A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping New York Times bestseller filled with romance, mystery, and adventure.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 … 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.
Kirkus Reviews called Love & Gelato “a sure bet for fans of romance fiction,” while VOYA said readers “will find it difficult to put this book down.” Readers are about to discover a new place, a new romance, and a new talent.
more
I saw this book all over Instagram and fell in love with its title and cover. I didn’t realize until I had it in my hands that it’s a teen book, so I had to put myself back in time a few decades and remember what that’s like! 🙂 But – it was such a charmer that people of all ages will enjoy it. Love, family, mystery, and gelato make for great stories and I look forward to reading more from this author.
I studied abroad in Florence during my junior year of college, so when I saw this adorable romance set in Italy and promising both a Tuscan road trip and lots of gelato, I knew I had to pick it up. It was a very sweet book with all the best known spots in Florence showcased, and while it wasn’t quite what I thought it would be, it was the perfect book to get lost in for a few hours during a busy week!
This book definitely lives up to the hype; I now need to visit Italy, fall in love, and eat mountains of gelato. I love reading travel stories that I can easily envision myself in, and the main character Lina is the kind of girl that you aspire to be, root for, but also relate to. The perfect summer read.
Fans of the young-adult genre will definitely enjoy Jenna Evans Welch’s debut novel: Love & Gelato. It incorporates grief, family issues, age-appropriate romance, and the Italian culture. Overall, I liked it. The cultural components were my favorite parts. I also could very much appreciate the lengths the heroine went to in order to learn about her paternity – I was in the same boat at a point in my adolescence and her curious desperation felt very familiar. The only other thing I can say is it’s been a few days since finishing this very easy read, and I’m still craving gelato. I liked that part too 🙂
My favorite quote:
“So… Italian gelato. Take the deliciousness of a regular ice-cream cone, times it by a million, then sprinkle it with crushed-up unicorn horns.”
I am so glad I read this. I’m going to start in on her next one, “Love and Luck.” It was a sweet book and definitely makes me want to Google some of the sights or get a book with great pictures of the piazzas and everything she saw in Italy. I’ve never been, and I probably won’t get to, but I know I’d love it. This book was funny and full of calamity but they work their way through it all. I kept forgetting the main character was 16. She almost seemed younger to me, but I liked her childlike 16. I’ve never eaten gelato either, but I may come across an opportunity, or I’ll make myself an opportunity, to experience it! I read this because I have read nearly every book her father wrote, and I was like, “Oh, yay, his daughter writes now too. I’ve got to try her books.” I’m so glad. It sounds like she’s having fun writing, if you read the little acknowledgements page. I think there would have to be a lot of pressure, but she’s her own person, and so cool that this dream of hers is coming true as she gets to write and publish books as well. I’d love to be a fan.
What a sweet read!!!!
I’m not just saying that because I love all things Italian, including my hubby, but this story really gave me the feels! Lina and Ren are one of my favorite couples and the road to them coming to be is one that I loved taking.
A book lover friend of mine asked me about this book, but noticed the length and was a little put off. I can tell you that even though it’s 400 pages, the pages go so fast you don’t notice how long it is. The story doesn’t feel long enough once you close the last page.
Oh, how I want to see what happens now that Lina knows who she is, what she is doing with her life, and dating Ren. I just can’t get enough! Plus she has this relationship with Howard that I know will grow and be wonderful. These are things we want to witness as readers, you just get so invested.
If you like a feel-good romance, with a touch of drama, then you need this book in your life. It’s definitely going on my faves list!
This was such a fun and engaging read. I love the author’s humor and writing style. Will definitely be continuing this series.
This book reminded me of why I enjoy YA romance books. Even the smallest things are huge and dramatic, the love story is sweet and the ending leaves me feeling hopeful. After Lina’s mother dies, she is sent to Italy to live with her father who she never knew about. She can’t wait to leave and hopefully live with her best friend, but she knows she has to endure the summer at least. She meets Ren (Lorenzo) and they quickly become friends as he shows her around her new hometown.
An old friend of her mother gives Lina a journal that her mother kept when she lived in Italy. As Lina reads the journal, she discovers a part of her mother that she never knew about and her mother’s experiences push Lina to explore more of Italy.
I really enjoyed reading about Lina’s journey as she navigates life without her mom, in a foreign country, with new friends…all things out of her control that shape the next part of her life. Ren is a sweetheart and such a good friend to her. There is also another story, that of Lina’s mother, Hadley. She moves to Italy after high school to pursue photography school and of course, falls in love with both a man and Italy. As the story continued, pieces of the puzzle started fitting together and the ending tied it all together.
And the gelato…oh this book really made me want to taste the decadence of Italian gelato.
I just finished the best (aside from Lovely War by Julie Berry) book I have ever read. It was romantic and heart-wrenching and beautiful and emotional and magical and adorable…It was simply amazing.
And it’s called Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch.
