A super holiday read, full of interesting characters. Plenty of threads to follow - family, friends, colleagues. I love it. Set in beautiful Italy. What more could it want?

I’ve written before about how superb Sue Moorcroft is at creating a location – but instead of Middledip (which I now know like the back of my hand, and will never tire of), this time it’s Montelibertà. If you’re struggling to fit in a holiday this year, just read this book, and you’ll feel like you’ve spent a few weeks under the Italian sun. The Umbrian mountain scenery is beautifully described (and captured by Levi in his watercolours), the two piazzas, the long and steep hill leading to the Casa Felice hotel with its beautiful terrace (out of bounds to staff, of course), the black iron tables of Il Giardino, the staff quarters almost submerged beneath the overgrown foliage. And you really can’t visit Italy without trying the food – or sharing a bottle (or two) of Orvieto Classico.

This is an excellent story, full of exceptionally well-drawn characters. Sofia is an absolute joy, sadness lingering after the death of her father, moving on to fulfil her promises and live the life of a single woman. She has a ready smile to calm the most troubled waters and a real warmth to her personality – she also has the patience of a saint and the diplomatic skills of a UN negotiator, both attributes much needed as she tackles the obstacles life throws in her path. I’ll admit to being a tad less enamoured with Amy – again well drawn, but I did find it difficult to empathise with a sulky and self-obsessed late teen, however challenging her back story. But Levi really did win my heart – such a lovely man, strong and gentle, and I also enjoyed the fascinating thread about his IT business with all its twists and turns. There are some excellent subsidiary characters too – with special mentions for horrendous hotel owner Benedetta and her son, the slimy Davide.

The story really keeps you turning the pages – it’s a strong one, full of families and fathers, reconciliation and forgiveness, coming to terms with the past, secrets and whether it’s best to keep them – the threads expertly knotted, sorted out, then untangled. And the author’s writing remains a personal favourite, accomplished story-telling balanced by the smooth readability and sparky dialogue I always love.

Reading One Summer in Italy brought some welcome summer sunshine to a week when Edinburgh was mostly covered in east coast haar.

Sofia Bianchi has come to the Umbrian village of Monteliberta fulfilling one of the promises she made to her dying father. With her mother dying young and her father suffering from poor health, although she is now in her 30s she hasn't had the chance to just be a young woman and enjoy herself. Perhaps the most important promise would be the hardest to keep - simply to 'be happy'. Sofia's father was from Monteliberta but she doesn't know much about her Italian family. Taking a job in a hotel for the summer, she resolves to find out what she can and try to meet them. Sofia takes teenage waitress Amy under her wing and is determined she will protect her from the advances of the owner's son Davide. There is more than a little distraction provided by long-term guest Levi. Perhaps he can help her with her promise to 'do all the things single women do' and one particular promise she has made to herself? But relations between staff and guests are strictly prohibited so perhaps this particular promise may have to wait a bit.

Sue Moorcroft is fantastic at creating a vivid sense of place in my mind as I read. I could almost hear the Italian accents, taste the mouthwatering Umbrian food and wine, smell the fragrance of the flowers, see the colourful houses and streets and sense the heat. It's a feast for the senses. I always have quite a strong emotional response to her characters too imagining how I would feel in their shoes. My heart went out to Amy in this story who had so much to take in for a young girl. Yet despite her emotional confusion, she was big hearted enough to want to help out young Matt in his hour of need too. I had to laugh at the way she quickly had Levi wrapped around her little finger!

Sofia was a lovely character, strong, caring and thoughtful. It was wonderful to see her start to grow throughout the book and really begin to live life on her own terms. There are plenty of secrets uncovered as she begins to get to know her Italian family but she soon discovers that hers is not the only family with secrets. With Levi, also having troubles of his own back home to deal with, not least of which was Octavia who seemed very determined to gets her claws into him, there was plenty happening to keep me turning the pages avidly.

When I see that Katie Fforde quote on the front of the books I have to agree - I have never read a Sue Moorcroft book I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. With mystery and romance but with deeper themes also included, they genuinely are a pleasure to read.

From the publishers via Netgalley, this is my first Moorcroft book. It’s a slightly different take on the “romance in a sunny foreign land” trope, and thank god!

Sofia, a woman in her late 30s nurses her sick father, as she has done since she was a teen. The early chapters of the book have her discussing what happens after her father dies, and she makes various promises, including to be happy, and to travel to her father’s home town in Italy to place flowers on her grandparents graves – they had died in a car crash several years before, and Aldo hadn’t seen them for years.

