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As part of my reading plans for 2022, I'm committed to selecting more new releases and branching further out of my normal mystery / thriller genres. When I read the description of Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer, it sounded exciting. A 30ish American woman's mother passes away unexpectedly, so she takes the Positano trip they'd always dreamed about, but all on her own. When she arrives, the woman 'meets' her mother there, and readers are left wondering... is this science-fiction, fantasy, or just a dream?

I must admit, in the first few chapters, I was immediately put off by the book. The main character, Katy, is married and grieving at her mother's funeral. Readers learn she told her husband she wanted a divorce that morning because her mother was the love of her life, and the woman's death has prompted Katy to re-evaluate everything. By all accounts, even Katy said her husband was wonderful, and he was loved by her parents. While I understand Katy's despair at her mother's death, she was also incredibly selfish, rude, and immature in the way she treated her husband. When she tells him she's leaving and putting their marriage on hold, I wanted to drop the book. But I also wanted to find out how she meets her mother again.

Fast-forward a few chapters, Serle's writing magically brought Italy to life, resulting in me remembering all my amazing times there a few years ago. When she meets her mother in Positano, my freeze toward her melted and I could better see her being a torn young woman. I was still angry for the way she treated her husband, but I also very much enjoyed the book. I won't give away the spoilers on how she encounters her mother, though it was a lovely 'twist' and puts readers at ease. I didn't care much about the how it happened, instead relaxed into the impacts on Katy's life choices and ability to re-visualize her future.

I'm waffling between a 4 and 5, ultimately settling on 4.5 stars with a lean toward the 5 because I can't remember another book that took me from disliking it so much to liking it so much in such a brief period. I'm rating the character growth, setting / tone, writing style, and ability for the story to evoke so many emotions in me. I still didn't love Katy's character but not liking a character isn't a reason to give a book less stars in my opinion. It means the author did a good job and conveying the full picture of the people involved in the story. Life like, we don't always like those closest to us even though we might love them. In the end, I zipped thru this book on a Sunday afternoon and am very glad I took the chance.