I feel so lucky to find another book that I love!

In Love & Luck, Addie escapes to Ireland for her aunt's over-the-top destination wedding and to visit her best friend in Italy while trying to forget about a relationship gone wrong. Her plans change, however, when her brother Ian and his online friend decide to travel the country side and visit landmarks from their favorite band before the band's final performance. 

I really enjoyed Love & Gelato, specifically how author Jenna Evans Welch made you feel like you were actually in Italy. Nevertheless, I went into Love & Luck with high expectations... and I was not disappointed. In the end, I actually loved Love & Luck even more than Love & Gelato, even though there were a few aspects of the book that frustrated me. 

Like with Love & Gelato, the author painted a picture in your head of every landmark Addie, her brother, and his friend visited. It made me want to plan a trip to Ireland! Not only did she incorporate vivid scenery, but also lore and legends from Ireland history. The road trip in this book definitely helped showcase the scenery.

I also loved the overall message of this book. In Addie's past relationship, her trust was really broken and her future is potentially at risk. I think there will be a lot of girls that are Addie's age that will relate to her story. This book really focuses on Addie coming to terms to what happened to her and being confident in who she is as a person. 

That being said, I really wasn't a fan of how her brother handled what happened to Addy. I appreciated that he wanted to support Addie and find justice for her, but I think he pushed Addie a little too hard and came off across as too judgmental. Addie was still trying to process what happened to her and I think he added too much unnecessary stress, pressure, and "I told you so"s for my taste. 

Overall, Love & Luck will take you on a scenic, but also emotional journey with a good message for young readers. I give Love & Luck five out of five stars.

4.5 stars ... Love & Luck was just too cute! This beautiful contemporary was not centered around romance, which made the story much more interesting. There’s travel, self discovery, and learning to trust the support of friends and family. Addie and her family are in Ireland for a wedding. She’s supposed to meet up with Lina (from Love & Gelato), but her plans get derailed. It ends up being a healing and amazing journey for those involved. I loved the positive family relationships in this book. It was refreshing that this book dealt with the aftermath of secret-keeping, and how hard it is to face reality sometimes. Contemporary YA fiction fans are going to love this one. I was fortunate to receive an e-ARC through NetGalley.

First of all, I love this cover. So simple, so cute.

I was pretty excited to read this book because I read Love & Gelato and fell in love with it. This one wasn't as good as Love & Gelato for me but I really did enjoy a lot of it. This is a contemporary YA book, no romance really, just some family and friends working things out.

Road trip anyone? Through Ireland? Yes, please. But maybe with a touch less drama than Addie and Ian's. Real life issues face both Addie and Ian who are the best of friends and the closest of siblings until secrets come out and feelings are hurt. Then they are at war with each other. Just like with any real relationships, there are bumps in the road and sometimes you have to work through the hard stuff to find the beauty on the other side.

I loved the real and messy feel to Addie, Ian and Rowan's feelings. They are young, trying to find their way and becoming stronger. It was a satisfying journey.

I didn't love the travel book excerpts so much. I liked the idea behind it- especially how it ended, but the "voice" was a touch over the top and had me rolling my eyes a bit. Maybe this would appeal more to the younger crowd? I just might be too old for it. Ha.

Content: mild swearing

- I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Love and Luck is a really cute story. That not only deals with heartbreak but also family dynamics.

Love and Luck found a soft spot in me. I have three older brothers myself so seeing the family dynamics made my heart happy. Just so much like my own family. My two oldest brothers are 12 and 10 years older than me. So they kind of paired off, so if there is something to discuss about me. I wouldn’t doubt they would talk to each other. The younger of the three is closer in age to me so we were the pairing. It just happens that way. Which he had a falling out and haven’t spoken in a while. A long while. So Ian and Addie felt very familiar. Their trip to Ireland just reminded me of a time when the all of us went on a trip together and my oldest brother was throwing peanuts at my head on the airplane (planes were different back then). So I absolutely loved how much family is a part of the story. Especially the sibling conflict. Everything seems so much more dramatic sometimes and as you grow older you change and I thought this story captured this perfectly.

