Love, Lucy
by April Lindner
♦publisher: Little Brown BYR
♦release date: January 27th, 2014
♦hardcover, 304 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone
♦source: from publisher for honest review
While backpacking
through Florence, Italy, during the summer before she heads off to
college, Lucy Sommersworth finds herself falling in love with the
culture, the architecture, the food...and Jesse Palladino, a handsome
street musician. After a whirlwind romance, Lucy returns home,
determined to move on from her "vacation flirtation." But just because
summer is over doesn't mean Lucy and Jesse are over, too.
In this coming-of-age romance, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.
In this coming-of-age romance, April Lindner perfectly captures the highs and lows of a summer love that might just be meant to last beyond the season.
Review: Love, Lucy is a sweet little romantic story. We follow along with Lucy on a enchanting jaunt through scenic Italy and her exciting first taste of a college experience. To get this trip, she sacrificed her greatest love---acting on the stage---to follow in her father's college alma mater, but while there she finds love and someone who awakens passion in her in more ways than one.
While I didn't always love Lucy herself, it made her character's eventual growth all the more satisfying. She was sometimes childish and irrationally jealous, but hey, what coming-of-age/first love story would be completely realistic without those moments? I couldn't help but be completely brokenhearted for her with the awful father she had to put up with. He was cruel and stubborn, and completely squashed her confidence, forcing her to give up her dreams with bribery and eventually very heartless words. As his daughter, and a bit of a people-pleaser in general, Lucy finds herself under his thumb.
The romance is fun and sweet, starting out as a "vacation flirtation" and growing into something more. Lucy is swept along in the romance of Italy and Rome with a guy who is a bit of a free spirit, traveling and performing on the street and getting Lucy to remember just how much she loves performing, too. When the vacation ends, their connection doesn't---but the uncertainties and the ups and downs that came with her trying to get over something that still firmly had her by the heart, rang absolutely true.
The writing often feels very straight-forward, but April Lindner never fails to keep me enthralled in the story. Lucy goes through a great journey to find what she really wants in love and in life and the strength to fight for it, both against her own draw-backs and others that try to hold her back. Mentions of characters from past books are a fun little treat and had me wanting to pick up Jane, one of my favorites from this author (actually, one of my favorites in YA fiction!).
I fell in love with the cover of "Love, Lucy" late last year when I first saw it. I thought it would be a fun and adorable read based on its cover, but now I know that it's not the case. I'm always surprised when there's darker undertone a story from what you expected. In this case, with this book, it seems that dark undertone has to do with her father convincing her to give up on her dreams and pursue something else. I can't wait to read this one Becky! Thanks for your thoughts! ^_^
ReplyDeleteYay :D This sounds like a really cute book. <3 I'm glad you enjoyed it so much :) And yay for a cute romance too. This isn't a book for me, as I don't enjoy this genre much, hmph, but I do think it sounds interesting :) And I'm so glad you loved it. <3 Thank you for sharing Becky :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love stories that are set in Italy. It makes for such a fun read (usually!) I also love when an author is able to make the character grow through out the book and you feel satisfied when they finally come into their own. Great review, Becky!
ReplyDeleteThat adorable cover was what initially hooked me, too, and also that it's by April Lindner because I adored Jane so much. Even with the darker themes going on, it is still a pretty light and fun read. I hope you enjoy it, Hillary!
ReplyDeleteI don't read contemp much either, but I'm usually pretty lucky in the few that take on! Definitely a cute romance and I loved the travel parts, too!
ReplyDeleteHaving sadly not been out of the US, I generally love to read stories that are set anywhere but here! LOL This one was like a fun little jaunt through Italy, and makes me so eager to go there one day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Becky! I hope I do too! n_n
ReplyDeleteWow this book looks so good. After ur review I REALLY want to read it now.
ReplyDeletethis looks and sounds so fun! Thank you so much for the great review!
ReplyDeleteAw, I so want to read this one! I want to go to Italy so badly, so the little wish fulfillment just of reading the setting would make me happy. :) I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and now I'm looking forward to it more! :D
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty cover!! And sounds like such a cute love story! Definitely putting this one on my tbr!
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