This is the story of Katy and her quest to find who she is after her mother Carol passes away. Before her mother passed away they planned to travel to Positano, in Italy, a place her mother has visited in the past, before her wedding.
The setting of this book is truly stunning. I loved reading the descriptions of Italy, the food and the clothes. I could imagine myself there while reading.
I did not like the main character that much. Her claim that her mother was the love of her life and she was hers felt weird. I also did not like how immature she sounded. She kept claiming she was a child herself and was not ready to have children. She was unable to make decisions without her mother's input.
Once she arrived in Italy she somehow travels in the past, but cannot tell this has happened until the very end? How can you not realise you are 30 years into the past? Everything would have changed. Cellphones? credit cards? Cars?
I did enjoy the book, but there were a few plot holes that left me questioning.

This was easy to read and I liked the Italian summer setting, but dear lord I hated the main character.
Katy was supposed to go to Italy with her mother Carol, but when Carol dies suddenly, Katy decides to face the trip alone. So, I thought the story would focus on grief and the different ways it can impact a person, but it ended up being a weird romance with a confusing twist. Katy came across as being exceptionally rude and cold, which I initially put down to her coping with the loss of her mother, but I think she was actually just a crappy person, who I had zero interest in reading about at the end.

A quick summery read but I didn't enjoy how the story unfolded.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed In Five Years so I was really looking forward to reading this, and it didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t what I was expecting and I don’t think I’ve actually read anything with a similar plot which I liked.

I can’t say too much, without giving too much away, and I prefer spoiler free reviews, so the best way to describe it is a summer read with a twist.

It’s an easy read and the characters are very likeable. It covers love, loss, finding out who you are. It’s also based in Italy (you probably got that from the title of the book!) but it’s so beautifully written you always feel like you are there (or in my case, adding it to my list of places I’d like to visit)

Synopsis: After Katy loses her mother, she decides to still go on the holiday they had planned together, spending the summer in Italy to try to cope with her grief and discover the town of Positano that her mother had loved when she was younger.
•••
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This is everything that I would expect from a Rebecca Serle book; incredibly easy to read, development of relationships other than romance, and a time-travel twist. Similar to her other novels, it also describes food so well, I felt myself salivating whilst reading. It also gave me serious Eat, Pray, Love vibes. It didn’t quite have me as hooked as In Five Years, but I did very much enjoy reading it.

I have heard so many people rave about In Five Years, Serle's previous novel, so when this one became available for me to read, I jumped at the chance. The premise intrigued me, as I like reading novels about family dynamics, and particularly mother-daughter relationships, but I was unsure how the grief element to this story would play out. Fortunately, I found Katy's reflecting on her strong bond with her recently-deceased mother to be one of the best parts of the novel, and I really enjoyed getting to read about their closeness. However, as much as I am normally a fan of magical realism within novels, I have to admit that I really wasn't a fan of it in One Italian Summer, and I almost found myself longing to reach the parts of the book where Katy wasn't interacting with her 'mother' again. I would've preferred for this to be more of a story about finding a level of peace and closure after a tragic loss, rather than the difficult interactions between Katy and this younger Carol.

This was a wonderful story about a mother daughter relationship. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mum, she was also her best friend.

Katy goes on the mother daughter holiday they’d planned before Carols death to Positano.

The holiday was so much more than just a time to relax, reflect and grieve her mother it was a time to really understand her.

This book really tugged at the heart strings, it had all the feels and ultimately wrapped me up in a warm big hug.

I found this quite slow to start, but once i really got to grips with Katy's character i enjoyed the story much more.

Loved the setting, loved the writing, hated the characters. I felt so bad for Katy’s husband, all she ever did was bang on about her mum being the love of her life - what about him? It’s a shame as I loved the authors last book, but this one just wasn’t for me.

I liked the premise and the book was able to transport you right back into time - that was cleverly done! I found it hard to like Katie and I found her relationship with her mum weird and I wasn’t a fan of how her husband was treated. All in all it was a decent read.

I’ll tell you something here and now. I don’t always read the blurb of books before I request or buy them. Yes-you’ve got me-I sometimes buy purely on the basis of cover, title or hype. What can I say-I’m fickle!

I chose this book nearly solely on the fact that it was a book about Italy. Having been there twice and read pretty much every Lucy Coleman and TA Williams’ books I can get my hands on about the place I now jump for anything Italian! In that respect I really loved this book, Descriptions transported me to clear waters that were a part of amazing settings (And of course to fabulous food.)

This is the story of Katy who is lost on the death of her mother. She finds that the solace she needs from her husband isn’t what she needs and so goes off on a trip to Italy that herself and her mother had planned sometime ago. I really felt for Katy and remembered and empathised with her grief for her mother as being similar to what I felt when my dad died. Unfortunately despite this myself and Katy possibly didn’t get along. While I could see her tied up in her grief, I just found her difficult to connect with, possibly not helped by the fact that this story was told in first person point of view and the fact that I really liked her husband.

I really I loved the time travel element, which made it different to anything I’d usually read- I always think of that what your parents would like when they were young when they were figuring it all out to and this book ticked that box nicely.

