There is a truth at the core of this book that seemed to get lost in translation in the telling. When Katy loses her mother, who is also her best friend, to cancer she loses all interest in life and is questioning her place and relationships. I liked the idea of Katy getting the space to examine what she wants her life to look like now through this trip to the coast of Italy, and the descriptions of her days there were lovely, though repetitive. I don’t know that the magical realism of stumbling upon her young mother ever felt right in its execution - a lot of the hows and whys were left open in a clunky vs. mysterious way. The truth Katy learns about her mother’s life-defining trip to Italy was where this story was most successful for me, asking questions that I’ve definitely asked myself after the birth of my child: who am I now? Am I still the person I was before I became a mother, and will people only see this part of me now?

CW: Having lost many loved ones to cancer, one quite recently, parts of this were difficult to read, to be thrown into those painful memories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the DRC of this book!

This was such a great read. A contemporary with a magical realism twist, One Italian Summer is lighthearted with some good emotional content. A beautiful commentary on relationships between mothers and daughters. The story is at once sad and lovely. Though it is written in a way that doesn't hit overly hard, the emotional side can be a bit intense. There is a lot of love and loss in the relationship between Katy and Carol.

Katy's overwhelming grief and the resulting trauma to her own self-worth are painted so well. While not all readers can identify with Katy or understand her decisions, she made sense to me. She wasn't always kind or thoughtful towards others and she didn't always make the best choices, but that's what happens when you are swallowed by grief. You can become a bit more cocooned in yourself and the rest of the world ceases to matter. You don't necessarily make the best or most sensible decisions because your entire world is a blur. Katy manifested all of this and though I didn't necessarily like her at all points, I felt like I understood her.

I love Rebecca Serle's writing. She just has a way with words, creating a story that is interesting and comforting. The narrative is highly atmospheric and I loved being transported in such a great way. The magical element to the story was a fun twist and I enjoyed the exploration. I also highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Lauren Graham. She does a marvelous job and the parallels between the story and the mother/daughter relationship in Gilmore Girls made her an even more perfect choice for narrator.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

Some trusted sources were not fans of this one - I started this one and I had a hard time getting into the book. It just wasn't grabbing me at the time, so I did not finish... I appreciate the consideration!

Overall, I enjoyed this read because it was so descriptive and actually made me feel like I was in Italy! You can tell the author did a lot of research on the locations and did a fabulous job describing the location. However, I could not necessarily relate much with the main character. I am very close with my mother, but I find it hard to Imagine describing your mom as her great love. She was also very unkind to her husband who seemingly was there for her during her mothers death. I'm not sure, i just couldn't root for this character at all

I initially went into this book excited because I loved Rebecca Serle's book In Five Years and because I am travelling to Positano later this year, however I probably would not recommend this book to others

Full disclosure- I have struggled with Rebecca Serle books before, but I loved this premise so was excited to give this book a try. The heart of this book is the relationship between Katy and her mother, but as much as we are told over and over how they are soulmates and have this incredibly special bond, I didn't quite feel it. Rebecca Serle is also known for her emotional punches, but this somehow missed the mark for me. Reading reviews from friends, I feel that I am in the minority here, so I am wondering if it was actually the narration from Lauren Graham that wasn't quite the right fit for me?
I will say that I loved the last 10%, I think it was a strong ending - but doesn't *quite* make up for the all the times I almost DNFed in the middle.
There is a lot of love for this book out there, so I feel bad leaving a lukewarm review - but thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok I finished this book on audio my friends and co-workers talked it up. However I was a little disappointed. So the book begins at Katy's mother's Shiva and Katy is wondering how she will survive without her mother, her best friend and her broken heart. She takes a trip they had planned to the beautiful Amalfi, Italy. Rebecca's description of Italy, the town, the food, the Sea just beautiful. The story was interesting maybe not the right word to describe it but I wasn't a big fan of the story line or the ending. Not going to spoil anything for readers it was a pleasant read. I'm going to use this as my July's book club read, good summer beach read just not my top 10.

