| Title | : | One Italian Summer |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1982166797 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781982166793 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 255 |
| Publication | : | First published March 1, 2022 |
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. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.
One Italian Summer Reviews
-
If your mother is the love of your life, what does that make your husband?
I think that quote pretty much sums up everything that didn't work for me with this book.
When Katy's mother Carol dies after a battle with cancer, Katy is lost. She and her mother were extremely close, their relationship being one for the ages. They'd been planning a trip to Italy together, so Katy decides to go by herself. She leaves her life and her husband behind and jets off to Italy for the closure and clarity she desperately needs.
I'll be honest, I had a really hard time connecting with Katy. She just goes on and on about her mother being the one great love of her life. And for some reason, she thinks she's her mother's great love too, and that her father must only be Carol's distant second love. My eyes rolled so hard. You would think Katy was five years old, but she's thirty and married! It makes no sense. It's as if her only identify as a person is being Carol's daughter.
And the way Katy treats her husband was really hard to stomach. He's there for her through thick and thin, supporting her emotionally and physically during her mother's decline. Yet Katy just whines about how she can't possibly love him anymore because he's not her great love (which is her mother). And when she gets to Italy, she immediately latches onto some random dude and proceeds to have an affair.
Then as Katy learns more about her mother and the fact that she had a life outside of being a parent to her, she is shocked. I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. What adult feels this insane level of attachment to their parents? It's too bad, because the story would've been a lot better had Katy's love for her mother been generous instead of self-centered. There is so much hypocrisy and selfishness in Katy's behavior and her treatment of everyone around her, it really detracts from the story's emotional impact.
However, one thing the book does do right is its ability to transport me so completely to another place. It's as if I'm really in Positano, at the elegant Hotel Poseidon, soaking up the Italian sun and eating all the wonderful food there is to offer. Everything is so vividly portrayed, it fully engaged all my senses. I was swept away to this beautiful location. For that, I felt it was a worthwhile read.
My heartfelt thanks for the advance copy that was provided for my honest and unbiased review.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
In Five Years
~~~~~~~~~~~~ -
Wow! I intentionally wrote a review about this book right now! Because this is my 1000th NG review! Yay to my nerdy and extra caffeinated brain cells and tired eyes!
I’m so happy to read a brand new book belongs to queen of semi-sweet, sad, heartfelt stories: Rebecca Serle who blew my mind again and again!
She created another emotional, moving, powerful story located in dreamy Italian island with three dimensional, well-developed, easily connectable characters. There are impressively depicted landscapes and mouth watering food which are also tempting to enjoy our reading journey!
This is purely effective story questions meaning of life, friendship, self growth, our purposes, dreams, regrets!
What will happen when you lose not only your family member but also your best friend? Don’t you question the meaning of your own life, your own purpose? Don’t you suffer from irreplaceable emptiness the person left in your heart? Don’t you get lost in your own mapped out life and think about as like Mary Oliver asks for: “Tell me what is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Kathy’s in deep pain, having no idea how she’ll deal with the loss of her mother who is her mentor, best friend, the first person she shares her happiness and sadness.
Now she questions her marriage, her main purpose in life, her place in the earth. She talks to her husband that she’s not sure she can stay in this marriage. She offers to take a break ( yes, this is true break: not fake one Rachel and Ross had)
She heads to Positano: the mother and daughter she’s planned for years and made manifest. She travels alone, starting to enjoy her me-time till she bumps into 30 years old version of her mother. Of course her young mother has no idea who she’s and they become friends but this woman is so different from the wise guide she knows.
Did I get your attention by giving scoops from this emotional paranormal mother- daughter, family, second chances women’s fiction! Yes, buckle up and enjoy each chapter, savor each minute, seize your time with this amazing read!
I’m not giving away more! Just experience this remarkable, sentimental, perfectly written story and keep your napkins close! You gotta need them to dry your red eyes!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions. -
When Carol dies, Katy loses more than her mother-she loses her best friend.
They were supposed to take a mother-daughter trip to Positano, Italy for Carol’s 60th birthday, but she passes away before they can make the journey, so Katy decides to make it an “ Eat, Pray, Love” (Elizabeth Gilbert) trip instead-leaving behind her grieving Dad, and Eric, the husband she isn’t sure she wants to be married to anymore. She tells him this bluntly and unkindly, and she won’t even let him see her off at the airport, despite the fact that he has been nothing but supportive.
Prior to getting married, Carol had spent time in this magical town, and Katy hopes to find some of that same magic, in the solitude of the trip-something she couldn’t do if Eric had accompanied her-since Eric tends to make friends with everyone they cross paths with.
However, upon arrival, she immediately spends ALL of her time with Adam, a man nothing like her husband, and Carol, a woman who she is convinced is her mother-somehow 30 years old, vibrant and healthy.
Kind of hypocritical, if you ask me.
Was this a parallel universe? Time travel? A mental breakdown?
Each chapter proceeds to vividly describe parts of the gorgeous Amalfi Coast, the many delicious foods that Katy eats that day, and what she is wearing.
LATHER-RINSE-REPEAT
I suppose if you haven’t been to Italy, and you want to live vicariously through Katy, and enjoy the wonderful descriptions of Positano-this story may hold some appeal for you.
But, I found Katy to be a selfish woman that I couldn’t stand spending time with-not even in Italy, so, sadly, this story didn’t resonate with me at all.
And, I never FELT her grief.
I would like to thank Atria books for the gifted copy. I wish I had enjoyed this more, but I always provide a candid review!
Please read a sample of reviews, before deciding if this one might work for you. This was a buddy read with DeAnn so be sure to check out her thoughts as well!
