I’m sorry to say that I didn’t connect with this book and it wasn’t a good fit for me. It was too much telling and not enough showing. The college scenes (more than 50% of the book) felt unrealistic for 20 year olds in terms of how they conducted themselves and what they did. The timeline also felt off, which was distracting. They were 30 years old in present day, which would mean they were in college around 2013, but they were on TikTok (created in 2016) and mentioned Kendall Jenner and Timothee Chalamet (both became most famous around 2016-17).

The plot and the characters had a lot of potential, but the execution just didn’t work for me.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Madison, Ava and Chelsea were once tight-knit friends who had had each other’s back since high school. They supported Madison in her dream of becoming an influencer in the fashion world, and Ava – who came from a rich family – was exceedingly generous with treating her besties to nights out and holidays. The trio made a pact to be at each other’s wedding, no matter what.
But when Madison receives an invitation to Ava’s lavish wedding in Lake Como, it’s not certain that she will attend. Because they haven’t been friends for years now. And Riggs, the guy who broke Madison’s heart, is also to be a guest.
This is a story about friendship and found family, broken relationships and forgiveness, told in two timeframes – Before and After. While there was enough drama to keep the story ticking along, the book came across disjointed at times which led to me skipping passages.

This is a captivating tale of friendship and healing. After years of separation, Ava, Madison, and Chelsea reunite for Ava’s wedding in Italy. Ava, on the verge of marrying the man she loves, is haunted by past mistakes. Madison, a successful fashion influencer, faces a career-threatening scandal. Chelsea, who has the family she always wanted, struggles with unfulfilled professional dreams. Their return to Lake Como, a place rich with college memories, forces them to confront their past and attempt to repair their fractured bond. Probst beautifully explores themes of forgiveness and personal growth against the stunning backdrop of Lake Como. This novel is a heartfelt journey of rediscovery and redemption.

A WEDDING IN LAKE COMO is a beautiful testament to friendship, life choices and forgiveness, and will leave you wanting to travel to Italy. The story centers around three best friends, Ava, Chelsea and Madison. They were tight, but a nasty betrayal tears them apart. Ava is marrying a wonderful man in Lake Como. She sends invitations to her college friends, Chelsea and Madison. Due to a pact they made when they first became friends, the upcoming wedding brings them together again. What secrets do they all hold? Can Maddie face the past and forgive Ava? Will this give them a chance to heal old wounds?

This is a strong story of female bonds and sisterhood, with trusts broken, anger, hurt, and forging forgiveness. It was a lovely story told with a lot of heart. I immensely enjoyed the growth of Ava and Maddie's characters and how they mend their fences. The author spills little tidbits here and there, teasing the reader, leaving them wondering just how it all will work out. The settings, atmosphere, the character development, and the complexity of the human psyche, were all dealt with perfectly. A WEDDING IN LAKE COMO is engaging, fast-moving and surprising.

Three women meet in college and become fast friends. Ava-a wealthy beauty, Madison-an aspiring fashion designer, and Chelsea-a financial wizard. Each of them navigate college life and relationships, while making a pact to be there for each other when they get married.
It is time for Ava's wedding in Lake Como, where the 3 friends had traveled in college and made their pact. But, an event 5 years earlier shattered the friendship when one of them betrayed the other's trust. Can the wedding heal the relationships? Chelsea is now married, with children, but feels unfulfilled due to putting her career on hold. Madison's career is threatened by scandal, and she still hasn't recovered from heartache. Ava needs to come clean and admit the wrongs of her life.
A tale of female friendship and forgiveness.

Madison has never felt wanted after growing up with neglectful parents. When she goes to college she pals up with Ava and Chelsea. The three girls become best friends, supporting each other to be the best they can. On holiday in Italy they make a pact to be there for each others weddings.
When Ava betrays Madison she runs away from both of them and concentrates on her career as an influencer. When years later Maddie recieves an invitation to Ava's wedding. She is unsure if she wants to go. One on hand her career has imploded and it's a chance to put some ghosts to rest, so to speak. Lake Como is an emotional reunion, one where secrets are revealed and a hope to heal from the past. Jennifer Probst really makes the reader feel like they are in Italy. A wedding in Lake Como is an enjoayble read.
ARC received, this is my volunatary review.

This is the perfect summer book, to read on vacation or to read at home so you can pretend you’re on vacation in a beautiful villa on gorgeous Lake Como. The characters are well drawn and feel like people you might know. They need to work through some difficult issues to regain the friendship they had in college. I really enjoyed this book, 4 stars.

