Book Review: Love and Gelato

Rating: 4/5

From Goodreads: “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.

While on a five day trip to Tennessee this past week, I read six books.  This was one of the books I read on the plane ride back to California, and it was everything I needed it to be.  There's nothing quite like reading a book about traveling while you are in fact traveling, and this book really captured the feeling of being out of place yet excited to be exploring.  

Lina was such a fun character, I really enjoyed reading from her perspective as she explored the Italian countryside, made new friends, and decoded her mother's journal.  I really loved her friendship with Addie, and squealed when I realized Jenna Evans Welch just wrote a companion novel about Addie in Ireland!  I can't wait to get my hands on that!  

Overall, if you are looking for a fun, light, and fluffy contemporary with heart and beautiful writing imagery, do yourself a favor and pick up this book!

~ Charlotte

Book Review: Caraval

Rating: 4/5

From Goodreads: Remember, it’s only a game…

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval…beware of getting swept too far away.

This was such a fun book!  I had heard so much buzz and hype about this book, which to be honest did not make me want to read it.  If anything, it made a me a little wary of it.  But I finally picked it up and am genuinely glad I did.  The world in this book is filled with so much creativity and is portrayed so vividly that it makes for a genuinely transporting reading experience!

While I had some issues with the insta-love between the two main characters, as well as multiple predictable bait-and-switch/red-herrings, the writing style and imagery of this book made this an enjoyable read.  Usually insta-love is an "insta-turn off" for me in books, and I usually have a lot of trouble getting past that and enjoying the rest of the story, but the romance took enough of a back seat to the actual story and the imagery that I was able to genuinely enjoy the book.

This was a super fun and fast read, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is fans of whimsical imagery in their novels -- such as fans of A.G. Howards' Splintered series (one of my personal favorites!) or The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  I definitely am looking forward to the sequel!

~ Charlotte

Book Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight

Rating: 5/5

From Goodreads: Feyre, Rhys, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated--scars that will have far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.

So, this was such a fun read!  It wasn't entirely what I was expecting it to be going in, but I was so pleasantly surprised by it!  It's far more a novella than a novel in the series, but it does bridge the gap between the two ACOTAR series!  

This story centered around Rhysand and Feyre's celebration of the winter solstice, and the aftermath of what had happened in the book before.  It was fluffier and lighter than any of the books in the trilogy, but honestly that was so fun to just observe these characters when they aren't in peril!  I really enjoyed this read and it only took two short sittings to get through it.  From the sneak peek at the end of the book, I'm speculating that the next series about this world will focus more on Nesta and Elain and the aftermath of what happened with them in ACOWAR.  I can't wait for more books in this world and hopefully more fun side adventures like this one!

~ Charlotte

School's Out, Books Out!!!

 

I know, it's been several months...

So, for those of you who have read the bio on my blog, you know that I'm pursuing my Bachelors Degree in Music!  This degree has eaten up my entire life for the past 9 months that school has been in session, but now that I'm done until the Fall, I'm starting to blog and read again!  Yay!!!  

I'm so excited to get back to reading and blogging, and even though I'm working a lot this summer and still having to practice several hours a day, I am definitely going to be making this blog a priority!  

I'd love to know if you guys would be interested in certain posts or books I should read now that I'm back in the YA zone!

~Charlotte