One Italian Summer

   One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle 272 pages 

I’ve spent ten days in Italy back in the summer of 1997. I threw coins in the Trevi Fountain, so hopefully its legend is true, and I’ll go back someday. In the meantime, I must settle for books that take place in the country of my ancestors.  

Author Serle sets her novel along the Amalfi Coast in the town of Positano. Her descriptions of the colorful houses and shops, the beauty of the clear ocean, the steep stairs that rival San Francisco’s hills, the bright sun and the cool breezes lacing through your hair made this reader feel as if she were there.

 

In the novel, Katy and her mother, Carol, had planned a trip to Positano for Carol’s sixtieth birthday. Unfortunately, Carol dies. Katy is devasted by the loss of the mother and best friend. After much persuading from her family and friends, Katy decides to go...alone. Upon her arrival, Katy is sure she has done the right thing; she can feel her mother’s spirit tagging along.  

The hotel is gorgeous, the views are heavenly (no pun intended) and the service is remarkable. Katy has a plan; to do all the things she and Carol had planned to do: visit Capri, shop, eat, drink, sunbath. It was to be the perfect getaway. 

In the hotel’s lobby, Katy meets a woman who looks exactly like her mother. No, it can’t be. She dresses, sounds and acts like Carol. Through some quirk of time travel, the woman is indeed her mother. Only she is thirty years old.  

Over the course of the novel, the two women bond. Katy learns to let go of her grief and realize that her mother’s spirit will always be with her. Learning to let go involves a romance... or two...as well as getting to know Carol in various other ways. 

“One Italian Summer” was a delightful read and a perfect getaway for those of us who won’t be traveling again this year. This book receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.