From the publisher:
“Best [college] friends Ava, Madison, and Chelsea made a pact to reunite for each other’s weddings when their careers sent them in different directions. But after one of them makes a choice that tears the group apart, an upcoming wedding might be their last chance to heal old wounds…As they return to Italy’s gorgeous coast, the three women revisit their life-changing first trip to Lake Como during college. When Madison comes face-to-face with ex to the college sweetheart who was at the heart of one of the most pivotal times of her life, can they forge a new way forward?”

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of [this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A WEDDING IN LAKE COMO is the third instalment in Jennifer Probst’s contemporary, adult MEET ME IN ITALY women’s fiction series. A WEDDING IN LAKE COMO is a complete stand alone, and is not connected to the previous instalments.

Told from first person perspective (Madison), following two timelines, A WEDDING IN LAKE COMO focuses on the friendship between Maddie, Ava and Chelsea. During her first year of college, Madison Heart met Ava and Chelsea, and entered into a years long friendship but betrayal would rip the trio apart during their senior year at college, pushing Madison to strike out on her own, making it big in the world of influencers, acting, modelling and stars. Fast forward five years wherein Maddie will receive an invitation to Ava’s wedding, a wedding to take place in Lake Como, Italy. Continuing to struggle with the betrayal that left her broken and hurt, Maddie was reminded about a promise they made, five years before, a promise Maddie knew would force her to face the people that broke her heart.

A WEDDING IN LAKE COMO is a slow building story of friendships and betrayal, relationships and mistakes, jealousy, obsession, forgiveness and love. The reader is pulled into one woman’s journey through college and life, as she must come to terms with what was, and what would never be. Facing the truth, and the people who destroyed her faith in friendships and love, Maddie would discover the heart still wants what the mind can never forget. The premise is impassioned, dramatic and emotional; the characters are desperate, determined, struggling and intense.



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A Wedding In Lake Como by Jennifer Probst is a telling of friendships, betrayal, and finding their way back to each other. Italy is the setting for this beautiful story. Probst uses the beauty of Italy as the backdrop of bringing old friends back together. You see two timelines, one tells the backstory of 3 college friends, their pact of promising to be at each other’s weddings no matter what is going on in their current lives, and second is the storyline of the present day of finding love and repairing the rift between friends.

This was such an engaging story with exploration of so many meaningful themes, a backdrop of New York City and Italy, and characters you will hate and love with equal measure.

Probst's writing is so descriptive and thoughtful. I have now done a deep dive of Brunate and Nesso, small towns in Italy I really want to explore as soon as possible, have a newfound appreciation for what celebrities go through, and need to talk to my best friend from college as soon as I am done writing this review!

This is a bingeable, quick read that made me think so much about true friendship. I think so many of us can name at least one person we met in our twenties that really was there for the awkward, often bad-decision, transitional time in our lives. I think back on some of the choices that I made in my early 20s and cringe. The three main characters in this story come together around the start of college and have their ups and downs. I love how Probst explores what it means to hold grudges, forgive, and find your peace. I loved Maddie’s character the best.

Maddie is an influencer but I think anyone can certainly relate to her.

”I was a walking contradiction, shy and awkward inside, yet dying to be seen and recognized by others.”

Not only is she trying to make it in fashion and the demand to grow followers and find her own artistic voice is tough, but she’s also trying to piece herself back together after things change. This story also depicted what happens when someone in the public eye makes one poor public mistake. Celebrities are human and I love how her character works on herself after that mistake. I also really enjoyed the way Maddie’s brain processed things. She is emotional but also balanced and tries very hard to look at all perspectives.

She experiences something with her two best friends that changes everything and I think most of us can relate to what her character does to try to get back on track. There is so much depth in the story and I was so invested in what happens to all of them! To be honest, I would love another book in this Italy series with these characters!

If you’re a fan of beautiful Italy or want to visit there someday, women’s fiction, and self-reflection, this is a book I think you’ll really enjoy!

Three friends reunited again, for a wedding of one of them.
Will they find what they looking for?
Enjoyed this story a lot. Storyline is great.

Author Jennifer Probst pens another heartwarming story about three best friends with her latest book, A Wedding in Lake Como.

Maddie, Chelsea and Ava meet in college and immediately become besties. They do everything together and encourage each other to achieve their dreams. Due to Maddie's upbringing, she has never felt love and constantly seeks acceptance. She loves fashion and plans to influence others with her unique style via social media and modeling. Chelsea is a financial wiz and hopes to open a firm to help women and working-class families become financially secure. Ava comes from money and is the leader of the threesome. While she is controlling, she goes out of her way to help her friends. Her huge mistake shatters their friendship for years. Luckily, Maddie and Chelsea decide to attend her wedding in Lake Como, and they begin to heal the past.