Addie’s secret is one of those that you can picture happening. Once you find it out you just keep thinking of all the consequences of it. I loved that she finds the Guide for the Heartbroken and uses it as a way to heal. Nothing is perfect but it definitely helped keep her mind off of things.

So I thought the interactions between Addie and Rowan are cute but I loved the relationship of the three more. I just enjoyed the story so much that I didn’t need anything else. They were all finding themselves in their own way.

It’s a great story and just has that uniqueness about it to make it something you want to keep reading. I would love to know more beyond the book.

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!

I adored how the setting of Ireland seemed to be a character within itself. The book was intriguing and had an aspect of "What happened?!" as we waited to hear the incident between Addie and her ex. I also enjoyed seeing Lina and Ren appear again.

I have always been drawn to road trip novels, especially international road trip novels, so I was very excited when I heard about the release of Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch. This is a unique story in which the main character uses a guide book to get over heartbreak, and I loved her transformation. I also adored the setting, and I would definitely recommend this book for the summer.

This book tells the story of a road trip through Ireland during which the main character attempts to fix her relationship with her brother. Following a guide book, she also works towards mending her broken heart. I really enjoyed the excerpts from the guide book and the suspense as the reader is left wondering how her heart was broken. There is meaning in the trip, and I loved the many goals accomplished throughout it. This story is unique, and it is filled with summer vibes.

I ended up enjoying the main character, Addie, even though I wasn’t her biggest fan at the beginning of the book. She is independent, and she stops getting in immature fights with her brother. I especially loved her mechanic abilities, since this is something I have never seen before in a book. I also enjoyed reading about her relationship with her brother and how she works to fix it.

One of my favourite aspects of Love & Luck was the setting. I haven’t read many books set in Ireland, and I enjoyed learning about the culture. With help from the guide book, I felt like I was along for the ride. It is also interesting learning about all the notable landmarks and activities in Ireland, and after reading this, I would love to go visit them.

Love & Luck is a story about a road trip with a purpose. I enjoyed the main character and the unique Irish setting. This book is perfect for those who love books about travel.

This book was really cute! There was never a dull moment and I had a handful of great laughs as well. I love Addie and Ian's relationship. Sure, they were not really on speaking terms in the beginning but the buildup to their eventual reconciliation was on a good pace. It was not immediate or anything. Seeing their relationship also made me wish that I had siblings or an older brother at least

I really appreciated the fact that I saw a bit of Lina and Ren in this book! I loved Love & Gelato so it was nice to see them here. However, you don't need to read that book to enjoy this one. Like Welch's previous book, this one was full of adventure! Addie had a guide on Ireland's Hitchhiker's Guide for the Heartbroken and she was able to see some of this places. This makes me wish that plane tickets to Ireland were a lot cheaper, haha.

And lastly, the love interest, Rowan. I'm really glad that this book was not insta-love at all since this trip only lasted for a couple of days.

I’m excited to be another stop on the blog tour for LOVE & LUCK! Any book involving international travel makes it high on my TBR because I love learning about other countries. I haven’t been outside of the US yet (anywhere!!) so these books give me ideas about where I may want to take my first trip someday. This story is about Addie, a girl who travels to Ireland with her family for her aunt’s destination wedding. The book opens with her and her brother falling down a hill and getting muddy while in their wedding party attire. It’s definitely not a good look. For me, the most fun aspect of the story was the guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, that is featured throughout. Addie finds it in the library before the trip and uses it to guide her travels around the country.

I guess the moral of the story for me is to not give up on an author after one book. I DNFed the companion to this book for a variety of reasons but was still very interested in this one. I’m so incredibly happy that I decided to read it because it was adorable. I love road trip books and this one took place in Ireland, which was even cooler. The family feels were super strong and the main character was a lot better than her best friend was in the previous book. There was a little bit of every emotion throughout the story and I really love the journey that they all went on. There were so many moments that could have been corny but somehow they just worked in the story felt deeper as a result. Addie’s brothers were my favorite characters and they all felt so real to me. I really loved this story.

