3/5 Thank you to Net Galley and the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story starts after the death of Katy’s Mom, her best friend, her rock. Katy’s first phone call about anything (good, bad, questions, points for discussion) was always to her Mom. Her Mom seemed to always have the answers or know the correct thing to say. Now that she’s gone, Katy is lost.

Irrationally, Katy pushes her caring, loving, supportive husband away and alone, takes the trip that she and her Mom had planned to take together (Why waste the ticket, I ask). Some twist in the time/space continuum has Katy meeting her Mom thirty years in the past in Positano, Italy. They hang out and get to know each other a little which allows Katy to finally accept her Mom’s passing and move on (I guess this why she had to waste the other ticket – had there been another person with her, this part of the story wouldn’t have worked).

The novel goes on to describe areas of the Italian coast in and around Positano and the wonderful foods that Katy eats. I loved that the book gives the reader a vicarious trip to the area. Unfortunately the main character, Katy, is quite selfish and I didn’t find her very likeable. The pain of her loss was never really apparent and her reasoning for some of the odd things she does are never very clear. If you want lovely descriptions of a trip to the Amalfi coast and don’t mind some Chick Lit, this is the book for you.

There are a lot of typos in the eARC received and the storyline could use a little editing: e.g. Adam drives himself and Katy to Naples then Katy states “Our driver drops us off near the Duomo”. There were only the two of them in the car,the driver was Adam; therefore they were not dropped off by a driver

So beautifully written. Imagine losing your best friend, the woman who brought you into this world, your mother, and then being able to experience her as she was in her younger years. I cried, and laughed along the whole time. I fell in love with these characters and just the bond of mother and daughter.

I am conflicted, simply put. For one, I read this book so quickly. I thought the pacing was done well, and I was really immersed in the story. But, at the end of it, when everything is wrapped up, I am left with just feeling...blah. And let's talk about why.

One Italian Summer is a women's fiction novel with hints of magical realism. (Why does Katy's mom, who we learn has just passed at the beginning of the story, show up in Italy as a younger version of herself? Let's just say it was...magic.) And yes, I think the story does the aspect of the mother/daughter relationship so well. Katy learns so much about her mother, things that inspire her and others that make her upset, but she comes to an understanding about it anyway. The story ends in a nice bow that made me get slightly emotional thinking about my own relationship with my mother, sacrifices she's made, etc.

But then we get into the subplot. Katy's love life. It's messy, to say the least. Katy leaves for Italy with her current marriage in distress and mees someone on the island. But, she's married, so like...what's going on with that? I don't know. I thought it was not the way to go, no matter if people wanted a love story. It was unnecessary, in my opinion.

All in all, I went in feeling excited about this book and left thinking things could have been better.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel. What a story Rebecca Serle can tell! This is a truly heartwarming And uplifting story. We meet Katy just after she’s lost her mom, Carol. They had planned a trip to Italy and Katy decides to go ahead and take the trip. I could see the beauty of Positano through the words and descriptions. The story unfolds from there and Katy learns to let go and embrace what is meant to be. A wonderful story that I highly recommend!

As part of my reading plans for 2022, I'm committed to selecting more new releases and branching further out of my normal mystery / thriller genres. When I read the description of Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer, it sounded exciting. A 30ish American woman's mother passes away unexpectedly, so she takes the Positano trip they'd always dreamed about, but all on her own. When she arrives, the woman 'meets' her mother there, and readers are left wondering... is this science-fiction, fantasy, or just a dream?

I must admit, in the first few chapters, I was immediately put off by the book. The main character, Katy, is married and grieving at her mother's funeral. Readers learn she told her husband she wanted a divorce that morning because her mother was the love of her life, and the woman's death has prompted Katy to re-evaluate everything. By all accounts, even Katy said her husband was wonderful, and he was loved by her parents. While I understand Katy's despair at her mother's death, she was also incredibly selfish, rude, and immature in the way she treated her husband. When she tells him she's leaving and putting their marriage on hold, I wanted to drop the book. But I also wanted to find out how she meets her mother again.

One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle is an impactful and moving story about the everlasting bond between a mother and daughter. The setting in Amalfi Coast—you can’t beat that. The story is engaging, intriguing, even sad at parts, but also uplifting at the same time.

