As you all know, if you’ve been following us for awhile anyways, I love contemporaries! Especially around this time of year. In 2016 I read Jenna Evans Welch’s book Love & Gelato. When I read that she was releasing a new book called Love & Luck, it was something I needed to get my hands on. Once again, I was lucky enough to be able to participate in the blog tour! I have now read this book and today you can read my review.

Love & Luck by

by Jenna Evans Welch

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: May 8, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

 

Synopsis:

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible 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.

BOOK LINKS

• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32333026-love-luck
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Love-Luck-Jenna-Evans-Welch/dp/1534401008
• Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-luck-jenna-evans-welch/1125902399#/
• Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Love-Luck-Jenna-Evans-Welch/9781534401006?ref=grid-view&qid=1524066368254&sr=1-1
• Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/love-luck
• IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781534401006
• iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/love-luck/id1161445529?mt=11

REVIEW

Cover I love the cover of Love & Luck. It’s simple, but perfect at the same time. The colors and font and even the four leaf clover just make sense.

Plot A book starting off with a brother and sister literally fighting and rolling off a cliff-like hill, is definitely an exciting way to start off a book. Jenna’s writing is fast and fun to read. She really knows how to suck you in to the story. The mention of Lina and her living in Italy had me smiling. Love & Gelato was a really good book and I liked reading that she was doing good and these stories were going to be connected. Even though they are considered to be standalones. Something is going on with Addie. I mean, that was clear if she was fighting her brother in Ireland during her Aunt’s wedding. Especially after reading that Ian was like her best friend. The little bits of the tour guide for the heartbroken was such a nice touch. I loved how the pieces before each chapter somehow found its way in to the next chapter. This book had a bit of everything, humor, love, sadness, friendship and family. Finding out her brother never planned on going to Italy with her is quite a shock. Especially when his online friend Rowan is outside in the car waiting for him. Plans change fast and while she needs to get to Italy to see her friend Lina, the roadtrip in Italy may be what she needs more. During the unexpected roadtrip secrets are revealed, friendships are formed and Addie starts realizing sometimes not everything is what it seems. Love & Luck is a very touching story that makes me want to visit Ireland now. This book had me laughing, crying and hoping the characters would be able to solve everything they needed to. I was sad that we didn’t get to see more of Lina, but maybe it was just meant to be that way. I wouldn’t mind another book to see how both Addie and Lina are doing. Jenna Evans Welch is an amazing writer and I hope we get to read more from her in the near future!

Characters Addie is hurt and we don’t know why. Even though the trip doesn’t seem to be going according to plan, she’s definitely not ready to go home yet. Addie is heartbroken and Cubby is the reason why. It was nice that we didn’t know her whole story at first. This made getting to know Addie very interesting and once I knew what happened, she made more sense. Addie knew deep down that this wasn’t the right thing for her, but thought she would finally be seen as her own person instead of as her brother’s little sister. Being in a family with so many impressive brothers is hard at times. During her journey Addie realizes that she is stronger than she thinks and that her brother’s life isn’t as perfect as she thinks either. Realizing she has a lot of people in her corner helped her with healing. Addie is her own person and won’t let anyone change that.

Ian kind of annoyed me in the beginning. He was constantly fighting with Addie, because she just had to come clean to their mother. Except come to find out he was hiding a lot of secrets as well. I loved how we slowly learned Ian’s secrets and how he really felt. Just because someone is good at something, doesn’t mean they have to love it. I’m sure having older brothers who loved sports and were good at them really pressured Ian into sticking with football. While in Ireland, it was fun to see him open up and really thrive when he could do something he loved, writing! When Addie and Ian finally open up to each other, they are more similar than they realize. I wouldn’t mind another book with Ian just to see if he can make his dreams come true.

Rowan was the funny character from the start. I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to trust him in the beginning, but while reading I started liking him more and more. This roadtrip meant a lot to Rowan, maybe even more so than to Addie and Ian. Unlike them, he was an only child and when his parents were having issues he didn’t have anyone to turn to. Being around Addie and working through the tourguide for the heartbroken opened Rowan up and helped him get through what he was feeling. I am sad that we didn’t read more about how his choices were going to influence his life.

Blog Tour

Of course, I’m not the only one who is posting about this wonderful book. The tour started on the 9th and keeps on going until tomorrow. If you want to check out some other posts click here for the whole tour and links to the other posts.

Giveaway

During this blog tour there is also a giveaway (not hosted by The Book Dutchesses). You have a chance of winning a copy of Love & Luck. This is for readers in the US only (sorry!). If you want to participate, click here. The giveaway ends on May 22nd.

About the Author

Jenna Evans Welch was the kind of insatiable child reader who had no choice but to grow up to become a writer. She is the New York Times Bestselling author of LOVE & GELATO and the upcoming LOVE & LUCK.

When she isn’t writing girl abroad stories, Jenna can be found chasing her children or making elaborate messes in the kitchen. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband and two young children.

 

Another fun book! Thank you to the author, publisher and The Fantasitc Flying Book Club for the chance to participate in this tour. Have any of you read this book? What did you think?