A WONDERFULLY CHARMING AND ENTERTAINING READ!

Love and Luck was such an adorable story about self-discovery, family, healing, friendship and love. It’s sweet. It’s funny. It’s so full of heart and a must read you cannot miss!

I was totally smitten with Love and Gelato, so I was really excited for this book. Luckily, Jenna Evans Welch managed to incorporate all the things I fell in love with and enjoyed in her debut novel into this charming companion story – breathtaking settings, lovable characters, humor, wonderful relationships, a dash of drama and a hint of romance. The writing was absolutely beautiful, descriptive and so realistic. I felt as if I was part of the story and I enjoyed every moment.

Love comes in different forms and there is something so precious about the kind of love between friends and families. I really enjoyed the amazing friendships and family dynamics in this book. The silly arguments, bantering, and heartfelt conversations between the characters, specially Addie and Ian, were positively endearing and made me smile and laugh a few times.

I thought the characters were all likable and interesting in their own ways, but Rowan without a doubt stole a piece of my heart. He’s funny, sweet, adorable, a great friend and totally swoon-worthy.

Love and Luck was a wonderfully charming and entertaining read. It’s full of heartwarming moments and by the end, I was absolutely tearing up and had all these warm fuzzies. I’m definitely looking forward to whatever adventure Welch is planning next.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All thought and opinions are my own.

A companion book to Love & Gelato, Love & Luck can definitely be read and appreciated all on its own. I didn't find out until halfway through that Love & Gelato existed. And I was not at all lost in the story.

Love & Luck was a delightful read that took me through a wide gamut of emotions. There were some extremely humorous scenes--especially between the protagonist, Addie, and her brother, Ian. One of my favorite relationships explored through literature, is that of siblings. While romance is wonderful, I find great delight in close familial relationships and how they can shape characters. Ms. Welch handled this beautifully and realistically.

The romance was there, also. Just a little more obscure.

This was a shorter read that held my attention the entire time it was in my hands. I enjoyed every second! Even the end, which brought a tear or two my eye.

Well done, Ms. Welch! Now I need me some Love & Gelato!

Love & Luck is a cute contemporary that deals with family relationships, expectations and how sometimes what you love is totally different than the “boxes” family has put you in. Set in Ireland, Addie is trying to nurture a broken heart and ends up on an adventure with her brother. I loved that Welch gave us a story in the same world as her previous book, because you get an update on those characters. Definitely recommend for those who enjoy contemporaries, travel and books about family relationships.

I chose to read this book for a few reasons. One,I heard Welch’s first book, Love and Gelato, was amazing. Two, the cover is amazing. Three, Ireland. When I read the summary, I really knew I would enjoy this book, and I did! It took me a little while to get through the beginning, the bickering of the siblings got a little old and I wanted the story to get started. However, the main character, Addie, was so lovable and I wanted to know her story. I loved how Welch gave hints all along about each character and what they were facing. I also really loved how each chapter opened with the excerpt from Ireland for the Heartbroken. I kind of wanted to read that book, although it is fictional. The descriptions of Ireland were spot on as well. I would definitely recommend this book to my students with the preface that there is something more mature towards the end. Overall, an amazing book that will resonate with the youth of today and make you want to travel to Ireland!

I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley for an honest review.

Thank you for approving me for this ARC. I am apart of The Fantastic Flying Book Club's 'Love & Luck' book tour, so my review will be posted online on May 13th (my stop date).

Here's my review:

Love & Luck was a quick, cute, fun read that had me laughing out loud often, and at one point, tearing up.

