Thank you @berkeleyrom for my early copy of Jennifer Probst’s new novel, TO SICILY WITH LOVE, publishing February 20, 2025.

Aurora’s world is as scheduled as it can possibly be, including her “love”...her partner, Jason is as flat and annoying as they come- great props to Probst for making him EXACTLY as he should be- a dude who owns 3 gyms (insert eye roll here).

Aurora’s life is turned upside down and as she navigates grief, more of her walls crumble and those who should love her most are NOT there to uphold her. So, like any smart woman does, she heads to Sicily to meet some of her newly discovered extended family.

I loved the rest of the novel, set in Sicily- just lovely! My favorite might have been the fishmonger debacle! Ha!

Aurora builds a beautiful relationship with her grandfather by the end of the novel and its just chef’s kiss.

This is the third book I've read in the series, Meet me in Italy. To Sicily with Love is an emotional read about grief. Aurora has lost both her parents, and has not properly given herself permission to absorb the loses in her life. Instead, she forges ahead lying to herself and her clients as a life coach. Believing herself alone in the world, she uncovers secrets to her mothers past in Italy and family she never knew existed.

Probst brings alive Sicily, its food, and a found family in an exotic locale. This is a heartwarming coming of age, love story.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley

I read this book while in the middle of a snow storm, and Probst described the gorgeously sunny Italian coast so well, I literally forgot about the -3° windchill outside. It also felt extremely wrong to read this book without an Aperol spritz, freshly baked bread, and a fresh tomato dish in front of me.
This was a simple and sweet story about Aurora, a stereotypical NYC girlie who has been running full steam ahead for the last 5 years. Then her mother suddenly dies, and Aurora finds herself in a tailspin. She also discovers she has family in Italy thanks to a DNA kit, and decides to go to Italy while she grieves her mother’s death.
The plot is pretty classic in a Hallmark type of way. Overworked city girlie has an annoying city boyfriend and loves things like spin class, mantras, and iced matchas. Then she finds herself in a small town surrounded by family and a hot stranger who’s definitely NOT family. Suddenly, she realizes nothing in her city life mattered, and everyone lives happily ever after. It’s still fun to read, but there wasn’t anything groundbreaking or attention-grabbing.
Thanks to Berkley for the free book in exchange for an honest review!

My first 5 stars read of the year! It was so easy to fall in love with the FMC! We could really feel her grief and pain through the story! I had a craving for travelling in Italy for a while, but now I must return! It reminds me a lot of "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert, like the same vibe; and it is one of my top read of my life so that says a lot! Like we say in French: "Chapeau!"

Really sweet read! I appreciated the pace. Often times the romantic storylines get rushed in less than 400 pages. This author did a great job with character development, family reconciliation, break ups, falling in love, career shifts, and traveling without it feeling rushed. I actually believed the protagonist’s choices.

A DNA test prove to be the thing that propels Aurora to rethink her life and priorities in this novel about grief , family, and Sicily. The death of her mother sent Aurora spinning but the discovery that her mother had family in Italy-a family she never mentioned- leads her to travel there. Whatshe finds is a second chance at happiness. This felt very familiar (the family, the romance) but the atmospherics are nice, Probst is a good storyteller and that's why I kept turning the pages. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

3.5 star for me⭐️ I am not sure if I had no idea this story was apart of a series, I think I might of read it out of order. I throughly enjoyed the characters and storyline it reminded me of Eat Pray Love. This book also wanted to make me make a trip to Italy. The way Jennifer writes I adore and I can’t wait to read more of hers.

Thank you for giving me a chance to read

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this early copy!

3.5 stars for this sweet book.

If you want to visit Italy through the pages of any book, this is the one. This story was so immersive into the Sicilian culture that I could smell the food, hear the passionate conversations, see the city as described.

It also took a hard look into grief, healing, loss, acceptance, and change, but told through a beautiful story of finding oneself surrounded by family.

This story was sweet, and I very much enjoyed it while I was reading it. Yet, while I was softly lulled into continuing to read, there was never a desperate need to know what would happen next.

I would also not really classify this as a romance book. It definitely focuses more on Aurora finding herself, healing from her losses, and getting to know her family. The romance comes later in the book, and I would describe it as subtle and soft.

While I felt like I was part of a huge family while reading, I didn't feel like I got to really know any character well except Aurora (and maybe Jason). And while there were aspects of Aurora that were relatable to me, there was also a lot that wasn't to me.

So, all-in-all, this was a sweet read that took me to Italy with every page, but didn't become a lasting favorite.

