Score: 4/5 Bookmarks

A big thank you to Valentine PR and Berkley for sending me Our Italian Summer by Jennifer Probst.

Three women, on a journey to reconnect with themselves and each other. Franny and her daughter Allegra have a difficult relationship and when things start to go seriously off the rails Francesca's mom, Sophia, convinces them to come on a trip through Italy with her. She hopes to show them their roots, and help them repair their relationship before it's too late.

The story is really beautiful and ultimately uplifting. Anyone who's ever struggled with their own familial relationships will be able to see some of themselves in each of the characters at one point or another, and probably be frustrated by them at other times—because they're real, and flawed, and human.

This book has a great message of acceptance and the importance of good communication and seeing things from new perspectives.

Ian, a young soon-to-be-priest is one of my favorite characters. He’s wise and thoughtful beyond his years and has such a great attitude and outlook on life.

And touring through Italy, via the pages of this book, was just what I needed right now. Especially as I sit and stare and the non-stop Seattle rain we've been having this week! It's been a few years since I was last in Italy and this book took me right back.

Synopsis:

Workaholic, career-obsessed Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of life except one: family. She struggles to make time for her relationship with her teenage daughter, Allegra, and the two have become practically strangers to each other. When Allegra hangs out with a new crowd and is arrested for drug possession, Francesca gives in to her mother's wish that they take one epic summer vacation to trace their family roots in Italy. What she never expected was to be faced with the choice of a lifetime. . . .

Allegra wants to make her grandmother happy, but she hates the idea of forced time with her mother and vows to fight every step of the ridiculous tour, until a young man on the verge of priesthood begins to show her the power of acceptance, healing, and the heartbreaking complications of love.

Sophia knows her girls are in trouble. A summer filled with the possibility for change is what they all desperately need. Among the ruins of ancient Rome, the small churches of Assisi, and the rolling hills of Tuscany, Sophia hopes to show her girls that the bonds of family are everything, and to remind them that they can always lean on one another, before it's too late.