Hi there everyone!!
Today I'm extremely happy to take part on the blog tour for Solving For Ex by LeighAnn Kopans! I'm even more excited about today since it's release day!
I'm gonna be sharing my review and also a blog tour giveaway, but first let me introduce you to LeighAnn and this amazing contemporary book!
Publication date: February 11th 2014
Genres: YA, Romance, Contemporary
Synopsis:
1 crush on your best friend +
1 gorgeous, scheming new girl +
1 Mathletics competition =
1 big mess
SIMPLIFY.
Ashley Price doesn’t have much in life after being bullied so hard she had to leave her old school to live with her aunt and uncle in Pittsburgh. But the camera she borrowed from her best friend and secret crush Brendan, and her off the charts math abilities, make things a lot more bearable. Plus, since Brendan is the captain, making the school Mathletes team should be easy.
But when gorgeous new girl Sofia rolls in and steals Brendan, Ashley's place on the team, and her fragile foothold on the Mansfield Park Prep social totem pole, it’s on. Sofia is everything Ashley left her old school to escape. The only thing Ashley didn’t count on is Sofia’s sexy twin brother Vincent.
Vincent is not only the hottest boy in school, he’s charming, sweet, and he’s got his eye on Ashley. He’s also not taking no for an answer. There's no real reason Ashley shouldn't like Vincent, but with the
battle lines being drawn between her and Sofia, Ashley’s not sure which side he’s on. Or which side she wants him to be on.
She does know Sofia is trouble with a capital T, and she’s determined to make Brendan see it.
SOLVING FOR EX is a YA contemporary romance that remixes Mansfield Park as Clueless meets Mean Girls in a crazy mix of high school society, mathletic competition, and teenage romance.
Raised on comic books and classic novels, Leigh Ann developed an early love of science fiction and literature. As an adult, she rediscovered her love for not only reading, but also writing the types of fiction that enchanted her as a teen. Her debut novel, ONE, is about a girl with only half a superpower, the boy who makes her fly, and her struggle to make herself whole.
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My review
I got an ARC of Solving For Ex from the author herself and I have to thank LeighAnn Kopans for both writing this book and letting me read it in advance!
Solving For Ex is a contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. I was so blown away by this story and of how much I absolutely enjoyed it, so much I stayed up very very late (or maybe even early?) reading till I finished the book! Yeah, I read this one in one sitting!
I'm not usually a big fan of contemporary books, but that doesn't mean I don't absolutely love and devour some now and then, but they tend to be rare events (The S-Word, Eleonor & Park, This Song Will Save Your Life, Fangirl). I usually dislike high school settings in books, some cliches are too much for me, and I have very little patience for the "oh-I-wish-I-was-popular" kinda storyline. I will be trying to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible and will try not to ramble too much, but the more I love a book, the less coherent my reviews get!
Solving For Ex has a high school setting and it's the story of Ashley, a girl that was bullied so much on her previous school that she had to move to her aunt & uncle's house to change schools and try to recover from her depression. She meets Brendan, they become best friends, he helps her out of the horrible place she was in and she falls for him. She is looking forward to starting her new school year at Mansfield High, with Brendan as her friend (at least) and joining the Mathletes team. But all things change when Sofia and Vincent arrive at school. Sofia seems to be ready to take everything from Ashley, Brendan and Mathletes included but it seems that Vincent is very interested in her, in a way that Brendan never seemed to be.
The story line will remind you of the original if you've read it, but it's been updated so well, using such real situations and such important issues as bullying, cheating and pressuring girls for sex. The characters are well fleshed out, and I was rooting for Ashley from page 1, her love for photography totally won me over! I was Team Brendan from page one, even if I felt like smack him badly on occasion. Vincent had that swoony bits here and there, but somehow I didn't like him as much, he didn't feel as genuine, but it was a great character to bring conflict too. Sofia, she was the most cliched of the characters, the perfect popular girl with a mean strike that never got no for an answer but will find that things won't be easy for her always.
The writing was fantastic, I have never been a fan of maths and the author made me interested and involved with the Mathletes and their training and competition. I loved the little notes included at the end of every chapter, with all the geeky math little messages!
I already knew I liked LeighAnn Kopans after reading One and Two, but after this book, I know I will read anything and everything she writes, no matter whan genre!
Very well deserved 4.5 stars, a highly recommended book for those who love contemporaries, retellings and even for those who don't!
The Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The mathematical spin is such a cute idea!
ReplyDeleteIt is, and it's so well done! Even I started to like maths!
DeleteI cannot wait to read this book after your review!! (well, you were the reason why I joined the blog tour, as well). I'm so glad you loved it! I loved the cover and synopsis since I saw it here, and now I'm dying to read it!!
ReplyDeleteYAY! I cannot wait to hear what you think of it, Lis! =D
DeleteThis sounds like a fun read. I LOVE the cover for this book. I'm actually a bit of a maths geek, so I kind of like the sound of that side of it all. :D I haven't read anything by this author before, but you definitely make me want to try now. I'm glad you enjoyed this, Pili!
ReplyDeleteI really hope you'll check it out, Sam! You know I don't like contemporaries much and I LOVED THIS ONE!
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