Reviews with content warning for Death - One Italian Summer

I was in a bit of a reading slump when I picked this up, ever since finishing A Court of Wings and Ruin. So, I picked this one up on a bit of a whim, knowing that even if the plot fell short, I could connect with the setting. And that is definitely the strength of Rebecca Serle's writing, transporting you to the Amalfi Coast with just her writing. Despite it being a bitingly cold autumn afternoon when I read this, I could almost smell the sea salt, taste the food and feel the heat of an Italian summer. I connected to the premise on a personal level, as losing my mother is one of my deepest fears I've yet to confront. However, I got lost with the strange time travel element.

I don't wish to spoil anything, so that I won't delve too deeply into it. Still, I found that element was clunky, shoehorned into what could've been a good novel about confronting grief, loss and a woman who seems to be her mother, and it is not explained well, in my opinion. My next qualm was how Katy treated her husband, and at first, I was giving her the benefit of the doubt because you never know how you'll act when you lose someone. But Katy's actions are wholly selfish,

One moment she's saying she's confused, grieving her mum, and then she has a whirlwind romance?

Plus, I never truly felt Katy's grief. Sure, I was <i>told</i> about it, but I never felt it. I felt like this goes back to the time travel element,

and the strange gimmick of Katy meeting Carol as a thirty-year-old and being confronted with the truth that her mum was still figuring shit out at that age

which again, bugs me that it isn't explained in any way.

All in all, a decent enough book for which I've rated it two and a half stars but bumped it up to three for Goodreads.

Content Warnings

ktv's review

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Really liked this. It was a chill book. This was my first audiobook too, and I was addicted to it. I've literally never gotten thru a book so fast.
The spicy scenes weren't even spicy but I was still in shock, jaw dropped, hand over my mouth and everything. I think it was mostly due to it being narrated to me.
6/6/23 edit: this wasn't as good as i thought immediately after reading. i decided to change my rating because i recently finished tfgsc. i didn't take that much off the original rating (4.25) because of the fact that it was my first audiobook and i had a good experience with it.

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britt_thebookworm's review

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

nukie19's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

fifteenthjessica's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

One Italian Silver follows thirty year old Katy Silver, whose life has spun out of control because of her mother's recent death. She hopes that taking their planned mother-daughter trip to Positano, Italy will help her figure out what to do with her confusion about her future, including her marriage. What she doesn't expect is to see and befriend a thirty year old version of her mother there.

This is very much a three star book for me. It was an overall enjoyable experience, but oftentimes, phrases would kick me out of the narrative with thoughts of "Why is Rebecca Serle describing this that way?" or "This character's reaction seems a little on the melodramatic side." Still, if you want a quick read about mother-daughter relationships that are more fraught than they seem with a side of romance and time shenanigans, this is your book.

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