I’d like to start by congratulating the designers who managed (in my opinion) to capture the feel of summer on the cover. Really, a job well done.
Katy and her mom, Carol, have always been close. Carol is her go-to on everything from what to buy and which hotels to book. Carol has always been Katy’s go-to until she isn’t, until she’s gone.
After Katy’s mom passes away, she’s left trying to figure out who she is and what she wants without her mother to guide her. Going on the trip to Italy they had planned to take together, Katy has a, shall we say, surreal experience that simultaneously brings life into focus while also leaving Katy with more questions than answers.
One Italian Summer provides all the hallmarks of a good, easy read. An exotic destination, personal discovery, a slightly antagonistic yet attractive male character, etc. My main qualm with the book, and the reason for the poor rating, is because I felt like it took me the entire length of the book to really get invested. Part of that is because I struggled to know what was actually happening (no, I’m not going to spoil anything), but a lot of it was just a frustration with the pace and, what I considered, a fairly repetitive internal monologue. Then again, I wasn’t the biggest fan of In Five Years, so maybe Serle’s writing style just isn’t for me.
2% Rating: 4.5/10
Recommend? Probably not
Re-Read? Nope
Time: 1:30