Skip to main content

Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Hello Everyone :)


As summer draws closer and closer everyday, I've really been in the mood for contemporaries. I mean, I'm always in the mood for reading contemporaries, but I've been even more so lately.


Love and Gelato was a contemporary that I received for Christmas that I'd yet to read, and so this last week I picked it as one of my weekly TBR reads, and I'm so glad I did!


Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch:



Source: Christmas Gift

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: May 3rd, 2016

Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Synopsis:

“I made the wrong choice.”

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 get 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 Lina, 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.


*******synopsis from goodreads*****

My Review:

Love and Gelato is quite possibly one of the most adorable books I've ever personally read. There's many elements I love in a contemporary young adult romance, and almost all of them are present here. To start with, this book takes place in Europe, particularly Italy, and it makes the developing story that much more interesting. Secondly, we have a swoon worthy romance with great chemistry that starts off as a friendship. Third, we have the presence of Lina's best friend Addie who is hilarious, high strung and slightly intense, and she's a brilliant secondary character. And lastly, we have a connection to the past as Lina sees Italy through her mother's eyes thanks to the journal that was left for her from her mom's semesters studying abroad in Florence.

With all these elements blending together beautifully, I definitely fell head over heels for this one. Jenna Evans Welch has a passionate writing style that captivates the reader, and makes the story come alive, and each chapter had me more and more invested in the story. Personally, my favorite part was the way that much of Lina's journey starts to unfold the same way it does for her mother in the journal, and it was a heart wrenching way for her to have one more connection to her mother that definitely helps her with the grieving process.

If you're a fellow contemporary fan, I can guarantee you won't be able to put this book down! I couldn't possibly recommend it enough, and I can't wait to read Addie's story, Love and Luck very soon as I definitely need more Jenna Evans Welch books in my life.

Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐


Favorite Quote: "and yes. I'd totally just compared the only guy I'd felt this way about to a ham sandwich."


Literally, I don't think this book could get any more adorable if it tried.


Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you all again shortly for more bookish fun. 


This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

First Line Friday: Courting Mr. Emerson

Happy Friday Everyone :) Since it is Friday, I'll once again be participating in First Line Friday which is hosted by Hoarding Books .  For this week, I'm going to be sharing the first line from Melody Carlson's newest book, Courting Mr. Emerson. About The Book: When the fun-loving and spontaneous artist Willow West meets buttoned-up, retired English teacher George Emerson, it's not exactly love at first sight. Though she does find the obsessive-compulsive man intriguing. Making it her mission to get him to loosen up and embrace life, she embarks on what seems like a lost cause--and finds herself falling for him in the process. A confirmed bachelor, George vacillates between irritation and attraction whenever Willow is around--which to him seems like all too often. He's not interested in expanding his horizons or making new friends; it just hurts too much when you lose them. But as the summer progresses, George feels his defenses crumbling. The quest...

First Line Friday: The Inheritance

Happy Friday Everyone :) I hope you're all had a great week and that you're staying safe no matter where you are. I haven't been leaving my house much lately other than for work, and because of this, I've had lots of reading time on my hands. Last year my hubby and I took a road trip that included a visit to our favorite bookstore, and we decided to each pick a book that wouldn't be our first choice. The purpose was to try and read something that still interested us, but would maybe be a bit different than what we would typically go for first. My pick ended up being The Inheritance by Michael Phillips, a book I actually ended up being quite excited about, despite never having heard of it prior. Unfortunately, it ended up sitting on my bookshelf ever since, and I'm so thankful I finally got the opportunity to pick it up and start reading it this past week. The Inheritance by Michael Phillips: About the Book: The death of the clan patriarch h...

First Line Friday: Remembering the Cowboy by Mandi Blake

Happy Friday Friends :) There's so many reasons I'm excited that it's once again Friday. I'm excited to be taking part in another edition of First Line Friday hosted by Hoarding Books , but I'm also excited to be featuring one of my favorite author's new releases for this week's edition. First Line Friday simply consists of sharing the first line from the book you're currently reading, and today I'm going to be sharing from Mandi Blake's new book, which released last week. Remembering the Cowboy by Mandi Blake: About the Book: They have unfinished business. She just can’t remember what it is. Camille Vanderbilt is headed back home to Wyoming with one goal: find her old best friend and give him a piece of her mind for ghosting her six years ago. She won’t let anyone stand in her way… until a deer runs into the road and causes her to wreck and forget almost everything. Noah Harding lives a simple life as a firefighter and rancher until Camille cras...