This was such a great read. Walking through the chaos of grief, learning about yourself because it changes you, and coming out in a total different person.

Having lost my Mom, this book really spoke to my heart about trying to find your way through it.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest review.

#NetGalley #JenniferProbst #ToSicilyWithLove

Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Probst, and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for my honest review of To Sicily With Love. I really enjoyed this book and loved continuing the series. This is the second book of this series I've read and I think this might be my favorite!

To Sicily With Love is a beautifully told story that makes me feel like I've walked the streets of Sicily even though I've never been. I love the attention to detail and how Jennifer Probst describes the location perfectly. This is a single-POV story and a closed-door romance.

Aurora is struggling. She just lost her mother suddenly, and she realizes just how much her relationship with her mother affected her. Lost and untethered, Aurora decides to use a DNA kit to find out if she has any other family. She finds out her mother wasn't an orphan like she was told, and has a huge family in Sicily ready to meet her.

I loved reading about Aurora's journey and finding out there's more to life than just checking boxes and being successful. She learns it's ok to slow down and enjoy your life. I loved reading all about her loud, nosy, and hilarious extended family. They seemed like the kind of family everyone wished they had in their corner.

This story focuses more on the relationship between Aurora and her new family, with a sprinkle of romance on the side. If you are looking for a romance novel, this is not it. It's a "falling in love with yourself first" novel. I appreciate that vibe.

Jennifer Probst delivers a heartwarming and evocative story with this stunning romance set against the breathtaking backdrop of Sicily. Aurora York’s journey is one of self-discovery, healing, and the magic of family, making this a truly unforgettable read.

Aurora’s transition from heartbreak and chaos to finding a place where she belongs is both touching and relatable. The Sicilian setting bursts to life with rich descriptions of family dinners, lively traditions, and vibrant characters who embrace Aurora as one of their own. Her emotional journey is beautifully balanced by the swoon-worthy romance with a kind and charming Italian man, adding just the right amount of sparkle.

Probst masterfully captures themes of grief, belonging, and second chances, making Aurora’s choice between returning to old habits or embracing a new life in Sicily feel deeply authentic. This is a perfect read for anyone longing for a getaway filled with love, family, and the beauty of life’s unexpected turns. Absolutely five stars!

This was my second book by Jennifer Probst and I enjoyed this one immensely! To Sicily with Love is a single POV, closed door romance about a woman whose life and career start to fall apart after the unexpected death of her mother. It deals with grief, career changes and expectations, loneliness, and relationships evolving from what you thought you wanted.

The story is a little slow in the early chapters right after the mom passes. Aurora is not dealing as well as she expected annd is flailing. After several months of intense grief, she randomly does a DNA kit and finds out she has an entire family in Sicily. Her mom had maintained she was an only child whose parents had died so Aurora is beyond shocked at the revelation. It takes a while for Aurora to decide to go meet her new family- but once she travels to Sicily the story really picks up!

I loved her big, loud, Italian family! The food, the sights, and the history were all so incredibly detailed. The romance that is introduced builds very slowly but Quint is an all star book boyfriend. He is kind and patient and is just the opposite of her American boyfriend. I loved how it was realistic about the drama that went down with Aurora’s mother and the guilt involved with the grandparents. The relationships built with the cousins and grandparents were really special. I also loved how Quint and Aurora were so stable and steady in their approach to being together.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves travel romance and I would definitely want to go back and read the other Italian books in this series!

Aurora is winning at life and coaching others to win too until her mother dies and she struggles. A lot. Enter a DNA test that gives her family in Italy when she thought her mom was an orphan. And enter a trip to Sicily to meet that family. A joyous read of learning to relax, learning what makes one happy, finding family and finding love.

I was really impressed by this book!! I was expecting it to be light and fluffy, and it was, but with some surprising emotional depth. The main character was incredibly frustrating sometimes, but in a relatively believable way. Her fixation on perfection and diet culture was incredibly annoying but obviously that's a plot point.

The Sicilian vibes were amazing - I would read more in this series!

I’m the kind of reader who reads several books at the same time. However, this book captivated me from the beginning and I set the others aside. The characters are genuine and are people I would like to know. They are dealing with life changes that will affect most of us at some point so it’s not difficult to empathize with them.