Addie is having a rough summer. Something awful happened between her and a guy named Cubby, right before she left for Ireland with her family. Whatever the something is, has caused a major rift between Addie and Ian, the brother that has always been her partner in crime, and her best friend. We don’t find out what happened with Cubby until nearly the end of the book, and the wait was nail-biting.

I didn’t like Addie in the beginning, because she was aggressive, and had a super bad temper that led to acts of violence against Ian. She took sibling squabbles to a whole new level, and I felt bad for her brother. Addie eventually grew on me, when she started contemplating and working through her misplaced anger.

My favorite character in Love & Luck, was definitely Rowan, because he’s a super nice guy, with a sweet disposition, and made a great mediator between the two feuding siblings. However, one of the main reasons I only gave this book 4 stars, was because I was disappointed with how Rowan’s dialogue was written. He’s supposed to have an accent that’s ‘100 percent Irish’, but his dialogue didn’t read as having that accent. I actually kept forgetting he was supposed to be Irish, because reading his lines was like listening to a 100 percent accented American.

I’ve never been to Ireland, but it’s on my top 5 list of must-travel places. Reading Love & Luck, has made me want to go to Ireland even more. Addie, Ian, and Rowan, are traveling across Ireland, stopping at historical landmarks, and every time they mentioned one, I immediately put the book down, and googled pictures. The landmarks in Ireland are breathtaking, and I really hope one day I can see them in person.

Before I finish this review, I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Love & Luck, because it really moved me.

“You don’t need anyone, unless you want them. You’re enough all on your own”.

Love & Luck shares some characters with the author’s debut novel, Love & Gelato, but you don’t have to have read it to enjoy this one.

The book opens with bang, as Addie and her brother Ian get into a fistfight at her aunt’s destination wedding in Ireland. The two of them are feuding because Ian thinks Addie should talk to her mother about her recent breakup with her heinous ex (and yes, there’s a good reason he thinks it’s necessary). Addie is fed up with Ian’s behavior and can’t wait to take off for a side trip to Italy to meet up with her best friend, even if Ian is going to be tagging along. Then, at the last minute, Ian reveals that he’s ditching her to go to his favorite band’s final concert at an Irish music festival with a guy he befriended online named Rowan. When Addie winds up missing her flight, she gets dragged along with the two of them as they do a mini-pilgrimage to visit sites important to the band’s career. While Addie isn’t all that interested in the band, a lot of the places they are visiting match up with locations in a guidebook she found titled Ireland for the Heartbroken. The book promises that visiting the sites will help heal a broken heart, and Addie figures that she’s got nothing to lose by trying it out.

So, the guidebook forms a framing device for the story, with chapters describing the road trip alternating with excerpts from the book. It’s a cute idea, but I actually got so invested in Addie’s story that the sections taken from the pretend guidebook annoyed me a bit. I was tempted to skip them, but they are required to understand what’s happening in the plot. I wound up plowing my way through those sections, wishing every time they were shorter.

Given the guidebook frame, I was expecting the plot to revolve around romance a little more than it does. Clearly Rowan is the cute guy who will ultimately become the love interest, but the book never really goes there. Instead, the focus is mostly on Addie’s relationship with Ian, which I liked, because the conflict between them is much deeper than Ian simply trying to boss Addie around. Even though they have always been close, both of them have been keeping secrets from each other. Both of them have also been struggling with the roles they’ve been assigned by their family and others, and how they break out of those roles really forms the meat of the story.

What really made the book for me, though, was Addie’s family in general. I have to admit that I kind of adored Addie’s mother and all three of her brothers. I mean, who wouldn’t want a mother who used to compete in roller derby or brothers who might be exasperating but will always have your back?

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I skipped Love & Gelato because the description of the novel didn’t really hook me, but now I think I’m going to have to give it a try. Recommended for readers of YA contemporaries!