All in all I can’t tell you if I’m recommending this book or not-it wasn’t totally for me but definitely deserves the attention, hype and love it’s received. Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the book in return for an honest review.

Rating:4/5

I inhaled this dreamy book over the course of two evenings. I found it to be a magical and life affirming read and loved the element of time travel. It’s a beautifully written and emotional
Story of life and loss that captivated my heart and really gave me pause for thought. It’s the perfect way to travel without leaving your home, but would make
A lovely beach read. I adore the Amalfi coast, I’m an utter foodie and a romantic at heart and this book rocked all the boxes and many more. The central character Katie’s transformative journey was life affirming and I felt as if I was right their with her experiencing the joy of her freedom
In Italy under the hot son, devouring mouthwatering meals and exploring the narrow cobbled streets and swimming in the cool
Salty ocean . This author writes in a way that flows perfectly I was able to inhale her words almost effortlessly and the story flowed through me like water- I cannot wait to read more of her work. Highly , highly recommend

🍋 BOOK REVIEW 🍋

Synopsis: When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: to Positano, the magical town where Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.
But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.
And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

Review: Eh, okay. So this book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately fell flat for me. Balanced somewhere in between both plot driven AND character driven, the story takes you on a rollercoaster of present day MC, interwoven with flashbacks. But this happens through the entire book and caused me to disconnect from the MC and main storyline. I didn’t like the MC, her thoughts, or the choices she made. Her relationship with her mother was also extremely cringe and @hansbookedlife has touched on this much better than I can. Overall, if your mum is your bestie, I recommend this!

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I was looking forwards to this book having read In Five Years by the author. I was a bit disappointed. It was an easy read and I enjoyed the travel aspect of the book and the setting of Italy. However, I found the main character Katy to be selfish and immature which detracted my enjoyment of her story.

One Italian Summer really appealed to me as I loved Rebecca Serle’s previous novel and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed it. The novel follows Katy who is lost following the death of her beloved mum Carol. She can’t connect with her fiance and doesn’t know what she wants in life anymore. So when she finds the tickets to Positano, Italy – a trip she and her mum planned together she decides to go on her own. While there she meets her mum, but her mum at thirty years younger when she was Katy’s age! I loved seeing Katy discover what her mum was like as a young woman and it made me long to have that kind of magic in my own life. I could really identify with Katy’s pain, having lost my own mum when I was in my late 20s, and could empathise with how her grief made her sometimes selfish and sometimes lost. I also loved the descriptions of Positano, it really comes alive in this novel and I could visualise it so clearly. I want to go there one day! I recommend this one!

A beautiful setting for a story and the author transported me there with her wonderful descriptions of Positano, the scenery and the hotels and this made it the almost perfect holiday read. However, I really didn't like Katy at all or her version of her mother. The time travel was dealt with in a believable manner although the ending seemed a little odd.

Beautiful descriptions of Italy, and a tiny call back to my Leaving Cert as a film I studied then was also set in Postiano.

However, I didn't feel this had the same magic as In Five Years, my favourite book by this author.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. For starters, I loved that Serle started with a Gilmore Girls quote. This was a lovely book. Serle created an engaging story with beautiful description and really created clear imagery. However, the ending did feel rushed so greater explanation of the "time travel" would have been appreciated.

Take me to Positano please! What a stunning book, I felt like I was there the whole time and like I know the town intimately….

I was a little sceptical of the kind of fantasy element but I think the overall messages through the book balanced that out!

I was almost in tears at the end, experiencing Katy’s trauma alongside her and when she phoned her Dad! :(

I would really recommend this one to anyone who likes a summery character driven novel <3

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quercus for my e-ARC xxx

One Italian Summer .Are you looking for the perfect poolside read when in Italy ? Some Romance maybe ? Stunning landscapes , mouthwatering tantalising food descriptions . Believable story plots … a feel good holiday read .

Katy’s world is turned upside down when her best friend , her Mum passes away . She decides to go on a trip to Italy that they had both wanted to do together . As she trying to come to terms with her grief she meets a vibrant young women who reminds her of her mum …. Wait … it is her mum only thirty years younger .

This had so much promise but this fell flat for me . The book blurb sounds promising but this was cringy to say the least. Perhaps romance isn’t my genre but who doesn’t like a good romance while on holiday ? Thanks in advance to NetGalley for an arc in return for an honest review .

I'll start by saying I did not finish thins book. I did not DNF it, I just ran out of time with my NetGalley copy and couldn't download it again. But I did read 75-80% of it.

Okay, so I had a lot of expectations going into this. I mean going to Positano to mourn your mother and find her there as a 30 year-old? I'm very close to my mom, so that sounds like a story that would make me cry my eyes out from the very beginning.

However, while I did enjoy Katy's journey of self-discovery, the relationship she had with her mom and how much this book reads like a love letter to Positano, I did think there was something missing. It didn't make me feel the way it should have. A lot of it was just meh like a day in the life sort of thing where nothing really happened. And, again, I didn't read the ending so there could be more.