About a month ago, I started getting into contemporary books. The light, fluffy, funny stories that I usually never read but decided to try one day, at a time when I needed something like it.
First I read TOKYO EVER AFTER by Emiko Jean and laughed my head off. Then eventually I started LOVE AND GELATO by Jenna Evans Welch and was blown away by the setting, characters, romance, and genuine sincerity nestled in its pages. After discovering it was the first in a series of standalones, I blew through LOVE AND LUCK and proceeded to. . .
LOVE AND OLIVES.
The masterpiece.
Here’s the summary:
Santorini felt like an island holding its breath. As if it were keeping in a secret. . .
Liv Varanakis doesn’t like to think about her father much, which makes sense – he fled to Greece when she was only eight, leaving her with just a few painful memories of their shared love for the lost city of Atlantis. So when teenage Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father, who explains that National Geographic is supporting a documentary about his theories on Atlantis – and asks if she will fly out to Greece and help – Liv is less than thrilled.
When she arrives in gorgeous Santorini, things are just as awkward as she’d imagined. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. Liv doesn’t want to get sucked back into her father’s world. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo,
her father’s charismatic so-called protégé, to witness her struggle. Even so, she can’t help but be charmed
by everything Santorini has to offer – the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the sun-drenched villages, 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.
Like I said earlier, I loved this book. Olive was such a flawed, genuine, and relatable character, and her romance with Theo was so sweet. Her rocky relationship with her father pulled me in, making me long to know more about what really happened. And the setting – oh my goodness. Welch knocked it out of the park – I could practically see the blue waters and domes of Santorini, feel the ocean air waft over my skin and the sea wash over my feet. The little bookstore that Olive’s dad owns, with the hidden compartments and bunk room, was so cute and I wanted to go there so badly. And their search for Atlantis was so interesting – I could tell Welch did her research and I respect that a lot.
I also loved Olive’s relationship with her mom. It just seemed so genuine (wow, I’m using that word a lot to describe this book) and I appreciated how they worked through her dad’s absence together.
Finally, I really loved the mental health representation: how mental health stigma was discussed by the characters and the way the author explained how mental health affects more people than just the person dealing with it. (I won’t say anything more for fear of spoilers!)
Here’s the gallery aesthetic that I made for this book:
Overall, LOVE AND OLIVES was an amazing story, full of lush descriptions, delicious food, relatable characters, and Atlantis theories. I can’t recommend it enough.