AVAILABLE NOW! -
Ugh, I loved this. My one issue was at the end I kind of was like, what is happening and felt like everything seemed to be a bit much, but in the actual end I did still enjoy it. This book excelled at a lot of things, but particularly transporting me to Italy. This will make you want to book a flight immediately. The other thing it excelled at is the transformation of Katy as she deals with the grief of losing her mother with whom she was so close. This isn't really a romance although there's a touch, it's really a story about that mother daughter relationship and the development of Katy as a character learning to live without such an important figure in her life. She has to get lost to find herself and I thought the author did a beautiful job of that. I just want to eat pasta and drink wine now and go back to Italy.
-
I knew within the first three or four pages of One Italian Summer that I wasn’t going to like the protagonist and when I don’t like the protagonist, I usually don’t like the book. The story is narrated by Katy Silver beginning on the last day of her mother Carol’s Shiva. Katy proudly proclaims that her mother is (not was) “the great love of her life.” While it is normal to love a parent it is very strange to be “in love” with one. Katy’s complete co-dependency on her mother has gotten to the point that Katy feels she has no identity other than being Carol’s daughter. She doesn’t know what clothes to buy, how to cook a meal or decorate her own house. She feels she must divorce her supportive and kind husband for no other reason than her mother died.
Before Carol’s death, the two women had planned a two-week vacation to Positano, where Carol had spent a magical summer thirty years ago. When Katy selfishly leaves her husband and takes the trip by herself, I liked her even less. After she quickly befriends a handsome, single man in Italy, I was done with trying to like her. I will probably be an outlier in my opinion. I imagine many readers will positively relate to the strong mother-daughter bond and be more understanding of her grief than I was.
I decided to stick with the story for three reasons. One, I liked Rebecca Serle’s novel, In Five Years, so I hoped this would get better. Second, the plot summary intrigued me since it says that Katy goes to Italy and meets her mother, who is 30-years-old. If done correctly, time travel can be a fun and magical plot. Third, North Texas was thawing out from a snow day and I wanted to transport myself to the warmth of the Amalfi Coast. Unfortunately, I was disappointed on counts one and two, but I did enjoy my Italian daydreaming. The author’s descriptions of the scenery and food were beautifully written and spot-on.
2.5-stars rounded up to 3-stars. Thank you to #NetGalley and Atria Books for my advanced reader copy. This book will be published on March 1, 2022. -
I have a very, very low tolerance for cheating in books even if it happens when you’re time traveling or other such nonsense (Jamie and Claire the only exception).
Katy drove me nuts from the beginning, I felt so badly for her poor husband.
I did love the scenery and the lovely descriptions of Italy and the delicious food and wine. Elevated this book a star because of it.
All the rest was totally illogical and bizarre. I loved this author’s previous book but this one didn’t do it for me. Moving on.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this w. All opinions are my own. -
"One Italian Summer" by Rebecca Serle is like a picturesque and magical trip to the Amalfi Coast of Italy!
Katy's mother, Carol, has just passed away after a long illness. She was Katy's BFF, her confidant, her best resource for all the right answers. Katy feels completely unprepared to make a decision without her.
They have a mother-daughter trip planned to the Amalfi Coast of Italy. A trip of a lifetime. Two weeks together in Positano, the city where Carol spent the summer before she met Katy's father. Now Katy has decided to go to Positano alone and experience all the magical places Carol has told her about through the years.
When she sees the beauty of the Amalfi Coast, experiences the food, meets the people - Katy begins to heal and feel closer to her mom!
Then she sees Carol. She's thirty-years-old, just like Katy. How can this be happening?
The entire story is told in the first person narrative of the main character, Katy. Through this story she tells the reader about her relationships with her mother, her father, and her husband. There are lots of great characters to like in this story, but for me, Katy wasn't one of them!
I'm not quite sure why I enjoy this one so much with a main character that is so unlikable and, for loss of a better word, pathetic! Her mother left her unprepared? At thirty-years-old? Tough-up, girlfriend!
What I love is the 'magic' within this story. It's everywhere! The food, the fun, the beauty of the sights and sounds of the coastal setting. It was all brought to life by the author's lovely descriptive writing. It really did take me away!
I recommend this book to those readers who are looking for a quick trip to the beautiful, picturesque Amalfi Coast of Italy that can be accomplished in one or two sittings!
3.75 stars rounded up for the magic of Positano!
Thank you to Karlyn at Atria Books for a widget of this ARC through NetGalley. It has been my pleasure to give my honest and voluntary review. -
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!
An entertaining trip through Italy. While enjoyable, it’s missing the emotional punch I expected.
Katy’s mother has recently passed away, and she is in grief mode. Before her mom, Carol, died, they planned a trip to Italy. That was Carol’s trip of a lifetime, and she wanted her daughter to experience it too. Unfortunately, Carol passes away a few weeks before their vacation.
Katy makes a rare, bold decision. She is going to take the trip on her own. Just as she’s enjoying the food, the view, the ambiance…she meets her mother! The younger version of Carol at 30 years old.
The plot transpires.
I really enjoyed this one for the most part. The scenery of Italy was amazing, the description of food kept me hungry, and the plot kept me itching to read more. I was compelled.
However, I never really felt an emotional connection to the main theme (loss of a parental figure). I assumed I’d be crying my eyes out the whole time. There were some touching moments, and I have to admit…I couldn’t put it down. Yet, it almost ended too early and with little emotion and reflection. It was a tad too perfect when it should have been a bit more of a rough ride.
