Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - One Italian Summer

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One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

36 reviews

purplepenning's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

Content Warnings

jessgreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⬜

Title: One Italian Summer

Author: Rebecca Serle

Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Romance

Setting: Positano, Italy

Month Read: March 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication: 2022

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 245

*March Book of the Month Pick

TRIGGER WARNING-

Cheating / Death of Parent / Grief / Alcohol / Sexual Themes

"What got you here won't get you there"

No Spoiler Summary:

One Italian Summer is the latest novel by Rebecca Serle, and is about a woman named Katy who has just lost the one true love of her life, her mother. Before her Mom passed, they had planned a two week long getaway for the two of them to Positano, where her mother had spent a wild summer before she got married and had Katy. Katy decides that she needs to take the trip alone as she is left reeling, unsure of her marriage, unsure of herself, and unsure how to go on when the one person she truly lived for is no longer there.

As soon as Katy arrives in Italy, she experiences what her mother used to talk about. The people, the food, the experiences, but what happens when Katy sees her mother, Carol, as a thirty year old woman, while on the vacation? Katy gets the opportunity to get to know her Mother as a friend, and they spend an entire glorious, beautiful summer together.

Why is Carol here? Why is she so young? This is something for Katy to figure out, and at the same time she needs to realize the woman who was her Mom, is not the same woman who she is spending time with in Positano. It's something Katy will need to reconcile with herself, how your Mom has a whole other woman inside of her, with wants and passions and drive that you may never know as a child.

Review:

I'm so glad I thew this book into my Book of the Month box this month, because as similar as it was to The Unsinkable Greta James, it was also so different and I appreciate being able to hold them against each other. I am a sucker for a book set in Italy, and as of late I guess another genre I love is books with dead Moms. I'm not sure what that says about me, but lately the literature I've been digesting has been full of them.

The characters in this book are fantastic, and I loved getting to know Katy's family, and also everyone in Positano and at the Hotel Poseidon, specifically. I think there could have been more work done on Katy's dad, and also with Eric, her husband- but it's a minor complaint because I feel like I don't really get to know these characters, and it makes it a bit weird when Katy is just sort of meh about them. I also think Katy relies a lot on her mom, and as someone a similar age it just felt a bit strange to me--- but everyone is different.

The twist was unexpected, and I enjoyed it a lot, but I wish we sort of had a reason for why the twist happened. I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say anything else about it, but it left the novel feeling a bit unfinished for me because a lot of loose ends didn't really get fixed.

Slight Spoiler-----------

I am not a fan of cheating, and in this book in particular I really just felt icky about it. I really didn't enjoy how Katy treated Eric, and how she went about her vacation--- and I felt like this entire relationship in the book just felt weird. I didn't feel like there were big conversations about their marriage and it just all seemed really forced to be a catalyst for her going to Positano alone. Minor complaint, and not a huge deal, but this book maybe could have used about 50 more pages to really flesh some subplots out.

I ended up really enjoying the book, and it was the perfect sunny day read on a slightly warmer than normal March day in Connecticut. Someone book me a flight to Positano, stat! :)

"History, memory is by definition fiction. Once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. And we can choose the narratives we tell—about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. We can choose the chapters we give meaning."

Content Warnings

paiges_on_pages's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

catherineduplessis's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

Rebecca Serle write in such a magical way. I read this book so fast. I glided through the pages. The characters are complex, mature, lovable, reflective and inspiring. This book feels like a breath of fresh Italian summer air.

Content Warnings

beca_reads's review against another edition

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reflective relaxing 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

4.75

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.

Content Warnings

mandalacb19's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

I felt so much heartache reading this book. The characters were so real, so vivid, and the world that is described is just the same way. There is so much life and flavor and sunshine in this novel. But this book is about grief, and about the ways we live with it. The grief of a daughter losing her mother is a trope used often in novels, but Rebecca Serle changes this trope to fit the book into Italy, and into recognition and thought and love. I couldn't put down this book, and I think readers will adore it.

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