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adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual assault
Minor: Pregnancy
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Minor: Gaslighting
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Very cute, easy read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Minor: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Odette hating Italy is cringe. So is Lina pretending that Lorenzo isn’t cute. Very YA. Not a great love story, but I love a good family story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual harassment
Minor: Rape, Kidnapping, Gaslighting
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
At first I found Lina almost annoyingly American (yes she's an American in Italy, annoyingly so) but I grew to love her very quickly. it was frustrating to see her jump to conclusions so fast sometimes, JUST READ AHEAD A BIT. it might be difficult emotionally but don't go charging around saying 'hey! you're my dad!' without knowing the full story. loved the parallels between Lina and Hadley, but also how different they were at times loved the book :) will be reading the rest soon
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual harassment
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"You've had bad days before, right? You know, the ones where your alarm doesn't go off, your toast practically catches on fire, and you remember way too late that every article of clothing you own is soaking wet in the bottom of the washer?"
Finishing up the book and writing this review has sort of been a confusing time for me. I really didn't know what star rating to give it. I knew it was at least 4 stars but wasn't quite 5 stars. And then I couldn't decide if I should do 4.25, 4.5, or 4.75 stars, so I ended up just settling on 4 stars.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is why I think I'm in this confused state now. I never pick up books where the main genre is "romance." I have read plenty where romance has been a factor in the story, major or not. However, it's usually a sub-plot and/or sub-genre - not the main point of the book. Yet with Love & Gelato, it is. Although I think it being a "romance" book is a bit deceiving. The romantic plot of this bookespecially between Ren, Lina, and Thomas is more of a major sub-plot rather than the main plot of the story, which I really appreciated from this book and Jenna Evans Welch. I definitely recommend this as a read, especially if you like romance but aren't necessarily a big fan of soley-romance-based plots. As I mentioned, the fact that this book is a "romance book" is a bit deceiving if you consider the plots of romance books to be extremely romance-heavy (and only focusing on the romance, if you're like me). The characters are really amazing, the setting is beautiful, and it's a really good coming-of-age story. I've started to open up to books with more romance-heavy plots (like Natasha Lester's books or Lovely War). Love & Gelato really brought it home that I am ok with romance in books - it just can't be the sole plot, conflict, etc. of the book.
Finishing up the book and writing this review has sort of been a confusing time for me. I really didn't know what star rating to give it. I knew it was at least 4 stars but wasn't quite 5 stars. And then I couldn't decide if I should do 4.25, 4.5, or 4.75 stars, so I ended up just settling on 4 stars.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is why I think I'm in this confused state now. I never pick up books where the main genre is "romance." I have read plenty where romance has been a factor in the story, major or not. However, it's usually a sub-plot and/or sub-genre - not the main point of the book. Yet with Love & Gelato, it is. Although I think it being a "romance" book is a bit deceiving. The romantic plot of this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is something I would have loved as a 16/17 year old. It’s written exactly with a teenager’s thought process in mind. Honestly, when I’m reading YA books, I want reckless behavior and not-well-thought-out actions when the protagonist is under the age of 23. But even more so when they’re still in high school. It’s why I read YA books. To fault the book because the teen protagonist is a brat, judgmental, and makes reckless decisions is like getting mad at a waiter for giving you exactly what you ordered.
Carolina “Lina” Emerson is 16 and just lost her mom (Hadley Emerson) to pancreatic cancer after a very short battle. Lina’s from Seattle and stayed with her best friend’s (Addie) family for the last semester of her sophomore year. Unfortunately, Lina doesn’t have a dad (her mom never revealed his identity) and her grandparents aren’t able to care for her. This is all fine, because Hadley already set up for Lina to spend the summer with her old beau, Howard, in Florence, Italy.
Howard confirms with Lina’s grandparents that he’s Lina’s father which means they push her to stay with him to try to build a relationship. Of course, as a typical 16 year old, she digs in her heels and only goes because she promised her mom she would. Hadley apparently spent a year in Italy back in the late 90s where she met Howard, a fellow American student at their Italian art school (and conceived Lina).
With the aid of her mom’s journal from her time in Italy, Lina tries to walk in her mother’s footsteps over Florence and tries to understand how Lina was conceived, how Howard and Hadley fell in love, and why her mother ran away from Italy when she found out she was pregnant and never told Howard why she left.
Along the way, she meets Lorenzo “Ren” Ferrara. A cute charming Italian teen that joins her on her crazy adventure. And (of course) they begin to fall for one another.
