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ashtontdavis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer
maddycat13's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really enjoyed the mother daughter relationship in the book. The Italian landscape was so tangible, the writing decadent.
My only qualm was how angry Katie got with Carol for taking the trip to Italy after she was born. I understand that she felt deceived, but I feel like Katie’s reaction implied that she thought Carol taking this time discounted every single memory they ever had together and morphed her into an absent mother. I understand Katie’s shock, I just found it incredibly overblown.
The message of the story is poignant and really has something to say about the nature of life and our place in it. The power we have to make our own choices and change our perspective.
My only qualm was
The message of the story is poignant and really has something to say about the nature of life and our place in it. The power we have to make our own choices and change our perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
ryleecanread's review against another edition
This FMC sucked. She had the weirdest relationship with her mother, was horrible to her husband, cheated, didn’t allow anyone but her to grieve, got involved in weird things with the hotel, and was just generally a weird and shitty person. I don’t care how this ended
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Cancer
mattiedancer's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Writing: 3.75⭐️/5
Rebecca Serle writes almost hard and clear about what hurts. Something in her writing felt a bit distant to me when talking about very intimate emotions, but overall the writing of the novel did not take away from the reading experience, and in fact, felt relatively focused and pointed. I do wish Serle had pushed the writing a bit further, doing a bit more showing rather than telling at the heart of the hardest moments.
Characters: 3⭐️/5
Alright, so at certain intervals all the characters feel real. At other times, they didn’t quite fit. Both Katy’s mom and Katy felt real for the most part. However, the hotel’s staff very much slipped into the novel to be very convenient plot devices. In a similar vein, Katy herself – while a well-developed character – read as extremely juvenile at times. Her obsession with keeping her mom to herself was odd, and her anger at finding out her mother left her as a child (which results in her sleeping with someone who is not her husband almost out of revenge), felt very petulant and small. I understand everyone processes grief differently, but I had a hard time buying into a 30-year-old woman thinking about her mother as “hers” in a very toddler-like way.
Plot: 3⭐️/5
The overarching plot felt interesting, but the details really didn’t feel right. I understand, on a deep level, needing to run away in order to heal from loss and manage grief. However, the way the character then acted as she ran into her mother and started to fall for a stranger in her hotel felt a bit disjointed. In regards to the magical realism, it's also implied that she really did travel back in time, which means she cheated on her husband and decided to never reveal that to him, which, all in all, felt very immature and shitty. Another hold-up I had was the sheer number of details that were so unnecessary. It felt a bit travel journal-ly in the way that Serle chose to recount nearly every meal our MC ate. While I appreciate that as an appeal to travelling to Italy, it felt incongruent with the purpose and theme of the novel.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Those looking for a “lighter” read about death and grief
- Those looking for a bit of summer escapism into Italy with some serious topics
Content Warnings?
Death of parent, grief, death, abandonment, infidelity, sexual content, gaslighting, medical content, terminal illness, chronic illness, cancer
Post-Reading Rating: 2.75⭐️/5
Oh. I guess?
Final Rating: 3⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Chronic illness, Cancer, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Death, Medical content, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Infidelity
hollyplayer's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
I usually don't like time warp books but this one was pretty well done. It was giving my "Eat Pray Love" loves (but only the Italy part). I think the FMC had great growth and I enjoyed the ending.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
kelsimarirobb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Cancer
beccasherman's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, and Infidelity
tsodeur's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer
Minor: Death, Self harm, Abandonment, Grief, and Mental illness
ezravarley's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The food was the best part! The world the author describes is magical and beautiful and it feels real the whole way through. The characters and the plot on the other hand, were lacklustre. This was solidly average, easy reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Infidelity
sarahmae531's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
A good book, definitely not one for you if you need realistic plots…
I’m always a sucker for a mother daughter story, and almost wish it was even more prevalent. I did find the time jumping to be very sudden at first, there was a little lead up to it but all of a sudden Katy’s mother at 30 is there. But granted, I’m not sure how else you would introduce that twist.
Overall, a sweet book, definitely made me tear up a few times.
I’m always a sucker for a mother daughter story, and almost wish it was even more prevalent. I did find the time jumping to be very sudden at first, there was a little lead up to it but all of a sudden Katy’s mother at 30 is there. But granted, I’m not sure how else you would introduce that twist.
Overall, a sweet book, definitely made me tear up a few times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Infidelity
Moderate: Cancer