I also really enjoyed the setting in Sicily and learning about the culture, family life, customs and values there, and the descriptions of the food were wonderful!

This is the first book I’ve read in the “Meet Me in Italy” series, but I’ll definitely be looking for the others now.

This is not my first Jennifer Probst book, but I must say it is my favorite (so far). Aurora's story of growth, self-acceptance, and awakening is full of tenderness, all the emotions, and finding what has always been missing from her life.

While this is classified as a romance, it is nothing like your standard meet-cute book. It has depth and breadth of the many characters. Yes, there is romance, but it's not the love is not just for another person, but learning to love yourself in spite of any past mistakes, downfalls, and choices and loving others as they are. A major theme is grief: how it can encompass your body and soul, make you feel as though your life is imploding. It teaches us that loss can bring good things into your life and that your mental pain can also bring you pleasure.

There is a line with "raw, honest, vulnerable" in it which has so much depth when you read it in context and pretty much sums up the book in three words. It's almost as if this is a fiction "self-help" book! Other key concepts throughout the story are love, faith, growth, grief, and most of all family.

This would make an excellent book club choice!

Jennifer Probst is a master at developing characters and making them real to her readers. This book places us first in her protagonist's "life" in New York and then in Sicily where she meets her family for the first time. I wanted to read this book because my grandparents immigrated from Sicily and I visited in 2019. Jennifer captured the Sicilian family, described the food to a T and made me want to go back. It's a love story with a place, with a people, with a culture. I had a very hard time putting it down- and once we got to Sicily- I read it right through. It tugged at my heartstrings throughout.

I ended up enjoying To Sicily with Love more than I initially expected. While the story started off slow and I wasn’t impressed with the main character’s influencer/life coach career, everything changed once she arrived in Italy. From there, the pace picked up, and I became genuinely invested in seeing how it would all wrap up.

Aurora’s journey of self-discovery and personal growth was a highlight for me. Watching her evolve throughout the story added depth and made the book more enjoyable as it progressed.

Overall, I’m rating it 3.5 stars.

3.5 stars! I have read books by Jennifer before, and went in expecting more of a romance plot but still very much enjoyed the family/healing journey. Aurora found she has many relatives in Sicily, and her grandparents are still living after taking a DNA test. I easily enjoyed her character and enjoyed her development! This made me want to pack by bags and go to Sicily! The setting was so fun and the details were well written. It wasn’t my favorite book by her but definitely enjoyed it.

To Sicily with Love by Jennifer Probst wasn't quite the type of book I typically gravitate toward. While I initially expected it to be a romance, it turned out to be more about family, loss, and healing. Although the story includes a relationship that falls apart, one that grows, and even some weddings, the heart of the book revolves around a family coming together and navigating grief. It would make for a great vacation read since you can easily pick it up and put it down without losing track of the plot. While I didn't feel deeply invested in the characters, I did find some of their dialogue heartwarming. If you're looking for a feel-good story about Italian family dynamics, this one would be a perfect choice. However, if you're after a romance novel, you may want to look elsewhere.

I have relatives in Sicily?

My mother never told me - she said she was an only child, and her parents were gone.

All of that was not true. Aurora found she has many relatives in Sicily, and her grandparents are still living.

How disheartening to learn all of this, but also how wonderful.

Aurora found this out after submitting a DNA test and being contacted by her cousin in Sicily.

Would this be the perfect time to visit Sicily since her career is at a bit of a standstill and she hopefully will find out why her mother never told her about her family.

See what Aurora does in this delightful, delicious read with descriptions so vivid, mouth-watering food, and welcoming characters, you will want to get on the next plane and see if you have a long lost loving, Sicilian family. :) 5/5

Even though this is fourth in the series, I easily read it as a standalone.

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced eARC.

Overall, I liked the messages and themes from this book. I resonated with Aurora’s character deeply having lost my own mom unexpectedly and feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the grief of it all. Aurora’s journey to rediscovering her identity and trying to understand how to navigate loss while in the midst of grief was very real and raw. Couple those complex feelings with her also dealing with the loss of her dad and you have a story that I believe sticks with a reader, especially one who finds themself without the only family they know.

