e-Audio, 14:23:04
Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers
Release Date: November 10, 2020
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: December 17-23, 2020
Love & Gelato, #3
Source: Library
TW:
For Readers Interested In: Books set outside the US, Contemporary, Romance, Mental Health, Realistic Fiction, Family Diversity, YALiv Varanakis doesn’t have a lot of fond memories of her father, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight. What Liv does remember, though, is their shared love for Greek myths and the lost city of Atlantis. So when Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father explaining that National Geographic is funding a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and will she fly out to Greece and help?—Liv jumps at the opportunity.
But when she arrives to gorgeous Santorini, things are a little…awkward. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. And yet Liv doesn’t want their past to get in the way of a possible reconciliation. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo—her father’s charismatic so-called “protégé”—to witness her struggle.
And that means diving into all that Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the hidden caves, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato comes a Mamma Mia–inspired tale about a teen girl finding romance while trying to connect with her absent father in beautiful Santorini, Greece.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I saw this was coming out, I immediately added it to my TBR. I LOVED the first 2 in this companion series, and I just knew I was going to love this one too. I mean why wouldn’t I? It’s set in Greece!
Liv hasn’t heard from her father in years. And then all of a sudden she gets a postcard from her father asking for her help in Santorini. She doesn’t want to go, but her mom makes her and she then finds herself on the plane. When she gets there, things are as awkward as one might think. She’s not ready to forgive her dad, but she’s there anyway to help with his outlandish ideas. But as it turns out, her dad has asked her to come to Greece for so much more than she expected.
The best thing about this was of course the setting. Just like with the others, they’re all set in places I’ve never been but really want to go to. The descriptions in this had me looking up pictures of things like the Red Beach, the White Beach, the beautiful turquoise water, and just all of it. I really felt like I was there. Welch definitely has a way with making the setting come alive. I do wish she had incorporated more Greek food into it. (Like the gelato in the first one.) But all in all I did feel like I was in Greece for a bit.
As for the characters, I liked Liv, but she was a bit indecisive and that bothered me a bit. I know most teens are like that, but with her it was extreme. She wanted her dad to say what he’d done, but she didn’t want to. It was like she didn’t know what she wanted. I thought it was a way of protecting herself, but sometimes I felt she was protecting herself against something that wasn’t as obvious as she thought. Especially when everyone was trying to tell her so and she just didn’t want to hear or know it. I guess a better word to describe her is stubborn.
I did think that Welch did a great job in describing the mental illness in this book. The episodes were described accurately and made me think of my sister who suffers from the same illness. I was glad that they finally gave that person the limelight and let them tell their story. As a matter of fact, that was what made the story for me. That made the story arc so much more meaningful.
The plot itself was a bit repetitive tho. I felt like she was flinching away from her dad, flirting but not flirting with the love interest and thinking she knew everything throughout the whole book until the end. I wanted to see more growth in her I guess. More growth would have meant a better advancement of the plot in my opinion.
The romance was a slow burn and for the most part was non-existent. It wasn’t really a contemporary romance, it was more like a contemporary that had a romance element to it. I think that was my downfall. I went into it thinking I would get a love story romp through Greece like I got with the first two. But as I read this, I knew that just wasn’t what this story was about. And that’s ok. I just wanted to give readers a heads up if they’re thinking like I was.
This book was very different from the others, but it’s still only my second favorite. I wish it had some small changes, but I still enjoyed it as is. I hope this isn’t the last one in this series. I would love to see her characters go to more places. Hopefully we’ll see them going places like Brazil, Japan, France, etc.
Overall, I give this
