Hello Everyone :)
Thanks so much for joining me today on The Preppy Book Princess.
If any of you have been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember that a few weeks back I'd read and reviewed Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch here, and I completely adored it.
I was definitely anticipating reading the sequel, especially considering it's set in Ireland and sounded super sweet and adorable. I finally got the chance to read it last week, and so today I'd like to share what I thought about it with all of you guys.
Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch:
Source: Library
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: May 8th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Young Adult
Synopsis:
Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did 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. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.
So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally 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.
*****synopsis from goodreads*****
My Review:
I had adored Love and Gelato when I read it a few weeks back, and in fact I'd go as far as to say that it's one of my favorite contemporary novels. So it was with much anticipation that I picked up the companion sequel, only to find myself slightly underwhelmed once I did finally finish it.
To start with, the story felt really rushed. While in Love and Gelato, most of the events unfold over a reasonable amount of time, everything in Love and Luck happens over the course of three days. The timeline just felt off to me right from the start, and at the end of the novel I was left feeling like this didn't feel like a complete novel, and that I wasn't left at all satisfied with how everything wrapped up.
Secondly, from the synopsis, it's hinted that this will feature a romance between Addie and Rowan, and it just didn't go about the way I was expecting. Most of their encounters were rushed and included Addie's brother Ian, and the reader never really got a feel of any chemistry building between them.
Thirdly, while I did enjoy the comedic side of the travel guide sections that are done in the same way as the diary entries were in Love and Gelato, they just weren't as interesting, and often seemed almost ridiculous in the things that Addie and Rowan were expected to do.
Now all of that being said, I did still enjoy many moments of this book, and I definitely don't regret picking it up. I actually really liked Addie as a character, and I enjoyed her interactions with her brother Ian especially. I also liked the way that overcoming stereotypes plays such a central focus, and I felt this was displayed fairly realistically. I really do enjoy Jenna Evan Welch's writing style, and I enjoy the way she's able to flip back and forth between Addie's story, Addie's past actions and the travel guide sections so effortlessly. And of course, I definitely enjoyed the appearance by Lina and Ren which was the highlight of the novel for me.
So all in all, while this was definitely nowhere near as good as Jenna's last book, its still cute in its own way. I only wish there'd been a little more to it, and that there'd been an actual believable romance element included in it.
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
I'm not sure if it would ever be a reread, but I'm glad I took a chance on reading it a least once.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your weekend and I'll see you all again on Monday!
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.
Thanks so much for joining me today on The Preppy Book Princess.
If any of you have been reading my blog for awhile, you may remember that a few weeks back I'd read and reviewed Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch here, and I completely adored it.
I was definitely anticipating reading the sequel, especially considering it's set in Ireland and sounded super sweet and adorable. I finally got the chance to read it last week, and so today I'd like to share what I thought about it with all of you guys.
Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch:
Source: Library
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: May 8th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Young Adult
Synopsis:
Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did 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. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.
So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally 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.
*****synopsis from goodreads*****
My Review:
I had adored Love and Gelato when I read it a few weeks back, and in fact I'd go as far as to say that it's one of my favorite contemporary novels. So it was with much anticipation that I picked up the companion sequel, only to find myself slightly underwhelmed once I did finally finish it.
To start with, the story felt really rushed. While in Love and Gelato, most of the events unfold over a reasonable amount of time, everything in Love and Luck happens over the course of three days. The timeline just felt off to me right from the start, and at the end of the novel I was left feeling like this didn't feel like a complete novel, and that I wasn't left at all satisfied with how everything wrapped up.
Secondly, from the synopsis, it's hinted that this will feature a romance between Addie and Rowan, and it just didn't go about the way I was expecting. Most of their encounters were rushed and included Addie's brother Ian, and the reader never really got a feel of any chemistry building between them.
Thirdly, while I did enjoy the comedic side of the travel guide sections that are done in the same way as the diary entries were in Love and Gelato, they just weren't as interesting, and often seemed almost ridiculous in the things that Addie and Rowan were expected to do.
Now all of that being said, I did still enjoy many moments of this book, and I definitely don't regret picking it up. I actually really liked Addie as a character, and I enjoyed her interactions with her brother Ian especially. I also liked the way that overcoming stereotypes plays such a central focus, and I felt this was displayed fairly realistically. I really do enjoy Jenna Evan Welch's writing style, and I enjoy the way she's able to flip back and forth between Addie's story, Addie's past actions and the travel guide sections so effortlessly. And of course, I definitely enjoyed the appearance by Lina and Ren which was the highlight of the novel for me.
So all in all, while this was definitely nowhere near as good as Jenna's last book, its still cute in its own way. I only wish there'd been a little more to it, and that there'd been an actual believable romance element included in it.
Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
I'm not sure if it would ever be a reread, but I'm glad I took a chance on reading it a least once.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your weekend and I'll see you all again on Monday!
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.
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