This book is just so cute! My heart broke for Lina from the first paragraph. I just felt for her so deeply. To go through that much struggle at such a young age had to have been tough. But Harold’s understanding and calmness in helping Lina settle into life in Italy was touching. I loved him instantly.
I also loved Ren basically instantly. The only time I didn’t like him was towards the end when he was giving Lina the cold shoulder. Failure to communicate is always a big character pet peeve because I know if they would just speak they would do so much better! However, I also know that it’s something that pushes the story along in ways nothing else would. But that doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally want to throw the book across the room in frustration at the lack of communication! But anyway, Ren is pretty much the coolest. I didn’t really like Thomas but I have no real reason not to. I think it’s just because I liked Ren better.
Lina’s mother’s journal was perhaps my favorite addition to the story. I do wish Lina had gone through it quicker. If Harold can read the whole thing cover to cover in two hours, Lina could have read it faster. Just learn her story, girl! And don’t go making big decisions until you have read the entire thing! But still, the way that journal helped Lina grow throughout the book was very well done.
Okay, maybe my most favorite was the description of Italian tourist sites and history. And the food. Oh, the food! All of that made me so happy.
Note: some language, teens drinking and partying, including going to clubs; teen not knowing who her father is; cancer, death, grief
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Read By Rebekkah Ross—Rebekah did a good job narrating for teenagers. I enjoyed her narration.
What a sweet (no pun intended) lovely book. Family isn’t always about genetics, but love. And some really good gelato. A few chapters in I stopped listening. I bought it on sale having read the description, but not the category and I haven’t been YA in a long long time. I decided to listen while I was looking for something new. I am so glad I finished. It was truly a wonderful story. Terrific narration of the audiobook as well.
A fantastic Young Adult story!
I’m always on the lookout for new-to-me authors and especially new-to-me young adult authors. When I first saw Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch (releasing November 2020), I was intrigued. So I hurried to my library website to see if any of her other books were available. They were. And that was my induction into the world of one of my now-favorite young adult writers.
There are so many things to love about Love & Gelato! First off, the writing style was great. It was heartfelt and yet not angsty (no matter how many times Lena wept!) I appreciated that it was told from a single point of view. Yes, it would have completely spoiled things if it was done differently. The descriptions of the places Lena saw were so beautiful. Along with mentioning famous landmarks, the stories and legends associated with them were shared in a natural manner that assimilated them very well.
The plot was perhaps not the most original. Girl’s mom dies and Girl moves to another country and discovers her mom had been keeping secrets from her. But, oh, the story using this plot! And some of the quirky things that were included. Not the least of which was the house Lena moved into in Italy in the middle of an American memorial cemetery. Which, it ends up, is based on a real girl the author had met who lives in that very place! The unusual houses were also a lot of fun. Each one described was so unexpected and so different from the others.
Soon after Lena arrived in Italy, she was presented with the journal her mother kept while living there herself. It was probably one of the most fascinating journals I’ve seen included in a story like this. You’ll love reading Hailey’s account of her year there.
It’s easy to continue to gush about the things I loved but I think you get the picture. I’m really looking forward to reading more in the Love & series.
Parents, if you prefer to not have your kids reading stories with underage drinking, be aware that there is some of that here. Though in Italy, there is no such thing. It is neither glorified nor condemned, other than a mention of how stupid one of the characters gets when he is drunk. There was also a hint of one of the characters being found with grass in his hair which he attributed to rolling in the grass. At which his friends teased about him not rolling around alone. And the final caution is from when they were in a club and the dancing by secondary characters was described (briefly) for its sensuous nature.
Read my review of Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch at AmongTheReads.net
This book takes you on a journey to find out Lina’s true father and ends up finding herself in the process. The loss of a parent and finding your real one can be an emotional process, but in the end finding about yourself and the true meaning of happiness is the best reward. I couldn’t put the book down.
Love & Gelato is a captivating Young Adult Romance set in Tuscany. Delving into a vivid description of Italy — the food, the culture, the history, the people and places, Jenna Evans Welch created an atmosphere that I was not ready to leave.
The plot is simple yet gripping and unnecessary complications have no place here as it tackles topics such as family, regrets, secrets, hopes and love.
The leads are wonderful and their adventures are exciting. The book has an airy feel to it while hitting some serious topics that are usually dealt in YA.
One thing I’ve learned from this book is that anything can happen over a tub of gelato.
PS. This book will leave you a crazy yearning for gelato!
4.5 Stars!
I love how the story
I normally don’t like contemporary romance, but I loved this book. It was fun, easy to read and a clean read.
I fell in love with this book as soon as I read the first chapter. Read it so much I finished in a week!
The perfect book with a mix of mystery and romance!
LOVE. THIS. BOOK.
This was a sweet story of first love and the meaning of family with a little mystery and a wonderful Italian setting thrown in. Lina, the protagonist, pieces together secrets from her deceased mother’s past while exploring Florence and falling in love. It is a teen novel but I found it both engaging and enjoyable.