The Summer You Were Mine by Jill Francis (2025)
I suppose beachy reads don't get any beachier than this. What better place to rekindle doused out romantic fires than the Italian Riviera. Nothing like warm sun, sparkling beaches and endless amounts of Italian food and wine to make estranged lovers come to their senses. and catch up on what they've foolishly been missing all these many years.
And so it is with retired champion competitive swimmer Cris Conte and Ellie Beltrami., a talk show hostess with a psychology doctorate she makes use of to conduct hot seat interviews with athletes. Still hurting from their young love that went sour, they now both find themselves publicly disgraced - Ellie, by an embarrassing open mike moment and Cris by doping accusations. They also find themselves invited to the wedding of Ellie's grandmother to Cris's grandfather........which means, of course, returning to the beautiful little Italian town that's the ancestral home of both their extended families.
Hmmm......what could possibly happen next? (Any dedicated fan of second chance romances needn't answer.....)
Ellie and Cris embark on a mutually beneficial plan to refurbish and repair their damaged reputations, but their own wary unease around each other serve to thwart them..........with Ellie's lifelong social awkwardness explained by her recent autism diagnosis. But leave it to that radiant Italian scenery, sheer proximity, flowing wine and a host of loving relatives cheering them on from the sidelines. Are those a few sparks we see flying?
Found one like and dislike here. The like - plenty of sharp comedy relief on display from the assembled families. The big dislike - Ellie and Cris's ever-so-slow-to-get-going interactions are overwritten and overthought.....too many scenes where their dialogue goes 'round and 'round in circular babble that becomes maddening and repetitive... Verbally, these two crazy kids can't get out of their own way.
But all readers who love gorgeous settings, destination weddings, priceless wisecracks and romantic payoffs way high on the swoon meter............let's just say you won't feel disappointed. A sweet Italian vacation you can take without ever leaving your home.
And so it is with retired champion competitive swimmer Cris Conte and Ellie Beltrami., a talk show hostess with a psychology doctorate she makes use of to conduct hot seat interviews with athletes. Still hurting from their young love that went sour, they now both find themselves publicly disgraced - Ellie, by an embarrassing open mike moment and Cris by doping accusations. They also find themselves invited to the wedding of Ellie's grandmother to Cris's grandfather........which means, of course, returning to the beautiful little Italian town that's the ancestral home of both their extended families.
Hmmm......what could possibly happen next? (Any dedicated fan of second chance romances needn't answer.....)
Ellie and Cris embark on a mutually beneficial plan to refurbish and repair their damaged reputations, but their own wary unease around each other serve to thwart them..........with Ellie's lifelong social awkwardness explained by her recent autism diagnosis. But leave it to that radiant Italian scenery, sheer proximity, flowing wine and a host of loving relatives cheering them on from the sidelines. Are those a few sparks we see flying?
Found one like and dislike here. The like - plenty of sharp comedy relief on display from the assembled families. The big dislike - Ellie and Cris's ever-so-slow-to-get-going interactions are overwritten and overthought.....too many scenes where their dialogue goes 'round and 'round in circular babble that becomes maddening and repetitive... Verbally, these two crazy kids can't get out of their own way.
But all readers who love gorgeous settings, destination weddings, priceless wisecracks and romantic payoffs way high on the swoon meter............let's just say you won't feel disappointed. A sweet Italian vacation you can take without ever leaving your home.
4 stars (****).
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