One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

 

When Katy's mother dies, she's left reeling from the loss. Carol had been her best friend, her anchor, and they'd been so close to their dream of travelling to Positano together.

Feeling untethered from her own life and unable to connect with anyone, Katy makes a rash decision. In a bit to keep her mother close, she follows in a young Carol's footsteps, flying to Italy alone.

Katy had imagined a holiday painted by grief but finds more comfort than she had expected. Then, in a sharp twist of fate, Carol's past and Katy's present collide, leaving Katy to wonder if she ever really knew her mother at all...

One Italian Summer is the first book I have read by Rebecca Serle but I had seen rave reviews over her previous novel In Five Years so I was looking forward to reading this book.

Katy is mourning the loss of her mother who was also her best friend. She feels at a loss and is determined to go through with the pre-arrange trip to Positano that she planning to take with her mum. As  she explores the tranquil and glorious setting on the Amalfi coast she feels the presence of her mother around her but then the story takes a surreal turn.

I was so surprised how quick I flew through this book the authors writing style flows so effortlessly which made this such a joy to read. Although the storyline does involve grief and loss it still manage to hold a lightness to the story helped along with the bright beauty of the alluring setting of Positano which really did entice me in and it has truly sparked my interest to visit Italy.

I was worried part the way through this book when there is a sudden plot change and I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to carry on as it is a twist I have encountered a few times in a similar way in books before that I don’t enjoy but I stuck with it and once the confusion clears and I opened my mind a little I soon fell back into step with the story and just enjoyed the book and its almost tour guide feel to it.

The cuisine plays a heavy roll in this book the food was plentiful and mouth-watering and if I had eaten the amount that our characters did then I wouldn’t be able to fit back in the plane seat home!

I wouldn’t say Katy was a character who I loved, she certainly made choices that I wasn’t onboard with and couldn’t relate to no matter how we all deal with grief differently but yet I still enjoyed my visit to Positano with her.

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