Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - One Italian Summer

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One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

61 reviews

abigail_horn's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

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maddycat13's review against another edition

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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.

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jordanm77's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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oceanelle's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

At first, One Italian Summer really wasn't my cup of tea, not least of all because I don't think I could've related less to the protagonist or her relationship with her mother, and I wondered if I should just DNF it and keep it moving. I ended up being glad I didn't—the protagonist's arrival to herself in and of itself was worth it, not to mention the lush setting and the fact that tears were streaming down my face by the end.

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ninubean's review against another edition

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2.5

It's an easy enough read so I did finish it. My favorite parts were the descriptions of Italy and the food, though they were repetitive and ended up feeling more like an obnoxiously American travel blog.

The more I read, the more I became aware that Katy is more than slightly unhinged and not in a good way. Her view of her mother is obsessive and toxic. I know grief is strange and life-altering, but good god, girl - GET A GRIP. Katy's inner monologue constantly gave me the ick, like how are you going to act like this at your big age... no accountability over her own decisions and so bafflingly self-centered. Her interactions with her mom were honestly kind of creepy sometimes, not sentimental like I think the author wanted. Not to mention the fact she

jumped on the first hunk that showed interest in her. Am I supposed to sympathize with her while she's cheating on her nice husband? It was nauseating how callously they treated the situation. While we're at it, Adam never really stopped her advances when she was drunk or CLEARLY emotionally distraught? Such big red flags on both sides.

I understood the sentiments this book aimed for. It did make me think about my mom as a woman before she had me and made me miss her even though she is still here. I do think Italy is a magical place where magical things happen. I wish the book lingered more in that atmosphere. Katy's character ruined this concept. She is straight-up loathsome.

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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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.

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