Once Aldo dies she goes to Italy and gets a waitressing job at a local place. Her father’s brother lives nearby, but she doesn’t have an address, so she seeks help from one of the local church goers. Before anything come to fruition however, she has to step in when the owner’s son (Davide) picks on a naive young German waitress called Amy. Levi, a guest also steps in to support Amy and Sofia, resulting in the owner backing down from sacking her.

Levi and Sofia get on, even though there is the rule that staff are not allowed relationships with customers. Sofia feels protective, even motherly, towards Amy, even when she suspects that Levi has a vested interest in the much younger woman. That, plus the “no fraternising” rule means that she backs away from anything deeper. However, the two meet away from the bar, where a conversation along lines of “you’re old enough to be her father” results in admission that Levi is her father, but she doesn’t know. Puts both Levi and Sofia in difficult position.

It turns out that Amy has run away from home because she overheard an argument, and found out that the man she’s always called “dad” is not actually her biological father. She feels her mother lied to every one around her and refuses to see anyone else’s standpoint. She was infact the result of a one night stand between her mother and Levi when he was 17 and she was on a hen weekend.

The first half of the book covers both Sofia trying to get to know her extended family, whilst trying to help Levi navigate the minefield of watching his daughter whilst not letting on who he is.

In the background Levi’s friend and business partner has met up with a woman called Octavia, a tech genius who is far too intense and seems to want to know far more than appropriate with regards to Levi, and is willing to use Wes to get it. Naturally Wes cant see that he’s being used and is in lust – until Octavia dumps him.

The second part of the story is when all characters return to the UK, with Amy having found out who Levi was and wants to confront his behaviour.

I felt the secondary characters could have been used better – the hotel owner was mercurial and temperamental, apparently purely as a plot device – I wasnt convinced at the “Sofia is the niece of the competition” excuse. The tertiary characters, you have to wonder about – could the secondary characters been expanded, and used as mechanisms to move story along? I felt Octavia (for all her obsessive checking of Wes and Levi) disappeared a little too easily for a literal stalker.

So, a nice distraction, and perhaps I’m overthinking a fine summer Italian romance.

This is the first book I have read by Sue Moorcroft and although I finished it I will not be rushing to find any others. The story had so much potential but I was put off by the way it was written. Descriptions should have been so much better and at times the plot was either too slow or too rushed. Sorry but not one of my best reads.

5☆ Prepare to be charmed by this utterly enchanting tale!

One Summer in Italy is a gorgeous Heartwarming read, that I simply fell in love with. I can't recommend it enough.

When Sofia's father passes away, he urges her to visit their family in Montelibertà Italy.

You see Sofia's father left Italy with Sofia's Mum before she was born.
Her mother passed away when she was young, and for some reason her father never went back.
Her never wanted to discuss why.
But on his death bed, he asks Sofia to promise to do several thing's....

1. Go to Montelibertà
2. Live her life, travel, have fun, experience love and romance.
3. Put flowers on her grandparents grave.
4. Visit her Uncle Gianni and say Sorry
5. Go to Montelibertà and drink Orvieto Classico as it’s meant to be drunk

So Sofia sets off to Montelibertà to fulfil her father's wishes.

It's here she finds a job at Il Giardino restaurant and hotel. Where she befriends Amy.

Sofia's and Amy's friendship was so lovely to watch. Amy really looked up Sofia especially when she helps save her job.

I simply adored watching Sofia become a lovely, strong, independent young women.
It melted my heart watching her discover her family and her father's past.

I thoroughly adored reading this deliciously heart-warming book.
It was a tender & inspiring read.
This vivid rich tale has absolutely stolen my heart.

There was a sprinkle of mystery, a good dash of romance, beautiful friendships, plenty of witty humour and a beautiful location.
The characters are strong, relatable and unique where you just can't help routing for them to suceed.

Prepare to be charmed by this utterly enchanting tale.
A Summer must read. Perfect piece of escapism. Enjoy!!

Thank you to Avon Books for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I absolutely loved this book. It was pure escapism. My heart will always be in Italy so I am slightly biased but if you're looking for a wonderful endearing read - then this is it. I loved the main character and the story-line. I read it in two sittings. A perfect holiday read! :)

Lovely summer feel good book you won't forget in a hurry. It was very well written. Lovely characters and following them on there summer working abroad. If only it had been me

An ideal beach read. At times there's too much detail ( Is it necessary to record text messages?) and a little laboured, but an easy uncomplicated love story.

Italy, family secrets, realistic characters and a coherent plot make 'One Summer in Italy a lovely book to enjoy this summer. The setting is vivid, and the characters animated and believable.

Sofia has looked after her father, and his dying wish is for her to visit Italy and her paternal family and experience some previously missed life experiences. Amy is barely an adult, running away from home after receiving devastating news. Levi is a source of attraction for Sofia, but she's not sure of his motives. Family secrets, living life to the full and second chances are all explored in this romantic tale.