I enjoyed this emotional adventure and how the relationships of the characters evolved. Due to the wonderful descriptions, I felt like I was in Italy taking in the sights and sounds of the locale. Ms. Probst is one of my goto authors and I never pass up a chance to read her latest book offering.

Complimentary copy provided.

A destination setting that gave Mamma Mia vibes, a full cast of women, and family drama. I'd enjoy this as a film, but it leaned a little too into the womens fiction label than the romance, which isn't my favorite. Solid summer read.

I expecting that plot twist! Madison, Ava and Chelsea are college friends that have experiences. As the story progresses, and they come together in beautiful Lake Como you see how they grow and evolve. This is a story of how their choices affect each other and form the person they are.

Maddie, Ava, and Chelsea become friends as they enter college. They bond quickly and deeply, eventually weeding out others in the group. The story quickly unfolds showing Ava as the leader of the friendship. Yet the story is told from Maddie’s point of view. And while Chelsea plays an important role, many times she takes a back seat to the dynamics that play out between Maddie and Ava.

Then Riggs enters the equation and causes a shift in the Maddie/Ava relationship…. While Riggs and Maddie build a strong relationship, Ava clings tightly to Maddie. By the time graduation rolls around, Maddie and Riggs are ready to live together and they do. Meanwhile, Maddie’s career takes off, causing her to travel and this puts a strain on their relationship.

Everything blows up, and all the relationships are severed… until a wedding in Italy brings the girls back together. And slowly, as Maddie heals in Italy, she and Riggs and begin the road back to friendship first…

I would love to see a spin-off that actually pairs Maddie and Riggs in the future, or a Christmas novella, nicely wrapping up their final steps to a happy ending.

4 Lake Como Stars

In my first read from this author, I found a tale of female friendship and an Italian setting. What a pairing! As sometimes happens with friendship, the trio was thick as thieves in college, but then something tore them apart.

Ava and Madison hadn’t spoken for five years until the wedding announcement arrived. Ava is Italian and now lives in a gorgeous villa on Lake Como. She’s invited Maddie and Chelsea to the wedding.

The book has timelines that share the trio’s fun college years and hints at the toxicity that ended the friendship. At one point during college, they visited Lake Como, and I was enchanted by the descriptions of the scenery.

As Maddie wavers on whether to attend the wedding, she grapples with a personal crisis that threatens her career as an influencer. Can she face Ava and come to forgive her? Chelsea is struggling, too, as she has given up her career to embrace motherhood. Can she find a way to reclaim her career? As each woman works to find their true self and happiness, can they reunite and cement their friendship?

There are some love stories in the mix, too. Maddie finds a soulmate in Riggs during college, but their love isn’t strong enough to endure career ambitions and betrayal.

I rooted for the women to grow, evolve, and reconnect and for them to each find fulfillment.

This can be read as a stand-alone but is listed as “Meet Me in Italy #3.” I enjoyed it so much that I will revisit Italy with the earlier two books!

OMG THIS BOOK!!!! I truly love Jennifer Probst and was so exicited about another book in the Italy.l setting. The friendship between Maddie, Chelsea and Ava was truly special...until it wasn't. Loved Riggs and Maddie together, hated Ava and the circumstances. Seriously could have pushed me over with a feather with the developments in the end of this incredible story. This author gives you Italy on a plate and it's like you're right there exploring the beautiful surroundings of that vibrant city. I need more of Maddie and Riggs, didn't want this book to end. Very well written, definitely angst throughout the book, definitely steamy between Maddie and Riggs. I loved every single bit of it.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book.

This was my first book by Jennifer Probst. Also, while this is part of a series, I didn't feel I was missing any of the styoryline or character development by starting with this installment.
This tale follows three friends from their college meeting through their complicated history. There is a dual timeline, starting in the present where they are estranged. The story offers regular glimpses to the past. The setting was well written and the storyline was thoroughly developed.
I felt slightly misled by the title, I expected the bulk of the story to be set in Italy, and instead the characters didn't arrive in Italy until almost halfway. Also, I expected a bit more focus on romance. This storyline focused more on the individual growth of specific characters and the evolution of the friendship and not as much on the romance.
Overall a solid read, 3.5 stars. Thank you to Berkley for the opportunity to read a NetGally ARC all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a well written book. It flows nicely and is a bit predictable. I found myself wishing I had friends like Maddie did. It’s an enjoyable book and a perfect beach read.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

This was a good book. I enjoyed hearing the back story leading up to the falling out and how they ended up at the wedding in Lake Como. The friendship these girls shared was very heart warming. It’s crazy how one bad decision can change everything. I enjoyed this book.