Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch // BOOK REVIEW

"Turns out there's a reason they call it falling in love, because when it happens - really happens - that's exactly how it feels. There's no doing or trying, you just let go and hope that someone's going to be there to catch you."

NO SPOILER REVIEW!!!

Book: Love & Gelato (Love & Gelato #1)

Author: Jenna Evans Welch

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis: 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 Lina 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 Lina 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.

What’s great about it…

I have so much feels in this book. Firstly, it was a cute and quick summer read. It is the kind of book I just needed before I get to start my mystery / suspense reads in the coming days. The whole story is kind of on the light side and it tear me up a little bit (which is good). Also the characters are all so adorable! I think Lina is cool and the way she loves her mother beyond explanation is just great (I can totally relate to that), her attitude towards Howard is commendable, although at first she was always dodging him and cutting him off (which I think is normal because he was technically a stranger to her) – she still showed him respect. She’s really friendly and always on the go. I commend her braveness to search for the truth. Her moment alone in the tower felt so vivid and realistic that I felt her ache for her mom. I love the other characters as well like Ren, Howard, Sonia and Elena. I love how caring and friendly they can be.

Secondly, it made me feel like a teenager again. It made me miss my old, summer days and my puppy crushes. Reading it paved way to happy memories of my teenage years – it made me feel nostalgic.

Lastly, I like it that I get to know more about Florence – the gelato, piazzas, different sculptures and other must-see places there.

What I liked less…

First, I kinda predicted how it will end. Midway through the book, I know what’s gonna happen and what’s inside that journal long before Lina finished it and it’s kinda upsetting -- knowing what's gonna happen next.

Then, it has a lot of Italian words into it and the book provides no translation (because of course, it is a first person POV and Lina doesn’t know how to speak Italian) though I don’t think that those are of much importance in the story’s progression, I just don’t like it when there’s something I don’t understand in what I was reading. So I have to either guess what they mean or put the book down to open Google translate. Here are some parts and you can try it for yourself:

I followed Howard across the big open space (piazza, he told me) and he held the restaurant's door open for me. A man wearing a necktie tucked into his apron looked up from behind his stand and stood a little straighter. Howard was like two feet taller than him.
"And tonight, how many?" he asked in a nasally voice.
"Possiamo avere una tavolo per due?"
The man nodded, then called to a passing server.
"Buona sera," the server said to us.
"Buona sera. Possiamo stare seduti vicino alla cucina?"
"Certo."

And

After what felt like ten minutes, the door slowly creaked open and I took a step back, half expecting to be greeted by Great-great-grandmother Alessandra. Instead, a casually dressed teenage girl stepped into the doorway. She was curvy with a diamond stud in her nose and thick black hair.
"Ciao, Lorenzo!" She threw her arms around Ren and pressed her cheek to his, making a kissing noise. "Dove sei stato? Mi sei mancato."
"Ciao, Elena. Mi sei mancata anche tu." Ren stepped back, then gestured to me. "Guess who this is?" 

My Verdict

Reading it reminded me of Anna and the French Kiss – though I vaguely remember the plot of it – I just know that they’re somewhat the same, it was still cute though. I might still recommend it when someone would ask me for a quick and adorable read. This book and a hundred scoops of gelato‘s similarity, for me, is that I can finish it all in one day!

MY RATING:

★★★★☆