Love and Gelato

About the book: “I made the wrong choice.”

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 she 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 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.

My review: How can you not want to read this book after looking at the cover and the title?! Both of those really drew me into this one and I loved that the story inside matched the cover perfectly.

I really enjoyed reading being in Lina's head in this one. I can't even imagine watching your mother die from cancer at such a young and tender time of life, but I thought that Lina handled it as well as she could have. And then to be shipped off to Italy to live with a man you've never known who you've been told is your father. Crazy!

I really liked the whole feel of Italy in this book. I liked the way that Lina lives with Howard in a house in a cemetery in Italy. So unique. I loved the way I was able to picture the sights and sounds of Italy in this one. It made me want to eat gelato! 

But probably my favorite thing about this one was Lina's mom's backstory. Her mom shipped her journal from when she was going to college in Italy to Sonia, Howard's co-worker at the cemetery. Sonia is certain that she intended for Lina to have it, so Lina spends a good chunk of the book learning more about her mom and also Howard through her mom's words in this journal. I really loved the parts where Lina read her mom's journal and I looked forward to each and every one of those parts.

I loved the whole plot of this one. I loved the way Lina's story paralleled her mom's just a little bit and I really enjoyed the ending. I'm hoping that this author has more books in the works, this one was great!

I borrowed a copy of this one from my local library.

Purchase link: Amazon

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