Jenna Evans Welch writes YA “girl abroad” stories, romance-forward, place-rich novels that are designed to feel complete in one sitting. Her best-known titles share the “Love & …” branding, but they’re not one continuous plotline. You can read them in any order without breaking the story, though publication order is the cleanest way to catch small nods and keep the author’s voice evolution intact.
What follows is organized like a travel itinerary: pick the trip you want, then follow the route.
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The 30-second answer
- If you want the book most readers start with: Love & Gelato (2017)
- If you want her most “different” (witchy, Salem-set, still romantic): Spells for Lost Things (2022)
- If you want the “Love & …” set as a mini-collection: read Gelato → Luck → Olives
Route 1: The “Love & …” Travel Romances (Best Read in Publication Order)
These are standalones with a shared vibe, not a strict series. Publication order preserves tiny cross-references and keeps the “shape” of her storytelling from feeling jumpy.
Love & Gelato (2017): A summer in Italy turns into a personal mystery-with-romance, where the diary trail is the engine that keeps the trip (and the feelings) moving.
Love & Luck (2018): A road trip through Ireland reframes a sister relationship while the romance grows in the margins, giving the book a more family-forward emotional center than Gelato.
Love & Olives (2020): A Santorini story built around an absent father and unanswered history, where the romance runs alongside a bigger question of what you’re owed, and what you’re willing to risk to ask for it.
Route 2: The “One-Book, New-Flavor” Standalone
Spells for Lost Things (2022): Two teens spend a summer in Salem and get pulled into a gentle, modern “magic-and-belonging” story that’s less postcard-travel and more emotional relocation.
Collections and editions that don’t change reading order
These are not new stories you must slot into the timeline, but they’re useful to know about.
Love & Other Detours (2020): A boxed collection that bundles the “Love & …” novels together, meant for convenience rather than continuity.
Love & Gelato (Collector’s Edition) (2026): A commemorative edition of the original novel, best treated as an optional revisit rather than a separate step in the reading order.
If you want a “best first pick” by mood
- Romance + personal mystery + Tuscany energy: Love & Gelato
- Sister dynamics + road-trip momentum: Love & Luck
- Family reconnection + island atmosphere: Love & Olives
- Bittersweet, tender, slightly mystical: Spells for Lost Things
Do you ever need chronological order here?
No. There isn’t a single continuing storyline that requires timeline reading. If you’re going to read more than one book, “chronological” and “publication” effectively collapse into the same practical guidance: start earlier if you want the purest entry, start later if you want a more recent style.
Latest release status
As of today (February 27, 2026), the most recent new novel is Spells for Lost Things (2022), with a Collector’s Edition of Love & Gelato scheduled for June 2026.
Bottom line
If you want the safest, most representative starting point: Love & Gelato (2017).
If you already know you’ll read several: go Gelato → Luck → Olives, then try Spells for Lost Things whenever you want a different tone while staying in her lane.
Frank is the editor of BookSeries.blog, focusing on publication order, chronological timelines, and spoiler-free reading guides for book series and fictional universes.