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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
martapsalvado's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is one of those books that are far from perfect, but so entertaining. Some things that the characters did or think didn't reasonate with me and some aspects of the plot itself didn't make much sense. The ending compensated some of these flaws. Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun reading this and loved the descriptions of Positano. The character devolpment is there too, although sometimes it felt a little abrupt. A good summer read overall!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Cancer, and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment, Medical content, Alcohol, and Child death
ashleereadsbooks692's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Medical content, and Terminal illness
henyouise's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have very strong feelings both ways for this book- so I've compiled a list.
BEWARE! SPOILERS BELOW!
I also liked the ending it felt nice to see Katy take someone else's feelings into account. And the final moments on the boat was so precious.
Cons: Time travel?? How did we get to 1992? Maybe I don't understand magical realism but that was a weird bomb to drop 4/5 of the way through the book.
For most of the book Katy is so wildly selfish. I get that she's supposed to be grieving and that we all grieve differently but it just felt like she was abandoning Eric/her whole life because she couldn't deal with her mom dying. She's weirdly attached to her mom for most of the novel and needs to go to therapy.
For a long time I wanted to give this book 2 stars but it wraps up nicely and didn't make me angry to read anymore. So 3/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
4.25
This is quite possibly the Italian escape novel. Immersive, light, and magical. It’s almost like the book is four dimensional because I could basically taste the fresh Neapolitan food, feel the brush of warm sand between my toes, smell the sea, and trek up and down the steps of Positano and beyond.
Rebecca Serle’s writing is very comforting. I think that’s the best way to describe it. It’s not abrasive or trying to prove anything earth-shattering—it just tells a story like it’s been written by your grandmother. Like you’ve heard it before, but find it special every time you read it. This book instantly felt like a memory to me, a summer in Italy to find my way back to myself.
There are some plot holes and parts I didn’t quite understand the reasoning for, but overall I really enjoyed this one. Bellissima!
Rebecca Serle’s writing is very comforting. I think that’s the best way to describe it. It’s not abrasive or trying to prove anything earth-shattering—it just tells a story like it’s been written by your grandmother. Like you’ve heard it before, but find it special every time you read it. This book instantly felt like a memory to me, a summer in Italy to find my way back to myself.
There are some plot holes and parts I didn’t quite understand the reasoning for, but overall I really enjoyed this one. Bellissima!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Terminal illness, Alcohol, Cursing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Minor: Child death and Medical content
betsygrace's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A firm four stars! I really enjoyed this; it was a light read that kept me wondering what would happen next— but not in a stressful way. Super makes me want to visit Italy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Death, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Infidelity
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