It’s super cheesy, some of it doesn’t make sense, and it made me cry actual real tears. It had a charm to it that I can’t explain. Lina and Ren both irritated me, but made me laugh and my heart ached for them. I wish Howard were my dad. I don’t get why Lina hated the idea of living in a cemetery because I definitely would’ve loved that at 16 (hell I’d love it now). But Lina’s mom just died and I guess to some, cemeteries are creepy. Being forced to bond with a stranger because you made a death bed promise also sucks. Sometimes you have to just sit back and shit talk about strangers with your bestie to feel better. It’s all the angst of being a teenager without the one person who was supposed to guide you through it. But forreal, if I had the CHANCE to go live in Italy, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
This book made me laugh, cry, and cringe. It was cheesy and awkward and I loved it. Was it clunky, rushed, and not as developed as it could’ve been? Yes. But I still enjoyed it. I liked that Lina was always on the go from one scene to the other. I always wanted to know what it was like to be a reckless teenager who just fell so madly in love in a way only 16 year old could, and that’s why I read these kinds of books.
Carolina “Lina” Emerson is 16 and just lost her mom (Hadley Emerson) to pancreatic cancer after a very short battle. Lina’s from Seattle and stayed with her best friend’s (Addie) family for the last semester of her sophomore year. Unfortunately, Lina doesn’t have a dad (her mom never revealed his identity) and her grandparents aren’t able to care for her. This is all fine, because Hadley already set up for Lina to spend the summer with her old beau, Howard, in Florence, Italy.
Howard confirms with Lina’s grandparents that he’s Lina’s father which means they push her to stay with him to try to build a relationship. Of course, as a typical 16 year old, she digs in her heels and only goes because she promised her mom she would. Hadley apparently spent a year in Italy back in the late 90s where she met Howard, a fellow American student at their Italian art school (and conceived Lina).
With the aid of her mom’s journal from her time in Italy, Lina tries to walk in her mother’s footsteps over Florence and tries to understand how Lina was conceived, how Howard and Hadley fell in love, and why her mother ran away from Italy when she found out she was pregnant and never told Howard why she left.
Along the way, she meets Lorenzo “Ren” Ferrara. A cute charming Italian teen that joins her on her crazy adventure. And (of course) they begin to fall for one another.
It’s super cheesy, some of it doesn’t make sense, and it made me cry actual real tears. It had a charm to it that I can’t explain. Lina and Ren both irritated me, but made me laugh and my heart ached for them. I wish Howard were my dad. I don’t get why Lina hated the idea of living in a cemetery because I definitely would’ve loved that at 16 (hell I’d love it now). But Lina’s mom just died and I guess to some, cemeteries are creepy. Being forced to bond with a stranger because you made a death bed promise also sucks. Sometimes you have to just sit back and shit talk about strangers with your bestie to feel better. It’s all the angst of being a teenager without the one person who was supposed to guide you through it. But forreal, if I had the CHANCE to go live in Italy, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
This book made me laugh, cry, and cringe. It was cheesy and awkward and I loved it. Was it clunky, rushed, and not as developed as it could’ve been? Yes. But I still enjoyed it. I liked that Lina was always on the go from one scene to the other. I always wanted to know what it was like to be a reckless teenager who just fell so madly in love in a way only 16 year old could, and that’s why I read these kinds of books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Gaslighting
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
So cute. Definitely tugs at the heartstrings a little bit but I think it was very well-balanced. Tells a really great story of love and grief and found family. I normally steer away from YA, as I don’t like reading about teenagers now that I am no longer one, but I liked this little summer journey.
The pacing was a little slow to get started but once the adventure begins (55% through?) it is a very quick read. Really loved these characters.
Her American-ness felt a little bit overdone (we have prosciutto and gelato in the US as well? How do you not know the Medici family?) but it was cool how sometimes they spoke in Italian considering they were in fact in Italy. Get me a flight to Florence stat
There were some timeline instances the timeline of Ren and Lina seemingly being in love <\spoiler> that I didn’t fully agree with and it felt like a little bit of a rush to happily ever after but overall good.
The pacing was a little slow to get started but once the adventure begins (55% through?) it is a very quick read. Really loved these characters.
Her American-ness felt a little bit overdone (we have prosciutto and gelato in the US as well? How do you not know the Medici family?) but it was cool how sometimes they spoke in Italian considering they were in fact in Italy. Get me a flight to Florence stat
There were some timeline instances
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment