Love and Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
A year or two ago, I read Love and Gelato by the same author and enjoyed it, so I was happy to see that there was a companion book to it. As it turns out, there will be another one sometime in the next year, and I will read it too.
This one is about Lina's best friend, Addie, and Lina doesn't actually turn up in this book until the last chapter, which is why I am referring to it as a companion rather than a sequel.
Addie is the only girl in her family. She has four older brothers who are all amazing athletes. Addie thinks of herself as only mediocre, and hates that she is often referred to as Walter/Archie/Ian's little sister at school. She is very close to Ian, in fact, aside from Lina, he is her best friend. They have had a falling out over a guy Addie was seeing, but broke up with. Ian wants Addie to tell their mother about the guy, Cubby, but Addie is adamantly against it. So against it that she pushes Ian down the hill side of a cliff and gives him a black eye while they are at their aunt's wedding in Ireland. Addie and Ian are supposed to go to Italy to visit Lina for a few days while the rest of the family tours Ireland, but this little skirmish between siblings has angered their mother. She has decided that they have to get along while they're in Italy, or they will have to quit all of their sports. This terrifies Addie because she knows that a) Ian will make that difficult and b) sports are the only way she will get to go to college.
So, imagine Addie's surprise when she wakes up on the morning that she and Ian are supposed to leave for Italy only to find him gone. She finds him getting into a sketchy looking car in their hotel parking lot, but tackles him to the ground. She manages to get Ian to explain what he is doing, and it turns out that he is traveling across Ireland on a pilgrimage of sorts to see the final concert of his favorite band. Addie tags along with the intent of going to the airport to go see Lina in Italy, but misses her flight. What ensues over the next couple of days is hilarious--think a combination of National Lampoons European Vacation and Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown.
I enjoyed this immensely, and can't wait for the next one to come out.
