ALL THE FEELS!
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Thank you so much to Berkley and Netgalley for this arc for review - I really enjoyed Our Italian Summer.
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Mother/daughter relationships are complicated but important, and that's the main theme of this lovely little book. A grandmother, Sophia, is concerned about her daughter and her granddaughter and their every-tense relationship and decides that what they all need is a summer away together - preferably in Italy which has been her life-long dream.
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This book explores the ideas of slowing down, appreciating the beauty in life, communicating effectively, and focusing on the things in life that are truly the most important. In addition to the resonating themes of the story, I loved the romp through Italy. We explore Rome, Naples, Capri, Pompeii, Florence, Sienna, and Lucca. These are places I have been fortunate to travel to and I really enjoyed reliving them through Probst's descriptions.
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For a fun little story that will give you so many feels and remind you of what is important in life, I recommend Our Italian Summer.

This book surprised me. Why do you ask? First of all, I thought this would be the typical romance novel with a girl going to Italy and finding the love of her life. Going into books blind sometimes can be a like a gift you didn't expect. Now, let me start and tell you that this is so much more and I would call this book woman's fiction or just a contemporary novel.

We follow the story of three women, three generations of women, Allegra who is the teen right before she gets into college, Francesca who's her workaholic single mother and Sophia who's the dotting grandmother and not long ago lost her husband. Their relationships are not the best. The book examines the relationships between mother and daughter, since they're nit ideal and how they both have to change ways to find a common ground and find each other in the middle.

I really enjoyed it and the new friendships and relationships they had created in this trip, but also the changes they went through. This book had an amazing setting / background with the Italian scenery prominent in every chapter. This was something that made me feel nostalgia , since I lived in Italy for a while and this book travelled me there. I love when books succeed to do that.

The book has a deep and emotional impact and I loved how each of these characters showed growth and there was character development and how these relationships flowered in this storyline. I don't know if this is going to be continued, but I really enjoyed it and I definately recommend it!

This story took me back to 2018 when I studied abroad in Italy. In 4 months I traveled to 20 cities across Italy. Traveling with the Ferrari family brought be back to so many of my favorite places. It was a beautiful escapism novel that brought three generations of women together in hopes of mending their families relationship. I really enjoyed how to chapters flipped between Frannie, Sophie, and Allegra’s perspectives so we got to learn a bit more about each character throughout their travels. It’s a beautiful novel of forgiveness, second chances, and new love. ⠀

This is more than just a romance or women's fiction; it's a story about stopping to breathe and think about what 's really important. I'll be honest and this had me balling like a baby at times and smiling and laughing at others. My heart is happy.

Of course the setting is wonderful...who doesn't love Italy! It was great to see the generational interaction between the characters.

Our Italian Summer is a new family drama by author Jennifer Probst which follows three generations of the Ferrari women on a vacation to Italy. We meet Sophia, whom is mother and grandmother, she has booked the trip hoping to mend the strained relationship between her daughter Francesa, who is a workaholic and her granddaughter Allegra who is a bit of a wild child and needs her mothers attention.

I had no problem connecting with any of the characters, however it did take me a bit to warm up to Francesca, she seemed only concerned with her work and herself, however as the book moved forward I enjoyed watching her grow and transform as they all developed a better understanding of each other and what matters to them as both a family and to themselves.

The book was written from each of the characters viewpoints and I loved getting the different perspectives from them. The author Jennifer Probst was excellent at descriptive writing , I have never read one of her books so do not now if this is a regular thing from her, but imagine how she excelled at it, it most likely is. Having the story take place in Italy gave her much to describe also, from the scenery which put you right in the places she described, to the food..oh the food, it made your mouth water at times. Through out the entire book you felt that you were right there with the three women.

The family drama was authentic and the feelings of the women felt genuine through out the book. It was at times heartwrenching and at other times laugh out loud funny, like all relationships. It focuses on the struggles of parenting, strained relationships, personal secrets and realizing what is important in life. I enjoyed this book and plan on picking up more from the author. I also think that this would be the most perfect book for a bookclub reading.

This is the story of three generations of Ferrari women…

Francesca is a single mother and a workaholic. She hardly has any time to spend with her teenage daughter, Allegra. More often than not, Francesca’s mother, Sophia, is left to deal with Allegra. The result is Allegra and Sophia are very close, leaving Francesca out in the cold.