I really appreciate the opportunity to read! My review is up on Goodreads and a review will be up on my instagram page on Wednesday, February 12.

This book actually took me much longer to read than usual. I found the writing at times to be too vague which stopped me from being engrossed in the story. I was able to relate to the aloof boyfriend after the death of the mother.

To Sicily with Love is a beautiful love story that can be a bit of a tear jerker about family, love, grief, and finding and embracing who you truly are. The story dives into the raw emotions of how losing someone you love can affect you so deeply. The way the Sicilian culture was explained and used multiple times throughout the book was very refreshing and inviting. Aurora and Quint were perfect and their love story made my heart happy. It was simple and sweet but not over the top and unrealistic. It was such an easy read, while also dealing with grief and loss and how it is different for everyone. But that everyone makes mistakes and is doing their best, and that it’s never too late to begin again. Truly a wonderful read! Definitely recommend for a summer beach read!☺️☀️

I loved the premise and of course, am always pro-Italian food descriptions… but, this one well flat for me. The lead character is a life coach and while managing the grief of family loss, discovers long-lost family in Sicily. She travels to meet them and ends up finding herself. I feel like I’ve read this book before, plus the lead character was too basic, no depth. I wanted to love it more! But just wasn’t for me…

Plot:
Aurora is a perfectionist who's built this seemingly perfect life as a life coach. She's smart, ambitious, and work-obsessed, with an equally work-obsessed and ambitious boyfriend named Jason. Their relationship is built on pushing one another to achieve the next milestone until Aurora's mother unexpectedly passes away opening up a plethora of [both old and new] grief and chaos. Aurora's life [mostly work but a little personal] is spiraling out of control. She decides to finally take the DNA test that has been sitting unopened in her apartment. When the results come back, Aurora quickly finds out she has long-lost relatives coupled with decades of family secrets. With her career falling apart she decides to book a trip to Sicily to meet her relatives and try to make sense of these newfound family secrets.

Aurora spends the next month in beautiful Sicility learning about not only her heritage, but the family secrets that were kept untold. She meets her entire extended family, uncovers traditions, and even experiences a bit of culture shock all while she begins to process the grief of losing the only family she had back home. This is a beautiful story of one processing grief and loneliness as told from the perspective of a type-A workaholic. Throughout her time in Sicliy Aurora challenges everything she knew and thought she wanted as she begins to peel back the layers of who she is, what she values, and what she wants for her future.

This was a quick and easy feel good read. I loved how the book was set in Italy and I think Probst did a wonderful job painting a beautiful and accurate depiction of the island. What kept me going with this book was the imagery she drew about the island and the food. My gosh, the food was descriptive and I want to book my next flight to Italy asap. Her cultural references were by and large accurate, and the use of the Italian language was fun with minimal grammatical or colloquial errors, which I appreciated. There is this entire concept of "la dolce far niente" that Aurora figures out on her own, and although never mentioned resonated deeply with me and the cultural difference between the US and Italy.

Slight trigger warnings for those who suffer from anxiety and/or panic attacks, eating disorders, and those experiencing parental grief. Probst did a great job at bringing emotions to life. There are strong tropes of the main characters' journey, finding love in unexpected places, grief and loss, strong familial ties and family dynamics, loneliness, and family secrets.

The ending was so beautiful. The author wrapped things up nicely and quickly. I did not feel anything was missing or left unanswered. I'm giving this book 3 - 3.5 stars. As much as I enjoyed this light and easy feel good romance read set in Italy, it was not a page-turner and took me a week to finish. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light romance/feel-good novel set in Italy.


Thoughts/SPOILERS BELOW***


Jason's character was done nicely because I found myself annoyed with him anytime he was mentioned. Aurora's complicated relationship with her grandfather was my favorite. I wish Probst had included additional family relationships this deeply throughout. Perhaps with Catena and/or Aunt Philomena. Also, Philomena in Italy would never be spelled with a Ph, but ok. Falling in love so quickly after experiencing such grief is possible, but it did seem a bit unrealistic from Aurora's type A and rigid character. I think a beautiful relationship Probst could have explored would be between Aurora and Quint's sister Carmella, with both women having lost their mothers and such close relationships with Quint. Also, the name Quint...not very Italian perhaps a nickname for Quinto? I loved the concept of Aurora learning how to slow down and enjoy life and the journey vs going through the motions robotically just to achieve results. I also would have liked a bit more spice because it did not exist here. I was left hanging a bit. The dynamic between Quint was a bit cringe at times, but nothing unbearable. Having Jason come back into the picture momentarily at the end provided Aurora and the readers some closure which I enjoyed. With her ending the relationship via facetime and never knowing what life would be like with him back home in a "normal" setting. I appreciated the closure with him. I resonated deeply with Aurora's need for perfectionism and adoration for Italy and Italian culture. I would recommend this as a light and quick romance novel set in Italy.

