| Title | : | Discovering Sophie |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 369 |
| Publication | : | First published November 20, 2013 |
Discovering Sophie Reviews
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I was in the mood for something lighthearted and needed a break from the more serious book I had been reading. This fit perfectly.
I liked the setting and plot for this one (Reminded me of
The Sunflower). Sophie was a likable character. She hasn’t heard from her father in a few months and heads down to Costa Rica to search for him. She hires the ruggedly handsome Jack Mathison to be her guide in the jungle. It was love at first sight (of course), but they both try and fight it. I would have liked if the relationship had progressed a little differently. It kind of bugs when the two characters obviously like each other but are constantly trying to talk themselves out of it and then suddenly are professing their love. I’d like a genuine change in feelings, where it isn’t quite so obvious. Having said that, I did enjoy their story. Again, the setting was nice and it was fun to watch them fall in love (although I’m still a skeptic when it comes to insta-love).
Now, there was a couple things that kept me from totally loving it. I thought the results for her missing father were a bit anticlimactic. I also thought the religious aspect was a bit overdone, though that is just a personal preference. I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if it were toned down.
Overall, it was a fun read. I liked it and will look for more from Ms. Anderson.
Content: Clean, PG. Mild violence.
Religious: Moderate. -
Really there's two word's..... Jack Mathison
"conceited, sarcastic, and worse, very good-looking" Just how we like our heroes!
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I was captivated from the outset. Ms. Anderson’s clean writing style greatly enhanced my enjoyment of this contemporary fictional story. Because this is a work of fiction, I will overlook how rapidly Jack’s injuries healed. Normal humans would be sidelined for at least a week after suffering similar wounds, yet, superman Jack was back operating at near full capacity within hours. Such rapid recovery is not fiction – it is fantasy. Now that I have that off my chest, I am amazed at the research Ms. Anderson must have done to give birth to a story set in the wilds of Costa Rica that allowed me to feel as if I was present every step of the way. The romance that developed between Jack and Sophie was rife with realism and believability. I choose to overlook the bit of fantasy stated above and recommend the five-star achievement to all my friends.
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Sophie has never been close to her father but that doesn't mean she doesn't love him. He travels quite often to Costa Rica for research and after not hearing from him after awhile she begins to worry. She decides that she is going to head down to Costa Rica to find him. With the help of her best friend Camille and Camille's brother, they help her touch base with an old friend of their's that lives in Costa Rica who will be her guide for the trek to find her father.
Jack has been burned by women before and has completely sworn off ever having a relationship. He really doesn't want anything to do with them. He was lead to believe that Sophie was male not female so when he finds out that that key piece of information had been withheld he flips his lid! He does his best to NOT be the guide for Sophie but plans don't really work out in his favor.
It was pretty much love at first sight for Sophie and Jack, however, they do everything they can to fight their attraction for each other. At times it was a bit on the annoying side but then again at times it was kinda funny too. I loved their banter back and forth. I really enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. They both had things in their lives that they needed to work on before they could be together and I was glad that they took the time to do so.
While I really enjoyed the book there were some parts that kinda dragged for me. I won't go into too much detail but I will say that I was annoyed with Elaina and Peter. They both had a hard time hearing the word NO and I did end up skipping over some parts that they were in. Another part that just had me shaking my head was the whole story line with her dad. I kinda felt a little gypped. After spending as much time as you did reading about that part of the story, it just kinda happened and then fizzled out.
I do have to say that I am not the type of person to read Christian Fiction or any religious type books. That was all I used to read and I kind of got burned out on all the preaching. With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised that I not only finished the book, but that I enjoyed it as well! For the parts that got to be a little too much for me personally, I just skimmed over them... no big deal.
Discovering Sophie was the very first book I read by Cindy Roland Anderson and I will definitely be adding more books of hers to my list! It was definitely a fun read! :)
**I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review** -
Yikes. This book.
I thought it would be an amazing read because I'm from Colorado and spent over a month in Costa Rica this past summer. The main character is from Colorado and high tailed it to Costa Rica.
Well. I was wrong.
First of all, the cover is completely off base. NO ONE in their right minds would wear high heels in the jungle. Ever.
Secondly, the Costa Rican license plate is totally wrong.
