I was so excited for One Italian Summer and absolutely over thr moon when I was approved to read it early on Netgalley!

I am a huge fan of In Five Years, I am pretty sure I've recommend it to all of my friends! Unfortunately, One Italian Summer didn't live up to the same hype. I really enjoyed it but I wasn't obsessed.

One Italian Summer follows Katy Silver as she deals with the immense loss of her mother, Carol. Before her death, Carol and Katy had planned to visit Positano, Italy. Katy decides to take the trip to discover the magical town that changed her mother's life 30 years previous.

True to Rebecca Serle's style of magical realism, 30 year old Carol appears and befriends Katy in Positano revealing long held family secrets. Meeting this version of Carol makes Katy question everything about her life and what she thought she knew.

I would recommend it if you are a fan of magical realism. The descriptions of Positano and the food have me itching to visit as soon as possible! I just don't think I was in the right headspace to read about and take on Katy's grief.

#AdPrProduct #BookReview ✨ ⠀
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle 📖⠀
⠀
Did I love In Five Years? Hell yes ❤️⠀
Did I happy dance when this fell though my door? You bet I did 💃⠀
Did I have my expectations too high? Probably 😂⠀
⠀
🌟I absolutely adored the stunning descriptions of the landscape, the scrumptious descriptions of food & the sunshine dripping off the pages.⠀
🌟It you want to travel to Italy from the comfort of your armchair this is the book for you! ⠀
🌟The concept was intriguing & one I was excited to learn more about!⠀
☆☆ But I found the plot lacking & I was left with more questions than answers as I turned the last page.... maybe you'll love it? but I'm definitely an all wrapped up with a bow ending kinda gal 💝

Disclaimer: A huge thanks to Quercus Books for sending me this title for an honest & unbiased review.

I absolutely love anything set in Italy and after reading the blurb of One Italian Summer it felt like it had an awful lot of potential.

After her mother dies, Katy decides to go on the trip to Positano that they had intended to take together. Grief has unsurprisingly hit her hard and she is almost in a self-destructive state whereby she finds herself at a bit of a loss.

The scene setting is beautiful but for a short book, it is quite repetitive. Another review said every day is just about her going to eat and walking and it honestly is so true. I feel like the book really struggled with its plot line and was very wishy washy with no end or purpose until perhaps the last 10%. There’s also the issue of Katy being a pretty average character who at times is verging on unlikeable. It made it hard to relate to her throughout and detracted from the story.

Finally, there is the obvious elephant in the room of the time travel/memory loss/ whatever it was section of the book. This was very much unexplained and I had a similar frustration with the authors other novel “In Five Years Time”, although I would say I did prefer that one to this book. Overall , a bit disappointing to be honest.

Katy has just lost her mother who was her BFF too. Facing life without her is daunting. She decides to continue with their planned trip to the Amalfi coast alone. A magical read with an amazing setting, gorgeous food and very likeable characters. Sure to make your heart happy.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Between Katy's relationship with her mother and Italy as a supporting character, it was an easy book for me to enjoy. Now I need to plan a trip down to Positano!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling but decides to still visit Positano. Both Carol and Katy had planned to visit the Italian town, a magical place where she had spent the summer before meeting Katy’s father. On arriving, she feels a connection to her mother but is truly stunned when she meets the 30 year old Carol. Despite her disbelief, she decides this is a chance to get to know her mother again.
The premise of the story was interesting, and I enjoyed the descriptions of both the food and the amazing Italian scenery. These two aspects made this story all the easier to read. Yet I found myself struggling to like the character of Katy. Whilst I could understand the need to take the trip to Positano and hence leave her husband behind, it was awkward to find her befriending Adam as soon as she arrived. So putting this part aside and relating this to her grief, I did find the opportunity for Katy to revisit her relationship with her mother for one more time, unique.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I just finished reading it and my feelings are a bit all over the place.
I felt bad for Katy and the relationship that she had with her mother. I loved the Italian setting description and I can totally see everything vividly through the author’s prose.
While it was a bit confusing why all those things happened there, I have to say that I don’t agree with many of the Katy’s choices. I’ve cheered her up on finding why her mother loved it so much but what happened there, her actual choices? It really put a bad taste in my mouth, especially after Eric came to holiday with her and everything carried on like nothing happened.


Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

This book was my first book by Rebecca Serle, and it did not disappoint. This book felt like a warm hug, and would be the perfect book to read by the pool on a hot summers day. I felt like I was transported to Italy, as the writing was so beautiful and atmospheric. I would say that this book is character driven, there is no over arching plot to this book, but I think that aids this story. We follow Katy who has just lost her mother Carol to cancer. Her and her mum were meant to go on a trip to Italy, but her mum passed before they went. Katy chooses to still go on the trip by herself. When Katy arrives in Italy on the Amalfi coast she meets a younger version of her mother. Katy spends time getting to no this different version of her mother that she never got to see. Katy also strikes up a friendship with Adam who is looking to purchase the hotel she is staying in. This is a story about finding yourself, and learning to cope with grief. This book will break your heart, but put it back together again by the end of the book; if you like sad books then this is defiantly for you.

This is an unusual story: an unusual book that looks into an unusual mother-daughter relationship set in an unusual time shift. I like unusual, so I didn't mind all the unusualness at all :)
I understand it might not be everybody's cup of tea, especially if you're looking for your customary romance, which this book is not, since there's so much more to it. Also the spectacular descriptions of Italy and Italian food are an added bonus. Definitely buy it if you want to try somenthing uncommon!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with Rebecca Serle's writing while reading In Five Years and will happily continue to read everything she puts out.

In short, Katy's mother Carol dies and she embarks on a two-week trip to Positano, Italy, a place where Carol spent an unforgettable summer decades earlier. There's time travel, there's romance. There's coming to an understanding that no one's perfect and that sometimes good people do bad things. There's questioning whether we're "stuck" in life because we continue with the familiar, or whether we should let go and take a leap of faith. One line that will stick with me: "if you love it, you will let it go."

While I couldn't relate to the suffocating mother-daughter relationship portrayed in the novel, and I didn't particularly like Katy, I love Italy, and the magical descriptions of Positano, the scenery, the people, and the FOOD (especially the food!) had me hooked and took me away.

I love a great love story. One Italian Summer is a little different as it is the story of a love between mother and daughter.

The book introduces us to Katy just after her mothers death who was also her best friend. The two had planned a once in a lifetime trip to Positano which Katy decides to do alone. Through the trip Katy reconnects with her mother and makes us reconsider how well we really know our parents.

Full of heartbreaking and poignant moments as well as moments of joy and love.
The writing was so descriptive and you really find yourself being transported to the Amalfi Coast.

A beautiful, heartfelt book.

I was super excited for this book after loving her previous book. The writing was superb and I adored being transported to Italy and even found myself on the internet checking out the places mentioned. I was keen to keep reading and really felt like I was there with the characters. I felt a little let down with the storyline but I went in totally blind and thought it was a love story.

I have loved Rebecca Serle as an author since I read 'In Five Years' in 2020 and 'One Italian Summer' did not disappoint. Her writing draws you in instantly and found me reading incredibly fast paced to keep up with the exciting storyline.

One Italian Summer follows Katy Silver, she has just lost her mother and is unsure what to do with her life now that her true soulmate has gone. Is her marriage for her? Does she know how to live a lif without her mother? She follows a dream trip to Positano alone and finds herself meeting a wonderful array of people who help her complete her puzzle.

The story was enchanting yet heartbreaking and absolutely transported you to the most perfect Italian getaway. Katy was a character I wanted to dislike because of her selfish choices but I couldn't help but adore her by the end. It was a wonderful story of loss, love and finding. I would highly recommend picking this up on publication day - I'll be preordering the hardback with it's gorgeous cover.

The only reason I gave this four stars was because it didn't blow me away like other novels have, it was a fantastic read, just not on the top of my favourites list. In Five Years was certainly up there, so pick that up if you haven't already!

Sensational!! This was one of, if not the most, anticipated read of my year and it did not disappoint. It will be in my top reads for the year. 

Katy's mother dies and she is completely lost. Her mum was her best friend and while she is married and has her father for support, her life just doesn't seem to be what she hoped for. She had planned a trip with her mother before she passed, to Positano and Katy decides to take the trip herself to discover what her mum loved so much about the place, before she had Katy. The trip is just what Katy needed, with the idyllic setting and Katy feels her spirits lift, as we join her for a magical adventure. 

Now, as you can see from the synopsis, there is an element of fantasy in this one, as there was in the author's last novel. In one way, I wished I'd not read the synopsis, though in another way I would have been lost without it. Perhaps this won't work for everyone but I loved it!! It was emotional - I cried so many times I lost count, it was a fabulous travel escape and it was touching. This author always manages to surprise me and she has done it again. Highly recommend.

