Hard pass on the body shaming and stereotypes of women.

It's clear from the other reader's reviews that this was a much-loved book, but sadly, it just wasn't for me.

Initially I was loving the flashbacks of Olivia Moretti's summers spent in Italy, especially as I began to really dislike her three daughters. By the time I realized I wasn't loving the book as much as I thought I might, I was too far in to give up... hoping it would get better. It did not.

I never connected with her daughters. Dev, Pris, and Bailey didn't seem like fully-formed characters; rather, they all seemed a bit petty and unlikeable. And there were far too many mentions of weight and food, especially during the Italy scenes.

I had high hopes for this book when Dev said: "There's nothing wrong with carbs. They took something women love and spun it so it was evil. The world is always afraid we'll rise to complete power if we figure out our bodies are perfect just how they are."

But then the author decided to follow up that bold statement with body-shaming statements, like:

"They'd definitely be returning home next week with more curves. Especially if they rented those scooters and began to skip the stairs."

"I need to dance off some calories."

Here's a message: You do not need to earn your food in order to enjoy it!

And then there was this gem:

"'Shopping. I've got an American Express Gold I need rewards on so it's my treat today. Anything goes.' Her sister tried not to show her interest, but she was female."

Barf. Honestly, after revisiting these highlights I made, I'm mad at myself for not DNFing this one.

What a wonderful book. Jennifer Probst never disappoints! The story of these three wonderful sisters is the perfect book to fall into and forget about your world. Moving, absorbing, compelling, and heartfelt. Not to mention the luscious setting! You can almost smell the sea air. Bravo!

A delicious romp through their Mother's hidden letters sends three daughters with very different personalities on a trip to coastal Italy where they must resolve their differences. A very enjoyable read.

Olivia Moretti traveled to Italy with her aunt the summer before she started college. Little did she know she would fall in love with a special man, who would capture her heart forever. Decades later, after Olivia’s untimely death, her three daughters discover a bundle of love letters hidden under an antique quilt and embark upon a journey across the world, set on discovering the truth of their mothers past.

The premise of this book was fascinating to me. I love the idea of discovering old documents that give us another perspective of a person we thought we knew. This is especially compelling when the perspective involves love and romance. The book got off to a strong start and I was hooked right away. The bickering sisters quieted for a moment as they discovered their mother’s secret and turned their focus away from themselves and begin looking more closely at each other. I loved delving into each of the sisters lives and learning about how different they all were, and yet how close they used to be.

When the sisters got to Italy and started looking for the mysterious R, things slowed down tremendously. This book was written during the pandemic and I’ve found that a lot of books that have been written during the pandemic seem to be slower than books written before. It’s almost as though people forgot what life was like before. Regardless, it was fun to take a little vacation in my mind to Positano and to watch three sisters reconnect.

The end of the book picks back up and the last few chapters really suck you in. This is the first book that I’ve read by Jennifer Probst, but it will not be the last.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is just the book to read on a cold winter day with the world in such a turmoil of disease. It is a fairly simple story of three women (and their dead mother) from all different points of view. You can feel the heat of the Italian summer sun radiating from the pages both in the "today" part of the book and the past. But the best part of the book is the (spoiler alert) happy ending for everyone--well, maybe not Olivia as she's dead. I kept thinking it was going to be so sad, unrequited love, dead Rafe, etc., but it wasn't. Even though I will admit I cried a little when Rafe found out about Olivia, it was good. and the girls got the closure they wanted and needed. No big important social redeeming value here, but a pleasant good time story to make the reader smile.

When their Mother dies estranged sisters Priscilla, Devon and Bailey are forced to come together to settle their Mothers estate. In the process they find love letters to their Mother from a man who is not their Father. The letter says the mysterious man will meet their Mother at a designated time at a house on the Amalfi Coast. The sisters get more than they expected. The story is told from multiple view points. This is a story about a family reconnecting and dealing with loss. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

After Olivia dies her 3 daughters find a deed to a house in Italy and love letters from a man that is not their father. The sisters have a strained relationship but travel to the house in Italy to try to learn more about their mother's past. What they find is a part of their mother they never knew and parts of themselves. Can they rebuild their relationships?

A story of family and love and dreams.

Three estranged sisters are cleaning out their mother’s things after her death when they find a stack of love letters signed only “R”, and a deed to a house in Italy. Curious about the mysterious R and the house no one knew their mother owned, the three fly to Italy. What started as a one week trip to solve the mystery of who wrote the letters and to sell the house becomes so much more.
Told in four viewpoints, each of the sisters’ intertwined with their mother, Olivia’s, this is a story of family, love, loss, reconnection and finding oneself. Thanks to Netgalley and Berkely Publishing Group for giving me an electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Italy….the food…the people…the gorgeous landscapes. What a find.

What did these three estranged sisters find?

They found love letters in their mother’s things and a deed to a house in Positano, Italy.

They had to find out what it all meant, and they made a trip to Italy. They found the house in perfect shape because their mother had hired a local man for the job.

THE SECRET LOVE LETTERS OF OLIVIA MORETTI goes back-and-forth telling us what Olivia’s time in Italy was about and what her daughters learned on their visit to Italy.

Will they solve the mystery about their mother’s letters?

Will they discover what they need to know about their mother’s life and about themselves?

Such an enjoyable book with a setting you won’t want to leave.

The descriptions and the characters will stay with you.

Women's fiction fans and fans of Italy will love this book. 5/5

ENJOY!! 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Emotional family story with a great love affair.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pull of a good women’s fiction story is definitely strong with this delightful novel. This is a story that blends in so many different pieces but the strongest addresses deep love and family ties.

