Title: Love and Gelato

Author: Jenna Evans Welch  

Genre:Young Adult, Contemporary  

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 389

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

“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.

Review:

Wow. This book was exactly what I wanted I read this summer! It was so cute!

Lina goes to Italy to spend time with her father. Little does she know that this trip will be a once in a lifetime experience, with secrets unfolding and new friendships, especially with a handsome guy named Ren!

I love that the book took place in Italy. I visited Italy when I was 17 and fell in love with the country and have always dreamed about going back. The author did an excellent job of transplanting the reader into Italy, with the descriptions of the landscapes, the history, and the food! I also enjoyed that the book looked at Lina’s experiences in the present, and also looked into her mothers experiences in the past. I like books that have hidden mysteries that the main character has to unravel and uncover, so that aspect of the book was really fun for me.

Lina was also a loveable character and was very relatable. I felt a lot of empathy towards her as a character and I love books where I feel an emotional attachment to the main character. I laughed, I cried, and I loved this book.

Happy reading!