REVIEW: One Italian Summer

ONE ITALIAN SUMMER

by Keris Stainton

Pages: 288 paperback

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Publication Date: May 4th 2017

ISBN: 9781471406386
Received From: Hot Key Books

Summary 

It's been a year since Milly, Elyse and Leonie's dad died, and a year since their last trip to Rome. Summer's here again, and once again they are heading with their mum to Italy - but what's it going to be like going without Dad? Rome still holds its familiar charms - the sun is still as warm, the gelato as delicious, the people as welcoming. But nothing is quite as it once was ...  

With grief still raw for all of them, Milly is facing the additional awfulness of having to see Luke again - gorgeous, gorgeous Luke, who she had a fling with last year, and who she made a total fool of herself with - or so she thinks. What's going to happen this time? What's more, things between Milly, her sisters and their mum are rocky - Leonie is being tempestuous and unpredictable, Elyse is caught up with her new boyfriend, and Milly feels like she just doesn't know how she fits in any more.  

Over one Italian summer, can Milly find a way back to the life she once had?

Review

This book made me so happy I don't even know where to begin! It is the perfect book for summer with its picturesque backdrop of Rome and it's will they won't they romances. One Italian Summer is the first Keris Stainton book I've read and if this is anything to go by I'm off out to get the rest of her books right now! It was effortless and charming from the very start and I didn't want to put it down.

One Italian Summer is the story of Milly, the middle child in a family thats holding on by its finger tips. After their fathers death Milly, Elyse and Leonie have to find a way to live with the heartbreak of loosing the most important man in their lives because as much as it feels like everything is falling apart life keeps on going. However, with a family wedding this summer the girls get whisked away to Rome, where family comes together, love interests are around almost every corner (normally kissing someone else) and Milly and her sisters have a chance to really heal.

This book got me right in the feels guys! I mean I'm a proper daddy's girl so any book like this was going to choke me up but there was something about the way in which Keris Stainton writes that drags you into the page and makes you feel every word. There was a genteelness to One Italian Summer that felt effortless to read and the characters are all so incredibly captivating that you couldn't help but fall in love with them right along side Rome.

One Italian Summer feels like a movie, you can imagine the ups and downs, the will they wont they romances and the sadness behind the characters all playing out on screen in glorious technicolor. Maybe it's just me but when a book translates like that when reading I find them all the more engaging, which is a testament to the writer. The story is full of highs and lows, a wedding, nights under the stars, ice cream and even a mini road trip that will make you swoon.

Overall this book is one of my all time favourite summer reads, I would put it atop of any must reads  list for the beach and with the sun now finally starting to show its face it is the perfect time do crack open One Italian Summer and immerse yourself in Milly's story. You wont regret it! 

**I received this book as an ARC from Hot Key Books to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**