A New York Times bestseller From the author of the New York Times bestselling Love & Gelato comes a heartwarming tale of a road trip through Ireland filled with love, adventure, and the true meaning behind the word family. Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding and hoping she can stop thinking about the one thing she did that left her miserable and … one thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken–and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother–and her problems–behind.
So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.
And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.
That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.
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Loved the story of this brother and sister. Evans depicted how real and messy family can be. The romance plot was good too and it was fun to travel “through” Ireland. I googled all the places.
Love & Luck is the sequel to Love & Gelato. Although it is another coming of age story, this one is less of a romance and focused more on a special sibling relationship. Addie and her family are in Ireland for her aunt’s wedding. She and her brother Ian (along with with a new friend, Rowan) end up on a journey through Ireland on their own. Ian has his own plan but Addie is following a guidebook called “Ireland for the Heartbroken.” Through this journey and the “Heartache Homework” she begins the process of healing her broken heart and her relationship with Ian. This was a great story of sibling love and support. I enjoyed looking up the places in Ireland they visited to see for myself where they were. If you haven’t heard of it, look up the Blarney Stone. This book had a great happy ending that really brought the story all together for each of the main characters.
Love & Gelato and Love & Luck are both sweet YA books that are appropriate for young teens as well as anyone who enjoys reading YA. I’d love for my daughter to read this story and hopefully appreciate the close relationship she has with her brother.
This author has a way of grasping teenage angst and modern issues that teens face by the horns and immersing it all in an emotional story. Addie and her brother, Ian, are fighting while at an aunt’s wedding in Ireland and a big change of plans, unbeknownst to their mother, leads them on a wild adventure across the Emerald Isle.
The sibling relationships pierce the heart, while the guidebook that Addie follows was an unexpected turn. It was difficult not to feel Addie’s anxiety over the big secret that is keeping her from her enjoying the normal brother-sister relationship with Ian. Rowan, a new Irish friend, added a lighter element to a somewhat melancholy feel. While there wasn’t a lot of romance, the issues between friends and family were plenty, and the cast of characters and charming escapade allowed for an entertaining literary vacation.
Content: mild language
Sigh. This could’ve had so much promise! I mean, a girl stuck on a road trip with her brother and his hot friend? Yes, please.
Only Addie and her brother were constantly fighting. I get it, siblings fight and some bickering is realistic, but there was so much it was giving me a headache. Also, there is VERY LITTLE romance. So disappointing.
Save yourself the bother and skip this one.
The only good thing about this book was Rowan- he was so sweet- but even he could’ve save the book.
Warning: this book will make you want to drop everything and immediately travel to Ireland!
Addie is running away from her mistakes and what better place to do that than in Ireland for her aunt’s destination wedding? All she has to do is survive a few days and she’ll be off to Italy to see her best friend and to forget the heartache that awaits her back home. But her brother, Ian, won’t let the past go. In her efforts to avoid Ian and the past, Addie stumbles across a unique guidebook that promises healing and distraction until it’s time to leave. Unfortunately, a change of plans finds Addie trapped in a tiny car with Ian and his friend, Rowan; however, with the help of the guidebook and some new friends Addie might just find the strength to stop running and to allow herself to heal.
This book was my favorite in the series so far, which is saying a lot since I quite enjoyed Love and Gelato. I do have to say that this book was more a coming of age story than a romance, but it definitely had a romantic subplot! It’s full of delightful descriptions, witty dialogue, and clever one-liners. Additionally, this book had one of the best sibling dynamics I’ve ever read! If you’re missing traveling as much as I am, you should give Love and Luck a read to help chase the COVID-blues away.
I loved this book! She really captured what Ireland feels like, especially the Cliffs of Moher! I loved the message of this book as well. I wrote down several quotes from it that I’ve reread over the years since I finished this book. All of her books are fun but deep and are well-written! I just finished Love and Olives, which is also fun!
Addie and her brother Ian, only 15 months apart, have always been best siblings. You know, best friends except for the fact they are brother and sister, however currently Ian is super pissed at Addie. She has done something and he wants her to tell their mother before she finds out from someone else. Addie refuses. In Ireland for a wedding, Addie and her brother Ian continue this argument and fall down the side of a cliff. At a wedding. Her mother is at her wits end wanting to see the relationship between her two kids repaired, so she ships them off to Italy to visit with Addie’s friend Lina. Ian has other plans, and Addie, not wanting to be left behind is an unwanted visitor on a road trip around Ireland, hosted by Ian’s online friend Rowan.
Secrets between siblings, especially close ones, never turn out well. Addie’s secret had to do with a summer romance gone wrong which will be embarrassing to face, but Ian’s secret is a life altering change. When Addie finds out why they are traveling around Ireland she realizes that this brother that she loves so much has a secret life, and that she may not have known him as well as she thought.
Rowan, as the Irish lad who owns the car they are traveling in, also has his own little bit of personal drama. When Addie finds a travel guide for a broken heart in their hotel, Rowan decides that his heart could use a little mending as well. The two of them bond over their heartbreaks, and he also helps her see who Ian really is. Love & Luck wasn’t a very intriguing or even very dramatic story, but it’s message about family and loving someone for who they are and not who you think they are was well played.
Addie was your typical teen who doesn’t want to face up to her mistakes, but she grows up a lot by the end of the book. Rowan was a sweet guy, the perfect foil for Ian and Addie’s sibling antics. The romance between the two of them was only hinted at as the plot was about growing up and facing the consequences of your actions. Ian was my favorite character by far. He was the big surprise of the book, and in my mind should’ve been the main protagonist. His journey was the more interesting of the two and a big lesson in not judging a book by it’s cover.
If you are looking for a light, easy to read YA contemporary novel, this is a solid hit and would be a great vacation read, especially if you have a trip planned to Ireland. I actually bought Love & Gelato last year because I had a trip planned to Italy, where it is set, but never got around to reading it. Now that I’ve tested the waters with this author (and those characters showed up in this book) I may move it onto my summer vacation reading list this year instead!
After reading this I totally wanted to go on a trip to Ireland. Very well written and super cute. A great book that dealt with heartache rather than falling in love and I appreciated that.
3.5/5 stars
1 (basic) star given for the writing style and overall sense of fluency and fluidity.
This novel is a coming of age novel with a sense of adventure and an underlying urgency to heal a heartbreak resultant from such cruel intentions. Addie is incredibly relating and wholly believable as a character. She is 16 in Love & Luck, and acts like it (for the most part, at least). While the story involves three teenagers voyaging around Ireland by themselves, it is entirely believable. Each of the trio has a deep meaning to be doing so and their problems are entirely believable.
I found another admirable aspect of this novel to be the family dynamic of Addie, her brothers, and her mother, though her father and his involvement with the family was confusing throughout (he was so rarely mentioned that I didn’t know if he was actually an active member or not). Addie is a product of her family, just as anyone is a product of theirs, and I loved seeing those roots and causes reflected in her.
This novel did not waste time overanalyzing the reasons for Addie’s decision and instead showed a true thought process for something like this happening. It was touching and allows insight to a teenage girl’s mind.
1 star taken away because this is not a story that I would find myself rereading again and again. Another 0.5 stars taken away because of the prolonging of the reason of Addie’s heartbreak, especially since it was hinted at so many times before the true reveal. This half star deduction is also due to the **(spoiler!!!)** building romance between two characters, something that could definitely be left out in Addie’s journey to finding peace and healing. **(end spoiler)**
I would recommend Love & Luck to anyone looking for a sweet kind of repairing of a broken heart.