Love and Olives by Jenna Evans Welch

“All of my understanding of yachts came from music videos. At some point would everyone start throwing dollar bills in the air while we all dove into the ocean? 

It’s possible I was overthinking this.”

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 in 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.

The overall plot of this book was pretty well thought out, and I found myself pretty invested in Liv’s family. 

It was really sweet, but it was also … really long. I just felt like I was wading through it for hours on end. There is just not enough happening in this book for it to justify being this long. There are a lot of fun moments sprinkled in, but the story itself does not really progress much until the very end. They spend around 85% of this book being tourists. I don’t know if that’s just the point of this series, or if I’m being overly cynical, but it was not exactly the most gripping stuff. 

I also can’t get over just how perfect Theo is, and I don’t mean that in a good way. He has no flaws. He’s got movie star looks, is so sweet, and is so smart and genuine. People like this literally do not exist in real life, and the oversimplification of his character is really weird. 

That being said, Theo is a highlight for sure, tied with Julius. Julius is Liv’s adorable younger half brother. Though he only makes a few appearances, he definitely stole my heart ("I had a text from James’ phone: LIV ITS JULIUS IT IS OK TO LOSE TO YOUR OPPONENT BUT NOT OK TO LOSE TO FEAR”).

Liv, is honestly a little stressful. She keeps panicking over simple things, and is actually pretty rude. She keeps trying to defend her boyfriend’s possessive and immature behavior, and is honestly just spending way too much time worrying about all the wrong things. She’s also criminally self-centered. I understand that a lot of her less savory character traits are born out of the abandonment and confusion that she felt when her dad left, but still. It’s annoying. (Side note: Theo was abandoned by his dad and he manages to not act like a jerk, so I feel like this is Liv’s problem, not her dad’s.) Being juxtaposed with Theo absolutely does not help her case; he’s eager and curious and helpful and kind where she’s grumpy and petty and fake. 

Overall, the idea of a father and daughter trying to bond over an insane adventure that defined her childhood is really interesting, and the climax and ending are well done. However, the book drags on inexplicably, and the protagonist starts to get on your nerves very very early on.