The Summer You Were Mine

For me, the best summer reads tend to be ones that transport me to other countries around the world. One of my favorite destinations is Italy. That led me to Jill Francis‘s debut, The Summer You Were Mine.

Fourteen years after childhood friends almost became something more, they’re back in Italy together for their respective grandparents’ wedding. Ellie’s sports talk show is about to be canceled after a scandal; Cris has a record to set straight after now that he’s just retired from his swimming career. They can help each other out… but all that time spent together may also be what they need to rekindle what they once (almost) had.

What I Liked:

• Multi-generational relationships: Grandparents marrying; parents divorcing; Ellie and Cris maybe finally turning their friendship into a romance? This book encompasses so many stages of a romantic relationship, from finding love late in life after loss, to giving up on a decades-long marriage, to the fractured relationship Ellie and Cris are only just now revisiting. How do you know if a love is worth fighting for? When is it time to put it firmly in the past?
• Career growth from endings. Cris recently retired, though it’s mired in scandal after he was caught taking a banned pain reliever. Similarly, Ellie kind of destroyed her own show (though she secretly hated it, so is that so bad?). Both are looking at what’s next: fixing the path they’re on or doing something different. Are they brave enough to go after what they want?
• Second chance… but not tons of flashbacks from their past. There’s no dual timeline, though we get some glimpses of what their friendship was like. They never had a chance to become something more… at least not since that one night. Fourteen years is a long time, but their friendship foundation was strong before it all went wrong.
• Ellie was recently diagnosed as autistic. It’s not a big deal, and she’s actually kind of happy to know this about herself. It has impacted how she understands herself, for the positive. I like this more subtle, gentle representation and depiction of being neurodivergent, and of finding out as an adult.
• That romantic declaration near the end?! The groceries? The Netflix? My heart!!
• Greta! She’s such a fun character who provides some much-needed levity.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• Almost incestuous? Cris’s grandfather is marrying Ellie’s grandmother…

Audiobook:

Nicol Zanzarella and Tim Campbell narrate as Ellie and Cris. I enjoyed both of their voice acting; each portrayed their respective characters, as well as the side characters, so well. This was a great listen!

Final Thoughts

The Summer You Were Mine is a wonderfully written, sweet romance that captures the essence of Italy and Italian culture. I liked the multi-generational family, the neurodivergent representation, and the career changes both Ellie and Cris are facing… plus, of course, their romance! I enjoyed this debut and look forward to reading more from Jill Francis.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Dreamscape, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Summer You Were Mine here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The Summer You Were Mine by Jill Francis
Audiobook Narrator	Nicol Zanzarella; Tim Campbell
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Romance
Setting	Italy
Number of Pages	352
Format I Read	Audiobook & Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	July 1, 2025
Publisher	St. Martin’s Griffin

Official Summary

“The Summer You Were Mine is a swoony dream of a love story, as seductive and unique as its Italian seaside setting. Bellissima, indeed!” – Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

A beachy, second-chance romance set on the stunning Italian coast, where messy emotions and life challenges collide in this poignant and enthralling novel.

Ellie Beltrami and Cristiano Conte have known each other their entire lives. Both families hail from Chiavari, a small city on the Italian Riviera. Their grandparents are friends. Their parents are friends. They were friends. And for one brief moment fourteen summers ago, they were almost more than that.

After years apart, Ellie and Cris are headed back to Chiavari as generations of Beltramis and Contes gather for the unlikely second marriage between her grandmother and his grandfather. But while everyone’s celebrating, Ellie is reeling from the very public implosion of her career as the host of a sports talk show, plus overthinking her past and perceived flaws in light of the recent discovery that she is neurodivergent. Cris, a newly retired elite swimmer, also arrives adrift after being accused of using a banned substance.

Reunited in a place where summer dreams come true, Cris and Ellie make a deal: an exclusive interview with Cris to fix her career, and an appearance on Ellie’s show to clear his name. Soon they’re picking up where their teen romance left off—but if this second chance can last, they’ll need to finally confront what drove them apart all those summers ago.

Can your greatest regret become your deepest love?