Allegra gets involved with a new group, but they are into things that are dangerous, such as drugs. Still, she plans to spend the summer on a trip with this new gang but she’s met with resistance from her mother.

Sophia loves her daughter and grand-daughter, but she can see their relationship needs help. She comes up with the perfect solution. A trip to Italy to discover their family’s roots. Now she just has to convince Francesca and Allegra to go with her. It’s definitely not an easy sell.

This book grabbed my interest right away. I liked all three characters, even with their flaws. They are realistic people going through real life situations. I didn’t always agree with them, but I could understand and feel for each one. The true love of family shines in this story.

Each paragraph is told in the point of view of one of the women. It alternates. I love this technique as it gives you a look inside the head of each one. It gave me a chance to understand the motives of each character and get a better understanding of where they are coming from.

As for their trip to Italy. I wanted to go with them! I would have needed no convincing. LOL The author did a wonderful job of painting a very vivid picture of Italy. I felt as if I was by their side as they toured the country. The author has a real talent for bringing her readers into the story. I’ll definitely be looking at this author’s future books as well as checking out her backlist.



FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst.

This book transported me back to Italy and I loved reading a book set in such a beautiful country. It made me want to plan a trip to Italy.

When 3 generations of women travel to Italy for a month will it help bring them closer together? Sophia wants to take her daughter and granddaughter to Italy as a way to see their home, but as a way to hopefully have them re-connect. Francesca is a workaholic and and her relationship with her daughter Allegra is struggling as she gets older. Allegra is an 18 year old, about to start her senior year of high school and has different ideas about her future than what her mother has planned for her.

I enjoyed this book and the struggles these 3 women had in communicating with each other, thinking about expectations and our own dreams. Family relationships are complicated and sometimes it takes a little more to see the bigger picture. I disliked the super workaholic mom a little, but I know how hard it is to trust others will do things exactly as you want them.

I feel like Jennifer Probst is a completely underrated author. Her romances are always deliciously reliable with interesting storylines and characters. When I saw that her next book, Our Italian Summer, was women’s fiction, I knew I had to read it. Jennifer Probst did not let me down!

Our Italian Summer is about three generations of Ferrari women who travel to Italy and discover themselves and each other along the way.

Grandmother Sophia has always wanted to visit the land of her parents, walk in the places where they walked. She and her husband put off the trip, believing that there would always be more time–until there wasn’t. Now, seeing the chasm between her workaholic daughter, Frannie, and her beloved granddaughter, Allegra, Sophia realizes that the time to travel to Italy is now, especially since she knows she might not have another year.

Francesca (Frannie) is a control-freak, which, in turn has made her a workaholic. Her work obsession and micro-managing are taking their toll, however, not only in her relationship with Allegra but with her own health. Two incidents, Frannie suffering a panic attack and Allegra getting arrested, are the catalyst for Frannie deciding that a trip to Italy might just be what they all need. But can Frannie stop checking her phone and actually enjoy the trip and live?

Allegra feels like she’s being forced to give up the trip of a lifetime, touring around the country in a camper van with her new friends, to appease her mother. She knows that her mother will abandon her and her grandmother to work because that’s the way her life has been. Her mother has missed all of the recent important moments in her life. Why would she bother showing up now?

It is from these starting points that the characters evolve. Each changes along the way. Each has an epiphany. Each learns defining truths about each other.

Our Italian Summer made me laugh, cry, and want very much to go to Italy, which other books have not been able to do. Probst’s writing is beautiful. Her descriptions are alive and made me feel like I was right there with her characters. And I came to love these characters, even Frannie whom I initially did not like but whose change is the most astounding in the novel. Oh, wouldn’t I love to read a novel about Allegra in the future to see how her promising future turned out!

If you are a fan of women’s fiction, read this book! You won’t be disappointed.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fabulous way to see Italy. The description and detail that Jennifer gives you are out of this world. You feel as if you are right there in Italy with Sophia, Francesca and Allegra. It's three generations of the Ferrari women whom you follow through Italy as they discover their roots, try to reconnect with each other, learn to accept the person they each have become, as well as first loves along the way. You go through so many emotions. This a a fantastic, heartfelt, beautiful story that is a must read. (I'm still rooting for Ian to change his mind (((wink, wink))).)

