One Italian Summer: A Novel

This was my first Rebecca Serle book, and it definitely won’t be my last.I completely fell in love with the Amalfi Coast setting, but what stayed with me most was Katy’s journey through grief, love, and self discovery. Rebecca Serle has a beautiful way of blending a touch of magic into a story that feels deeply emotional and relatable.This book reminded me to appreciate the people we love and to embrace the life we’re living right now. It was thoughtful, emotional, and left me thinking long after I finished.I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This is not a book I would have picked up on my own. It was a reading group selection from my library. I absolutely loved it. The characters and places, the food! It was described perfectly! By the time I finished the book I was dying for Italian food. I went out and bought the stuff and made an Italian dish from scratch. Wonderful. I recommend!

I love Rebecca Serle’s writing. It’s a breeze to read through and it really transports you into the world.Overall, this book was so reflective. I truly felt the grief that Katy was feeling and understood and could relate to the feelings she had about her mother after losing her. There are some things you never stop and think about or question until perhaps it’s too late.Spoilers ahead:I loved the magical realism aspect of this book and the twists towards the end, however I really could not get on board with the cheating trope. Magical realism or not, I just didn’t like it.I didn’t like the disconnection with her husband from the beginning and then felt she was so unfair to him the entire time. It felt very selfish and unfair even though she was grieving. I can’t justify it because time travel or not, it actually happened and she was conscious of her betrayal as it was happening and then it was like it never happened.With all that being said, I understand the concept of her mother being her true love and herself feeling lost without her but I still can’t love past it. She was lost in her grief, I get it but I feel for Eric.I still very much enjoyed the book and the story. I loved the scenery and the writing.

One of my favorite books for summer- fast read and will keep you engaged.

Katie’s mother dies just before they were going to go on a trip to the Amalfi Coast. She decides to split for her husband and go by herself. When she gets there she ends up running into her mother who is 30 years younger. This was a very interesting story. I enjoyed it.

This was beautiful. A love letter to yourself and to one’s mother. Just beautiful. I hope you choose to read it. All Rebecca Serle’s books are touching.

Katy loses her mother and decides to take a solo trip to Italy. Her mother, Carol, and Katy were going to go on this trip together but Carol got sick and died before they could. Katy is utterly devastated by the loss of her mother but she takes the trip anyways. Standing in the hotel lobby in Italy, Katy impossibly sees her mother as she would have looked thirty years previously. Katy spends time with this young get Carol in this Italian town and learns some things that she didn’t know before. She gets some life lessons that she needed at that moment in time.

