timeslip that occurs in this story, so I was fine with this turn of events, some people were not. I loved the setting of this story. The Amalfi Coast was beautifully described and I felt that I was travelling in Italy with Katy. The people she meets are an important part of her journey as she gets to know her mother in a very different way. There were many times that I got frustrated with Katy and wanted her to grow up, one of the results of the over-protective, smothering relationship she and Carol had. Grief makes y0u do some things you might not otherwise do, and I did like the way Katy processed that. The ending was a bit of a surprise and was well written to bring closure to elements of the story. The best thing about this story was the setting and descriptive writing, but I also liked seeing Katy self-reflect and make decisions about what steps would come next in her life. Overall an interesting read, but not as enjoyable as had anticipated.

What a great summer read! As someone who lost my mom quite young, I could totally relate to the joy of Katy getting to know her mom as a young woman. The story was lovely and warm. The description of Positano made me ready to hop on a flight. I think Katy would have noticed the time issues sooner but hey it was fiction . Thanks Netgalley for the advance copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this one a lot more than Five Years. In its defense, I did read it early on in a global pandemic so life was a little unpredictable. There were parts of this book where I felt the same way at just how far-fetched certain events could be. But I’m grateful I gave Rebecca Serle another shot.

I didn’t quite understand what was happening in this book at first, but I started to get the idea as it went along. I like some of the slow reveals as it went on, and it was cool to learn more about her mother by going back in time to a particular summer that was monumental in her life.

One Italian Summer is a beautifully written book by Rebecca Serle. It definitely had some of the same vibes as In Five Years. I'm not sure why I didn't expect the 'magical' element of the book, but it honestly took me by surprised and I was a bit disappointed in the plot of her mother magically appearing again. I'm not sure why I got the impression from the description that it was more of a figurative journey into discovering her mother than a literal one.

That being said, the descriptions in the book were the most magical part about it. I felt like I was in Italy and it definitely made me long to go there.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the author's previous novels and, thankfully, ONE ITALIAN SUMMER did not disappoint! In fact, it may be my favorite of her novels. Rebecca Serle is a master at weaving together characters and stories that both entertain and trigger a genuinely meaningful and thought-provoking experience. Highly recommend!

I am a huge fan of Rebecca Serle’s books, and I really enjoyed this one as it was a lighter read amongst some darker thrillers that I have been into lately. I also have a trip planned to this location in a few months so I was especially excited to read this when I learned of the setting, especially knowing Serle is so skilled in describing the location and atmosphere (including the cuisine) and making you feel as if you are right there with the characters. I may have connected with this one a little more for that reason alone.

I loved the magical realism that was lightly woven into the plot, as well as the connection that Katy was granted with her ‘younger’ mother. What I love the most about Serle’s writing is the way she inevitably makes you think about your current life in relation to the characters (e.g. what do I not know about my parents) and there is a depth to her stories that I love, causing me to often think about them long after I have finished the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital copy to review.

If you’re looking for some armchair travel, you need to pick this one up. I loved the setting and the food!
I enjoyed this book, but didn’t love the co-dependent relationship between mother and daughter.

Overall, it was just okay for me. I did like it better than Serle’s other book I’ve read, In Five Years, but still only gave it 3 stars.

I think my favorite park of the book was the setting and especially descriptions of food. I want to go to Positano ASAP now. The book does a good job addressing how people deal with grief, and had a unique premise, but I feel like so many things were left unanswered.

I was not a big fan of of the main character either. I honestly thought her relationship with her mom was a little unhealthy. I mean she was a married adult but still needed her mom’s permission to make any decisions. It just didn’t really sit well with me.

I don’t want to give anything away but some of Katy’s actions made me really uncomfortable and then it was just kind of brushed under the rug, which made me dislike her.

This book was immensely beautiful and heart wrenching. I can whole heartedly relate to the grief and trauma of the main character in this book and it was a sort of weird healing for me to read this and have everything laid out in front of me like this. The trip to Italy was magical, the imagery brought Italy to life for me and I truly hope I get to go their one day. I loved the plot and the characters, everything about this book was amazing.

I absolutely adored In five years. It was one of my favorite reads last year. I have to admit I was surprised to see an element of same kind here (if you read it then you know what I mean with this). However, it threw me off to learn about it as I immediately had so many questions about how this was possible, but we’re left unanswered . Every scenic description, food and setting was gorgeouy written. I definitely imagined myself in Italy. Unfortunely, for me this was the best part of the novel.

I read the audiobook of One Italian Summer and I absolutely loved it! It created such a wonderful ambiance that kept me company while I worked and did laundry. Lauren Graham was an absolutely fabulous narrator. Her voice was the perfect choice for the role. This story delicately balances the lush vacation vibes of Positano, Katy’s overwhelming grief, and the whimsical magical realism.

A daughter is left completely off course once her mother dies. Their relationship was so intertwined that Katy doesn't know hot to live life without her mother by her side and her advice to guide her. Katy leaves for a once in a lifetime vacation to try to find pieces of her mom while she mourns her loss.
One Italian Summer is sad and a bit depressing because no one should rely that heavily on another person, especially as a grown adult. I had a hard time connecting with Katy because of her extreme dependency on her mother so the rest of the book was affected by that for me.