Katy calls her mother the love of her life. Their bond was so close—they did everything together. So when Carol is gone—where does that leave Katy? Fast forward to Positano and Katy is loving getting to know the younger version of her mother. She’s learning quite a bit about her too. It also makes her realize how much she never did ask her mother about her own life as the focus was always on Katy.

But everyone has secrets. And to be honest, Carol’s was pretty unexpected. For a story that already had plenty of depth, I thought it added such an interesting layer and one that book clubs will no doubt discuss.

This book is about Katie finding herself again. She is so lost without her mother that she doesn’t know how to go on. This book is wonderful in the “finding yourself” department.

What I’m not a fan of is how Rebecca Serle romanticizes adultery. This book could have had the exact same outcome without that aspect. Also, there was no remorse in the cheating either.

Katie sucks as a main character and I’m happy with the ending of this book, but it doesn’t seem like there was a flow from the beginning Katie to the end Katie.

I wouldn’t recommend this book to my friends. Unfortunately, there are just better books out there that have the same theme as this one.

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked up this book completely based on the cover and knew nothing about the story or author and am so happy I did. I felt truly transported to Positano and was writing down all of the incredible recommendations and planning my own trip there while reading. Katy’s journey to Italy after losing her mother was so transformative and I felt like I was along for the ride. When Katy first sees her mom, Carol, in Positano as a vibrant 30-year-old, I was a little nervous about where it was going and if I would like it, but it ended up being one of my favorite books of the year. Anyone at any stage in life will find some sort of takeaway about how we understand, remember and grow in our own relationships.

Rebecca Serle is so skilled at writing these semi-romantic, semi-comedies about much more - grief and aging and friendship. So smart and touching, really good.

Thank you, NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Atria Books for this eARC!

This was a beautifully written book set on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The whole time I was reading this book, I felt like I was there eating all the wonderful food, drinking all the delicious wine, exploring the coastal towns. Bare minimum, it made me want to be there very badly.

Katy has just lost her mother, and as she arrives in Positano, she experiences an awakening like no other. I love books that make me feel like I'm waking up right alongside the MC. Katy discovers a hunger that consumes her, a hunger for life, for satisfying food, for learning more about the mother she just lost. I am now starving and wish I could head to Positano to eat my weight in pasta, tomatoes, and cheese 🤣. Hopefully, one day!

I recommend this book to anyone who also has a hunger burning deep inside them ❤

This was (surprisingly) my first Rebecca Serle book! I've had In Five Years on my to-read list forever but haven't made it there yet.

Overall, I liked it. Didn't love it but it was a fun, quick read. I think for me, Katy's absolute worship of her mother just seemed a little unrealistic, though I could understand the impact her loss had on her.I think her struggles with her sense of self and the decisions she made up to that point are very relatable.

Also, you cannot possibly finish this book without wanting to go to the Amalfi Coast even more than you already do.

Thanks to Atria Books via NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for honest review.

This was a beautiful trip through Italy, through time and through love. There aren’t any big, dramatic moments, but there’s so much beauty on every page, it’s hard not to find yourself wrapped up in it.
Katy’s beloved mother has recently passed away after a battle with cancer and Katy is left reeling. Her mother was her best friend, her whole world, and she was the same for her mother. They had a mother daughter trip planned to the Amalfi Coast, but sadly her mother didn’t make it so Katy decides to take the trip alone, and use it as a cleanse to see what she wants her future to look like now that her mom isn’t in it. She takes a break from her job and her husband and her life and delves deep into the Italian way of life with much gusto. And while she’s eating and sightseeing and taking in the view, she meets her mother-or more accurately, the version of Carol at 30 years old. Katy is left trying to figure out how this is happening and what it means for her. As she gets to know Carol, she finds out so many things about her mom that she never knew, and it changes everything about how she looks at the past, as well as how she views the future.
Although Katy at times was kind of unlikeable, the story was moving and heartfelt and the descriptions of the sights and foods and sounds of Italy more than made up for what she lacked in personality. While I didn’t find myself super emotional like I expected I would, I was definitely invested in the story and will be thinking about it for a while.
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my review.

