Jill Francis crafts a beautifully nuanced second-chance romance in The Summer You Were Mine, weaving together the stunning backdrop of the Italian Riviera with characters whose emotional depth matches the Mediterranean waters they’ve known since childhood. Set against the charming coastal town of Chiavari, this novel explores how love can endure despite time, misunderstandings, and the weight of public scrutiny.
The story centers on Ellie Beltrami and Cristiano “Cris” Conte, two souls whose families have been intertwined for generations. When their grandparents decide to marry after decades of friendship, Ellie and Cris are thrust back into each other’s orbits—both carrying the scars of career upheavals and personal revelations that have left them questioning everything they thought they knew about themselves.
Character Development That Resonates Deep
Ellie Beltrami: A Portrait of Modern Neurodivergence
Francis demonstrates remarkable sensitivity in portraying Ellie’s journey as a recently diagnosed autistic woman navigating the aftermath of a career-destroying mistake. Ellie’s character feels authentically rendered, from her meticulous attention to detail—like wrapping her tote handles in vintage scarves to protect her jacket—to her struggle with social interactions that feel performative rather than natural.
The author captures the internal experience of masking beautifully, showing how Ellie deploys “big smiles” that “erased their scrutiny and created a smooth exit from prickly topics.” This isn’t manipulation but self-preservation, a distinction Francis handles with admirable nuance. Ellie’s revelation about her neurodivergence serves as both character development and social commentary, highlighting how late diagnosis affects women who’ve spent years wondering why they felt different.
Her career as the host of Games Over, a sports psychology show, provides a fascinating contradiction—someone who struggles with social intuition helping athletes navigate their psychological challenges. Francis explores this tension without making Ellie’s autism a limitation, instead showing how her directness and analytical mind became professional strengths even as they occasionally created personal challenges.
Cristiano Conte: Strength Beyond the Pool
Cris emerges as more than the typical athletic hero. Francis subverts expectations by showing us a retired Olympic swimmer who dreams not of endorsement deals but of becoming an EMT. His quiet reading of A Thousand Naked Strangers—a memoir about emergency medical work—reveals depths that contrast beautifully with his public persona.
The doping allegations that threaten his reputation add contemporary relevance to his character arc. Francis handles this subplot with sophistication, showing how public figures navigate scandal in the social media age. Cris’s vulnerability shines through his interactions with his family, particularly the touching scenes with his grandfather Simone, where generational wisdom meets youthful uncertainty.
Setting as Character: The Magic of Chiavari
Francis’s background as a researcher living in Liguria, Italy, infuses every page with authentic Italian atmosphere. The Bagni Delfino beach club becomes more than a setting—it’s a repository of memories, a place where “summer dreams come true.” The author’s descriptions of aperitivo culture, the ritualistic card games, and the intergenerational bonds feel lived-in rather than researched.
The wedding preparations serve as a brilliant metaphor for second chances, with Graziella and Simone’s late-in-life romance providing both comic relief and emotional weight. Their love story offers hope that timing doesn’t always have to be perfect—sometimes it just has to be right.
Technical Craft and Narrative Structure
Francis employs a dual perspective that allows readers to understand both protagonists’ internal struggles without sacrificing narrative momentum. The pacing feels particularly well-calibrated during the middle section, where professional obligations threaten to pull Ellie and Cris apart just as they’re rediscovering their connection.
The author’s prose style reflects her characters’ personalities—Ellie’s sections feature more internal analysis and careful word choice, while Cris’s chapters flow with a more intuitive rhythm. This subtle stylistic shift demonstrates Francis’s command of voice and character.
Themes That Elevate the Romance
Identity and Self-Discovery
Beyond the romantic plot, the novel explores how we construct and reconstruct our identities throughout life. Ellie’s autism diagnosis at thirty represents a common experience for many women who receive late diagnoses, and Francis treats this journey with respect and authenticity.
Family Legacy and Chosen Paths
The multi-generational story examines how family expectations shape but don’t have to define us. Cris’s desire to leave competitive swimming for emergency medical work challenges assumptions about success and fulfillment, while Ellie’s career pivot forces her to reconsider what professional achievement means.
Public vs. Private Selves
In an era of social media scrutiny, the novel thoughtfully explores how public figures manage their authentic selves versus their media personas. The plot device of Ellie’s on-air mistake feels both timely and emotionally resonant.
Areas for Growth
While The Summer You Were Mine succeeds in most areas, some elements feel underdeveloped. The doping scandal subplot, while adding contemporary relevance, occasionally feels disconnected from the core emotional journey. The resolution comes perhaps too neatly, with Cris’s vindication happening largely off-page.
Additionally, some secondary characters, particularly Ellie’s parents Peggy and Gio, serve more as plot devices than fully realized individuals. Their marital problems provide family drama but lack the depth of characterization given to the protagonists and grandparents.
The professional consequences of Ellie’s career misstep also resolve somewhat conveniently. While this serves the romance plot, it might leave readers wanting more exploration of how public figures actually rebuild their reputations in today’s media landscape.
Romance Elements That Shine
Chemistry and Emotional Authenticity
Francis excels at building romantic tension through small moments—shared glances across a wedding rehearsal dinner, the familiar comfort of childhood memories, the vulnerability of late-night conversations. The physical intimacy feels organic to the emotional connection rather than obligatory to the genre.
The Italian setting enhances rather than overwhelms the romance. The authors avoids the trap of making the location mere window dressing, instead using the cultural context to deepen our understanding of both characters’ roots and values.
Conflict and Resolution
The central conflict—professional obligations versus personal desires—feels genuinely challenging rather than artificially manufactured. Both characters have legitimate reasons for their choices, making their eventual reunion feel earned rather than inevitable.
Similar Reads for Romance Lovers
Readers who enjoy The Summer You Were Mine might appreciate:
- Beach Read by Emily Henry – Contemporary romance with depth and authentic character development
- The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren – Enemies-to-lovers with family complications
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Media scrutiny and authentic love
- Slow Burn Summer by Josie Silver – Second chances and perfect timing
- The Things We Water by Mariana Zapata – Sports romance with slow-burn development
Final Verdict: A Romance with Substance
The Summer You Were Mine stands as a confident debut that balances genre expectations with literary aspirations. Francis brings her background in sports psychiatry to bear on characters who feel psychologically authentic while never losing sight of the romance that drives the narrative.
The novel works on multiple levels—as a love story, as a meditation on identity and belonging, and as a celebration of family bonds across generations. While some plot elements could benefit from deeper development, the emotional core remains strong throughout.
For readers seeking romance novels that engage both heart and mind, Francis delivers a story that respects its characters’ complexities while honoring the genre’s promise of hope and happiness. The Italian setting provides beautiful atmosphere, but the real magic lies in watching two people learn to trust not only each other but themselves.
The Summer You Were Mine suggests that sometimes the best time for love is simply when we’re brave enough to be authentic—with ourselves and with each other. In an age of curated online personas, this message feels both timely and timeless.
- Recommended for: Romance readers who appreciate character depth, anyone interested in neurodivergent representation, and lovers of Italian settings who want authenticity over tourist-brochure descriptions.
- Content notes: Some discussion of mental health, career pressures, and family conflict. Appropriate for adult readers seeking substantial contemporary romance.