The author takes you on a journey where 3 women: a grandmother, mother, & daughter goes on a trip to Italy to possibly restore their relationship with each other.
Francesca is a very hard working owner of an advertising company. She is a single mother & her relationship with her daughter Allegra is failing because she has chosen work over being involved in her daughter’s life. Allegra is young woman & is on a journey to find herself. Francesca’s mother Sophia plans a trip to Italy so they can spend time together & mend their relationships. They travel around Italy with a tour group, meeting new people & experiencing new things. But will Francesca be able to avoid work & make her family her priority?

This was a very good read! I’m planning a trip to Italy this summer & this book made me feel like I was right there with them. I enjoyed reading about these complex women and their struggles with understanding each other.

This story was so beautifully written how could I not give it five stars.

This multi layered story plays out through stunning details and complicated emotions. Three generations of women all looking to find each other again. Jennifer has outdone herself with breathtaking detail, relatable family issues, and a small taste of love for each of these amazing women. This is the perfect read to just getaway from it all. A must read for 2021.

From the great mind of Jennifer Probst comes a new hit story, Our Italian Summer.

Three generations of women decide to embark on a trip of a lifetime, a tour of Italy.
Francesca, the workaholic single mother, estranged from her daughter.
Allegra, her daughter who is bored with school and her friends longs for the attention from her mother she craves.
Sophia, the grandmother that is suffering from a deadly disease she has been keeping from everyone that loves her.

Follow along with these three strong Ferrari women as they begin their heartwarming journey to rediscover their love for life and each other.

A remarkable fantastic read. Most of the books I read are romance. Sometimes I pick something different. Our Italian Summer is not a romance book but a story of 3 generations of women trying to repair their relationship with each other. A grandmother, a mother and a daughter. Sophia, the grandmother is a woman who spent her life caring for her daughter being a stay at home mom. Francesca a mother of a teenage daughter workaholic. Allegra a teenager just trying to win her mother’s affections. A trip of a lifetime. Italy, their heritage. Reading their story makes you feel you are with them in Italy. Visiting the sites you feel you are there with them. From the Spanish Steps to Capri to the Blue Grotto to the Coliseum and everything in between. A definite item on my bucket list but Jennifer Probst makes me feel like I have visited these places with her amazing writing. Our Italian Summer to me is a story of family and realizing what is most important in life. Sometimes we have to go back to our roots to build a solid foundation.
With Jennifer Probst’s expressive and descriptive writing you feel as though you are experiencing the places these three women have visited. You don’t even need a passport. A story that will forever be a memory to me whenever I think of visiting Italy.

“Our Italian Summer” is an extraordinary story of three women who embark on a magical summer vacation of soul-searching, fence-mending and dream-chasing. What an opportunity they had to travel to the land of their ancestors, something I would have loved to have done with my daughter and mother. How wonderful it would be to experience the customs of Italy, the beautiful scenery, and the delicious food.

Sophia, Francesca and Allegra had no idea that their vacation would change their lives forever. They needed this time to truly get to know the women they had become away from work, away from school, and away from the confines of everyday life. Together, they would visit beautiful churches and dine at unforgettable restaurants, all while learning about where they came from and where life would take them after they returned home.

Sophia, the matriarch of the family, could see that her daughter and granddaughter were hurting and she prayed that this vacation would bring them closer together. Francesca, whose job was her life, needed to turn off her phone, put away her laptop and look at this vacation as a chance to relax and open her eyes to new beginnings. Allegra, the studious high school senior, was at a crossroads in her life. She wanted to pursue her own career while her mother was pushing her to be just like her.

As I was reading, I found myself becoming part of the story, experiencing their feelings and wishing I could accompany them on their journey of reflection. I felt many emotions while reading: I became teary-eyed, laughed out loud and agreed with their heated family discussions. I felt as if I knew all of them, as they reminded me of my close Italian relatives. Family is everything and as long as we open our hearts and listen closely, we can solve our problems while love does all the work.

Our Italian Summer was my most anticipated book for 2021, and it didn't disappoint. Jennifer Probst takes us along on a journey to Italy, and what a journey it is; she introduced us to the Ferrari women, three generations; Sophia, Francesca, and Allegra. Each one carrying their own weight on their shoulders. Sophia lost her parents when she was only 15 years old and went to live with the neighbor next door who had a son around Sophia's age; both her parents were from Naples. So the trip was significant for her to reconnect to her past and help her daughter Francesca reconnect to her daughter, Allegra.

