Book Review - One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

I read this for the prompt of magical realism in the 52 book challenge. It follows Katy on her visit to Positano in Italy following the death of her Mother, Carol. It was supposed to be a trip they took together but Carol's death leads to Katy making the trip on her own. Positano was a place Carol had been to when she was younger and she had planned to show it to Katy.

Once there Katy stumbles across the younger Carol and discovers much about the person she was.

I found the beginning of this book quite hard going. I really didn't take to the character of Katy who came across as a very spoilt and self-centred person. Also quite immature. Everyone deals with grief differently but Katy did not come across as a realistic character to me. This is not a favourite genre of mine and I didn't feel the changing timeline in the storyline was done particularly well.

However, the descriptions of Positano and the surrounding areas of the Italian region compensated somewhat for that. I really feel I should visit here someday.

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