From my blog: Always With a Book

This is the third book I’ve read by Rebecca Serle and I just love the stories she writes. Once again she writes a story that I was not expecting but one that I loved just the same.

I absolutely love how this author is able to weave in magical realism without making it seem hokey. Somehow it just works and I love it. While this story might seem like it would be a sad read, it really ends up being quite a beautiful story. And once again, the author has managed to work time travel into her story in such a unique way that for someone who really isn’t a fan of that plot device, I loved it!

While I didn’t necessarily always love Katy and the choices she made, I did still really love this book. And I think that’s ok. I love seeing how characters go through life and analyzing their choices. Plus – the setting of this book more than makes up for any slight negatives this book could possibly have. Now I am desperate to visit Positano, though I have to say, I do feel as if I was there with the characters as the writing was so vivid.

While this one is a bit emotional at times, I definitely recommend it and cannot wait to see what comes next from this talented author!

A great summer read. The novel is atmospheric and magical.
Many thanks to Atria and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

DNF. I couldn’t get in to this unfortunately. Italian scenery was perfect, however One Italian Summer just wasn’t for me, especially with my own mother issues.

One Italian Summer was a memorable read! This book covered it all- mother/daughter relationships, grief, and the challenges of starting adulthood.

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. I definitely recommend this one for fans of Serle's earlier books!

This story had me hooked from the first couple of pages - It really took. me through all the emotions and made me want to go to Italy so much. I could relate to parts of this story and it was what I expected from Rebecca! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review! Looking forward to the next one :)

I loved a lot about this book, but the one thing i could not get over was the relationship this girl had with her mother. She was obsessed with her, more than her own husband - i think at some point she said something along the lines of ~how can you be happily married when your mom is the love of your life~ which made the premise of this book a little weird to me.
That aside, I loved the idea of her loss and getting to spend time of the younger version of her mother, and i loved the italian scenery and i love that she found peace at the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book is a super quick and easy read that is a delightfully refreshing tour of the Amalfi Coast. In some aspects, this was a fabulous book and in other ways it fell a bit short.

What I loved…
The vivid descriptions of Positano and the nearby coastal towns. Italy is truly the main (and most interesting) character in this book. If you’ve been to Positano, you’ll find this book describes it perfectly while incorporating real sites, restaurants and hotels. If you haven’t been, you’ll find yourself wanting to plan a trip.

The story is sweet with a multi-faceted plot that moves fairly quickly.


What I didn’t love as much…
note: I’m being picky!

Each chapter vividly and effectively describes parts of the gorgeous Amalfi Coast, the many delicious foods eaten that day, and what the characters are wearing. Lather-Rinse-Repeat. While wonderfully written, it gets a touch repetitive by the end.

I didn’t really connect with the main character. I found her selfish and indulgent and simply could not understand many of her choices

Katy loses her mother who she described as her “the great love of her life.” As much as I adore my mother, I felt this was a weird way to describe a parent. Additionally, as pivotal as this plot point is to the whole story, I never really FELT the grief.

While this story will whisk you away to Italy, it also supposed to be about living your most authentic life, self discovery, and taking chances. I found this theme to be too subtle for relevance. The character arc was more of a minor hill than a real arc.


In sum: I would recommend this book if you are looking to escape to the Amalfi Coast. Some suspension of disbelief is required, but it is a nice story to get lost in.

I had been looking forward to this ever since it was announced and I knew it would make me very emotional (and it did). I loved learning about Katy and her mom’s special relationship and with her mom’s recent passing, every detail and every memory made me feel even more heartbroken for Katy. However I felt this dragged a little bit at times with lengthy descriptions that weren't all necessary but overall, Rebecca Serle never disappoints and I continue to look forward to her future projects.

I loved this book and may make "what brought you here won't take you there" my new mantra.
Katy and her mother Carol planned a trip to Italy to visit places Carol had spent time in her younger life. After Carol dies, Katy takes the trip on her own, experiencing the beauty of the Amalfi coast and surrounding areas; as well as meeting her mother's younger self. The setting, the people and Katy's journey both on land and emotionally touched my heart. I highly recommend this book.

