Love & Olives follows main character Olive, who goes by Liv. Liv’s dad left
her and her mom when she was little, leaving them with next to nothing.
Now, it’s the summer before her last year of highschool, and suddenly her
dad wants to reconnect with her. But Liv is a different person than she used
to be. She never mentions her dad, and tries her best not to think of him.
Now Liv is taking a trip to Greece to see him. But even in beautiful Santorini,
it’s awkward to see her dad, and she doesn’t want to go back to being who
she used to be: a believer – specifically in Atlantis. At first she thought that
was why her dad had invited her here, to search for Atlantis. But what if it
was for something more?
“My mom once told me that it's difficult for kids to recognize their parents as
anything but supporting cast members in their own feature films, and here it
was true. I'd been so wrapped up in my own story with my father that I
hadn't stopped to think about what his story was.”
― Jenna Evans Welch, Love & Olives
Not to mention that throughout the story, gorgeously stunning Theo is
always there. Although Liv has a boyfriend (who totally doesn’t deserve her),
she can’t help but be attracted to Theo. He’s funny, charismatic, witty, and
absolutely charming. Their relationship blossoms with twists and turns.
Honestly, I think that this may have been the best book in the series. The plot
is amazing, and Liv has such an amazing perspective. She’s a sarcastic,
hilarious character, and she has so much character development throughout
the book. She really discovers so much about herself, even realizing that she
was subconsciously lying to herself. Liv probably has the most character
development that I’ve ever seen. It’s crazy.
“Kalamata, no one knows what they're doing. It's called life.”
― Jenna Evans Welch, Love & Olives
Love & Olives is the last book in a series of three. None of the books follow
the same character. I honestly thought that the second book was a bit of a
bummer, it just didn’t quite compare to the first or third. However, I do think
that the first one was really good. I like that the characters in this series
always have elaborate backgrounds. But most of all, what really makes these
amazing for me is the setting. Italy, Ireland, and Greece. All such beautiful
places, and the way that Jenna Evans Welch describes these amazing
settings is truly thrilling.
Overall, I would recommend Love & Olives. Although it does have some
parts that I found boring, and at parts I wanted to grab the characters and
shake some sense into them, I think it’s overall worth it.