This book touched my soul. It made me appreciate the special trip I'd taken with my own mother to England & Scotland, seeing the place where her ancestors were from. Once your parents pass, it makes you wonder about everything you didn't know and wished that you spent more time getting to know the people who created you, raised you, and answer so many questions. Now I'm looking forward to going to see where my father was born. It might be a few years, but it is going to be epic! When you read this story, I hope that your connection will bring you closer to your own ancestors and take you on your own journey.

"Life is too short to skip the fries."

If you are looking for a beautifully written journey then Our Italian Summer is the book for you. This story is about three generations of Ferrari woman getting their relationships and life back on track, it’s about taking a journey to Italy to find themselves and each other and it’s a story all woman can relate too. As they embark on this wonderfully described journey through Italy they all learn the importance of family and this journey also brings some life changing experiences for them all......
Sophia is struggling with some health problems and she decides it’s time to get her daughter and granddaughter together for a trip of a lifetime. Francesca is spending far to much time at work and is neglecting family time with her mum (Sophia) and her daughter Allegra who at eighteen is at an age where she needs her mum around......
Tuscany and Rome are described beautifully and as you join these woman on their journey you will find yourself imagining the places they are visiting because Ms Probst paints wonderful pictures with her words. This is not a romance, it’s a story about rebuilding a family, it’s about looking at yourself and coming to terms with what you see, it’s about three generations of woman reconnecting and bringing the family together again and this story will appeal to all woman. I loved this book and I highly recommend it to everyone so please one click this gem, you won’t be disappointed. I was captivated by a story that felt real, it felt like I had been here with my own mum and it brought back memories I will cherish forever. Beautifully written story from a very talented author.

Here we have the start of, hopefully, a new series from Jennifer.

Family - it is what she does best. Here we meet 3 generations of Ferrari women - each with their own lives and problems that are forcing them apart . We get whisked away with them to Italy, their families homeland. Can this trip, that is long overdue, be just what they need to find themselves and each other again?

Copy received from Netgalley.

It’s not often I’m left speechless after I finish a book, I definitely usually have opinions and things to express, but this book has literally left me without being able to express the deep emotions this book has left me with. I have read just about every book, if not all, that this author has written, every one of them I have enjoyed and looked forward to her next work of art, but this book strikes deep within my soul. The three women in this story have some deep relationship issues, mother daughter feelings of neglect, misunderstandings, lack of life, screwed up priorities and secrets that have ripped them apart. It’s the wish of the matriarch, Nonnie/Sophia, that begins to unravel this incredibly deep emotional story that spans over Italy and brings these three incredible women back together again. This book is just under 400 pager, but it reads like 100. You become so engrossed in the lives and happenings of these women it’s over before you know it and leaves you wanting more. I loved Ian and Enzo, and the impact they both had with both young and old love, it’s truly something to behold. Makes you want to jump a plane to Italy for a month and experience what Sophia, Frannie and Allegra did. I truly loved this book, and although it’s difficult to say this because I love all of her books, I think Our Italian Summer is my favorite book that Jennifer Probst has written to date. This is a very well written story that keeps you engaged from the first page to the last. Incredible history of Italy makes you feel like you are there with this tour group and the hysterical experiences they had with each other. Definite worth the read, you won’t be sorry.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.

5 star Review Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst
What a beautifully written, emotional journey Our Italian Summer was. This is a story of three generations of Ferrari women who for a variety of reasons all embark on a trip of a lifetime to Italy. Their journey will effect them all in different ways and bring life changing experiences not only individually but for their relationships as a family.
Sophia is the matriarch and she is struggling with health issues, her daughter Francesca is a busy and successful career focused workaholic and her granddaughter 18 year old Allegra is at a cross roads in her life.
I was fully invested in this story; perhaps because I was in Italy the year before last, I could easily picture the sights as they explored Rome and Tuscany such was the descriptive writing.
This is not so much a romance story (although there is romance) but a story of re building family relationships, of taking stock and looking deep inside ourselves and coming to terms with what you find, of soul searching and reflecting on life as well as healing.
Told in multiple points of view, this story was at times an emotional roller coaster as walls are brought down brick by brick and the unconditional love of family brings much needed re-connecting for three generations of women.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.