With amazing descriptions of this delightful seaside village, tender love affairs, and a deep love that crosses the ocean and decades of time, we are introduced to Olivia and her sweetheart. We meet her daughters and learn her story through the letters too.

Probst kills us with her emotion filled letters that more than once had me reaching for my tissues. My heart was breaking and it still kills me knowing what occurred. But with the discovery of the letters and the travels of her daughters comes the enlightenment of the soul – for them and the reader.

The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti is not just a women’s fiction story with a romance attached. It is a story for the ages that will stay with you just as long.

The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti
Written by: Jennifer Probst

The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti left me feeling emotions I haven’t felt for a long time. I became involved in the story; in many parts I felt the emotions the characters were feeling and there were definitely parts of this story I could relate to.

A young Olivia spent a wonderful summer in Positano, Italy and met a very handsome Italian man, Rafael Sartori and thus began an epic love story for both characters. Their summer love continued to grow over several summers but distance and personal growth ended up with them going in separate directions.

Priscilla, Devon and Baily, sisters who had been close but who had over time drifted away from each other. Any closeness was gone and now their job was to go through their mother Olivia’s personal belongings after she suddenly passes away. They find a trunk with love letters written over a four-year period and the deed to a house in Italy. It is these letters that began the journey these three sisters take to Italy and Positano, to find the house she had there and hopefully find out more about their mother.

Jennifer Probst takes not just Pris, Dev and Bailey on a journey, she brings their stories of growth and truths to intertwine with Olivia’s letters and memories.

Are all their questions answered? Did they have a better understanding of their mother when their journey was over? Were hearts healed and love found?
Did they ever find R. and learn who their mother really was?

Like Pris, Dev and Bailey, readers need to take this beautiful journey to find the answers we are all looking for.

My thanks to Net Galley and Berkley Books for the opportunity of reviewing this book. The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti is currently set to publish on February 22, 2022.

I found this to be a well written easy read! But I also found it to be a beautiful story about love and many different types of relationships and how sometimes love really can change the outcome! Seeing the sisters connect even though they are so different was beautiful! I really enjoyed reading this book! There were times where I laughed and times were I found tears in my eyes! I will definitely be reading this book again!

From the book blurb: "Priscilla, Devon, and Bailey haven’t been close in years, but when the sisters are forced to come together to settle their mother’s estate, they discover a secret. In an old trunk, they happen upon ownership papers for a house on the Amalfi Coast, along with a love letter to their mother from an anonymous man, promising to meet her in Italy during the summer of her sixty-fifth birthday."

The sisters aren't close, and each has issues in her own life, they decide it may be time to find some answers, see the property at Positano, Italy and get it ready to sell, and sight see for a bit. What they are not prepared for is how this trip will upset their own lives and the lives of those around them.

A love story, there were times this had a nice old-fashioned feel to it.

Three adult sisters are engaged in the sad task of cleaning out their mother's house after her unexpected death. While doing so, they discover that their mother was supposed to meet an old lover on the Amalfi coast of Italy in time for her 65th birthday. Even more surprising, they realize that she owns a home in Italy as well. Did they know their mother at all? This is an engaging family story about love, loss, and connection through loving generations. A great read!

I don't think I can put in to the right words, a review worthy of this story I just read! It was AMAZING! I stayed up till 2am to finish it because I just couldn't put it down! 5+ Italian stars for this one, this is a must read by Jennifer!
Follow along as three sisters, Priscilla, Devon, and Bailey, who haven't been close in years, struggle to find answers into a part of their mother's life they never knew about. They take a journey to the house in Italy that was left to their mom, to put the pieces together, and learn valuable lessons along the way.
I loved this story, I would definitely read it again and again. Lots of times it made me smile, and I had a good ugly cry! I can't tell you enough about this book, don't miss out on it!

This was a very sweet book that was quite different from other Jennifer Probst books that I have read. I did get very invested with the love story that was central to the book and I found this to be a very nice, sweet, easy read. Perfect for holidays.

I haven't read a book by Jennifer Probst for awhile; however, I have been a fan of her writing for years!!

This story follows three sisters that discover a stack of love letters, while cleaning out their recently deceased mother's belongings. The letters are written to their mother and signed only by the initial R. They also discover their mother owned a house on the Amalfi coast in Italy. Although the sisters aren't close, and each has issues in her own life, they decide to go to Italy to settle their mother's estate there.

I really enjoyed this story. It was sweet and the background of Italy made me want to travel there! I can't wait to share this book with followers and read more by this author.

As three sisters are cleaning out their recently deceased mother's belongings, they discover a stack of love letters written to their mother signed only by the initial R. They also discover their mother owned a house on the Amalfi coast in Italy. Although the sisters aren't close, and each has issues in her own life, they decide to go to Italy to settle their mother's estate there.

This is such a sweet story about all kinds of love - romantic, mother's love, sisterly love, love of home, and how love can change. I want to go to Italy to see everything these girls experienced. But for now, it was a nice escape!

I received an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest critique of the book.

After their mother's sudden death, the three estranged sisters travel together to the Amalfi Coast where they now own a house and where they discover love letters from a man named R. As they try to find him, they also discover secrets about each other. The descriptions of Positano and the food are wonderful. The plot moves right along and and the ending is satisfactory.

Sisters Devon, Bailey and Priscilla have been estranged for years, but must come together to settle their mother’s estate after her death. To their surprise, they come across a deed to a home on the Amalfi coast accompanied by a love letter from a man who tells her he will meet her there on her 65th birthday. With their mother gone, the only way the sisters can find answers is to travel to Italy to the home in Positano. Surrounded by the beauty of the Italy, the sisters will discover a side to their mother they never knew, and another chance to reclaim their own bonds