I’m glad I didn’t pass on this, but I’m also not sure how long it will stay with me. I have mixed feelings over the character of Katy. I could sympathize…but distantly. Overall, I’m sure I was meant to feel something more, but I’m not exactly sure what that deep feeling was supposed to be.
3.5 stars.
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a widget of the ARC in exchange for an honest review: Publication Date: 3/1/22.
Review also posted at:
https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com -
Justice for Eric
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3.5 STARS
I feel like I've been to Italy.
It was a virtual trip, but I enjoyed all the descriptions of the beautiful towns nestled into hillsides, cozy hotels, picture perfect sunsets, and yummy food. My mouth was watering after reading about bright fruits, breads, muffins, buttery croissants and more!
I went into this story blind, so I was a bit blindsided by the turn it took!
Katy and her mom, Carol had planned a trip to Italy together, but Carol dies before they get to go. She tells her husband, Eric that she still wants to take the mother-daughter trip solo and he agrees that she should. She plans to visit all her mother's favorite places.
Apparently, sh*t happens in Italy and I was thinking that Katy was having a mental crisis around the halfway mark. I realize she was grieving, but she was so obsessed with Carol that it felt unrealistic.
I don't want to say too much about the premise, in case others want to go in blind. The synopsis gives away more of the story than what I've mentioned.
I enjoy Serle's writing style and it was an easy read with the lovely immersion into Italy, although I had some huge eye rolls along the way. While I liked Katy, she also annoyed me with the way she treated her husband.
I'm going to round up because I still enjoyed picking this one up and all the travel and scenery.
Thanks to NG and the publisher for my review copy. OUT March 1, 2022 -
3.5 to 3.75 Stars
I'm not in a reviewing mood, but I wanted to get something up here before I completely forget everything about this book. So off we go.
I went into this pretty much blind as this was one from my small friend book group. I was expecting an Under the Tuscan Sun-ish vibe, not that I've actually read that book, mind you. But I did see the movie...
Anynotthesamebutohwell, that's the vibe I was expecting. You get what I mean.
So color me surprised when the whole magical (?) paranormal (?) element came about. It wasn't bad and I didn't dislike it or anything, I just found it to be a bit jarring since it was so unexpected.
I found the main character's enmeshment with her mother to be fairly interesting. The idea that she was the love of her life. The way losing her affected her. I enjoyed how her seeing her mother as a PERSON and not just her mother evolved.
I also felt bad for the husband...cause, I mean...
I enjoyed the hotelier more as a character, but still.
And that said, I thought the ending was abrupt and I felt like there were some loose feeling ends...but otherwise a nice pool read for sure. -
2.5 stars: “One Italian Summer” is a love letter from author Rebecca Serle to her mother and to Rebecca’s future self. In the summer of 2019 Rebecca and her mother went on a trip to Italy, visiting the Amalfi Coast and Rome. Rebecca’s mother was 20 when she fell in love with a man while in Rome, at the Trevi Fountain. Through Facebook, they tracked down the paramour and Rebecca saw a totally different side to her mother; she got to see her mother in a different light. Serle was inspired to write a story of a woman who meets her mother when they are the same age.
The story begins with protagonist Katy (who just lost her mother to cancer) determined to take her mother/daughter trip to the Amalfi Coast alone. Her mother Carol spent a summer there when she was 30 which was life transforming, and she wanted to share that with Katy, now that Katy is 30.
Katy is still shaken from her mother’s death. She defined herself as Carol’s daughter. Katy doesn’t know who she is anymore; she doesn’t know if she wants to remain married to her husband. It is here that Serle lost me. Katy came off as a spoiled child, to me. She’s a 30-year-old rudderless woman who blames her mother for her own lack of opinions or individual thoughts. There is a lot of whining.
To accomplish Serle’s goal of a daughter meeting her mother when they are both the same age, Serle makes this into a time-travel story. While Katy is exploring her hotel, she meets her mother who is the age of 30. Katy gets to learn of her mother before she was a mother.
The reader benefits from Serle’s recent trip. The story is very atmospheric. For me, the best parts were the scenes at the cafes, hotels, beaches.
It's a cute story that will leave my mind tomorrow. Sadly if I do remember anything, it will be the whining of a 30 year old woman who defined herself by her mother and her mother’s thoughts, and blamed her mother for her own laziness.
-
Contrary to how it might appear, I do not enjoy rating books so low. I do not enjoy coming across a story that I had been hopeful to savour. Yet, here we are again wherein I have had to stop reading because I was so utterly devoid of emotion towards the entire cast of characters & the plot that I felt no inclination to pursue finishing the book.
When Katy's mother, Carol, passes away she is understandably riddled with grief & the reader meets Katy as she attempts to understand how she is meant to go on without her mother. Had Serle stopped there we could have had a wonderful story about the exploration of grief in adults who learn to maneuver the world without their parents. Unfortunately, what we read about instead is Katy claiming that her mother was the love of her life & that she was Carol's as well. Here we find ourselves at my main reason for not finishing the book.
When I have to pause in my reading to question why I am so annoyed I pose myself an honest question: am I annoyed at this character because their actions differ from those I would take or, am I annoyed because their decision making process lacks logical sense?
In the case of this book it was the latter. Katy maroons endlessly about her love for her mother being the ultimate & only love that mattered, ever. I could not relate to that nor would my own mother want me to be able to. I admit that this is where expressing my feelings becomes a bit tricky. I am not trying to say that sharing a strong love with ones parents is wrong or bizarre. However, I was not raised that way. My own mother would not want for the love of my life to have been her, nor would my grandmother have wanted it to be for her daughter, so on & so forth.
I could not understand how a thirty (30) year old adult lacked any sensical abilities to work through life. Katy goes on about not being certain she wants to stay married to Eric because they never had any tangible obstacles to overcome. This is ridiculous. Obstacles, struggles & heartaches are not something you will upon your relationship. Such behaviours left me feeling as though Katy wanted to be able to say that she 'fought' for something in her life whereas we knew she never held enough gumption for that.
Plot annoyances aside, I did not appreciate the writing style either. I found myself wondering whether or not an editor had read through the final work. For example, Katy says she is going to get a dress - she puts on the white frill dress. Another example, the waiters all wear white shirts - a man in a white shirt comes forward. These are not inherently bad sentences but they could have been worked to flow with more ease. The approaching waiter could be described as wearing a white shirt, rather than have all the wait staff attire reported to then restate those same details moments later. It left me feeling as though there was a word count.
All in all, I did not enjoy this book. I could not relate to Katy; I could not find it in myself to empathize with a person who felt that neither Eric nor her father were allowed to feel sad at Carol's passing because she herself, was her mother's true love so, no one else's emotions mattered. It was difficult to root for someone who was severely out of touch with reality.
Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada & Rebecca Serle for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! -
After losing her mother to cancer, Katy feels devastated. Her mother was her best friend, the one with all the answers. Losing her makes Katy doubt everything in her life. She is not sure she wants to remain married to her husband, Eric. She is lost in despair and grief.
Needing a change and a place to clear her head, she decides to take the trip to Italy she and her mother, Carol had planned. The Amalfi Coast was a place quite dear to her mother. Carol had spent time there before she was married.
When she arrives in Positano she makes a connection with a young man, Adam, and then she sees her mother, alive and well and young too. Katy doesn't understand it but she doesn't want to blink and realize it was all a dream.
Carol and Katy become fast friends and Katy will do anything to continue hanging out with this carefree version of her mother. She is getting to know a part of her she never saw but for how long can this be?
I won't lie, I was a little disappointed in One Italian Summer. I felt like Katy took all but never reciprocated. She was mean and disrespectful to her husband, Eric who seem like a nice friendly guy. She was also trying to force Carol into making the decision she wanted. It was all Me, Me, Me with her.
What I did like was seeing Positano again through the author's eyes. The Amalfi Coast is one of my favorite places. A few years ago, I spent two magnificent weeks there. I had the best time with family and the best food too. I miss it and I can't wait to go back and have another cheese tour, visit a lemon farm and do a limoncello and meloncello tasting, take the boat to Capri, and enjoyed quite memorable dishes and desserts.
Cliffhanger: No
3/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It |
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As featured in
the March 22 edition of Quick Lit on Modern Mrs Darcy:
Funny thing: I'd been thinking about reading this, and finally decided to begin when I found out Lauren Graham read the audiobook, perhaps because the epigraph is from Gilmore Girls. But then I got swept up in the story and wanted to finish as quickly as possible so I switched to print. Ha! When twenty-something Katy loses her mother to cancer, she loses her best friend in the world, and she has no idea what to do next. She makes the difficult decision to travel to the Amalfi Coast—painful, because she and her mother had planned to take this trip together. At a charming hotel in Positano, Katy imagines what her own mother's visit must have been like many years before, when she first visited the hotel in which Katy is finding solace. But then—Katy's mother appears, in the flesh, though she isn't yet Katy's mother, because she's just thirty years old.
This was touching and tender and I inhaled it in a day. My favorite Rebecca Serle to date. -
Some of my favorite works of fiction are based on fantasy (Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint, and the movie “Groundhog Day” come to mind) so there’s no need to oversell the fantasy, the “magic” or whatever. I never really got why visiting with her own mother when she was thirty would be cool and fun. It seems like voyeurism more than anything, a violation of the mother’s privacy. The manner in which this fantasy was presented seemed like a clumsy knock-off of a Star Trek episode.
Just about the treacliest thing I've ever read, like a novelization of a Hallmark romance movie. Recommended for women who have never had an orgasm, who are married to slobs, and who have never traveled anywhere. It’s for people whose lives are so clichéd that they’re immunized against clichés, and for readers not looking for even the faintest shred of insight.
I hadn’t looked at the New York Times—or any other—bestseller list in years which is where I found this novel near the top. Note to self: stop looking at bestseller lists; they are just too depressing. I can’t believe this book is popular.
To all of the women raving about this novel, my suggestion is that you need to go see Italy and the rest of Europe for yourselves. Instead of that huge plasma TV, or the new SUV, or Botox treatment, buy a ticket and go see these places for yourself so you won’t have to rely upon these tired and rejected Conde Nast descriptions of places that savvy travelers avoid at all costs. In the words of Yogi Berra, no one goes there anymore, it’s too crowded. Positano is gorgeous, but there are other places where you won’t have to enter into a rugby scrum every time you want to find a seat at a café.
As far as the protagonist and her husband, I missed the part where someone put a gun to her head and forced her into marrying when she should have been screwing her brains out with any and every dude she fancied. But she gets married way too soon and obviously regrets it as she can’t wait to hook up with literally the first guy who talks to her in Italy. If her husband has any sort of sex drive, I hope he’s hooking up with some babes back home. Sorry, I don’t believe in the myth of monogamy.
Her prose never rises above this:
My dead mother is standing in front of me at a seaside hotel on the coast of Italy. Do I feel better? I feel insane. I feel ecstatic. I feel like something might be seriously wrong with me.
“What are you doing here?” I ask her.
She laughs. “Right place, right time, I suppose,” she says. “Joseph was helping me with a package. I rent a little pensione not far up the road. It’s just a room, really.”
I feel a smile spread over my face, too, mirroring her own. It’s so simple and wonderful and obvious. A room of her own. I rented this little pensione up the street from Hotel Poseidon. We slept until noon and drank rosé on the water.
I’ve found my mother in her summer of freedom. I’ve found her in the time before me or my father. I’ve found her in the summer of Chez Black, days on the beach and long nights spent talking under the stars. Here she is. Here she actually is. Young and unencumbered and so very much alive.
I got her back, I think. Come to me.
I’ve found my mother in her summer of freedom? This is a sad indictment on the rest of her mother's life, like what "happy hour" says about the remaining 23 hours of your day, but at least that involves alcohol.
Get your own life and quit trying to cock-block your mom. Stop trying to relive the life your mother chose—or was trying to choose. The protagonist pretty much wrecked her own life already. The author never sold me on the fact that the protagonist was stepping back into the past. Wouldn't she have known this? Showing readers that this was thirty years ago might have been part of the fun, but it wasn't explained at all. All she could say was puerile doggerel like, "I’m struck by the timelessness of Italy.”
And then he kisses me. He kisses me like he’s done it many, many times before. A professional kiss.
Like he's done it many many times before? That was so stupid that I had to pause reading until I stopped laughing. The guy was mid-30s, not thirteen. "A professional kiss" sounds sorta gross, too, like something an old, fat pervert gives out at the carnival to teenagers (boys and girls, of course) behind a cardboard cut-out of Brad Pitt.
And then: This is Italy. Shit happens. I’m not sure, but I’m almost certain that "shit" happens everywhere. I haven't traveled all that much in my life, but everywhere I have been, shit was happening. I was waiting for her to say, "What happens in Positano, stays in Positano." Like if you murder a hooker or your best friend ODs on coke.
Her descriptions of food are some of the worst I’ve ever read, and I’m not even trying to be an asshole, I swear. Stuff like red wine that is so delicious I drink it like water which doesn’t seem like good red wine to me; sounds like water. The woman is thirty and she seems to have never had a decent meal in her life.
There is so little story outside of the silly tagline for the novel. Most of the book is spent describing mundane non-story stuff like walking around and eating and raving about how good the food is. Who-gives-a-shit stuff like this:
I take out some sandals. The ones I bought at the Century City mall with my mother two Augusts ago during an end-of-summer sale. I didn’t like them. I still don’t. Why did we buy them then? Why did I bring them? They’re my shoes. They’re my feet.
Have you ever met someone who verbalized every thought that went through their head? You either say "adiós" or you leave then in a shallow grave. I had an ex-girlfriend who used to mock me if I vocalized even a single mundane thought...or maybe I started the teasing and she was just a lot better at it than I was. Anyway, my point is, bitch, no one gives a shit about the sandals you bought two fucking years ago, especially not readers.
The protagonist and her zombie mom having dinner complete with a totally insipid conversation is not much of a narrative. So, she meets her mom when she was thirty, and she spends her time trying to hook up with Mr. Rando instead of hanging out with her dead mom? You don't need to go back in time to get your freak on, at least the last time I checked (note to self: time to get my freak on). Then she instantly becomes this horrible and judgmental half-wit, accusing her mom of abandoning her as a child.
The side story of the hotel about to be purchased by some evil capitalists was super-lame. No one is forcing them to sell. And as for life in Positano, I’ve never been to a hotel in my life where the proprietors knew my name, and I wouldn’t want that sort of familiarity, to be honest. The lady at the store knows Carol’s name, a tourist who speaks only a few words of Italian? Un-freaking-likely! Maybe in Kansas people will call you by name, but I’ve never found that in all my years in Europe. I mean, people who see you often will recognize you and treat you well, but being on a first name basis with tout le monde is fantasy. As I said, zero insights in this novel. It's like the author spent a day there when her cruise ship stopped, spending the morning looking for a Starbucks.
I’m sure they’ll make a lousy movie out of this just because Hollywood is as clueless as the publishing industry.
I shouldn’t have bothered with this, but I read about half of her last novel and DNF due to awfulness. I didn’t write a review of In Five Years so this review will be a warning to my future self to avoid her books.
The whole time travel thing really didn't add up, or at least not for me. I didn't get it. She went back in time thirty years? It would take someone about one minute to realize something was amiss when no one on the street has their face planted in their phone. I don't need a logical explanation, because that's not possible, of course, but give me something. The protagonist simply asks the date? There was nothing fun about this aspect of a novel that was no fun at all. -
3 stars
“My mother, you see, is the great love of my life.”
Katy has just lost her mother, her greatest and most treasured person/relationship in her life. Feeling lost and adrift, she goes on a trip she and her mom had planned to go on together to Positano, Italy, telling her husband she thinks they need a break. Positano is stunning, and Katy finds something very unexpected while there.
I went into this book not really sure what to expect, I know Serle’s books are marketed to appeal to romance readers but this very much doesn’t fit into that category. It’s a detailed look at grief and the relationships in our lives and how even if you love someone deeply, you don’t always know all of them. I listened to the audiobook of this one which is only 6 hours, and yet took me forever to finish because I really just wasn’t invested in this book or the characters. I didn’t really like Katy, I can’t put my finger on exactly why. And then she made some decisions near the end of the book that made me angry. Definitely an unlikable heroine at least for me. The end tied up all nice and convenient which was nice but overall I was underwhelmed by this entire book. -
A few years ago I traveled through Italy, and I had a few favorite places. The top spot, however, went to the Amalfi Coast, and, if I had to pick one place that felt like home to me, it was, without a doubt, Positano.