I liked the idea of Aurora being reconnected with a sense of family as she navigates to Sicily to meet her mother’s family that she didn’t know existed. Unfortunately, I think there were several instances where the writing just fell short and I found myself just wanting to get to the end of the book.

This is a good read, but felt rushed in some places and too drawn out in others.

After the major loss of her parents, Aurora is lost and alone. She takes a DNA test and finds long lost relatives in Sicily. She goes to visit and sees a whole new side of life and gets her spark back. I really enjoyed this book. I could relate to the loss of both parents unexpectedly, however, I have not taken a DNA test. I've always been interested in taking one so this story was so intriguing to me. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Net Galley for the advanced copy!

I would like to thank Net Galley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. I have read a number of Jennifer Probst's books and always enjoyed them. This is no exception. It is a well paced story about Aurora Rose York,who British father and Italian ( Sicilian) mother have raised her in New York. Aurora's parents have told her neither have any family, being only children, and their parents deceased. Aurora is a life coach, write and podcaster. She has trained herself and others to be strong, over come emotion, set and achieve goals, and , of course, avoid carbs. Her boyfriend Jason is a personal trainer who runs a gym. They seem suited for each other, but Aurora's mother sees it differently. Its not a spoiler to say that her mom dies in the second chapter and Aurora is consumed with grief( her father passed away 5 years before), to the point of being unable to work effectively in her job. She can't write, has difficulty with the podcasts and with her coaching. Then she does a DNA test and finds family in Sicily that she knew nothing about. Aurora goes to Sicily to try to come to terms with her life and her family secrets. I loved the descriptions of Sicily and her Sicilian family. My fathers family is Sicilian, (as is my husband's fathers family). We have been to Sicily several times, most recently this summer on a multi generational trip with our children and grandchildren for a month. The descriptions and characterizations rang true. It was a beautifully written book. I did not like the character of Jason at all, and he came off a bit of a stereotype. Otherwise, i really enjoyed this book!

As someone who has taken a DNA test before and found out things I never imagined, I related so so hard to Aurora and all her DNA test changed for her.

I cried multiple times throughout this book. This book dealt with heavily losses and the grieving that comes with that. This book also dealt with finding love within yourself and your family, your community, your job. Rediscovering yourself. Aurora meeting her family, falling in love with Sicily, and finding herself after the loss of her mother was incredible and inspiring. This book made me cry, swoon, and just warmed my heart so much. Reading about Aurora finding love within a family and Sicily was everything and more. It made me so so happy and touched my heart, truly. This book was everything and more and it healed parts of me. i loved it so much!

The story really got to me in many ways, especially due to the fact that our female lead was a public entity on social media.

The author takes on the issues that social media can bring to people in terms of privacy and the faceless person feeling like they can trash or say anything because it’s on a social media platform. Sad really.

This story dives into the psychology of dealing with grief and how it can affect people differently. The story tackles, not only the business profession, but also personal relationships, and how that can affect your psyche and outlook while grieving.

What was wonderful was the female lead taking a chance on traveling, meeting new family, and getting the backstory that she never knew about. Within all of this we also meet a wonderful guy who is a perfect balance for everything she’s going through.

Probst delivers amazing descriptions and details that paint a picture of Sicily that will warm your heart. The story is in the details and the author definitely enhances it with this vibrant setting.

To Sicily with Love is a beautiful story that is a bit of a tear-jerker about family, healing, and finding your perfect path. It definitely made an impression on me as I could relate to many pieces in this story.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I feel like I could have done without the romance in this one. Aurora’s story is so beautiful on its own. I’m glad that she found a man who actually treats her like a person (unlike Jason) but falling in love in under 4 weeks is so not realistic I’m sorry!

I wanted the story to focus more on her familial ties. The overall theme of self discovery and appreciating the loved ones in your life while you still have them is a strong enough plotline on its own in my opinion.

Other than that I think this was really cute and I appreciated the imagery! Makes me want to add Sicily to my list of travels!

DNF. Unfortunately this writing style just wasn’t for me but the bigger issue is a personal one. By the 10th mention of a dead parent I wanted to be done. And then the second parent died and I had to be done. I don’t feel like I am able to give an accurate star rating but I have to submit one. The cover is beautiful! Thank you for the opportunity, I’m sorry it didn’t work out.