Jenna Evans Welch's Love and Gelato tells the story of an unforgettable summer in Italy. It follows a girl called Lina who goes to Italy at the behest of her dying mother, who implores her to visit the country to finally meet and get to know her father. But still, Lina would rather be in any other place but Italy. One day, Lina discovers her mother's journal from when she went to Italy. In it, she discovered a deeply complex and magical world that her mother once lived in. And that inspires Lina. People come to Italy for love and gelato, she says, but they oftentimes discover quite a bit more, and Lina does just that.
A film adaption of the novel (which shares the same name) was released on Netflix in June 22 of 2022. Unlike the novel, the film was critically panned. In a scathing review of the film, Brent Simon of the AV Club, wrote that the film is: "A glossy, toothless idealization of older teenage awakening made for younger, less discerning adolescent audiences that, even within that stipulated realm, falls considerably short." Still, the film was widely watched and was in the list of Netflix's most popular content at the time of its release.
Unlike the film, the Love and Gelato novel received overwhelmingly positive reviews and was a massive financial success, instantly becoming a New York Times Bestseller. Kirkus Reviews, in their positive review for the novel, wrote that the novel, which is "Seasoned with luscious descriptions of Renaissance architecture and Italian food, [is] a sure bet for fans of romance fiction and armchair travel."
