Love and Gelato // Books I Discovered On My Blogging Journey

 

“What I really want is someone who will wake me up early so I don't miss a sunrise.” 

- Love and Gelato

Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is go back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires her, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

Characters

You know, its been so long since I read this and all the characters have just magically disappeared from my memory! I remembered that I liked Ren, who I thought was funny and chill, and Howard, who made EXCELLENT use of that chainsaw and terrified every guy that showed up.  And I liked "the lady/that other adult who's name escapes me." And I liked that the best friend (who's name also escapes me) and how she interacts with Lina.

“Hey, I just thought of something.”
“What?”
“When we’re together, we make one whole Italian.” 

 

Other Things

It's in Italy? What more do you need :P

The book describes the Italian towns pretty well and I can see myself there staring off a stone bridge into a river so there is that 

A+ food mentions, including gelato flavors

“I want to try for another record tomorrow. What was that last kind I had? With the chocolate chunks?”
“Stracciatella.”
“I’m naming my first daughter after it.”
“Lucky her.”

5/5 stars

Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once-inseparable siblings.

But when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s finally able to escape her anxious mind—and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is, if they don’t get completely lost along the way.

 

Characters

So I actually liked the characters better in this book than in Love and Gelato...And maybe it was simply Addie's personality, the sibling narrative, or the healing from heartbreak (or that fact that I wanted to break his face. You know the he I'm talking about.) 

All of Addie's brothers were amazing and distinct and made me laugh. Rowan was adorable. 

Also, the character at the end who surprised me and I love because of it, but I shan't explain more so you don't have to worry about spoilers. :D

 

“Labels aren't big enough for people. And once you try to categorize someone, you stop looking for who they actually are.” 

Other Things

It made me want to travel to Ireland. 

Actually, I always want to travel to Ireland. 

It made me want to find my own copy of Ireland for the Heartbroken and travel the country with it for a guide. Am I heartbroken? No. Was the narrator in the guide book wonderfully snarky? YES. 

“Every time a traveler goes to Ireland and doesn’t stop at the Cliffs of Moher, a banshee loses her voice.” 

5/5 Stars

 

Love and Olives by Jenna Evans Welch

Liv Varanakis doesn’t like to think about her father much, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight, leaving her with just a few painful memories of their shared love for the lost city of Atlantis. So when teenage Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father, who explains that National Geographic is supporting a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and asks if she will fly out to Greece and help—Liv is less than thrilled.

When she arrives in gorgeous Santorini, things are just as awkward as she'd imagined. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. Liv doesn’t want to get sucked back into her father's world. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo, her father’s charismatic so-called protégé, to witness her struggle.

Even so, she can't help but be charmed by everything Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the sun-drenched villages, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.

 

Characters

 I don't know if Liv was my favorite main character so far, through I did enjoy reading about her...but Theo was definitely my favorite. I can't quite place my finger on a single trait at least not without spoiling some scene or other. But oh my gosh. They were so CUTE. 

Theo's family was amazing and adorable and I really want them to be real so I can meet them.

The employee at the bookstore who's name escapes me: Absolute character. Everything he said or did was just kind of off the walls and I loved reading scenes he was in.  

“Kalamata, no one knows what they're doing. It's called life.”  

 

Other Things

The book is set in GREECE so part of it is in beautiful winding streets and part of it is on the beach or the Mediterranean... 

BUT its ALSO set in a BOOKSTORE. 

A BOOKSTORE IN GREECE?! 

WITH A CUTE BOY? WHO SPEAKS FRENCH (AND SEVERAL OTHER LANGUAGES?)

"You are never quite alone when you are in a bookstore. So many voices are jammed into one place, it is impossible to feel alone.”

5/5 Stars