LOVE & LUCK By Jenna Evans Welch
I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Love & Luck by Jenna Evans WelchSeries: Love & Gelato #2
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 5/8/18
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 321
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding and hoping she can stop thinking about the one thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.
So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.
And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.
That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.
Short and Sweet Review
Addie and her family are in Ireland for her aunts wedding. What should be a joyous occasion is ruined by Addie and her brother Ian fighting. Addie is supposed to go to Italy to visit Lina, and Ian is coming to, but their mom warns them if they step out of line they’re going to face punishment. We learn that Addie and Ian have been arguing about something that happened back home, which is why Addie is reading a guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken. On the day Addie and Ian are supposed to leave for Italy she finds him getting in a car with his friend Rowan to go to a music festival instead which leads to an exploration of Ireland and trying to fix broken hearts.
I wasn’t sure about this book when I started it, mainly because the arguing and tension between Ian and Addie was too much. It was like if someone breathed the wrong way one of them would explode, we don’t really get to the bottom of what happened until the end of the book but we do learn it’s about a boy Addie was seeing. Back home Ian is a jock so Addie is shocked to find out he’s a popular blogger and music is his main topic. Ian is determined to go to landmarks that are important to music and do a few interviews and make it to the festival to see his favorite band play one more time. The thing is their mom believes they’re in Italy so they really have to be careful because how big is Ireland really? I loved Ian’s friend Rowan, he was also dealing with a bit of heartbreak which is why he was willing to go to some of the places in the guidebook. It was a roadtrip where we learned a little more about each character and I loved that. I thought it was cool that Addie knew a lot about cars and was the reason the trio got so far. I was kind of bummed that she wasn’t able to go see Lina in Italy but I also understand that this was Addie’s adventure and it needed to take place in Ireland. I do think that the end was a little rushed and I felt like it was abrupt.
Overall, I did like this book. I will say the beginning wasn’t my favorite but when things got going and we saw the different places recommend by the guidebook I was all in. This was a quick and easy read and I’m looking forward to reading the next book!