Since all I needed to know before reading this was that it was by Rebecca Serle, I didn’t read the synopsis & the magical realism surprised me (though I’m not sure why, since her other 2 books feature it!).
It totally worked though (if you don’t think too hard about the logistics of time travel 😆) and this book was sweet and easy to read. I didn’t connect so much with Katy simply because her relationship with her mother was foreign to me (her mother was her one true love? That’s almost creepy). But I could get what she was struggling with…sense of self, being her own person, choices not made & paths not taken.
But *mostly*, this book made we want to go to Italy!!!!

I loved this book. Katy is a relatable character that I could identify with as she struggled with life and loss as a young woman. The descriptive writing about the locations in the book was wonderful. I felt like I was there the entire time and now I want to visit!

One Italian Summer is one of those books that you won't want to put down. You'll pick it up first thing in the morning while you're having breakfast and looking forward to curling up to get a few chapters in before going to bed. The book is centered around Katy Silver, who after losing her mother who has been her best friend her entire life finds herself unsure of how she can possibly go on with life now that the one person who mattered most to her is gone.

When the plane tickets for the Italian vacation that she was supposed to go on with her mother arrive, she leaves her life in LA behind and travels to Positano and the Hotel Posideon... where she meets her mother but she's not the mother she knew back home, instead, she's the 30-year-old version of Carol, who dreams of becoming a designer and lives her life 'in the moment.'

One Italian Summer is full of beautiful descriptions of the Amalfi Coast, and delicious Italian food, but what it is more than anything is a heartwarming love story that will capture your heart if you let it.

Sigh… I am sad to report that One Italian Summer was just not for me.

Serle’s writing is beautifully descriptive enough to transport the reader to the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Positano. This was my favourite part of the book - a European vacation in my mind (closest I’m going to get to finding my way back to the lemon-scented magic of Positano for the foreseeable future).

Sadly, the storyline and characters just didn’t do it for me. The main character was unlikeable, unsympathetic and too self-absorbed. Also, while I appreciate that some may relate to the obsessive love of this daughter for her mother, to me it felt suffocating. I love and adore my mother, but she is not my whole world nor would she ever want to be. Perhaps this is a personal thing and others have grown up differently???

I will continue to check out whatever Serle writes in the future because I enjoy her writing and adored the unexpected way In Five Years wrapped me up and surprised me. Unfortunately this follow up didn’t live up to my expectations.

2.5 Stars, Rounded Up

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of the book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This is a wonderful story about Katy who has just lost her mother Katy. The story is set in Positano, Italy. Still in shock of her mother's passing Katy sets off on the trip solo in hopes for closure on her moms passing,. During the book, Katy questions if her upcoming marriage truly is for her. Through her mom's spirit Katy finds out a lot about herself.

Serle's writing keeps getting better. I can't wait to see what she has in store for her readers next.

Katy loses her mother, but she goes on the trip to Positano that they planned. That’s when this slips into magical realism. The descriptions of the Italian coast and the food were magical enough, but the people Katy meets there are so important. This is a really interesting story about self discovery, though the resolution does happen really quickly! This is also classic Rebecca Serle, so make sure you have TISSUES READY.

Thanks to netgalley and atriabooks for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria, and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This story surprised me, in probably the best way. I did not realize that this book would have a magical realism element, and I thought it made the story so enticing,. I read this in a day, and while that was probably due to the length of the novel, the story just captured my attention from the beginning. Stories about grief need to come at the right time for me to enjoy them, and this one absolutely came at the right time. There is something so therapeutic about experiencing this beautiful city with Katy and walking through her journey with her.

While I did not agree with the decisions of some of the characters pertaining to their relationships, I understand that these decisions were made for the characters to grow, This is definitely an emotional read, so if you bring it to the beach make sure you have a couple tissues handy! I'm looking forward to reading other books by Rebecca Serle in the future.

I absolutely loved this book. It was like taking a vacation without leaving the house (but now I need to go to Italy)! The beginning of the book was very heavy and I could definitely feel the deep sadness the character was experiencing but once the story took off it switched gears and it was magical. The story and characters were amazing. The writing was phenomenal, it was like I was experiencing it all along side the characters. Definitely recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.