I finished One Italian Summer yesterday after a mammoth reading sessions and it completely took my breath away. I feel satisfied but bereft that it has finished and I’m struggling to let go of the characters and the stunning Positano.
There is so much emotion packed into this novel and I felt every little bit of.
The opening chapters are full of raw grief as we learn about Katy and how she is grieving for her mother. She is fully numb and closed off to everything around her and is barely functioning. Her mother Carol was her best friend and closest confident and Katy is really struggling to find her place in the world without her. Beautifully written and every ounce of Katy’s pain leaps from the pages, it felt as though I was Katy at times and I could feel her pain. At times she was flawed, unkind and selfish but I feel Rebecca Searle has portrayed the different stages and emotions around grief so well in Katy’s reactions and motivations.
Katy decides to go ahead with an Italian holiday booked for herself and Carol as she wants to experience her mother’s life before she married and had Katy. Whilst there she experiences unexplainable things but can Katy finally begin to heal and discover who she really is and what it is she wants?
Positano is a stunning place and it is definitely on my travel wishlist but in some ways I feel as though I have experienced it through Katy’s eyes. The food is sumptuous and mouth-watering and I could taste and smell it. The scenery is stunning and it just felt as though I was in this book. It’s the perfect setting for a story about healing and learning who you are. As with ‘In 5 Years’, there is a little sprinkling of the unexplained. I love how this happens with no explanation (and it isn’t really needed) but it feels so real and plausible that you just become completely lost in the story. As a reader I didn’t care how Carol appeared in Positano, it honestly seemed like the most natural thing in the world.
I adored Katy and all her flaws but Carol may have been my favourite. In a way, Carol was a completely different person when she was in Positano and as we see in Katy’s memories she became more reserved in the future. As a contrast, Katy begins more reserved and learns to truly enjoy life and throw caution to the wind sometimes. It was such a wonderful journey to be part of.
This books is just perfect and my only complaint was that there wasn’t more. It’s a beautiful story of relationships with others and with yourself, healing and grieving and figuring things out. Stunning!

I was really excited to read this book after loving her previous one. I went into this not really knowing anything about it and was surprised that it seemed to focus around the MC and her mother’s relationship as I’d assumed it was some sort of romance.
I absolutely loved the setting of this book, primarily Positano, and it gave me such huge wanderlust, but unfortunately the actual story / plot fell flat for me. I found it very wandery and unclear what we were supposed to be focussing on. I thought the sentiment behind the book was great but it just felt a bit long winded and unclear, which is a bit crazy as the book is actually quite short!
Glad I read this one but not what I was expecting.

Beautiful descriptions of the Amalfi coast and all the wonderful food. A bit of a fun romp through the Italian landscape.But the writing style just didn’t work for me. Too gushing, over the top and nonsensical at times. I enjoyed the time travel twists to the story, but really didn’t love any of the characters. Also found the cloyingly close relationship between Katy and her mother, Carol, a bit odd and unbelievable. All that said, it was a quick read and will appeal to readers who want a quick beachy romance read. Thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for a review copy.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This was a really enjoyable read. I want to go to Italy now, to explore Positano. I feel like we all need to go there once in our lives. This was such a perfect way to describe the struggles and grief proces of someone losing an important person in their lives. The questions of who you are now without them and what is important in life are at the centre of this book. It was a beautifully written and I loved how Katy developed throughout.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Italy: the food, the wine and the scenery
To deal with grief
Good character built
Good message

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
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: 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 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.

I just love Rebecca Serle's novels, and this one is no exception!

With an element of the fantasy genre, this story is a gripping tale of grief and finding a way out of the darkness,
And at the same time, it is a beautiful description of Italy - So much so that I'm seriously considering going to Italy for my next holiday.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending - I would have liked Katy to have chosen another path... But nonetheless it is a great and beautiful story.

The setting for this book is phenomenal, Positano, Italy. The hotels, paths, people, food & views described immediately made me hop on to Pinterest to see exactly what it looked like and then onwards through the book I could picture it exactly. I have such a passion for Italy and the coast that I really appreciated this element of the book.
The downside was that just something about this story didn't gel with me, the main character and her way of dismissing her husband felt distant and cold to me. Though clearly in a deep grief for her mother it felt entirely about her and not anyone else's loss or feelings and that almost disdain at socialising & her life etc felt entirely constructed by her own choices and yet she took no accountability for it, so I felt I couldn't connect with her or understand a lot of what she was experiencing.
There's a sizeable plot twist that I don't want to discuss as it's a spoiler, however it really spoilt the book for me sadly. Although I get what the author was trying to do, it just read as very confusing for a long part of the book and that meant I struggled to concentrate on what was happening because it didn't make sense; and then once the truth was revealed it still felt disjointed and missing something that tied it in with a more believable thread. I think this plot would work in a film because visually it would be revealed to the reader subtly, but in a novel it was too much hard work for me I'm afraid.