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 go 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 her, 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.

Overall, this was a really sweet, heartwarming coming-of-age story, touching on loss and grief. This is a clean book – no language or spice. However, it took me quite a while to get fully invested in the story. The first 50-60% were pretty slow-paced, and I contemplated DNFing it a few times. But I really wanted to give it a chance. I’m glad I did because it picked up pace and got more interesting.

Lina is a likable main character. She’s not too bratty or angsty, as you can get in some teen stories. She’s just really lost, confused, and in mourning from losing her mom. I could especially relate to her. I lost my mom to cancer at 16. Not only is that age such a confusing, tender age in your life, but then throwing a life-changing event, like the passing of a parent, on top of it, it makes things even more difficult, complicated, and disorienting. Then, for Lina, throw on top of all that a brand new country that she’s flying to, where she doesn’t speak the language, and meeting a guy that’s supposed to be her dad, who hasn’t been in her life at all. So I had a lot of sympathy and empathy for her. She was going through it!

The love story was swoon-worthy for a teenager. This is definitely geared more toward a younger audience. As a middle-aged woman, I couldn’t get over the insta-love trope. I hate it! It’s just not realistic. Supposedly, Lina flies to Italy from America, gets settled in with her dad, meets Ren and a bunch of other kids in the area, runs all over Italy trying to dig up secrets from her mom’s past, and then starts to fall in love… in a matter of a week! Uhhh, nope! Don’t believe it. I would think she’s still getting over her jet lag. That girl needs some sleep, not a boyfriend!

The writing was a bit juvenile for my taste, but it was descriptive and immersive. I felt like I had been transported to Italy. I enjoyed experiencing the country as Lina and Ren ventured around the different cities. Lina also does some things with her dad, which also lets us see different parts of Italy. I also liked that her dad works at an American war cemetery in Italy. It was a unique twist on the setting. I wish there were more descriptions of her ventures into the Italian cities, but from what we got, I really enjoyed it. And it made me want gelato!!

I know this book was adapted into a movie, but it’s on Netflix, which we don’t subscribe to, so I wasn’t able to watch it. But if I could, I would’ve. I do wonder what the movie did with the story.

Read this if you:

• Enjoy coming-of-age, YA stories
• Want a light and fluffy read
• Love cute, heartwarming, and clean YA romance books
• Like the tropes: friends to lovers, insta-love, love triangle, grumpy (she)/sunshine (he)
• Enjoy family secrets and trying to uncover a parent’s secret past
• Are not triggered by loss and grief
• Don’t mind that not a ton of action happens
• Want to read the book before you watch the movie on Netflix
• Want to get out of a reading slump