Love & Gelato by Jenna Evens Welch —A Bookish Review

 Book Love | Book Review 

Hello, my friend! 

Today I am sharing a review on Love & Gelato by Jenna Evens Welch! It is the perfect summer book and you will be wanting to eat gelato! 

Pro Tip: read Love & Gelato, eat Italian food, and watch Luca!!! All the Italian fun and feelings! 

So without further adieu let's get started!

Summary  

Love & Gelato follows a girl named Lina. 

Lina’s mother’s dying wish was for her to go to Italy to meet a father Lina didn’t even know existed. Lina doesn’t want to go to Italy. She wants to stay with her best friend Addie. 

Still, to honor her mother’s wish, Lina goes to Italy. It is not at all what she expects. Her father, Howard, lives in a cemetery. There she is given a journal of her mother when she lived in Italy. 

Lina reads the journal and starts to find the mystery of what happened in Italy and why her mother never spoke of Italy or Howard until the end. 

Lina also meets Ren, a cute Italian who helps her solve the journal mystery. 

Lina learns more about her mom, explores beautiful places, eats gelato, and finds herself falling in love. 

There are two reasons why people stay in Italy. 

For love & gelato.

My Thoughts (the review) 

I love this book so much! 

After reading it I craved going to Italy (and still do). All the places felt so real like I was actually exploring Italy with Lina and Ren! 

This is the perfect summer book! You will be wanting to eat gelato while reading this book! 

Lina is a strong character. I loved her character growth throughout the story. She actually grows as a character and finds herself finding out more about her mother and her father. 

REN! Ren, I love Ren! He is SO sweet! I am obsessed with his character! I was team Ren from the start! I love how caring he is to Lina and that he helps her in finding out more about her mother. 

Addie is such a good friend! I love how much Addie cares about Lina, so much so that the bulk of the story is supporting Lina and trying to help Lina come back to the states. 

Howard is a big softy. I love how much he wants to be a part of Lina’s life but he also supports her in anything she does. He doesn’t try to control her but instead earns her trust. 

The Gingerbread house. I LOVE Ren’s gingerbread house! I so want to see him living in a gingerbread house! I kept laughing when I heard the description. 

I love that there is a bit of mystery and how much adventure and sightseeing are in this book. It makes it more fun to go to all these places through the book. One day I would love to go to Florence and do a book stop at all of the places in the book! 

I tenten recommend you read this book! If you love sweet summer stories, traveling, food, and adventure, you will LOVE Love & Gelato! 

(Side note: there is a movie but compared to the book it is awful what they did to the story and characters. If you ever want me to do book to movie adaptation review, leave a comment so I can make a post)

Parent Guide: 

Profanity/Crude Language Content

None 

Sexual Content

Talk of characters liking each other. Some kisses. Talk about falling in love + crushes. 

One part of the story is Lina finding out about her dad. Her mom and dad never got married so Lina is learning about him for the first time. 

There are said to be nude statues while the characters are walking in Florence. A story about one of the statues is called “The Rape of the Sabine Women” which can be a trigger word. 

It is said a guy cheated on a lot of girls. 

At a party people “dirty dance”

Spiritual Content

There isn’t any spiritual content but they do go by cathedrals. 

Talk about believing in ghosts. (Not spiritual but something) 

Violence/frightening scenes  

At a party an older man grabs Lina and won't let go. Thankfully a friend came and made him leave but it was a scary moment for Lina. This event can also be triggering for people. 

Drug Content

In Italy, there is no drinking age so teens can legally drink. A guy gets drunk. Characters go to a party where everyone is most likely drunk.

Sensitive Subjects

There is a lot about Lina finding out about her dad. Near halfway, there is a shocking discovery that makes Lina have an almost panic attack. The journey of finding out who your parents are (who you don’t know) could be a sensitive subject.

Other posts you may like… 

• 3 Reasons You Need To Read The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe 

• There You’ll Find Me by Jenny B Jones— A Bookish Review  

• What I’m working on in June — I’m writing a new book! 

• What Does Backstory Look Like For Your Characters?  

Discussion Time

Thank you so much for reading this post! I hoped you liked this book review! 

I want to hear from you! Tell me what you liked about this post. Do you think you will read Anne Of Green Gables? What Is one of your recent favorite books? I would love to chat! 

Also, check out the My Links tab to see my Pinterest & Instagram @fablerosemc! 

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XOXO Moriyah 💛