So, when I saw that Rebecca Serle’s newest tearjerker. Ahem. I mean, her newest novel 😂; it takes place in Positano, I could not have been happier. Happy tears?! I always cry with her books! I was sent tissues with the book. Tears were expected. And you know I love an emotional story.
Katy’s mother, who is also her best friend, passes away. They were supposed to spend two weeks in Positano together. It’s a trip they’ve dreamed of. Katy decides to go on the trip by herself, and immediately senses her mother there in all the sights, sounds, and beauty of that magical place.
And then Katy’s mom really does appear. Not just her essence. Only now she’s 30 years old, and Katy gets to know her mom all over again, as a young woman. In Italy. In Positano. It’s beautiful.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog:
www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram:
www.instagram.com/tarheelreader -
Didn’t like this one at all! For one, Katy’s relationship with her mother felt very unhealthy and obsessive. The way it was described gave me the creeps. I love my mama but the way Katy loved her leaned into the side of “I’m watching you sleep” kind of love. Yikes. And when the time travel/psychotic breakdown happened and Katy saw the 30 year old version of her mother? I should have read the synopsis of this book before going in because I wouldn’t have read it. It just didn’t work at all. And no explanation when she jumped back into reality?
I also didn’t think she needed to be married in this story. Katy’s quick into bed response when she met Adam floored me. I am never a fan of characters who treat infidelity so casual. Katy didn’t even hesitate. Gross. She was irresponsible and selfish and Adam honestly creeped me out too! These characters were all unlikable!
I don’t think I’ll pick up another from this author. -
The setting is the shining star of One Italian Summer, which transports you to Positano and the Amalfi Coast. Katy has traveled to Italy after her mom dies to take the mother-daughter trip they had planned together. She’s devastated about the loss of her mom, unsure about her relationship with her husband, and uncertain about her future.
Once she arrives in Italy, Katy meets locals at the hotel and a woman, Carol, who, she can’t believe it, is her mom, 30 years ago. Katy connects with Carol, other hotel guests and staff, and over the course of her time in Italy learns more about herself, her life, and her mom.
Like some of Rebecca Serle’s other books, there is an element of magical realism here, however, it was not overwhelming. Though she grew on me a little as the story progressed, I did not care for Katy — I recognize people grieve differently but I was underwhelmed by her role in her relationship and multiple decisions she made in Italy. The Italian landscape was the highlight of this book. -
I'll be the first one to say that I was hesitant to pick up Rebecca Serle's upcoming One Italian Summer, especially since I didn't really love her last one, In Five Years. I know, I know, I have a cold heart. Anyways, I was more inclined to pick up this one due to the Italian adventure and immersion that I hoped this book would take me on. I can safely say that I am now on the Rebecca Serle fan train.
This book is under 300 pages, but really has a lot of impactful moments. When our narrator Katy Silver's mother passes away, she is a standstill with many different emotions affecting her. Katy's mother Carol was the love of her life and best friend. She's struggling in her marriage and wants to divorce, but when her mother passes, Katy knows that she needs to escape. Katy decides to go on the trip to Positano, Italy, that was initially planned for her and her mother. Alone in Positano, Katy arrives back to the town where her mother says changed her life. In the town, Katy sees why her mother fell in love with this vacation. It's beautiful, there's amazing food and wine, and so many great things that have given Katy some peace of mind. That is, until a woman named Carol appears and she resembles her own mother.
I want to be vague here because the book is so short, but I really felt like this book will stay with me for a long time. Emotionally charged, this book had me all in the feels for awhile. I read this book in two sittings, but I would recommend just taking a night off and reading the whole thing at once because it's just so beautiful. Between Katy's grief, the beautiful Italian landscape, and the fun journey Katy embarks with this Carol character, I couldn't recommend this book enough. And people say all I like to read are thrillers. :) -
As part of my reading plans for 2022, I'm committed to selecting more new releases and branching further out of my normal mystery / thriller genres. When I read the description of Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer, it sounded exciting. A 30ish American woman's mother passes away unexpectedly, so she takes the Positano trip they'd always dreamed about, but all on her own. When she arrives, the woman 'meets' her mother there, and readers are left wondering... is this science-fiction, fantasy, or just a dream?
I must admit, in the first few chapters, I was immediately put off by the book. The main character, Katy, is married and grieving at her mother's funeral. Readers learn she told her husband she wanted a divorce that morning because her mother was the love of her life, and the woman's death has prompted Katy to re-evaluate everything. By all accounts, even Katy said her husband was wonderful, and he was loved by her parents. While I understand Katy's despair at her mother's death, she was also incredibly selfish, rude, and immature in the way she treated her husband. When she tells him she's leaving and putting their marriage on hold, I wanted to drop the book. But I also wanted to find out how she meets her mother again.
Fast-forward a few chapters, Serle's writing magically brought Italy to life, resulting in me remembering all my amazing times there a few years ago. When she meets her mother in Positano, my freeze toward her melted and I could better see her being a torn young woman. I was still angry for the way she treated her husband, but I also very much enjoyed the book. I won't give away the spoilers on how she encounters her mother, though it was a lovely 'twist' and puts readers at ease. I didn't care much about the how it happened, instead relaxed into the impacts on Katy's life choices and ability to re-visualize her future.
