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carolinars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
mariethem1lf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
kendra_taylors_version's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Anyways all you need to know is that i love the feel good vibes of a summer spent in Italy, the warmth of the found family trope happening, the originality of the journal entries and the whole adventure, the heaetbreak of loss the main character, Lina, experiences and her slow journey through healing, the movie worthy vibes of the teenage party and angst and of course the "makes me kick my feet in the air and giggle" romance.
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcohol
itsmemiana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
" 'You know, people come to Italy for all sorts of reasons, but when they stay is for the same two things' 'What?' 'Love and gelato' "
I read this book in Italy and I'm so glad I did, even tho I wasn't in Florence, I visited lots of cities in the north of Italy and some descriptions matched those cities perfectly. also one fun fact, I went by an RV and I can tell you that the joke about the way Italians drive is absolutely accurate đ but I also found some things in here that are not true about Italy, for example this books says they don't have a drinking age but they do, it's 18 years old like most if not all European countries and they mentioned like 2 or 3 times that it doesn't have "cutting edge technology", honestly what Italy are you at? that made it sound like Italy is a third world country đ and there were a few other small things, but besides that this book is absolutely adorable.
I loved all the main characters, they are all so cute and I loved Lina's relationship with and Ren and Howard, Howard was so adorable.
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness
gracemullender's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
sweetchocolatez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Terminal illness
shannasbooksnhooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
kingrosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Carolina âLinaâ Emerson is 16 and just lost her mom (Hadley Emerson) to pancreatic cancer after a very short battle. Linaâs from Seattle and stayed with her best friendâs (Addie) family for the last semester of her sophomore year. Unfortunately, Lina doesnât have a dad (her mom never revealed his identity) and her grandparents arenât 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 Linaâs grandparents that heâs Linaâs 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 momâs journal from her time in Italy, Lina tries to walk in her motherâs 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 âRenâ Ferrara. A cute charming Italian teen that joins her on her crazy adventure. And (of course) they begin to fall for one another.
Itâs super cheesy, some of it doesnât make sense, and it made me cry actual real tears. It had a charm to it that I canât explain. Lina and Ren both irritated me, but made me laugh and my heart ached for them. I wish Howard were my dad. I donât get why Lina hated the idea of living in a cemetery because I definitely wouldâve loved that at 16 (hell Iâd love it now). But Linaâs 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. Itâs 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, Iâd 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 couldâve 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 thatâs why I read these kinds of books.
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
sarahsbookss's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
booksbyantheia's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Y NI SIQUIERA ES EL ELEMENTO PRINCIPAL DEL LIBRO.
La historia de Lina y la de Hadley son muy emocionales. Ambas enfrentaron al amor, ambas recorrieron sus caminos con valentĂa. Lina es una de las protagonistas mĂĄs preciosas que he leĂdo, y a pesar de la situaciĂłn tan difĂcil que pasĂł, sigue siendo una adolescente, cometiendo errores, teniendo respuestas divertidas, a veces cringes, pero hermosas.
Este libro es como un mimo. Es como el gelato. Dulce, inevitable de querer repetir.
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Food, false identity.