A review by jae_28
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

adventurous challenging hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 I haven’t read something this trippy in a while! This is my second book from Rebecca Serle and I’ve concluded her writing simply isn’t for me. What I like about Serle’s writing is that the messages are thought-provoking, forces me to reflect, and there’s always a sprinkle of magic in there. What I like the most is how she centers platonic and familial relationships and makes them priority. With that said, I think because of that priority, the romance that comes with the stories always fall flat and it’s hard for me to care for it so I don’t. They probably would be better (for me) with romance excluded altogether because the love interests feel more like plot-points that get the main characters to the other end. The main characters are amazingly complex and dimensional, but I don’t enjoy reading the stories as much as I want to. I have taken away important messages about life and love and relationships, but unfortunately the stories left me bored and wanting to move on to something else.