I'm waffling between a 4 and 5, ultimately settling on 4.5 stars with a lean toward the 5 because I can't remember another book that took me from disliking it so much to liking it so much in such a brief period. I'm rating the character growth, setting / tone, writing style, and ability for the story to evoke so many emotions in me. I still didn't love Katy's character but not liking a character isn't a reason to give a book less stars in my opinion. It means the author did a good job and conveying the full picture of the people involved in the story. Life like, we don't always like those closest to us even though we might love them. In the end, I zipped thru this book on a Sunday afternoon and am very glad I took the chance. -
I became a life-long fan of Rebecca Serle during In Five Years, and One Italian Summer just cemented it.
She has this beautiful, magical way of writing that makes the impossible seem so possible.
I felt everything right alongside Katy... The loss, the grief, the joy of seeing her mother again, her need to find herself.
Excuse me while I look at flights to Italy and go hug my mom. -
3 Armchair Traveler Stars
Katy has a unique relationship with her mother, she’s her best friend and she relies on her mom to do just about everything for her. Her mom picks out her furniture and decorates her house, makes recommendations on every life choice. Katy never learned to cook from her mom. So, it’s a huge tragedy when her mother gets sick and dies just before her 60th birthday. Katy is devastated and decides to take the planned mother-daughter trip to Italy by herself. Her husband is very supportive, but Katy doesn’t seem to appreciate him.
Katy starts to follow their planned itinerary and along the way she spends a great deal of time with Adam. I was disappointed as she seemed to mostly conveniently forget that she was married.
As Katy continues to grieve the loss of her mother, strange things happen in Italy. I really wanted to love this one, but I just didn’t connect to this relationship or characters.
I tend to like this author, so I was excited to read this one mostly set in Italy. I loved all the descriptions of the food and scenery of Positano, the Amalfi Coast, etc.
However, I must say that I didn’t care for either of the female characters in this one. I also didn’t care to read so much about the clothes that everyone was wearing. Once I noticed that, it just became too much!
Others have loved it, so might just be it wasn’t my cup of tea, but it might be yours!
Be sure to read my buddy read Jayme's review of this one to see if she felt the same way.
Thank you to Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this one. -
Wow, I loved this book! My profile picture is actually Positano, the backdrop of this novel. This summer I went with my family to the breathtaking and gorgeous Amalfi Coast. We stayed in a hotel on a cliff overlooking the sea, lined with boats. This book brought back all the feels, from one of my favorite places on the planet. The first time I had ever gone was in winter, but enjoyed it even more in summer.
One Italian Summer tells the beautiful story of Katy, a woman reeling from unimaginable grief and heartache. Her mother Carol, who was Katy's world, recently passed away from cancer. Katy is drowning and lost without the comfort of the one person she came to for all the important moments of her life. She was "the love of her life".
Katy and Carol had planned a mother-daughter trip to Positano and now Katy questions whether she should still go. Carol had always spoken about a trip she took to Italy in her youth with fondness, so in a way of connecting with her mother, Katy tries to hold on to the past
In grief, Katy has mixed feelings about her marriage to Eric, her husband. She finally decides to take the trip alone, and also tells Eric she needs time apart to reassess her marriage.
Once Katy arrives in Italy, the story takes on a more fictional element in which Katy is somehow transported back to 30 years and befriends Carol, the Carol of her youth. Katy quickly attaches her grief, her love, and her desperate desire to reconnect to Carol, and delves deeper into a time forgotten full of secrets of her independent, free-spirited mother.
Katy also meets Adam, an American businessman looking to buy real estate on the island. The two are instantly drawn to one another by the familiarity of life's experiences, the ebb and flow of the clear blue water, and stunning flower laden cliffs. Katy explores her own independence and wonders what it would have been like to experience more of life instead of marrying Eric at such an early age.
I loved this book for two specific reasons. First of all, I adore everything Italy, especially the breathtaking coast. Rebecca Serle writes with such poetic detail, as if she is actually typing in front of the coast itself.
Secondly, I know grief too well. My father also passed away from cancer. What a wonder it would have been to go back in time; a fly on the wall to his youth. I've seen pictures of my father on lazy weekends (away from his demanding job as a resident physician) lying on sandy beaches taking in the sun, or exploring the Adirondack Mountains with friends. Snapshots of his previous life seem like such a far cry from the Dad I remember. A Dad who worked, taught us life skills, and was simply Dad.
Sometimes, when you are young, it's really hard to remember that our parents had actual LIVES. They were pretty darn cool and interesting. Somehow, age takes with it the idea that there was a wonderful life lived. It's an entire other realm of experiences, beliefs, and emotions that perhaps live in a capsule of memories.
The only things about the book that was a miss for me was the way in which Katy treated her husband. I suppose the book didn't explore much of why she felt trapped in her marriage, especially to a man that stood by her through not only in life but the entire journey of Carol's illness.
I will say though, grief can take on so many different personas. I think unless you haven't experienced loss this close, you can't judge a person's journey while grieving. I have a friend who recently lost her mother and she is not ready to see or talk to anyone, not even her closest friends. Grief can be a tipping point, a cusp of change in one's life, so I don't fault Katy completly for being distant in her marriage to Eric.
I also felt like her journey back to her mother's youth wasn't explained properly. It just happened. Was it a dream, or was it "real?" It's hard to say. There were a few missing pieces that maybe I overlooked, but didn't seem to be clear.
Overall, this was a great read. Reviews on One Italian Summer seem to be mixed. I though, can overlook a few flaws and felt a connection with Katy. Also, who doesn't love an Italian backdrop! 4.5/5 stars. -
No! No! No! I didn’t even make it to the airport, let alone Italy. Right off the top, I couldn’t get over the sappy writing style, the immature, mamacentric 30 year-old Katy, the obsessive focus on relationships, and the obviously predictable plot (drop husband, travel with phantom mother, meet wonderful lover) ready to unfold before my eyes.
