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Love & Gelato (Love & Gelato, #1)

Jenna Evans Welch

Start date: June 1, 2017

Finish date: June 30, 2017

Discussion: Stand Alone

Why we're reading this: Won the poll for the theme BOTM
Theme: Summer
[close] Won the poll for the theme BOTM
Theme: Summer

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Stand Alone

* Stand Alone- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
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last updated Oct 04, 2025 06:25PM

* Stand Alone- Better Than Revenge
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What Members Thought

Jun 26, 2017 Colleen Scidmore rated it really liked it

Shelves: currently-on-google-drive, currently-on-my-computer, currently-on-my-bookshelf

This was a really cute and interesting read! I wasn't really sure if I was going to like this after reading the synopsis. I'm getting a bit bored with YA Romance so this was a nice surprise. I think it was interesting to me because it dealt with other issues and romance was not at the forefront.

Lina is grieving the loss of her mother, and she's now living in Italy, one of the most beautiful countries in the world, only because of her mothers dying wish for her to live with Howard, who Lina has This was a really cute and interesting read! I wasn't really sure if I was going to like this after reading the synopsis. I'm getting a bit bored with YA Romance so this was a nice surprise. I think it was interesting to me because it dealt with other issues and romance was not at the forefront.

Lina is grieving the loss of her mother, and she's now living in Italy, one of the most beautiful countries in the world, only because of her mothers dying wish for her to live with Howard, who Lina has guessed is her father. So she's there wishing she was still living with her best friend Addie, not really trying with Howard and unwilling to even unpack her suitcase. All she can think about is losing her mother and why she agreed to do this.
But several things change. One Sonia, Howard's co-worker and friend gives her a journal her mother wrote while in Italy and had sent right before she died and two, Lina meets a "neighbor" Ren who Lina takes an instant liking to. With Ren Lina gets to see the Italy her mother wrote about and deal with some events in Hadley's Journal that knock Lina for a loop. Everything she started to feel good about starts to crumble. Thank goodness when the going gets tough she at least has Gelato to turn to.

This book touched me emotionally and I was pretty much slobbering on myself at times. I could really feel Lina's pain. So young to lose a mother and to feel like the grief would never end was really believable at times and heartbreaking.
I have always wanted to go to Italy and my determination to go there one day was renewed after reading this book. I got a feel for Italy through the eyes of Lina and Hadley but not overkill like in a travel book but it sounds beautiful even the WWII Memorial Cemetery.
The story of Lina's parents was really very interesting and how Lina comes about to know her father. It was a bit unrealistic but the way that Jenna Evans Welch wrote it did seem far fetched.

Lina sometimes came across as a bit of a brat at times. Yes I know she was grieving her mother and that's what I kept thinking about when ever she perturbed me. I really started to feel bad for Howard. The situation had to be uncomfortable for him as well and she acted like a petulant child with him. But she did end up redeeming herself in my eyes later on, because this girl also has heart.
I really can't believe what an asshole (sorry but I have to call it like it is) Matteo was. It is just so hard to imagine someone so totally narcissistic to treat a young girl the way he did twice! I really wanted a little closure with him like someone to kick his ass or just do something.

Love & Gelato was such a delightful read, so much more than I hoped for. I am looking forward to reading more of Jenna Welch's books. Especially her new book that set to come out next year, Love & Luck. It looks like it's a spin off where Addie, Lina's best friend goes to Ireland to find love. Can't wait! ...more

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Jul 05, 2021 Serah Luna rated it liked it

I have a very special place in my heart for Italy, so I was really excited to read this. I've taken a little break in reading recently and wanted to start back up with something light and fun that wouldn't be too heavy or too much of a commitment. This was the perfect choice!

The scenery: The magic of Italy was captured perfectly. Before I began reading I had my fingers crossed that the story would do Italy justice and take me back to the summers I used to spend there. It 100% did that. Lina visi I have a very special place in my heart for Italy, so I was really excited to read this. I've taken a little break in reading recently and wanted to start back up with something light and fun that wouldn't be too heavy or too much of a commitment. This was the perfect choice!

The scenery: The magic of Italy was captured perfectly. Before I began reading I had my fingers crossed that the story would do Italy justice and take me back to the summers I used to spend there. It 100% did that. Lina visiting Italy for the first time helped with this a lot, and there weren't many things left out... The beautiful scenery, the eccentric driving, the plentiful curious tourists in the cities but the privacy of the local communities on the outskirts, the fashion, and most importantly... THE FOOD! Pizza, gelato, pasta... It was all there! The magic of this beautiful country was definitely done justice.

The characters: I found that I adored (almost) every character in this book. Even some minor characters that only show up once or twice were surprisingly well-developed. I especially appreciated that at the beginning of the book we are given a look into Hadley's (Lina's mother) character, so while Lina is grieving her we have an idea of the person behind the grief. And I can't talk about the characters without talking about Howard. Trust me. He's the best.

The plot: The idea behind the story is interesting, and it's done well. However, I found that the main twist in the plot was entirely predictable and obvious, and the minor twists throughout were also easily figured out. I'm not saying that every book should have a surprise plot twist, but it's clear this was meant to be a real humdinger of a plot twist, but there's some clues in the first 25% of the book that basically give the whole thing away. There's also a small love triangle situation happening throughout the story with Lina, and without spoiling anything, one of the sides of that triangle felt very flat for me. It seemed as if it was thrown in for the sake of interest, but it didn't really add any interest at all.

The summary: This was the exact book I needed for the stage of life I was in. Even with the negatives, I still found myself sneaking a couple pages at a time. I think that mostly had to do with the setting... How I long to visit Italy again one day! But I found that I wanted to spend time with the characters, too. So while the book didn't blow me away, it left me with a feeling of peace and contentment that was perfect for the season of life that I'm in. ...more

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Jul 19, 2022 Danielle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks, 2022-5-stars, 2022-july-read, 2022-july-scribd-reads, 2022-audiobook-read, 2022-read, 2022-scribd-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I don’t read a lot of YA anymore, but this was so freaking cute and adorable. There were so many great moments that really touched my heart and some moments that really gutted me especially with how the story started. I loved the stuff with the mother’s journal that really kept invested and wanting to know more. That alone just made me to keep reading because it was so intriguing. I loved the characters Lina, Ren, and Howard.

Howard was everything and more especially when everything thing was ou ...more

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Feb 20, 2018 Nicki rated it it was amazing

I originally chose this book to read because it is a nominee for the YARP (Young Adult Reading Program) Choice Award in South Dakota this year. I encourage all of my seventh grade students to read the books on the list and vote for their favorite. I read the books as well so that we can discuss them.

"Love & Gelato" is one of my favorites on this year's list! It is totally appropriate for middle school students. It has very real topics that my students can relate to: losing someone to cancer, no ...more

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Jul 12, 2020 Tweller83 rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, contemporary

This was a hard-hitting YA novel about grief and romance. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Lina & Ren were just precious together, but I'm a sucker for summertime, cute, fluffy romances. And while this was that, there was the added bit about the grief and a slight mystery. I would recommend.

#BookoplAthon roll 4 - Romance ...more

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