Addie and her brother have basically been at each other's throats since a mysterious incident over the summer. The two of them are supposed to fly to Italy together after their aunt's wedding in Ireland, but Ian has other plans...a road trip across Ireland with his friend Rowan, following in the footsteps of their favorite band. When Addie finds out, she's livid--just the day before, their mom had threatened to make both of them quit sports if they didn't get along on their trip to Italy, and she needs a soccer scholarship to pay for college. Rowan suggests she come along to their first stop so she can see what the trip is all about, and she agrees, hoping she can talk some sense into Ian and get their travel plans back on course. Spoiler alert: Their travel plans do not get back on course. Instead, Addie is swept along on a stumbling block-riddled trip across Ireland, all three of them trying to repair the broken parts of themselves along the way.

This isn't a bad story, but it was a little all over the place. Lots of starts at plot and character developments that never seemed to go anywhere and things that should have been giant plot points but ultimately fell flat. Overall, I enjoyed it. However, it's incredibly frustrating to have an entire story developed around an oft-reference occurrence over the summer and then, when this big secret is finally revealed (and it was a big deal), have it relegated to a minor plot point and casually wrapped up in an epilogue. Also, real talk? If you're going to create this whole narrative around a teenage girl being pressured into sending a naked picture of herself and then have the guy she sent it to pass it around to basically the whole school, you need to deal with that responsibly. How did that possibly become a minor detail, wrapped up in a few pages? It's a BIG DEAL.

This was not the companion novel I was expecting, but was all kinds of adorable. There's no real romance like there was in Love & Gelato (unless you count heartbreak)--instead we get a complicated sibling relationship, a developing friendship with a sad, adorable Irish boy, and a road trip to a crazy music festival.

While I was a little disappointed at the lack of romance, I really enjoyed going on the Irish road trip with Addie and Ian and Rowan. Addie is feisty and funny, even while dealing with heartache and the developing drama back home. There are some amazing scenes that stand out (the Queen Maeve ritual is by far my favorite) and make this more than just a cheesy contemporary story. There are also some great themes regarding choosing your own path and dealing with the aftermath of poor decisions...something my students will definitely relate to.

This book was a nice lighthearted follow up to Love and Gelato. Though it is a lighter read, more serious issues are addressed like divorce, the violation of privacy, and following a dream that isn't yours. The scenery is wonderful and the story follows twists and turns that keep it fun.

Now, I have to admit, I started this book with a little bit of unconscious bias. I've read Welch's work before - more specifically, Love & Gelato - and I knew it was pretty hard to follow up. Nevertheless, I requested this book expecting great things from it, and it didn't disappoint.

Addie and her family are visiting Ireland for her aunt's wedding, but is planning to visit Italy soon so she can visit her friend, Lina (the main character of Love & Gelato, if you're into fun little cameos like that). She and her brother Ian, who have been at each other's throats for days for a mysterious reason, are going to Italy together, until she realizes Ian's travel plans have changed. She follows him on his way, reluctantly at first. Addie finds a whole different side of her brother and meets a cute Irishman named Rowan, who is a friend of Ian's, and together they try to mend their heartbreak using a quirky guidebook (that, can I just say, was one of the BEST parts of the book).

I can't say much else without diving into spoiler territory, but that is basically the gist of it. First, Addie. I was expecting her mysterious reason to be one thing, but Welch veered into an entirely different reason, which I was not expecting at all. I was shocked by the turn of events, and then understood Addie's hesitation to tell anyone in her family other than Ian, who already knew. I could feel her pain in every part of the book, and I loved how all the people closest to her cheered her up in the best way they could.

Rowan was absolutely adorable. He was dealing with some heartbreak of his own, but not the romantic type. He and Addie used the guidebook together, and although they started bonding over their mutual sadness, the respect and love that grew out of it was especially sweet. I did think the romance factor would be played up a little more, because of the title and the previous book Love & Gelato, but I understand why Welch chose to make it a slow, quiet one. This book was about Addie's heartbreak and her own personal journey to get through it, and Rowan was just the cherry on top. Also, his cat shirts were the best.

Ian, Addie's brother and Rowan's friend, was just so multifaceted and talented I was jealous. He could play sports, have great taste in music, AND have a secret talent I can't reveal just yet? Not fair! But his and Addie's relationship was fun to follow along, especially when it was getting better. I'm just a sucker for a happy ending, is all.

The trio's traipse through Ireland was wonderful. I could almost see the forty shades of green and moss-covered rocks Welch described. It will make you want to fly to Ireland immediately, just to view all the beautiful scenery and fairy rings.

I would definitely recommend this book for fans of Love & Gelato, and even newcomers to the series; you don't need to read the previous book to get this one.

If you enjoyed Love & Gelato, you will love this next book by Jenna Evans Walsh. Addie travels to Ireland with her family, hoping to escape her past, and through a series of missteps ends up on the trip on a lifetime. She travels around Ireland trying to cure her heartache by following a guidebook and gets to see amazing sites in Ireland while coming to grips with her past. This one will make you want to book a plane ticket to follow in her steps.