When Love Gives You Lemons

By: Steven Salvatore

Narrated by: Jason June, Mitch G Nel

Bloomsbury presents When Love Gives You Lemons by Steven Salvatore, read by Jason June and Mitch G Nel

In this exuberant YA romance from the critically acclaimed author of And They Lived..., a budding social media influencer sets out to win back his first love at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove.

Ever since he was a kid, Fielder Lemon’s large, opinionated Italian-American family has lived next to Ricky DeLuca and his large, opinionated Italian-American family. For almost as long, Fielder has known that he wants to marry Ricky one day. And he thought Ricky felt the same way—until Ricky breaks up with Fielder, saying he needs to figure out who he is on his own.

One year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin's destination wedding on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, but there's a twist: his cousin is marrying Ricky’s sister. Fielder hasn’t talked to or seen Ricky once during the last entire, terrible year, but he hasn’t given up on his first love quite yet—and isn't a wedding in an Italian lemon grove the perfect setting to rekindle their relationship? Except Ricky might have already moved on.

Now, Fielder has less than a week to win back Ricky’s heart while also trying not to ruin his cousin’s wedding. But if there's one thing Fielder knows, it's that when life gives you lemons, take a bite!©2025 Steven Salvatore (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Critic reviews

It's love at first read with WHEN LOVE GIVES YOU LEMONS! With nuanced characters that instantly make you feel like family, a setting as gorgeous as the lemon groves of Amalfi, and a romance as satisfying as a plate of perfect pasta, Steven Salvatore has delivered once again!

Steven Salvatore is an incredible voice in queer YA, and WHEN LOVE GIVES YOU LEMONS is no exception. As perfect as a sun-drenched, windswept southern Italian summer!

Zesty and sweet as an Amalfi lemon, you'll scheme and swoon for this juicy romance! You'll swoon for the Amalfi Coast, the smell of fresh citrus mixed with sea, and Ricky, as Fielder works to win back the love of his life.

Salvatore delivers a witty, fourth-wall-breaking romcom told with heart traversing the scenic Italian coast and the rocky terrain of first loves - a refreshing, tongue-in-cheek novel that's all sweet and no sour!

A humorous and heartfelt love story about growth, change, and clarity.

A sprawling cast of quirky aunts, a hilarious nonna, and a crew of cousins who are all along for the mess . . . [take] readers on quite the journey. . . . The romance of southern Italy sets the perfect scene for Fielder and Ricky to figure themselves out.

This pursuit, or rather construction, of identity is universal, and Salvatore balances the heft of such an existential question with the wide-eyed wonder of a summer romance.

Fielder’s theatrical first-person POV gives way to Ricky’s more subdued, self-conscious narration halfway through the novel in a switch that showcases Salvatore’s perceptive grasp of adolescent voices.

Steven Salvatore writes complicated love stories with such sincerity, thoughtfulness, and emotional resonance. My heart didn't stand a chance-I loved it from once upon a time all the way to its joyfully complex ever after.

*This charming, joyful story-about self-love, fighting for what's right, and the love to be found in chosen family-will make you want to put on a pair of red heels and blast Mariah Carey.

😍😍

I loved it oh my gosh it was swoon worthy and readers were absolutely perfect 👌.

Perfect Queer Romcom

I don't know how Steven Salvatore does this, but once again he writes characters that draw you in and make you fall in love with them instantly. Being a gay NY Italian boy I saw SO much of my family in this story and related more than usual, which is saying something given how I've related to his past books. There is not a single character you won't love, even when you hate them for things they do (no spoilers.) This book will make you love love again and the pure queer joy is palpable. Also...I NEED a lemon tiramisu now...

Wonderful romcom!

It felt like a perfect romcom, a lot of times if feels books tend to focus more on the personal journey than the relationship between the characters, and even though Fielder and Ricky didn’t speak for a good part of the book it still grew the relationship wonderfully with real characters with flaws and virtues, when no one is perfect and no one is a villain. The narrators were so good too! That Italian-American New Yorker accent was spot on, reminded me of people I know!