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Love & Luck is different from other teen romances in that it follows Addie whose dealing with blow back from a not so well thought out decision she made regarding a boy named Cubby (from that nickname alone, you know this dude has some serious self-esteem issues). In order to mend her shattered notions and the repercussions of which have fractured her relationship with her brother Ian, Addie goes on an adventure across Ireland, which is inspired by a travel guide called "Ireland for the Heartbroken." Addie and Ian are accompanied by Ian's cute Irish friend, Rowan, who has his own broken heart to mend. Through a whirlwind of near drowning in Rowan's junker car, staying in a hippie hostel, and being chased by gigantic guard dogs, all while making their way to the biggest music festival in Ireland, Addie is able to find the warrior queen (Queen Mauve) within herself to brave her heartbreak a learn a little something about herself and those she loves most.

I have heard so many amazing things about "Love & Gelato" (which I have not yet read) that I figure this book would be a slam dunk. But I didn't really like it. Probably because it wasn't what I was anticipating. I thought Addie would be falling head-over-heels for Rowan right from the beginning. Instead that relationship crept slowly into interesting territory, and even then, I thought Rowan would definitely end up in the Danger Zone (the Friend Zone black hole). This story focused less on a romantic relationship, and more on the relationship between a brother and sister. Every other sentence was about how well Addie and Ian know each other, how they could read one another perfectly, how close they were as siblings. Um, okay. I'm all for family drama in novels and think they can make the story really interesting, but I felt like Welch held out on the mystery of their dispute for too long. I just started getting bored with it. And then when the "terrible-horrible-very-bad-thing" Addie did was revealed, my reaction was "Seriously? How predictable was that?" And not cataclysmic at all. I enjoyed the little excerpts from Ireland for the Heartbroken though; I thought they were charming and added an endearing voice to the book. I still plan on reading Love & Gelato (since I've already purchased it), but I'm really, really hoping the story line is more interesting.

Addie Bennett is in Ireland for her aunt's wedding. Right after the wedding, she gets to fly out to Florence, Italy to meet up with her best friend Lina. However, there is a catch. Since Addie was fighting with her brother, Ian, her mother decides that having both siblings fly out to Florence would be a good way to for them to bond. If either of them causes a ruckus, they are both kicked off their sports teams. However, Ian has other plans.

I was super excited that Jenna Evans Welch transports her readers to another country and even ties in characters from her debut novel, Love & Gelato, with Love & Luck. With the introduction of Addie and Addie's mother and brothers, readers also meet Ian's Irish friend, Rowan, who is equally as charming as he is smart. Not only did he figure out how to resolve a family argument between Ian and Addie, but Rowan and Addie eventually become good friends. Addie's first words to Rowan are "Who are you?" in a demanding voice and sees Rowan as a nuisance at first. She warms up to him as the novel progresses.

One of my favorite characters is Ian. Even though he is a football player who is scouted out for a scholarship to attend Washington State University, Ian's passions lies elsewhere. Ian has his own blog called My Lexicon and he is a teen music online journalist. He has a pretty good following online and that's how Rowan and Ian met. Rowan has been following Ian's articles for sometime and decided to contact him. Ian doesn't care too much about Washington State because he is working on polishing up his portfolio for a career in journalism. This Ian's secret that he has been hiding from his family. However, Addie also has a secret she has been hiding from her family and it has to do with Cubby Jones. Throughout the novel, Addie utilizes Ireland for the Heartbroken to get over heartbreak while she travels throughout Ireland.

Welch is able to flesh out a lot about characters' pasts beyond the main character. It adds substance to the plot and characterization to understand what these characters have been through. What are their struggles? How did they overcome them? What are they trying to achieve now? What are there goals and what are their pursuits to their own happiness? It helps readers figure out why characters say the things they say and do the things they do.

When you first read Love & Luck, you think this is just Addie's story but it's so much more than that. I see it more like Ian's story and how Addie and Rowan add to his journey of following a band's footprints from their early days to their days of their final show. It's also a story about how Addie needs to figure out what she wants from life. Addie actually has a passion in auto mechanics but she only sees it as a hobby. Both Addie and Ian strengthen their sibling bond with this journey throughout Ireland. This novel contains ultimate coming-of-age stories about Addie and Ian.

