Title: Love and gelato
Author: Jenna Evens Welch
Page number: 389 pages
Where I received: From library
Actual rating: ★★★★☆ 4.5/5 stars
A popular young adult book that I actually loved. It is a Christmas miracle! This book was very interesting and quite hilarious. For a contemporary, it was pretty great. This is the perfect summer beach read. It is quite fast paced. I actually read it all in one setting. This book is cooked in mystery and adventure. I loved the range of topics that were explored in this book. It did have some issues though as seen through my star rating.
"You know, people come to Italy for all sorts of reasons, but when they sat, it's for the same two things."
"What?"
"Love and gelato.”
Love and Gelato is a story about a sweet girl named Lina ( by the way this name annoys me so much for some reason) Who in the beginning is spending time with her mother, who is seriously close to passing away from cancer. It was very tasteful and honest, for a book that starts out with a woman on her death bed. She decides to ship her daughter off to Italy to live with a total stranger, umm which seems completely crazy to me. At least the move really trusted the person.
Somehow despite all the hype, I went into this book completely blind and unspoiled. Which was really good because the books twist and turns make it a thrilling ride for readers. This is where the story starts to be quite mysterious. All Lina knows about is this guy is supposedly her dad, and her mother really loved Italy as shown through her travel journal. Which I thought was a perfect sentimental gift to be given. She's of course completely terrified by the thought to moving to Italy and having to begin a whole new life. Except this new dad lives in a cemetery, which was sort of pointless but quite interesting. It is a cool World War cemetery so that was an interesting detail.
“Ghosts had never made sense to me. When my mom was gone, she was just gone. I’d give anything for it to be otherwise.”
She starts finding clues as to why her mother sent her to Italy. Which sends her sight seeing, and exploring the lovely surroundings. Of course, Lina begins to fall for a complete clique guy that is currently off the market. She is jealous and a little territorial over a man she barely knows. This is something I absolutely hate reading about instal-love and bad guys that are currently unavailable. I really feel like this love triangle was put into the story to create some. classic girl drama. At least the love interest is randomly resolved in record time, so you don't have to suffer through it that long.
The main character is cute and sort of annoying. She quite selfish but what teen doesn't have a selfish period in their growth. I feel like she wasn't completely developed either, she really just was struggling with grief, I would have loved to see various facets of her personality. I had trouble relating to her, but she did feel real. I think was a typical sixteen-year-old.
Also for those of you that don't like romance, or at least puppy young adult romance have no fear, this book has very little romantic details to it. That is partially why I didn't pick it up at first. It was just too much I thought. It was trying too hard. I know I shouldn't judge a book by its cover and title. This book is surprisingly sweet like tasty gelato.
This book has the perfect recipe for success a romantic location, an adorable plot, and a quick read. The characters hold your interest but don't overshadow the whole book. It is super engrossing. The writing is quite well done, at no point did I feel awkward or forced. It was a multi dimensional book.
Be sure to pick up this book to read this summer, you won't regret it. I borrowed this book from my local library, and I am extremely glad I did.
Links for purchase: Amazon // Barnes and Noble // Book Depository // !ndigo //
Goodreads Description:
No comments:
Post a Comment