Love and Olives by Jenna Evans Welch

Summary from Goodreads:

Liv Varanakis doesn’t have a lot of fond memories of her father, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight. What Liv does remember, though, is their shared love for Greek myths and the lost city of Atlantis. So when Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father explaining that National Geographic is funding a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and will she fly out to Greece and help?—Liv jumps at the opportunity.

But when she arrives to gorgeous Santorini, things are a little…awkward. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. And yet Liv doesn’t want their past to get in the way of a possible reconciliation. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo—her father’s charismatic so-called “protégé”—to witness her struggle.

And that means diving into all that Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the hidden caves, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato comes a Mamma Mia–inspired tale about a teen girl finding romance while trying to connect with her absent father in beautiful Santorini, Greece.

Review:

I loved this book! I had a good feeling I probably would. I have a uniquely powerful love for olives. I know it sounds like I’m making it up, but they are my favorite food. I don’t think I could live without them. My immediate family, growing up, was raised to snack on them like popcorn. I would not go near a salad that was missing olives. My favorite bread is olive bread. And there is almost always some form of olive in my refrigerator.   So….the title alone of this book appealed to me on all kinds of levels. I also really enjoyed the other books by this author.

I’ve been missing my family and I’ve been missing traveling a lot this past year. My husband and I love traveling. We had travel plans (that along with the rest of the world, we had to cancel this year). So, traveling to Santorini with Liv was a pure delight. This is as close to travel as I think I’m going to get for a long time. (Note to self: find more books that take me to other countries so I can live vicariously through more lucky fictional characters). Would I have loved this book as much if circumstances weren’t what they were right now? Maybe not…But, it was the right book at the right moment for me.

As I mentioned on Goodreads, I wasn’t expecting to feel so much in this book, but it was an emotional roller coaster –in a good way. It’s about Liv reconnecting with the father who left her. It’s also about her understating why he left to begin with. This book handles mental illness in an interesting way. And I found myself really connecting to Liv because of those in my life with mental illness. Some of it wasn’t a huge shock for me, like it was for this main character. I have read enough books to know when a big reveal is coming and what to expect at this point. But, that didn’t deter from my enjoyment. I still felt just as strongly for Liv.

This book is beautiful, romantic, and filled with this interesting backdrop adventure of searching for and filming about the lost city of Atlantis. I was not expecting to learn so much about Greece, Plato, and philosophy in this book! What a surprise treat. I guess Atlantis hunting is a real thing! The only thing I did not love was how long it took Liv to figure out how not great one of her relationships at home was. But, I guess that was realistic. Sometimes you need to experience new things and live more to realize that. All in all, I give this a 9/10.