Rebecca Serle's prior novel In Five Years completely blew me away, so it's no surprise I felt the urge to read One Italian Summer. While this book didn't hit me the same way that one did, it was still a beautiful story and I LOVED the setting in Positano, Italy. Funnily enough, I recently read By Any Other Name which is also very partially set in Positano, and I didn't even make that connection until right now writing this review. Who knew it was such a popular place! All I know is that between that book and this one, I really want to go now, and it sounds like a gorgeous place, especially Hotel Poseidon. I also really loved the time travel aspect of this story! I am a huge fan of that in books, and it was interesting to see how Katy responds to meeting the younger version of her mom.

Also, funny (but not really), is that I didn't fully realize who the narrator was for the audiobook until after I had finished. I listened to this on Scribd, and Lauren Graham narrates, who I'm sure all of you readers will know because she is the mom on Gilmore Girls. I never did get into that show, which is probably why it didn't dawn on me until after I was done. Either way though, she was an incredible narrator and I fully plan to do another listen of One Italian Summer at some point in the future. Even though our MC Katy is a thirty-year-old woman, I was pretty disappointed in some of the decisions she makes, and she was pretty immature for much of the book. Because of this, I had a hard time with her as a character and this is probably why I didn't get as emotional as this story had the potential for being. Of course, it was still a very solid read for me, and I absolutely adore Serle's writing and imagery. I will just be over here looking forward to what she writes next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books and Rebecca Serle for free e-ARC of One Italian Summer in return of my honest review.

Rebecca Serle is in her usual genre - time jumping and time crossing. Katy, the main protagonist, finds herself on the way to Italy after her mother’s death. They planned this trip together, however Carol, the mother, is gone before the trip happened. For Katy this trip is a chance to reconcile with her mother’s passing and see why Italy was such a big staple in her mother’s life. She drops through years and somehow she wakes up in Italy when her mother was there, they met and they’ve become friends, and Katy learns some truth not only about her mother but about herself.

Plot-wise I didn’t find the story fascinating. At times it was boring and tedious. I didn’t enjoy characters much as well. However, Italy, Positano in particular, has become its own character and Serle did an amazing chooce in describing the places, smells, food and the style of Italian life. I spent as much time on Google browsing pictures and reviews of the places mentioned in the story as much as reading it. After travel ban due pandemic, it was such a fresh breath of air - even if it was traveling through book pages.

Just for beautiful Italy - one mist read this book.

I ended up listening to this on audiobook once I realized Lauren Graham was the narrator. I have been a long time lover of all things Gilmore girls and the very first Lorelei quite had me hooked. I slid found it ironic that Al it if the story was based on the main character Katy and the bond she has with her mother. I routinely watched Gilmore girls during my late sleepless nights while I was pregnant or nursing my babies. I enjoyed the idea of Katy trying to find herself and figure out what she really wanted from her life. But above everything I was immersed in the setting and feeling transported to Italy. The sounds, sights, smells, and tastes of the city made me feel like I was there. The perfect book to read in spring and dream of trips abroad.

This was an enjoyable novel by Rebecca Serle. The vivid descriptions of Italy helped set the scene as the protagonist, Katy, tries to make peace with two relationships (her Mom, and her husband). Can traveling abroad heal old wounds? If you had a chance to change the future, would you take it? A delightful story that is perfect for anyone looking to get away. Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Things I liked about this book: the descriptions of the scenery and food were fantastic and I liked the interactions with the characters of Positano. Things I didn't like about this book: the main character, like at all, ever.

The premise of this book made me want to read it - Katy loses her mother to cancer and decides to take the mother-daughter trip that they'd booked before her death to work through her grief, leaving her husband behind with an "I don't think I want to be married to you anymore" as a farewell. While in Italy, she meets the local villagers and two Americans that influence her life in different ways. These interactions were interesting and there are a couple little twists, but the biggest problem I had was that Katy was an insufferable brat and I just couldn't really root for her along the way. Still worth reading, but not a favorite for me.