Okay, first, I have to say that I didn’t choose this book; it was for my Book Club & it wasn’t my choice of book. I don’t really like magical realism, in general. Okay, that way of the way, I was really excited to get to read this book because I heard of Rebecca Serle before & knew she was supposed to be really good (& also because the audiobook is read by one Lorelai Gilmore herself of the show Gilmore Girls; LOVED that show when I was younger)! HOWEVER, unfortunately, I had a problem with the main character, Katy. I found her to be really unlikeable; she’s very selfish & very whiny! First of all, she leaves her ENTIRE grieving family & goes off to Italy, a trip that she was supposed to take with her mother before she (the mom) died. She doesn’t EVEN consider taking her dad on the extra plane ticket (her mom’s ticket); she actually doesn’t even asked him if he’ll like to go in the first place—let alone also leaving behind her lovingly & supportive husband who is the SWEETEST guy, it seems, (& who also didn’t do ANYTHING wrong, either) just because she’s “bored” of him—or @ least that was just the impression I got. Like she never really loved him; she just married him cause it was the “right answer” to the “Will you marry me?” question. So, then she gets to Italy & she meets her dead mom—but just 30 years younger (not a spoiler; this was in the little “summary” for the book) & a man called Adam … oh, Adam, you really didn’t need to be there … That’s the “romance” part of the book, I guess, if you can call it that …. 😒 Honestly, Adam came off as creepy & a little stalker-y to tell you the truth … I got the impression that he just wanted to sleep with Katy (which Spoiler Alert: he does! Totally not caring that she’s MARRIED & neither does Katy, it seems)!! I didn’t really FEEL the attraction between these two @ ALL!! It was just like “Oh, she’s cute, never mind that she’s married. Oh, he’s handsome, never mind that I’M married … ” , so they sleep together. That’s it … 😒 Where’s all the chemistry that usually comes with a romance?? Where’s that initial first spark?? (Even in the enemies-to-lovers trope, there’s usually that first “spark” … You can probably tell I read A LOT of Romances … 😅) And when they did sleep together, it was kinda … blah … No fireworks 🎆 , if you know what I mean … 😉 Like honestly, Adam didn’t have to be in the story at all … This could have been a lovely story about grief & coming to terms with losing your mother & then coming back to your husband … with NO Adam @ all ANYWHERE!! And that’s another thing: Katy’s relationship with her mother seemed REALLY unhealthy & co-dependent for a 30-year-old woman, even if you ARE really close to your mother. Like seriously, Katy asked her mother if she thinks it’s okay to start having KIDS!! Like, c’mon!! No, woman!! That’s not something you discuss with your MOTHER—even if you are close with her!! I’m siding with poor Eric (her husband) on this one!! (I sorta get “I broke his heart cause he was nice” (I’m a BIG Swiftie) vibe with their whole marriage.) Okay, now, for the BIG * Spoiler Alert * : we find out, towards the end of the book, that WHOLE time Katy sees her 30-year-old mom in Italy is because she’s gone back IN TIME to the 90’s!! Yep, time travel … Now, in general, I don’t like time travel books (unless they involve saving a hippogriff & a man who’s been wrongfully in prisoned for 12 years 😉; sorry, not sorry, I’m a HUGE Potterhead). Think ‘Back to the Future’ or like “Manifest”, the TV show, back in reverse, instead of 5 years in the future, Katy goes BACK 30 years in the PAST & the whole time she doesn’t REALIZE it!! I’m sorry, but HOW can you not realize it’s the 90’s!! Hello!! NO cell phones, big bulky computers, instead of iPads, the fact that EVERYONE has cash, not credit cards … !! 😒 I don’t care that everyone reacts to grief differently, but still … I would DEFINITELY notice if my iPhone wasn’t working … And that’s another thing: What 30-year-old doesn’t check her phone @ least once a day, even if she IS “trying to escape” her life back home (even just to take pictures; she IS in ITALY, after all! C’mon … !! 😒)!! This also means that Adam, the guy she CHEATED on her husband with, would be in his 60’s in the “real world” when Katy sleeps with him!! I’m sorry, WHAT?!?! And Katy doesn’t EVER question ANY of this or freaked out, either!! In fact, we (the reader) don’t ANY explanation for the time travel @ ALL!! Was it all just a crazy dream, alternative reality, a complete mental breakdown as a result of grief, what?! And that’s ANOTHER thing: we (again, the reader) never really FEEL Katy’s grief, either—@ least that’s the impression I got—we are TOLD (by Katy herself) that she was EXTREMELY (again to the point of it being unhealthy) close to her mom. We don’t get to see like a flashback—other than 30-year-old mom in the weird time travel thing—or something to when her mom WAS alive. Maybe if we got flashbacks, I would have FELT Katy’s grief better, instead of just being TOLD it by Katy herself … But, anyway, I gave it 3 stars ⭐️ because, in the end, I DID like the ending. 😊 Also, really liked the descriptions of Italy & Italian food … made me really want to visit Italy & try all the delicious Italian food that was mentioned! 👍🏻

悲しみの中、母が行ったことがあるイタリアに一人旅をし、さまざまな出会いと不思議なことがあり、癒され、自分を取り戻す話。

... mas poderia ser melhor

Not up to expectations but a really good book

„history, memory is by definition fiction. once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. and we can choose the narrative we tell - about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. we can choose the chapters we give meaning.“ (quote)this was wonderfuldifferent than expected -i didn’t know it involved some form of time travel- but great.honestly the only thing i disliked was the cheating.but that was thankfully a very short moment in the book.but i absolutely loved the mother/daughter relationship.how the daughter learns to understand not only herself but also that her mother (her parents overall) are not just her parents but their own people, with their own struggles and history. that they had their own dreams and ambitions and that while as a child your life and their life with you might seem perfect - maybe your parents wanted something else too. not because they are disappointed with what they have or gave up to raise t he r child but just cause they are human beings on their own beside being parents.this was fun and sad but also brilliant and entertaining.it shows the love for italy, how vibrant and life changing that country can be to anyone visiting and that it’s always a good idea to travel and trying to fin yourself first and foremost.can’t wait to read more by this author!

Buen material todo perfecto llego antes volveré a comprar