Review: Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: March 3rd/2016
Pages: 389
Type: Hardback
Rating: 5/5
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What It's About! 

“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.

Review

I absolutely LOVED Love & Gelato. It was the perfect mix of romance, secrets, friendships, and adventure! Once I started reading it, I could NOT put it down, it was just such a sweet and breezy read!

One thing I really liked about this story, was we got a small glimpse of her mother in the very beginning of the book, and we know her as the main character knows her. Or what she THINKS she knows. I loved how things didn't go how she thought they would, how they turned out BETTER than expected. I also loved the way she got to know her mom, about her past, and how certain people had come to be in her life.

The story takes place in Italy, and I have never really thought about going there, but after reading this book, it made me immediately want to jump on a plane and go! Honestly I didn't really have any expectations going into this book, and didn't really know much about it, so it was a very pleasant surprise by the time I got to the end of the book. I cannot say enough good things about Love & Gelato. However, if your looking for the perfect, easy, light summer read, this would definitely be it!

Review: There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake

There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake 

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: January 6th, 2015
Pages: 464
Type: Hardback
Rating: 2/5
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What It's About!

In four hours, Shelby Jane Cooper will be struck by a car.

Shortly after, she and her mother will leave the hospital and set out on a winding journey toward the Grand Canyon.

All Shelby knows is that they’re running from dangers only her mother understands. And the further they travel, the more Shelby questions everything about her past—and her current reality. Forced to take advantage of the kindness of unsuspecting travelers, Shelby grapples with what’s real, what isn’t, and who she can trust . . . if anybody.

Award-winning author Nick Lake proves his skills as a master storyteller in this heart-pounding new novel. This emotionally charged thrill ride leads to a shocking ending that will have readers flipping back to the beginning.

Review

I will start off by saying that I LOVE a good mystery/thriller. While this book was full of mystery, I just could not fully enjoy it the way I wanted to. I was so excited to read There Will Be Lies because the synopsis sounded AMAZING! However this book just fell flat for me.

It starts off good, I was pulled in, I couldn't wait to turn the page to find out what happened next. But then I got about 100 pages in and it felt like the story wasn't really going forward. There was a lot of "filler", a lot of useless words filling up the pages just for the sake of it. I ended up skimming through the last half of the book JUST to find out what some of the secrets were.

I honestly don't really have much else to say about it. It was kind of weird the way she went in and out of reality, or the worlds and at some points I didn't really get what was happening or even what the point of some of it was. I really wanted to like this book, I really tried but it just did nothing for me, so unfortunately, I had to give it 2 stars.

I'M BACK!

Hey Guys!

     I'm finally back to blogging!! AFTER THREE YEARS!!! For whatever reason, life kinda just happened, and I drifted away from book blogging, no real reason why. I guess I just kind of lost interest in it and just never went back. I've thought about blogging again off and on, so now, I have FINALLY made the decision to get back to it! I'm so excited!!

Even though I quit blogging for a few years, I never quit reading! Of course I've gone through a fair share of reading slumps BUT I have read sooo many books, which means I have a LOT of reviews that I am going to be posting in the next little while. It won't be every day, but every couple days I plan on having either a new review up, or cover reveal, or whatever.

So for those of you that may have stuck around and kept following my blog while I was gone, THANK YOU and WELCOME BACK! :) For those of you that are new, WELCOME! Please feel free to give my blog a follow, and hope you enjoy it!

If you want to be kept up to date on a more day to day basis on the book end of things with me, and what I'm currently reading, feel free to follow my bookstagram @addictedtonovel_official and/or add me as a friend on goodreads if you'd like as well.

I would also like to add that any posts from here on out are probably going to be a little different compared to my old posts, same idea and layout, I just don't have some of the same tools I did a few years ago, but that could change.