One thing that bothered me about the novel was how Addie claims that the only way that she will be able to attend a good college is through soccer. Although I don't want to see teens think like this, it does happen. I hope that Addie didn't see soccer as her only way to a good college. Also, what is defined as a "good" college? Everyone's definition of "good" varies.

Love & Luck is a novel for those consumed by wanderlust. It's the perfect summer read where time slows down and people dive into new experiences. I highly recommend Love & Luck for readers who love traveling, music and coming-of-age novels. Definitely read Love & Gelato if you haven't but it's not a required to read Love & Gelato before Love & Luck.

When I saw the corresponding cover of Love & Luck that matched Welch's charming debut novel, Love & Gelato, I knew I wanted to read it. When I found it out was a spin off of Love & Gelato featuring the protagonist's best friend, I knew I HAD to read it. I devoured Love & Luck quickly in one short weekend, and have officially decided that Jenna Evans Welch would be my ideal YA European tour guide, and I sincerely hope she continues to write books about teenagers finding themselves while traversing Europe.

Love & Luck picks up after Love & Gelato, following Lina's best friend Addie as she visits Ireland for a family wedding- which quickly fades to the background as a bigger issue presents itself: Addie is hiding a secret, a secret that's ripping at the seams of her relationship with her brother Ian, who's practically like a twin to her. After the wedding, Addie and Ian find themselves on a road trip through Ireland with an unlikely tour guide instead of on the warm streets of Italy visiting Lina. I have to say, I LOVED the sibling feels in this book. Yes, there's some romance and friendship elements, but for a overall fluffier contemporary, this story really unpacked what it's like to have siblings who you're closer with than anyone else, who's sentences you finish and mannerisms you mimic, who can also get under your skin more than anyone else in the entire world. I LOVED seeing this portrayal between a brother and sister, and I love that even though the book is centered around Addie as a protagonist, I really got the sense that I truly got to know her brother Ian too (which is fabulous because there's not enough portrayals of male characters in YA who aren't love interests, if you ask me). Ian is a total secret cinnamon roll of a character and I just wanted to squeeze him.

The descriptions of Ireland were really breathtaking too, and I enjoyed Googling the sites they were at while reading about their trip and finding that most of the pictures matched what I had crafted in my head based on the narrative. Welch's descriptions of the color green were unreal and I feel like I will never really know what it means to look at the color until I go to Ireland. I could also picture the winding cliff roads, the powerful, frigid ocean beating against the cliffs, the charming little towns with their candy colored buildings and riotous pubs...needless to say, after reading this Ireland has moved up on my travel wish list. I also loved the inclusion of the passages from a guidebook that Addie finds for tourists with broken hearts. They were honestly super hilarious and sarcastic and broke up the narrative in a fun way.

My one complaint about the book is that I feel like some heavier circumstances took place (regarding Addie's "secret") and I felt like they were never given the proper amount of gravity or dealt with. There is an epilogue, but it wrapped things up a little too neatly for me. I understand that the focus of the story is much more on the summer in Ireland and Ian and Addie's relationship rather than the repercussions of Addie's secret, but given how much it was built up (I had so many theories) and the severity of what happened to her, I think it warranted a lot more discussion.

Overall: Love & Luck is a charming read that will make readers fall in love with Ireland, but also explores sibling relationships in a very raw and authentic way. I can't wait to see what other countries Welch features in future novels!

Loved that this author wrote another book. I loved Love and Gelato so I was very excited about this one. I loved that this one took place in Ireland and that I got to go along on the trip with the main character. This book was another cute, fun contemporary and was a really quick read.

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I adored this book for the start! Set in the same world as Love & Gelato (and featuring a cameo from Lina) this was a fun and bright story that had me chuckling and commiserating and just plain enjoying! Jenna Evans Welch knows her stuff!