One Italian Summer

by Rebecca Serle

I went into One Italian Summer expecting a breezy escape read, and while the setting absolutely delivered that wish-fulfillment magic, what surprised me was how deeply emotional and introspective the story turned out to be.

At its core, this novel is about grief and identity. Katy is reeling from the loss of her mother—her best friend, her compass, her constant. On a solo trip to Positano they had planned to take together, Katy stumbles into something surreal: her mother, Carol, is there. Alive. Thirty years old. And completely unaware of who Katy is.

The magical realism worked for me because it wasn’t just whimsical—it had emotional weight. Watching Katy interact with her mother as a young woman allowed for a layered, sometimes painful, sometimes healing exploration of the people we think we know and the way grief reframes everything.

What kept this from being a full five stars for me was Katy’s behavior in her marriage. Her choices felt a bit underdeveloped or too convenient at times, and I wanted a little more depth or reflection in that subplot. That said, Rebecca Serle’s writing is gorgeous—lyrical, lush, and transportive. Positano practically becomes a character in its own right, and I could almost taste the lemon pasta and feel the salt air.

If you’ve ever lost someone you loved deeply—or if you’ve ever looked at your parent and wondered who they were before you came along—this book will hit home. It’s heartfelt and bittersweet in all the right ways.

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