One Summer In Sicily by Nancy Barone: Book Review

This book gave me insane wanderlust...between the beautiful descriptions of Sicily itself, and the storyline of self love, found family and romance, this book was a lovely summer read. I'll be going through the pros and cons of this book, with no major spoilers ahead. Thank you NetGalley for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review. Without further ado, andiamo!

Pros of One Summer In Sicily by Nancy Barone

Sicily

So, for those of you that have followed me for a while know that a large portion of my family is from Sicily, including my grandparents who taught me the dialect since I was a kid. I loved reading about the Sicilian culture, food, language and just way of living as it made me think of my own family. The way the main character Gillian accepts the Sicilian life as the story progresses is very beautiful, as her new found family shows her the best way to enjoy la dolce vita. I'll read quite honestly anything that's based in Sicily, but it helps tremendously that this story was so loveable and rather than picking on Sicilian and Italian stereotypes, it shows the best parts of the island and the country as a whole. I also love how Gillian is an Italian-Canadian, much like the author and myself. It makes the story so much more relatable, and I love that.

Mattia

Oh boy, did I ever like Mattia. You can't go wrong with an extremely charismatic Sicilian leading man, and Mattia delivered the best book boyfriend lines a woman could ask for. He was patient, encouraging, a little bit mysterious, charming and just overall dreamy. He was the type of male lead to pull for, and quite honestly the complete opposite of another male lead from another Italian based book that I recently read. Mattia had me swooning, as was Gillian! He was very loveable, Ms. Barone did a great job making him so endearing.

Gillian's Journey

I love a good rags to riches story, and Gillian's - as unorthodox as it was - was definitely a climb. After 20 something years of marriage, Gillian finds out that her husband Tony has been cheating and naturally she leaves him, although reluctantly at first as she settles into a life without him. She meets Sandra and Mattia, who take her in and help her get over her recent divorce. Gillian mentions several times that she's a plus sized woman, and that because of that her ex-husband made her feel poorly for it, whereas a certain Sicilian architect never seems to bat an eye at the fact that Gillian is a size 18. She learns to accept her body for what it is and rather than cover up like she's been doing for the longest time, she starts wearing flattering clothes, as well as a trip to the salon to make her feel like a new woman. As clumsy as Gillian is, she's also kind of like a caterpillar that's blossomed into a butterfly after spending so much time in Sicily and gaining some self confidence. She often mentions how she can't believe an attractive man who's heavily desired by basically the entire island is interested in her, and I feel like that just speaks to a lot of the plus sized girls out there who have felt the same thing. Gillian grows and learns to love herself, those around her and the new life she's made for herself, and that alone is a beautiful thing.

Cons of One Summer In Sicily by Nancy Barone

Empty Spaces

I loved this story, however, I found that there were many empty spaces in the book that kind of ran on a bit, but I kept reading of course because I was captivated by the story itself and one of the bigger reasons, I was so curious as to what Mattia's secret was! And so, I read on about minor subtopics that seemed to drag on for a bit, but it kind of made it feel more realistic in a way; like I was reading a journal of someone who actually was living in the book.

Overall, this book was very enjoyable, and I would definitely recommend it to friends, family and readers.

Have you read One Summer In Sicily by Nancy Barone? Do you want to? Let's have a conversation!

Find me on social media!

Instagram: @melissa_dia @cozyannotations

YouTube: @MelissaDiaferia

Facebook: @melissa.diaferia.5

A presto,

Melissa