this book was FANTASTIC, absolutely one of the best of the series. the characters were absolutely lovely and I fell in love with them as well as the beautiful setting. Reading this in Italy was top 10 experiences of my life. Jennifer Probst, you are fantastic.

I really wanted to love this story but it did not interest me much. I could not connect with Aurora's character and I think that is the main reason I just could not follow through with this story. It picked up once she got to Sicily but I couldn't connect enough to follow through. I think the idea is great, the book just didn't workout for me.

DNF at 5%. I just did not like the characters attitude. I go into this book knowing that she looses her parents and the first chapter is just her talking about how much she hates spending time with her mom. Even though she knows that her mom is probably a bit lonely because her dad has already passed. I just didn't like it.

I really wanted to like this book more. Things went a little too perfectly for my taste. Everything was idyllic and it just rang a little false for me.

Jennifer Probst has written an absolutely gorgeous book about rediscovering joy after experiencing profound grief. She takes us on a journey from New York to Sicily as we accompany Aurora York on her quest to heal after the loss of her mother.

Aurora is a driven life coach whose own life falls apart after the unexpected death of her mother. She is floundering professionally and in her romantic relationship. As an only child, she believes she has no living family. A DNA test reveals that not to be the case. Aurora embarks on a trip to Sicily to meet the cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and extended family she didn’t know she had.

Aurora’s path to healing immerses her - and the reader - in the richness of Sicilian culture. The geography, the food (OMG, THE FOOD), and the importance of family are all featured prominently as Aurora seeks connection and direction. I am a big fan of the found family trope and this book is literally about family found.

There is a romance element to this book, but it takes a backseat to the themes of healing and self-discovery.

My mother’s side of the family is Sicilian and my heart swelled at the characterization of loud, boisterous gatherings with seemingly endless platters of incredible food. I saw my own family reflected in Aurora’s and it was as comforting as the inevitable hugs and cheek pinches that were part of every family get together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for my unbiased.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very heartfelt story about sorrow, grief, love and happiness. The author made the characters come to life.

What a beautiful beautiful book. This book resonates with me so deeply. It explores grief and healing in such a touching way and really made me reflect on my own life and what true happiness is. I absolutely loved the message it gave and the way the Aurora was able to find herself through losing her way. I think it's so important to understand that grief looks different for everybody and sometimes the only way to heal is to embrace the pain of loss. It okay that the person we are changes and sometimes our life and our goals change to as a result. I thought this was such a beautiful story of loving yourself and doing what makes you happy regardless of the opinions of others that don't know you. It was also a beautiful story of family. And how we need that community and connection to lift us when we are down.
I thought the way it explored Sicilian culture was so eye opening, I love the way the cherish family and it was so interesting to learn more about their way of life. I loved that they focused on how families makes mistakes but everyone is doing the best with what they have and it's never too late to make amends and try again.
The love story was perfect and I loved that Aurora and Quint were able to connect on such a deep level and you could really see the way they understood one another and were able to bring out the best in the other.
I was giddy over them the whole time!
All in all this book was perfect. It was a wonderful story of healing and hope and faith. And mainly love. Love for you and family and life. This is a book I could and will read over and over.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7207105039

https://www.instagram.com/p/DE0Z5e-Sggu/?igsh=c3VsZGk5aWo0MGcx

To Sicily with Love by Jennifer Probst
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is a single-POV, closed door romance that will make you drool— not at the romance but at the FOOD!

Seriously- do NOT read this while hungry 😤 I went to Italy back in May on my honeymoon and this book actually brought me to REAL tears on multiple occasions because of how much I miss the food and culture. Jennifer did such an amazing job capturing the beauty of Italy and the love and community that revolves around food there.

Aurora’s journey from being completely alone in life, to building and finding that community really made this book! Aurora’s relationship with her Babba was a delicate journey of grief and acceptance, and my heart felt full at the conclusion.

The family aspect of this book is EVERYTHING! I am self admittedly not a family oriented person, and always dreamed of having my own big family full of love and laughter. To Sicily with Love really truly brought that family to life. I was so impressed with the author’s ability to have multiple scenes with many characters and no one got lost, and every person had their own individual personality. Bravo!! That’s hard stuff to write.

What I felt like the book lacked was actually in the romance department, which I didn’t expect to be the case. I felt as if the developing romance between Aurora and Quint was told to the reader rather than shown. A lot of their interactions felt too perfect in a boring way and I would’ve loved further fleshing out of their chemistry.

I do think a trigger warning is appropriate to share: the MFC has a complicated relationship with food and body image. This is something that improves with her healing journey and ends up being very body positive in the end, but does begin with some pretty intense negative self-talk.