Perfect holiday reading regardless of where you are.

I received a copy of this book from Avon Books UK via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Sue Moorcroft is one of my favourite authors, and I always look forward to her next book.

Sofia and her Italian father, Aldo, live in the UK but, when he dies, Sofia goes to his home village in Italy to find out more about her family. She finds work in a hotel, where she comes across fellow worker Amy, and the mysterious Levi. Amy is young and, even though Sofia is only thirty, she looks on her as a mother-figure.

The descriptions of the Umbrian village really made me want to visit the area, and the characters were very realistic. A few surprise twists and turns along the way were also totally believable, and the whole story is beautifully written.

A fabulous book that I didn’t want to put down, and was left wanting more when it finished. Absolutely loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Immerse yourself in the beautiful Italian countryside with 'One Summer in Italy ' by Sue Moorcroft! A light, amusing and fully escapist read. All of the right ingredients for an armchair holiday. A read to 'get away from it all'! Very enjoyable.

I really loved this book. It's the perfect summer read with interesting characters and an interesting plot.
It makes you feel good and it's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for the ARC

I loved this book. Lovely descriptive writing, immersing the reader in the Italian surroundings. Great characterisation too; not just for the major characters but also for the supporting cast. The perfect holiday (or whenever!) read.

This is a real beach read.
A real good feel romance with characters that are easy to connect to.
Very light and breezy.

This is a lovely holiday read that takes you to a wonderful part of Italy for a romantic story with a hint of intrigue. For me, I found Sophia to be somewhat confusing. She is supposed to be thirty, but I felt she behaved as though she was much older and at times, she didn't quite ring true. The story was good though and kept me interested, especially with the delicious Levi in the mix. The descriptions of place were spot on and I could smell the lavender, but some of the characters were a little bit cliched and that took the shine off for me. There were also some clunky descriptions of facial expressions, which made me laugh when I don't think I was supposed to.

A book with such an enticing title and such an eye-catching cover is bound to attract attention. Of course, I have yet to read a Sue Moorcroft novel that I didn't enjoy, so I was always going to pick this one up anyway. From the very start, I was drawn in by its interesting characters and storyline.



The central character in this story is Sofia Bianchi. Her mother having died when Sofia was young, it is left to her to care for her ailing father, Aldo. Sofia has made him several promises in his last days, and we see her setting about fulfilling some of these. Many of the promises involve her visiting Aldo's homeland, which is how she comes to be working in a small Umbrian village for the summer. As well as learning some surprising and, at times shocking, family secrets, she discovers the beauty of this part of Italy. Through her work, Sofia meets a young girl, Amy, who seems a little lost and in need of her care. The mysterious and handsome Levi is suddenly on the scene and taking an interest in both of them, but what is his motivation?



I absolutely loved this book, infused as it is with the taste and atmosphere of Italy. Sofia and her dad are such strong and likeable characters; I very much enjoyed the relationship between them. Sofia's caring nature is brought to the fore once more by Amy's predicament and she finds herself almost in the role of career again. Although Amy is admittedly young, she seems especially immature. Levi's appearance on the scene seems somewhat strange to start with, but as his tale unfolds, so does his character to reveal another kind person caught in a difficult position. I could highly recommend this book to anyone. It has a wonderful setting and a cast of interesting people.

I got to finish the most amazing book on my holidays. So there’s no secret to writing an Amazon number one bestseller like the very talented, Sue Moorcroft. Just write a book as good as One Summer in Italy… This is currently available to pre-order for only £2.99 here. I just count myself lucky that I’m a book reviewer, amongst other things and got to read an ARC. This has everything; Fab set of characters, delightful location and a plot to die for.

Sophie and Amy meet when they are both working as waitresses in a hotel in the beautiful Umbrian countryside. Amy is 18, Sophie in her 30's and both there for very different reasons, but they strike up a strong bond. Then Levi comes on the scene, and there are a few twists and turns in the story. This would make a great holiday read, and captures the essence of the Italian people and countryside. I enjoyed the journey.

Review: First I would like to thank Sue Moorcroft and Avon for letting me be apart of the blog tour for One Summer in Italy and what a perfect escape it was. On closing the last page of this book it was like returning from a holiday. I could feel the warm rays of the sun and taste the Italian food. 

In the beautiful setting of the Italian mountains we meet Sofia and Amy who are looking for a fresh start. Sofia has been caring for her father for some time and Amy had some upsetting news about her father, they discover each of in Italy and hope a fresh start is what they need, but amongst the mountains there are family secrets and a certain handsome man.

Perfect read for the summer. Written so well the pages keep on turning, I am a big fan of Sue Moorcroft's storytelling. I cannot wait until her next book.