Mundie Moms

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch / Book Review


Written by: Jenna Evans Welch
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 3, 2016
Purchase: Publisher | Barnes and Noble | Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository
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Source: Purchased

Rating: 4 out of 5 deliciously sweet stars


“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.


Yesterday was the first official day of Fall, and I'm already missing Summer. Love & Gelato was one of those books that I had to have in my beach bag, and I really did plan to read it on a beach somewhere eating preferably gelato. Instead, I found myself sipping on an iced pumpkin spice latte, reading in the pull-through lane at school (where I spend unusually long hours just waiting). Not the ideal setting for this story, but hey, it'll do.

Speaking of setting, Jenna described the historical beauty of Florence and the deliciousness of the food in a such a way that I started googling getaways. Why not? The kids will eventually finish college and move out, right? I am such a long way away from that. But back to the story, the setting is perfection as is the justification for the trip to Italy. With her mother's recent passing, one of her mom's dying wishes was for Jenna to visit Italy just as she did (except the mom was in college and Lina is still in high school).

The tension in the book is provided by her mom's journal, which sends Lina on a bit of a hunt through her mom's favorite places as well as a hunt for her true father. Following Lina through this journey is the always present and need I add, handsome, Ren. Her father figure (the friend her mom sends her to), Howard, is there, too, but he aids less in the search for the truth and provides more of a role of guardian. Is Howard her father? Was there another man? Did her mother find what she wanted to find when she lived in Italy? These are the questions that will leave you turning pages.

For me, the story was sweet and really picked up speed in the last third of the book. While I found the plot a bit predictable, Lina's friends, and their many side moments that should have distracted from the plot, instead added a fun element to read. And the story made me think of that age old question -- how will you know if this is really your true love?

If you're in the mood for a truly sweet story with a gorgeous Italian setting, pick up Love & Gelato. I think it's still warm enough for a scoop of gelato and a romantic summer read. Now, I need to decide on what flavor.

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