And don't be surprised if Santorini gets added to your list of dream vacation destinations.From New York Times bestselling author Jenna Evans Welch comes a boxed set of three romances set in the beautiful countrysides of Italy, Ireland, and Greece about life, love, and the true meaning of family. There's very little content of concern, but at over 500 pages it's best for strongly independent readers who can handle the theme of parental abandonment.

Romance fans will enjoy it, and the ending satisfies. That being said, the budding romance with Theo is pretty sigh worthy, and the box of mementos adds interest and dimension to passages where Liv revisits the past. She's pretty self absorbed and too sure she's right about everything, and at times it feels like it's just taking too long for her to start learning and changing. Liv is a frustrating character for much of the story. The tone in Love & Olives is fairly light and breezy, which helps keep things going despite some flaws in the plot and characters, but also makes the ending never in doubt. An adult has wine with dinner and a dinner cruise is mentioned as a 'booze cruise.'Īuthor Jenna Evans Welch's talent for vivid descriptions of gorgeous locations steals the show in this otherwise sweet but predictable, and a bit too long, coming-of-age romance.

There's speculation that someone does a lot of weed. A minor character smokes a cigar, and Liv has a sentifmental attachment to the smell of a certain brand of cigarettes. 'WTF' is used once and is the only strong language. Lots of romantic feelings and dynamics, but only one kiss and one almost-kiss. There's no violence but some scariness from a recurring nightmare and a panic attack while scuba diving. Coping with mental illness and how it's stigmatized is briefly explored, as is kidney disease. This time the setting is the Greek island of Santorini, where during the summer between her junior and senior year of high school, Liv goes to reunite with the father who abandonded her and her mother when she was 8. It's the author's third book in the Love & series, and none of them relate to each other as far as plot and characters go, so reading them in any order is fine. Parents need to know that Love & Olives is a romantic coming-of-age story, by Jenna Evans Welch.

Mention of a 'booze cruise.'ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide. Sentimental memories attached to the smell of Marlboro Smooth cigarettes while acknowledging that cigarettes are bad. Specualtion about someong doing a lot of weed.

Love and olives jenna evans welch