Love & Luck

Great read for a teenager.

I bought this book because I loved Jen’s other book Love & Gelato and this was the companion novel. I went into it thinking it was a romance just like Love and Gelato was. But how I was wrong. I didn’t love this book to begin with, but the more I read , the more I began to love it. The plot did have underlying romance in it which made it so sweet to read. But it didn’t over take what the real purpose and meaning of the book was. It was about family, bonds that you have with friends and loving yourself. It made the book unforgettable. I recommend to readers who look for depth in a book but still quite fun and fluffy.

A great story but I thought the ending was a bit rushed and It was a bit disappointing at the end but apart from that a good easy read.

After adoring Love & Gelato so much, I was really excited for Love & Luck as the theme is so cute and I'm a sucker for a good road trip story. I love that this book wasn't about romance or even really friendship, but family - as much as I loved Lina and Ren from L&G, I didn't want them to take over this book so I'm glad they only featured at the end.The descriptions of Ireland were gorgeous and felt very real - I could tell that the author has done the journey across the country - and it made me want to see the Republic of Ireland (and made me feel a little guilty for my upcoming Dublin-only trip). However the pacing of this book didn't feel quite right to me - it felt like it was rushing to get somewhere the whole time but when it arrived, the book just ended. I wanted something more, and I wanted to connect with the characters more but I struggled to fully buy Addie's relationships with her brothers. It just didn't feel right.I enjoyed Rowan's character and would have liked to have got to know him a bit better - his characterisation felt rushed and the entire book felt like it was leading towards / hinting at a pairing that never materialised so I was a little disappointed. I really thought Rowan and Ian were a couple.

I like it .

Veio antes da estimativa, bem embalado e em ótimo estado. Porém a qualidade é inferior aos livros em português que temos no brasil, por ser de estilo de jornal. Mas isso não muda mt coisa no produto, e não me surpreendi pois já estava ciente.

muy bonita la edicion y está muy bien el libro

Hermoso, aunque el blanco ensucia mucho me encanto el libro

What makes a book “supremely enjoyable” to read, as opposed to “spellbinding,” “rich,” or “charming?” For me, it has to be a mix of good writing, clever lines, fun characters, strong relationship building, and most importantly, heart. Jenna Evans Welch’s latest book Love and Luck is such a supremely enjoyable read because it has all of those things. To wit:Good WritingIt takes a very steady writer’s hand to dole out details of a relationship, world, or situation fast enough to keep the interest of readers with short attention spans but not so fast that a story becomes predictable one-third of the way in. At the core of Love and Luck is the relationship between the main character, Addie, and her brother Ian, right after she goes through a really rough break-up with her boyfriend, and during a family trip to the Emerald Isle. They’re there for her aunt’s destination wedding, but Ian keeps bringing up the break-up, which gets him into all kinds of trouble with Addie. Then, she’s more-or-less forced into a whirlwind road trip with him and his Irish buddy Rowan. Addie finds a guidebook entitled “Ireland for the Heartbroken: An Unconventional Guide to the Emerald Isle” at their hotel, and uses that as her survival mechanism, but finds that she doesn’t need to rely on it so much as she needs to learn how to trust Ian, own her mistakes, and rely on her friends and family. Welch peels back the layers of Addie and Ian’s relationship bit-by-bit, through revelations of details about her relationship with Cubby, then wraps it back up again using the chaotic stitchwork of their shared roadtrip experience and previous history. It’s endearing and heart-warming, that’s what it is.Clever LinesSome examples:(in a conversation with Ian and Addie’s older brother, Walt, and their mother):Walt leaned forward, shaking himself free of me also. “Mom, please stop swearing. You’re awful at it.”“You can’t be awful at swearing,” she said shakily.“You have single-handedly disproven that theory,” Walt argued. “There’s a science to it; some words go together. You can’t just throw them all out at once.”“I’m going to throw you all out at once,” Mom said.”r this:(as Addie’s getting into Rowan’s tiny car and beginning this forced road trip):I rushed over, eager to keep up the goodwill, but when I looked inside [the car], the glow that Ian’s smile had created instantly faded away. He had somehow managed to stack Rowan’s items into a teetering pile that almost touched the ceiling. The only actual space was behind Ian’s seat, and it was just the right size for three malnourished squirrels and a hedgehog. If they all sucked in.Fun CharactersAddie is a high-schooler in the swamp of murky self-identity, yet her narrative isn’t angsty or depressing. In fact, it’s anything but. Through her interactions with Rowan, who becomes a co-commiserator in the Land of Heartbreak, she is revealed (to herself and others) as a kind, impulsive, dedicated, angry, helpful Person. Through her interactions with her brother Ian, which could have shown her to be nothing but selfish and mean-spirited, she is shown to crave harmony. In the end, her biggest problem is her ability to own her past mistakes, which is a very relatable character flaw. Somewhat whimsically, she follows the advise of the writer of “Ireland for the Heartbroken,” making paper airplanes out of losses and standing in the waters of Inch Beach until her legs are numb. It’s a joy to follow her journey.Strong Relationship BuildingAll books, when it comes right down to it, are about relationships (all good books anyway), no matter the genre. To take a relationship–a sibling relationship no less–from a knock-down fist fight to a hug, realistically, is no small feat, but as I said before, it’s done in this book.Heart“What is heart?” you say. It’s that indefinable quality of (good writing + fun characters + strong relationship building) + emotion. The emotion has to be deep and woven throughout, not dramatically expressed in fits and spurts like a bas relief sculpture, just for show. It’s interesting to me that at the launch for this book, which I attended at Kings’ English in Salt Lake City, Utah, Jenna stated that this book came out of one of the toughest years of her life. It doesn’t feel like it; it’s too light-hearted for that. Or rather, maybe because of that, between the clever quips and mad dashes, the heart of this book reaches a very universal core: who we are as human beings and whether we’re sufficient by ourselves or need others.Who Would Like Love & Luck?If you liked Love and Gelato, it’s loosely-related predecessor which I reviewed at HeadOverBooks.com, you’ll like this book. If you’re going to the beach and want a light read, you’ll like this book, although there’s not much romance per se. If you want a book for your teenage girl to read, one that has no sex and very little language, you’ll like this book.Find more reviews of books like this on my website HeadOverBooks.com