Friday, September 5, 2014

Friday Reads: ARC Review of First World Problems by LeighAnn Kopans!!

Hello guys! Happy Friday!

I hope you guys have had a good week, mine managed to improve little by little, and now you're ready for Friday and the weekend, I know I am!

Yesterday I skipped a Thursday post cause I was busy baking and cooking and preparing for a Desi Bollywood party I'm having with my friends later today, might share some photos here on Sunday!

Today's entry for Friday Reads is for a book that released this week and that you should all go check out and buy! It's become another of my fave contemporaries of the year, and you guys know I'm not very keen on contemporaries! And keep an eye on my Twitter over the weekend, there might be a giveaway coming too!

As I got the ARC from the author for an honest review, this one also counts for my 2014 Review Pile Reading Challenge!





First World ProblemsFirst World Problems by LeighAnn Kopans

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Loved this one! Perfect comfort read that made me feel happier about things and this awful world sometimes!

I'm not the biggest contemporary fan, as I keep saying over and over, but I keep finding lil gems here and there that make me realize I might not love the genre, but I need to keep giving it a try.

First World Problems is a companion novel to Solving For Ex, one of my fave contemporaries of the year, so when I got the chance to get an ARC for this one sent by the author (thanks LeighAnn!) I jumped at it!

We first met Sofia in Solving For Ex and she was not a nice or sympathetic character, she's the one you love to hate, and she hasn't really improved much by the time we meet her again in this book, but since this is her story, we get to see what's behind that mean girl face of hers.

It all starts with Sofia going a bit overboard with a credit card (a bit = waaay too much) and her father decides that he needs to put a stop to her selfishness and sense of entitlement, so between him and his wife (Sophia's stepmom) they decide to send her to Guyana, to do community service work to help the people there into sustainable development in very dire situations.

It goes without saying, she rages, cajoles and tries every trick in her book to avoid it, but there is sent to the middle of the jungle to join a group of young people trying to make a difference.

The character development of Sofia during this book was fantastic! We meet her at first and we know she's the spoiled and entitled brat from the previous book and we're glad to see her dumped into a tough place and hope she'll be taught a lesson. And she does get her lesson and we also get one, in character development, cause from a character that I couldn't stand, little by little I was give a character I wanted to peel layers from and a character I wanted to cheer for and finally a character to feel proud of!

I loved the other characters in the book, Callum and Arielle and Lena. They were all quite well rounded up and I couldn't help but love the hate to truce to love between Callum and Sofia, and the way she found friends in Arielle and Lena, despite each others reservations.

Another thing that I loved and really made the book work for me was how realistic the whole setting of Guyana felt and read. You just feel like you are there, from the latrines, to the chicken of the trees to the shit flinging! I loved the descriptions of the treks through the jungle, the work in the gardens, the indian style cooking, the preparation of handmade cosmetics... And add to that the lovely drawings scattered through the book (not in the ARC, but yes in the finished copy) and you get yourself a fantastic and vivid setting.

If you loved contemporaries, you must add this one to your list and if you don't, give it a try, it might surprise you! Still a bit undecided between 4 to 4.5 stars, but planning a re-read already!



View all my reviews

18 comments:

  1. Yay, it's the best thing when you find a sequel or companion novel to a book you really liked - sounds like you loved this one as much as you did the first one. The setting sounds really entertaining and quite different and atmospheric! Lovely review as always, Pili.

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    1. Thank you Jeann!
      And yes, the setting was quite interesting and different and so well done!

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  2. Aw, yay :) I'm glad you enjoyed this book Pili. <3 Amazing review, as always :) Not a book for me, but I do think it looks cute. <3 I'm glad you enjoyed the characters and the setting :) That is always good.

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  3. Like you Pili, contemporary isn't typically my go-to genre, but I've heard great things about this series. I do love when I find a few gems in a genre I don't pick up all that often, it's always nice to find something a little different that brings a smile to your face:) Definitely going to check out Solving for Ex now!

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    1. I do highly recommend both Jenny! I hope you'll check them out, cannot wait to hear what you think! =D

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  4. Look at you hosting a party! That's not typical bookworm Friday night behaviour AT ALL! ;) I always enjoy it when an author nails an exotic local, like Guyana in this case. I don't get to travel nearly as often as I would like, so I try to live vicariously through authors. The artwork sounds like a nice extra too; it's always nice when a writer goes that extra mile. Wonderful review, Pili!

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    1. Well, I'm just the India expert and the one doing most of the cooking, we're invading another's friend house! But yeah, not typical bookworm behaviour!!

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  5. I STILL haven't read any of Leigh Ann Hopkins' books but I should probably get on this, huh...but I'm glad you loved it! :D FANTASTIC REVIEW PILI

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    1. You really need to check LeighAnn's books, Nikki!!
      Thank you sweetie!

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  6. Hope the party is going well!

    You know how I felt about book one... I won't be checking out this one. HOWEVER. I'm very happy that you enjoyed this one, especially since you loved the first one so much :D Companion novels are pretty awesome, when they are well-written! Even with the not-so-nicest of characters.

    Excellent review, Pili!

    Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!

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  7. Wow, it's pretty awesome that the setting is actually in Guyana, and in a jungle of all places! I don't think I've ever read something like that before, especially not in a contemporary romance. would love to see how this all plays out :D

    Faye at The Social Potato

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    1. I do hope you'll check this one out Faye! The setting was so well done and really added to the story!

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  8. I love it when you don't like a genre so much but you get good books here and there which make you want to read more of the genre! :) I am not going to lie, the title has put me off a little bit! However, by the looks of your review, I need to pick this one up!

    I really love the sound of a comfort read right now & thanks for sharing! :D

    Alex @ The Shelf Diaries

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    1. I do hope you'll check it out Alex and I cannot wait to hear what you think!

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  9. Oh my God! I really really want to read this book now! I loved Solving for Ex (thank you!), and this one sounds just as amazing!
    Great review, Pili!

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    1. YESSSS!!! YES! YES! Pick it up as soon as you can, Lis! I'm so happy that you loved Solving For Ex, and I'm sure you're gonna love it as much as SfE!

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¡Muchas gracias por vuestros comentarios, leerlos me alegra el día!/ Thanks a lot for all your comments, reading them brightens my day!!