Jenna Evans Welch's second novel, Love & Luck, is an adventurous book filled with spontaneous decisions and discussions of relatable heartbreak. The story follows a young woman, Addie, who travels with her family to Ireland for a destination wedding. Things take a turn when Addie and her closest brother, Ian, are destined to travel to Italy with each other in hopes to reconcile their construed relationship. The novel holds a good amount of underlying emotion and frustrations between the two siblings, but things are hashed out more towards the middle and end of the novel. Unfortunately, plans for Italy halt when Addie discovered Ian attempting a getaway with an Irish native, Rowan. Ian plans on touring around Ireland with Rowan in hopes to uncover information about his favorite band, Titletrack, and inevitably attend their final concert. Addie tags along in hopes to keep her brother out of trouble and maybe even force him into changing his mind, however, she is accompanying the two young men with a well-written acquaintance--a travel guide for the brokenhearted visiting Ireland. There are references to this guide throughout the novel, filled with advice and helpful thoughts on how to get through current heartbreak that someone could be encountering. Turns out, it isn't just Addie who acquires help from this acquaintance, but Rowan and Ian as well. The story has numerous introductions of historical sites throughout Ireland and it makes me want to visit there even more so than I already hoped to. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in adventuring, following their dreams, or in need of a little encouragement in making a difficult decision.
So I went to Barnes & Noble the other night (needed some retail therapy) and ended up wandering aimlessly around the aisles for over an hour. I must have hit every section before I made my way over to the children’s corner. Not sure if I was feeling nostalgic or just curious as to what the youth of today was starting out to read. As I scoured shelves looking for old time Nancy Drew or Where the Sidewalk Ends , I heard this couple enter the area and couldn’t help but overhear their conversation. “I just want to look for a book for her, just one. Can ya’ give me a minute?” The woman sounded exasperated, almost as if she couldn’t comprehend why her companion wasn’t understanding the need to look for the perfect book . It was his response that caught me, even though I shouldn’t have been so stung. “You do realize kids today don’t read, right? What’...
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