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Love & Gelato
What's it about?
"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 from Lina 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."
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 from Lina 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."
-Goodreads Synopsis
My Thoughts:
I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did, quite honestly. It is definitely the poster child for a "summer read" but I loved it anyways. It took place in Italy of course, but what I especially enjoyed was the little bits of history that the author squeezed in. I'm not a big history person, but I do love art history, so the fact that they were exploring Florence and I knew exactly where they were and what they were talking about was really cool. I'm not sure how many people are able to relate to this, but I feel that any book setting in an area that you're familiar with is instantly gripping because it is so much easier to picture everything and easier to get swept up into the storyline.
As for the writing, it was nothing significant but nothing awful as well. The character development was lacking, and the main character Lina was just that typical annoying teenager who thought the world revolved around her. The romance was cute, but I could see that from a mile away (or 4000 miles).
The storyline was very original as Lina goes on a scavenger hunt to follow her mother's footsteps 20 years later. The only thing I did not like because it was so implausible that her grandmother would send her thousands of miles away to stay with a complete stranger and to just live there indefinitely...? Makes for a good story, but not really believable!
Overall, I give Love and Gelato 4 stars!
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