Love & Luck

In the beginning of the summer, Addie secretly dates a football teammate of her brother, Ian. Ian finds out and warns her to stay away from the guy. She doesn't, which leads to her making a big mistake that affects Ian. Addie, Ian and their family go to Ireland later that summer for Aunt Mel's wedding, but the siblings can't stop fighting because Ian wants Addie to tell their mother about Addie's mistake. To stop their fighting, their mother gives them an ultimatum: Since both Ian and Addie are to go to Italy to see a friend, they cannot fight, otherwise, Addie is off of her soccer team and Ian is off of his football team.

When Ian and Addie are supposed to go to Italy, Ian tries to ditch her for his pre-arranged road trip across Ireland with an online buddy of his. Addie is having none of it and sticks with them, which turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

Love & Luck is a coming-of-age story full of lively characters, heartbreak and zany situations across the breathtaking Irish countryside. Addie uses a guidebook to Ireland that's written for people who are heartbroken. While on the road trip, she and Ian's online buddy, Rowan, follow the book's instructions to help their hearts mend. Addie, Ian and Rowan help each other out with their emotional problems while bonding over the less-than-ideal situations, like Rowan's car leaking and Addie missing her flight.

I love Ireland and hope to visit it one day. The next best thing is this story. I had a lot of fun reading it! It had things I expected, such as tractors blocking the road when Addie is in a time-crunch to get to the airport, and things I didn't expect, like Ian's secret life. While this book can be read as a standalone, I think it would make for a better read if you check out Welch's other book: Love & Gelato.

For a longer, spoiler version of the story, check out my blog: https://redwolfsroom.blogspot.com/2021/03/take-roadtrip-through-ireland-with-love.html