I may be an outlier here and many, many readers will disagree with me, but I’d say this is a book for my granddaughter, not for me.
I’ll take my reading glasses off with me to a fictional romp with the Queen of England instead.
See you in London, instead of Positano. -
From page one, our main character Katy was not likable. She’s lost her mother and grieving but she puts her whole identity with being a daughter. I thought that was kind of odd and she seemed too reliant on her mother when she’s almost 30. Don’t get me wrong so am I lol but I felt like Katy didn’t know how to do anything.
On top of this, she simply decides to leave her husband because of her moms death? Apparently she felt this way before but there’s not really an explanation except that her mom is gone. Girl, you gotta give me more than that. I found this quite selfish. I understand everyone grieves differently but Katy isn’t someone I’d want to be friends with. PLUS throwing in Adam into this and I found him creepy to be honest. He was so unnecessary in the book and kind of ruined it.
The only thing I liked about this were the description of Italy. It made me want to go back and I’ve always wanted to go to The Amalfi coast but haven’t made it there yet! That’s kind of it.. The time travel/magical realism or whatever it was supposed to be wasn’t really explored and Katy kind of went into it too willingly too. It wraps up okay in the end but I can't get over the whole Adam character like Katy is a married woman I don't really know what that was.
I think this author just isn’t really for me unfortunately as I have also read In Five Years and felt the same. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for an advanced copy of the book. -
the setup…
Katy Silver’s mother has died. Carol Silver was her person…her best friend, her first phone call, her only advisor. Without her, Katy feels adrift, at sea. She spent the last year caring for her as she was dying from cancer but, still, she thought she had more time. They’d even planned a trip to Positano, Italy and purchased the tickets to the place that always had special meaning for Carol. In an effort to find a way to cope with her debilitating grief, Katy decides to go on the trip alone, hoping to find a connection to her mother, leaving husband Eric behind. When she arrives, she can already feel a transformation but it’s the young woman she meets there that lifts her out of her despair. Her name is Carol and she’s her mother…at thirty!
the heart of the story…
One of the reasons I was drawn to this story was the setting. I spent three years in southern Italy as a child and still have vivid, warm memories. As soon as Katy arrived there, I was immediately transported in time, just as she was. The descriptions of Positano and the nearby towns, the spirit of those living there and the orgasmic cuisine were beautifully captured. I could see, taste and smell everything, a lovely journey back to a childhood I adored. I even loved the time travel angle, which gave Katy an opportunity to know the woman Carol was before she became the woman she knew. However, it’s Katy’s troubling distance from her husband, both physically and emotionally, and her doubts about continuing their marriage that was the one sour note. I never understood her negative feelings, especially her dismissive attitude towards Eric.
the narration…
This was my first experience with the narrator and I was a bit underwhelmed. She sounded more like a reader instead of delivering a performance. I think I might have had a better experience if I’d read it as there was little character distinction as well.
the bottom line…
I loved traveling through southern Italy, reveling in old and new memories. They were beautifully captured, with descriptions that created permanent imprints I won’t ever forget. I also enjoyed Katy’s relationship with her thirty-year old mother and all that implies. It was a surreal experience as I shared a connection with having to care for a dying parent, wondering how I would feel in the same circumstances. If the story had just remained on that track, it would have been a better reading journey, even with my issues with the narrator. Katy’s dissatisfaction with her marriage and how she treated Eric as a consequence just hit wrong notes and felt mean. I’ve chosen to rewrite the story and just leave that out. Then all that magical realism works! 3.5 stars
Posted on
Blue Mood Café -
Katy’s entire world feels like it has fallen apart after her mother Carol dies. Their relationship was much more than just mother and daughter - Carol was her best friend, her steadfast advisor, and the center of her life. After a long struggle with cancer, Katy’s mother seemed to be far removed from the woman to be reckoned with that she was most of Katy’s life. When the dreaded event finally happened, Katy was not only left with indescribable grief but tickets to their long-planned mother-daughter trip to the Amalfi Coast.
Unable to face the empty house of her mother and an unsatisfying marriage, Katy decides to take the trip alone. She hopes to find the transformative healing of the Italian summer that her mother experienced alone almost thirty years ago. The last thing Katy imagined she’d find was the actual ghost of Carol to appear before her as healthy, lively, and real as she had been on that past solo trip. Katy must grapple with this strange ghost or doppleganger and get to know her mother in this new, but impossible, form.
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle will make you fall in love with Positano and the magic of the Amalfi Coast. This story focuses on overcoming loss and how deeply we are connected to those we love. Filled with beautiful scenery and tantalizing Italian experiences, this book will make you dream of your own transcendent experience and the possibilities that being true to yourself can bring. -
Holy book connections, Batman! This is my second book featuring Positano in a week. The other one was
By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate. So, I see that this new titles from Rebecca Serle is getting some mixed reviews. The one thing I love, love, love about Rebecca Serle's books is the time slip tropes. Our MC finds herself in another time and/or is interacting with other characters outside of time. Serle also excels in writing about female relationships. In her previous title,
In Five Years, best friends were featured. This time we explore the mother/daughter relationship. Katy and her mother Carol had a very close relationship. So close that Katy feels totally without direction now that her mother is dead. I found this a bit extreme and the fact that Katy runs off to Italy with no regard for her husband also bothered me. On the other hand, the descriptions of the Amalfi coast and the food are incredible. Every time I read a book like this, set in Italy, I wonder why I am waiting so long to visit myself.
Thank you to Atria Books and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