I would definitely read another in this series! Especially if it takes place in Rome 🥹 I miss that city with all my heart and soul. Now it’s time to make some lasagna 🍝

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC! 📖

Thank you Net Galley, Jennifer Probst, and Berkly for an ARC copy of this book.

This was an emotional read about a young woman who comes back to life after the passing of both of her parents. Growing up believing she had no family other than her parents, soon learns she has a large family in Italy. Faced with the emotional downfall from losing her parents, she picks herself back up and learns to live and love after the loss of family but she also learns there is more to family than just blood.

Enmeshed in a lovely heartwarming story about self-discovery are pearls of wisdom interwoven in her characters’ dialog. Pretty ingenious and soul searchingly wondrous. Exactly what we’ve come to expect from Jennifer Probst. Life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Outcomes are somewhat random and not necessarily what one expects. All these are lessons the extraordinary characters in TO SICILY WITH LOVE will hopefully learn.
Irony. Aurora has made a career for herself as a life coach. Seemingly strange, might be thought of as useless means to earn a living. Surely folks need to hear more than platitudes and quotes to design their own life. Problems begin to emerge with the sudden death of her mother. Aurora’s family was basically her father, who passed several years ago, and her mother. No siblings. No other family at all. Her own therapist had suggested that she needed to take a better look at her life and goals to see if they were really well suited to her. At first this talk made Aurora rather angry. Her current boyfriend exerted a lot of time and energy guiding her path. To him it seemed disingenuous putting their joint goals in jeopardy while she recovered from her recent loss.
Yes sounds like a jerk. But it was going to take a risky departure from her usual life to see that.
A DNA test discovered quite a bit of family. Family that had never been discussed and in fact denied her whole life. And that is how and why Aurora winds up in Sicily and her life takes on a totally new direction.
Jennifer Probst once again flexes her creative muscles with some of the best moments in a relationship-based tale. Not just a guy meets a girl. We’re talking about generations of a family along with their friends. Characters that come to life as we are treated to an adventure in a small Italian community. Food seems central to their lives, which is true in many cultures. In fact food is an important character in TO SICILY WITH LOVE. Family life seems to revolve around taking meals together and as the grandmother notes meal planning shows love in the most basic fashion.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Aurora is a life coach and a podcaster. Her boyfriend is a health advocate and has a gym and about to open another. Aurora's father passed away five years ago and she feels like her mother is too dependent upon her. Then her mother suddenly passes away and everything that Aurora thought she knew doesn't work for her and her grief. Her boyfriend thinks that she should be "over" her grief and pulls away from her to force her to come to terms with it. Aurora is an only child and her parents were only children and their parents are gone, too, so she's totally alone. She finds a DNA kit that her mother wanted her to take and finally sends it in. She gets a message from a cousin in Italy and finds out that her mother wasn't an only child and her grandparents are still living. She is shocked to find out that she has a lot of relatives living in Sicily. Aurora's cousin talks her into going to Sicily to get to know the family and find out why her mother lied about her family. Aurora finds out that food isn't her enemy and that it's more of a love language in Sicily. She meets Quint and has an attraction to him that she doesn't with her boyfriend. The growth that Aurora makes in the few weeks that she's around her family is wonderful. I loved reading the descriptions of the food, the areas of Sicily and the love her new found family gives her. This is a different type of love story. It is well worth reading. I received an early copy from Netgalley to read and review. I'm leaving my honest review.

An enjoyable and emotional read. Follow along as the main character goes on a journey to connect with a surprise family and ultimately to find herself. Elements of drama, romance, and even some self help coalesce to make this an emotional read.

To Sicily with Love is a story about family, loss, love and the love language of food. It is a story of healing and rising above the pain of loss to find oneself and find the courage to change your life from everything you thought you believed and wanted.
Aurora is not a stranger to loss. Having lost her dad five years ago, she thought she knew pain.
When another tragedy occurs, Aurora spirals and her life changes. Everything she thought she knew is not the full truth.
Aurora is a life coach, has a boyfriend who she thinks she shares the same goals, to succeed in life and have a successful career. After her loss, Aurora feels alone and lost. Being an only child and thinking her parents were only children also, she has no real connections.
A genealogy test leads to a found family, a trip to Italy and life changing events.
This story will take you on a ride through the small towns in Sicily experiencing the sights, the foods, the love. It is a story that you will feel in your heart and soul.
As Aurora immerses herself in Italian culture, you feel like you are right there with her experiencing everything.
Meeting her newfound family is everything Aurora could have hoped for and more. It allows her to refocus her thoughts, her feelings, her emotions. Her journey is one to be treasured and savored.
I loved every moment of this book, the story, the characters, the food, the descriptions. Probst told this story in a way that you will feel every page in your heart.

