My Review: Such a fun and dramatic read. By dramatic, I mean there's family drama, ex drama and decision drama, along with great characters with good foundations. We have an Italian in Spain who returns home to Italy to support his family and an Irish girl who lived in the UK, ends up back in Ireland and then heads off to Italy to study ceramic painting. Ursula has been through the mill and is in search of peace and happiness. I love that google translates is brought up in the story. I use it sometimes too. Did you know that in Italy, women don't automatically take on the mans last name? I didn't know that, until I read it in An Italian Island Summer. We follow Ursula's journey, her parents have a complex story, she has a few siblings. Her ex is a pain. Alfio is a grumpy fella, bewildered as to why Ursula is staying with his family and upset they didn't tell him that they were struggling. His mother is tired and his sister Nanda is a single mum who is in desperate need to have some life back to herself. Hettie his inconclusive girlfriend type appears in the mix too. It's well put together and beautifully written. Highly recommended as a relaxing afternoon read.

Sue Moorcroft really is the Queen of summer sunshine stories! I always look forward to my travels in her gorgeous books, and so I was absolutely delighted to see that this time we were heading off to stunning Sicily, a destination that I would love to visit!
Straight away I was immersed into the beautiful location, and I had instantly warmed to Ursula, and her ambition to try a new creative career. The opportunity to travel for the summer was incredibly serendipitous, and I enjoyed watching her progress in Italy.
Alfio’s own story was also very interesting, his desire to come home to support his family was admirable and I loved seeing him reconnect with his former life and to allow himself to re think his own life too.
Such an uplifting story, some awesome twists too, this fantastic story kept me avidly occupied and longing to go over to Sicily to experience the sunshine ☀️ and wonderful communities described so vividly in this perfect holiday read.

Sue has this remarkable ability to write love stories that have a tremendous amount of depth and heart. I’m always blown away by how many emotions I feel while reading her stories. An Italian Island Summer was such a fabulous book; I could not put it down. First, I need to gush about the setting. If you are looking for a book that will transport you to a lush and gorgeous destination, I highly recommend reading this book. Sue did a marvellous job transporting her readers to the island of Sicily. I fell head over heels in love with this setting and me wishing I could pack my bags and spend the summer there.

All the characters in this book felt so genuine and raw. They felt relatable, and I always love it when I can connect with characters. It allows me to make that deeper connection with the story. I found myself rooting for Ursula and Alfio. You want good things for these two characters. Their relationship has a delicious slow-burn feel to it. The chemistry between these two was so enjoyable, and I devoured every conversation and heated look between them. There are plenty of misunderstandings and secrets between Ursula and Alfio, which creates a few hurdles they must overcome before getting their HEA.

An Italian Island Summer is the perfect book to escape in this summer.

I really struggled to get into the writing, story and characters of this book so ultimately ended up dnfing the book around 30%.

This was my first Sue Moorcroft novel and it certainly will not be my last. The story kept me turning the pages and enthralled me right to the very satisfying end. The characters are well drawn and I felt I knew every one of them. I particularly warmed to both Ursula and Alfie. I love the way the author depicts two very close but very different families, Ursula’s back in Ireland and Alfie’s in Sicily. There is a strong sense of place and it was good to be transported to Ortigia, making me long to travel to the beautiful island of Sicily again. I have no hesitation in recommending this book. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

As ever, Sue Moorcroft's latest book does not disappoint.
Set mostly in Sicily where Irish Ursula is temporarily living while she tries to further her skills in ceramic art. But there is a secret to why Ursula was offered the accommodation she has been given and when it all comes to light it changes everything for her.
Her parent's marriage is on the rocks and new unemployed she finds peace in Sicily until her world is shaken, and she realises that she needs to get closure on her last breakdown.

Absolutely loved this book. Sunshine, family dilemas, relationships and new beginnings. I was totally enthralled and read it in one. I have read a few of Sue Moorcrofts books and will be looking for the ones I have missed.

Sue Moorcroft is rapidly becoming a must read as soon as she has a new book out. She always writes characters you care about and Ursula Quinn is no exception. Leaving her life in Brighton behind Ursula returns home to Ireland knowing that she wants to find her next adventure . She ends up in Sicily with dreams of learning ceramics. She gets a lot more than she bargained for. Finding herself after a rough few years and fighting for what she wants. A lovely book leaves me dreaming of the sun in Sicily and pasta.

What a gorgeous book, I felt as if I had left the cold days behind and been whisked away to the Mediterranean! Ursula goes to an idyllic island in search of peace of mind and to mend her broken heart, but finds so much more,
This is a lovely summer read and I fell in love with so many of the characters, but even more than that, I fell in love all over again with Italy!
A perfect beach read and guaranteed sunshine if you're planning to venture no further than your back garden - just add a lounger and SPF!