You know what I love? A sweet romance.
This is it.
I also love it when our fmc discovers a whole new part of her life that she didn’t know existed.
This is it.

The story of Aurora learning about her family that has been kept a secret from her was so heartwarming. In loss, she found so much love.

I felt that a few scenes could have been a little longer, but other than that, I loved this book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Jennifer Probst for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

This was a 3.5 star read for me! I’ve been a fan of Jennifer Probst for many years and was excited to see a new book of hers on NetGalley. I didn’t realize it was part of a series but you do not need to read the prior books to enjoy this one. I liked this book a lot and read it very quickly. It was an easy read that packed an emotional punch. I really felt for Aurora and how lonely she was after losing both her parents. I disliked Jason and his behavior really frustrated me throughout. I wanted to yell at Aurora that she deserved better and to break up with him already.
I did love the true found family theme- at a time when Aurora needed others, she found exactly her people. And she was that for them as well. At a time when she was stuck emotionally, socially, and professionally, they provided her with a loving and nurturing environment to sort herself and her goals and aspirations out.
My only complaint was the love story that was woven in. I felt like we didn’t get enough early development of Quint as a character to really feel connected to him. I also felt like as soon as Quint and Aurora got together it was a little too insta-love for my taste.
Overall, an easy and enjoyable read! Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Aurora is a woman who has her life on track and is well on her way to reaching her goals. Until her mother passes, and she isn't so sure of herself anymore.

A trip to Italy helps her rediscover herself, what success in life truly means, and the importance of family.

The character is relatable, and the descriptions of the Italian culture, landscapes and food added a richness to the story that was truly enjoyable.

This book was "molto bene" and had me dreaming of a trip to Sicily.

3.25/5 rounded down

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the advanced reading copy!

LIKED this book a lot! First of all, the setting was amazing. Jennifer Probst does a great job of adding detail to help the reader truly visualize the where the characters are. My family is Sicilian and it’s my dream to go there, so this was a really cool way to see a hint at what life is like there.

Our MC had great character development & growth, though I did find her inner monologue sooo draining towards the beginning. It was beautiful to watch her mindset shift, though. We spent too much time with Jason at the beginning, too, imo. I think the set up took a little bit too long for me, but the meat of the story was great. A cute and clever premise overall, with family drama and culture and travel and growth and love and lots of found family!

#ToSicilywithLove #NetGalley

A love letter to family bonds and mouthwatering cuisine.

Aurora's steely determination and single minded life's focus is sideswiped by an unexpected loss and an unforeseeable discovery. This leads to her (gorgeous cover, by the way) to Sicily where the sometimes immediate, other times gradual, developing relationships has her take a hard look at who she is, what she wants, and where she wants to be.

This was beautifully done by the author. Past books (see: "Sunshine Sisters", "Stay Series" by her have more of a romantic bent and believe NetGalley got it right classifying this as "Women's Fiction". Still, there are "Marriage to a Billionaire" vibes with the physical description of Aurora.

And, the food. The glorious food descriptions so vividly described the reader can envision the smells, the texture and the taste on the palate.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley , via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Every time I read a book by Jennifer Probst I feel like I’m transported to a new place and took a trip. I think about her book characters long after I finished the book and have to remind myself that I didn’t actually go there. She’s just THAT good.

This book was honestly so beautifully written. I actually wasn't really prepared for how emotional this book was going to be. I am a sucker for books that really walk you through a self discovery journey. I truly felt connected to Aurora in a way that I think only one can know if they have went through unimaginable grief from loss of a loved one. When you literally feel like your life is falling apart. It was truly wonderful watching her find herself again. Meeting new family, friends, love interests. I must admit that I think my favorite part of the book was how much food played apart in this story lol. I have never wanted to go experience this place more than I do now.

This was a beautiful story of healing after loss, self discovery, and just really loving yourself. It has a great romance element but isn't the main part of the story. This is a great one to add to your tbr if you are in the mood for an emotional journey!

Jennifer Probst is one of my top authors. To Sicily with Love was fantastic, layered, and had a wonderful set of characters.