No one paints a better picture with words than Jennifer Probst. After reading To Sicily with Love, I immediately wanted to book a flight to Sicily, to not only enjoy the beautiful scenery but also indulge in all the delicious food. In addition to the beautiful imagery created, Probst created a story woven of love and heartbreak - heartbreak not caused by a love interest but by family. The healing and growth of the main character, Aurora, served as a reminder to readers that it is never too late to make a change. The story also served as a reminder how important family is and encouraged me to reconnect with some of my family, before it is too late.
I recommend this book to those who enjoy vivid imagery and an untraditional love story, where the love is between a character discovering love of a city, food, and newfound family.

to sicily with love - arc review

i absolutely adore this book and i am so grateful to @ berkley @ netgalley for sending me a copy of this arc 💗 i related so deeply to many of the struggles that are discussed throughout this book, Aurora’s struggle to balance work and rest, and i thought the way Probst discussed and allowed Aurora to struggle and work through grief was wonderfully done. i absolutely loved eat pray love in college, and this book gave me such a similar and nostalgic feeling because of that. i absolutely devoured this book! when i wasn’t reading it, i was thinking about when i would get to read it next, and i can’t wait for you all the get the chance to read it February 18, 2025
✨ trigger warning: grief is a major theme in this book - if grief is something that is heavily present in your life and/or not something you can read about (just yet or ever), you may want to consider waiting to read this one. body image issues and religion, specifically Catholicism, are other topic discussed in this book occasionally.

tropes & things🍦
- found family, literally
- love abroad
- family friend romance
- lots of italian food
- self discovery journey
- insta love
- different worlds

I really really enjoyed reading this book. I loved watching how Aurora go through the death of her mother while learning about her Sicilian background. The food descriptions were making we hungry all the time. The scenic descriptions making we want to visit immediately. This is certainly a worthwhile read. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jennifer Probst has an amazing ability to describe things in a way that allows one to mentally visualize what is happening in her books. I could envision this beautiful Sicilian backdrop without having been there and their mouth-watering 7 course meals all due to her rich vocabulary. I really enjoyed the main character’s arc and feel like there’s a good message in it. This book was a good reminder as to why it’s important to never leave things unsaid. I think there’s also a good lesson in the book about the messages targeting women about having to “do it all” and “be it all.”

The first quarter of the book started out kind of slow for me as the main character and the boyfriend were unlikable but it got much better when the main character arrived in Sicily. I have read one other book by this author, which is why I requested this one and it did not disappoint! At the time, I did not realize the book was part of a series and I will be going back to read the first three. However, it can be read as a standalone.

I loved this book from start to finish. I really enjoy a book that is set in Italy ever since I read One Italian Summer, and this one was perfect to add to my read list. Jennifer Probst transported me right to Italy, I truly felt as if I was there. Through her writing I felt like I was right by Auroura's side this whole time. The way she described all of the sites and dishes was incredible. Don't read this book on an epty stomach but do make a list of all the foods she mentioned so you could look up the recipes later and create them at home.

I truly enjoy a book where the main character is able to grow and realze just who they are and that is exaclty what happened in this book. Auroura, a life coach, thinks she has it all figured out. She loves what she does... so she thought. Faced with tragedy and finding a lost family, she truly goes on an adventure of a lifetime to discover not only her lost family, but who she truly is as well. And that is what makes a good book a great book, in my opinion. Add this book to your shopping cart right now!! I think this book would make for the perfect read whether you need a plane book, a book club book or justg simply a book to transport you while you read in your very own living room.

Aurora is an uber-focused life coach/podcaster living in New York, with an equally motivated boyfriend, Jason. Every aspect of their lives and relationship are rigidly planned out, including their diets. When Aurora's mother suddenly dies, her world, and career, come crashing down around her. Grief doesn't fit into her detailed plans. Neither does finding out her mother lied about her background, and there is an entire family eager to meet her in Sicily. Aurora's new reality leads her to Sicily, where she realizes she must rethink her career as well as the future she planned with Jason. Though Aurora isn't a very likable in the beginning (her smugness and addiction to work are most likely written like this on purpose), but as her character opens up to different options in life, she becomes someone for whom the reader roots. I love Jennifer Probst's books that are set in Italy, because it transports me there and makes me want to go! Her writing of the supporting characters in this novel are enjoyable, and bring color and emotion to the very sterile backdrop of the beginning of the novel.

The grieving is so emotional and raw. If you've ever lost a loved one or even harder, multiple, then you need to read this as part of your healing journey