A lovely story set in Ortiigo Sicily, Ireland and Brighton about family, dreams and learning to trust again.
Hettie’s spiked drink sets off a chain of events which leads to loss of control, divorce, and lack of trust in men. When she loses her job and flat she decides to follow her dream to become a ceramics artist.
With a host of family characters, the beautiful background of Ortigo, this well written book transported me to a warmer climate and kept me entertained right to the end.
I really enjoyed this summer read.

another good book to read by this author but not many juicy recipes to follow but nice to see tattoos can be displayed on ceramic plates to the enjoyment of ursula and fabio and always a story line done in a warm place giving a good picture of the place in the sun

An Italian Island Summer // Sue Moorcroft 🇮🇹🫶🏻
⭐️⭐️⭐️

~ recently divorced ursula quinn has had an offer regarding a summer trip to an island just off the coast of Sicily for a new adventure, one that she’s looking forward to after her recent rough patch.

~ ursula is met with a warm welcome by mostly everyone in her place of residence. the owners son alfio greets her in a stand off-ish manner as he his own tribulations happening with his romantic relationships and some family decisions to lend a helping hand with.

~ secrets and truths are revealed from alfio’s family as well as ursula’s family and ex-husband, can they come together to help each other and their future’s?

~ i really couldn’t put this down, such an easy read even shifting between two families troubles, past and present - the only thing i would say was slightly disappointing was how the ending of the story was a very quick conclusion for both main characters making it feel quite abrupt.

Another brilliant book by Sue Moorcroft. Perfect for a relaxing summer read with the setting being in Sicily with gorgeous sunshine you could almost feel it. A great story with wonderful characters. This book is not to be missed.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. It was an absolute pleasure.

Another fabulous book from Sue Moorcroft!
The perfect holiday and summer read. Warm, easy reading, the perfect Italian setting and great characters, I want a holiday in Sicily!!
Ursula has had a hard few months, with the end of her marriage and the end of her job in Brighton. She returns to her family in Ireland for a visit which changes the course of her next few months, wanting to study ceramics in Italy. Alfie has been living and working in Barcelona when family concerns call him home to Sicily.
Family secrets, her ex husband chasing her through family and friends, how can she keep strong, independent and focus on what she wants from life?
This is a wonderful holiday read, thoroughly enjoyable and heartily recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon books for the early read, so very much appreciated!!

An absolutely perfect summer beach read!!

Now I am going to Sicily this summer so there may be a bit of excited bias, but I really felt as if I was in the beautiful town of Ortigia, watching the hot sun set from a rooftop balcony.

Ursula is a fantastic lead character and I really wanted her to find happiness, away from her manipulative ex.

I loved everything about this, thank you for my review copy.

Great summer read, beautifully described whisks you away to the lovely island of scilly. Lots of side stories going on. Struggling marriage, trust issues and family secrets. I really enjoyed this book.
Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

I love this time of year and get excited when Sue Moorcroft releases another book. Once again she had not disappointed me.

The sun shone down in Sicily, Italy and also in my mind. The descriptive writing took me into the hotel of the Residenza del Tringali. All the nooks and crannies came to life, especially the attic room where Ursula Quinn was spending her summer by helping out in the kitchen whilst she took up her passion of Ceramics. Fabio was her teacher and she soon became a fantastic student, coming up with her own specialised designs.

Ursula became a wonderful addition to the hotel. Agata, the mother and Nanda, daughter, adored her, however Alfio, the son was not enamoured about her being there. Ursula had secured this job, which paid for her lodgings and food, on recommendation of her Uncle. .

Ursula had decided to go to Sicily after her marriage ended, quite nastily. She certainly didn’t go looking for love. Although Alfio was a delicious species of the opposite sex, she knew he was only there for a short time, helping his mother while she recuperated.

When Ursula becomes aware that there has been secrets hidden from her, she explodes and goes to stay with her friend earlier than planned.

Sue Moorcroft has given the reader a wonderful plot mixed with the backdrop of beautiful Italy and some of the most heart warming characters.

Thank you Sue and NetGalley, for this terrific chance of reading this novel.

first book i have read by this author and this would make a fab holiday read! a really good read that follows the story of ursula and her family with some twists. would recommend

Yet another superb summery, sunshine read from Sue. A lovely, comfortable read with relatable characters. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

An enjoyable read set in Sicily. I didn't get as strong a sense of the setting as I did in her previous work set in Umbria, but I liked the characters in this one. The romance takes quite a while to get going, and I found myself more interested in the peripheral goings-on than the romance between Ursula and Alfio. As with a lot of Moorcroft's work, I found the dialogue to be quite stilted, but the book deals with some difficult topics in a mature way.