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 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!



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Mark This Book Monday: Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins!!!

Hello everyone! What best to start Monday than with a wonderful & swoony book as the first entry of this week's Mark This Book Monday?

I'm starting this week's Mark This Book Monday with the next book in the Isla Is Coming readalong hosted by Andi from Andi’s ABCs, Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner , Judith from Paper Riot, Lindsey from A Bookish Sinister Kid and Meg from Cuddlebuggery!

 Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm rightly chuffed that I finally decided to join the #IslaIsComing readalong, because I've absolutely loved reading Anna and Lola, and I'm happy that I didn't have to wait as long as most people for Isla to come out.

It's quite hard to decide which one of the books is my favourite, but if I had to choose... I'd be probably leaning towards this one. Isla and Josh are a fantastic couple and their struggles and relationship progression really captured my heart.

I had noticed both Josh and Isla while reading Anna's book and I was quite excited to read how their relationship will progress, and thankfully it was as absorbing and heartwrenching as I was expecting.

Isla is a tiny sweet and geeky girl with an inseparable best friend with high functioning autism, both setting themselves apart from the rest of school. She's had a crush on Josh since they started high school together in Paris but their interactions have always been sparse and awkward, but that changes during summer break in NYC once she's high on painkillers and they meet by chance on a cafe (Kismet, quite appropriate I'd say!).

Their relationship is a joy to read about, and even when things get tough for them and even when it breaks our hearts, it's so beautifully written and woven! I was cheering for them since page one even when I felt like shaking one of them, or both.

As always, there is much more in the book than just their relationship and romance, there's family issues between Isla and her younger sister Hattie, and between Josh and his political-centered parents. There's also the adjustment between friends of Kurt and Isla. Even if Josh does go through quite a lot in the book, I'd say that the most character development and growth is Isla's, not only she learns how to accept herself and being loved, she also has confront her own flaws and shortcomings and accepting that some of what she thinks as shortcomings, aren't really so.

We also get plenty of travelling and get treated to wonderful descriptions that make us want to be there and enjoy all that Josh and Isla are discovering! I have already been to Barcelona and Paris but after reading Anna and this one... I feel like I really need to go back there as soon as possible!

I missed having some of the rest of the gang appear a bit more for most of the book, but all those wishes were fulfilled by the end of the book when we see Anna, Etienne, Meredith, Cricket and Lola, and get treated to even more emotional swooning and tears and make us turn the last page with a huge grin, even if you have some tears still lingering!

A wonderful read, very much deserving of 5 stars!



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Mark This Book Monday: Lola And The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins!!!

Hello guys! A new week starts today and although Monday might not be everyone's favourite day, in my case it's not that bad, since I have it off!

I'm starting this week's Mark This Book Monday with the next book in the Isla Is Coming readalong hosted by Andi from Andi’s ABCs, Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner , Judith from Paper Riot, Lindsey from A Bookish Sinister Kid and Meg from Cuddlebuggery!

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Continuing with the #IslaIsComing readalong, I started Lola at 1 am Wednesday night (since it was already Thursday) and finished it at 4 am, when I had to wake up at 6'30 am for work! And it was totally worth it!

Lola is a teenager that is not scared of being different, she has her own style and she wears whatever she felt like every day, one day she'd be a strawberry and the next she'd be wearing 50's vintage style. She is happy now with her rock star boyfriend and she's planning the most amazing Marie Antoniette dress for the winter formal. Things change when the Bell twins move back next door.

I was a bit worried about Max and Lola's relationship, because even if the age difference wouldn't have been an issue at any other point, when you're under eighteen, it can be quite an issue. I liked Lola's determination to get what she wanted, but she seemed a bit blind to the issues that others could see in that relationship. It was understandable that her dads were not happy but were still trying for her sake, but it should have been quite a warning the dislike between her best friend Lindsay and Max.

When I first read Lola's reaction to the return of the Bell twins I was quite worried about what the other sibling might have done to Lola, and wondered if it had been some sort of bullying... but I was relieved when I discovered what had happened two years back. Misunderstandings & heartbreak would be ok, but starting a relationship with a bully... I wouldn't have been comfortable at all with that!

Cricket was simply an adorable love interest, he's quite the complete opposite of Max, and he's not a broody bad boy at all, and it was quite refreshing seeing someone so supportive of their family and so upfront with his feelings with Lola.

Lola might have not been very fair to either Cricket or Max, but she wasn't fair to herself either and it was quite a journey for her to acknowledge her feelings and then decide to act on them. And it was good for her that she had Anna and Etienne as friends to help her see things on a different perspective.

I loved seeing Anna and Etienne as secondary characters and see how their relationship kept on progressing and just kept on rooting for them as I did on their own book!

And another thing that I loved is how unusual Lola's family was, and how it was presented, it might not be usual, it might have been a reason for some bullying for Lola at school, but they were her family and she loved them as they were, or ended up learning to love all of them, not only her dads, but also her biological mother.

A story full of self discovery and acceptance, not of one self but of others and discovering that not all the things we feel we want are the right ones for us. Very much deserving of 5 stars too!



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Mark This Book Monday: Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins!!!

And the second entry for this week's Mark This Book Monday is my review for Anna & The French Kiss! I'm taking part of the Isla Is Coming readalong and I'm so very happy I decided to join in and finally give these books a chance!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have seen this book around for quite a while and I've seen such great reviews, but it is a contemporary and it is a romance and I haven't really been in the best of places to reading books that deal with relationships, but when I saw that there was going to be a readalong for the whole series to celebrate that the third book was finally going to be published, I thought it was the perfect time to read it!

I was very glad to find myself enjoying the book immensely since the very first pages. The setting in Paris, and Anna somewhat clueless and adorable self were quick to ensnare my attention and my allegiance.

Anna is a character that I couldn't help but love, despite how silly she seemed to me sometimes, how small-town minded she sometimes seemed about her American-ism and how she thought she wouldn't fit in Paris, and her flaws give how short sighted and oblivious she sometimes was about the rest of the world's feelings. I just couldn't help but keep rooting for her and enjoy her discovering the wonders of Paris, its architecture and its glorious food!!

I loved seeing Anna breaking out her shell and making friends, braving Paris on her own and not letting her fears get in the way of her passion, movies! I loved how she didn't back down when others sniggered about her idea of becoming a movie critic! I also loved how she stood up for her friends when she needed to, even if she was a bit oblivious about their feelings at times.

I was a bit concerned about the romance itself, but I couldn't help but root for Anna and Etienne St Clair and I found myself really loving their friendship, their banter and not minding their drama all that much. I adored Etienne's English accent and language popping up all the time, since I'm quite a declared Anglophile myself! Thankfully none of the relationship troubles dragged me too much to think of my own personal woes and that's a testament of how much the story pulled me into itself!

I loved that the book was not only about the relationship of Anna and Etienne but also about friendships and how complicated they can be and how simply we can fix things if we simply really try. How important friendships are and how they can help us grow and become the person we really wanted to be, even when we're not sure at first.

I simply couldn't stop reading, the writing was wonderful, the setting so vividly painted that I felt I was back again in Paris (and really made me want to go back again SOON!!) and the characters felt like my friends by the end of the book! I cannot wait to meet them again soon!

If you are wondering about this book and the fact that it is a contemporary might make you wary of it... don't, just give it a try, I can assure you it will be worth your while! Very well deserved 4.5 to 5 stars to this one!



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