As I got further and further into this book I wondered if the author had ever been to Costa Rica...or Colorado...due to a couple of geographic mistakes. On top of those oversights, this book is in bad need of an editor. Besides it rambling for a few useless chapters, there were quite a few glaring grammatical errors that just about pushed me over the edge. It got to a point where I was straight up hate-reading. The only reason I finished was, well, it turned into the literary version of a trainwreck and I couldn't help but not look away. The plot was formulaic and way too unbelievable.
Also, it was very Jesus-y. Normally, I don't take issues with this but it just seemed way OTT in this book.
Bottom line - if you've ever been to Costa Rica (unlike this author), don't waste your time. This book is maddening and a poor portrayal of its beautiful (albeit buggy and muggy) landscape and its warm and welcoming Ticos and Ticas.
PS: nary a mention of a sloth OR species specific howler monkeys.
Pass. Hard, hard pass. And the 1st title to be christened a Wall Thudder in 2016. -
4.5 stars rounding up!
This is a book I just had to add into my reviews- not because I was asked to, but just because I want to tell you about it. :)
This is the second book I have read by this author and I have to tell you I think I've found a new clean romance author to add to my favorites list. Her first book "Fair Catch" was so good. I really enjoyed it. Then, when browsing through my recommended kindle books, I saw this one and immediately bought it. Self indulgence at it's best. :)
I love the characters in this book. Sophie is sweet. And happy. She just has one of those type of personalities. You can't help but like her. Jack is a little jaded, but he has a hard time keeping that up around Sophie. The interactions between Sophie and Jack are really great. The tension building is awesome and I loved it. Zingy physical attraction and all that tension building up to the first kiss. Swoon. Sigh. Love.
If you haven't read anything by Cindy Roland Anderson, you should. Especially if you love a good, clean romance like I do. :)
There is some talk about God but nothing preachy or denomination specific. -
This book was great. Jack was awesome. I really liked his character. I don't know what it is with me and endings lately but I felt like this was just thrown together at the end. I think it's just my mood lately though. I think the ending was perfect for this book but it rubbed me the wrong me. Again, probably because of my mood. still a really cute book though. Authors probably hate it when reviewers say that. maybe I will re rate the book when I'm in a different mood.
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This book was full of sizzling chemistry, flirting banter, adventure, suspense, danger and swoony kisses to make you weak in the knees!!!
I loved Sophie’s character! She was so caring and had a big heart! I loved reading her doctor scenes and how she cared about her patients!
I just loved Jack!! He was the a great grump who finally showed his cinnamon roll side! Their flirty banter was top notch! Jack and Sophie have a lot to overcome in this story and it was fun to see it unfold!!
If you love romance stories filled with faith, adventure, chemistry, laugh out loud moments, and some danger thrown in the mix, then read this asap!!!
Things I loved:
🩵Enemies to Lovers
🩵Forced Proximity
🩵Cost Rica Jungle setting
🩵Witty, flirty banter
🩵All the lip gloss scenes! 😉
🩵The waterfall scene!!
🩵Jack and his fear of needles
🩵Swoony kisses
🩵Sophie’s doctor scenes🥹
🩵The Epilogue
🩵Sweet Hector ( I just loved him!) -
Sophie has a pretty amazing life. She's a doctor with a fabulous lawyer boyfriend, but there's something missing. Sophie's dad. He's gone missing in Costa Rica, and Sophie is determined to find out what happened to him. She hires a friend's friend, Jack, to be her guide in Costa Rica. Sophie and Jack have an immediate attraction, but the wild world they are in may make it difficult for them to ever find time to figure things out. Can the manage to stay alive long enough to work through their feelings?
This was a great mix of action and romance. Sophie is a take-charge kind of girl, and nothing is going to change that. While she has a great boyfriend, she just doesn't feel the kind of love that she wants. So she tries to break up with him, but he doesn't seem to accept that. Sophie is determined to move on with her life though. Her number one priority is to find her father who went missing in Costa Rica. She hires the mysterious Jack to help guide her, but Jack also comes with some issues. He's been burned by too many women and doesn't want to have a lot to do with Sophie. Of course, Sophie convinces him to help her out. It probably helps that they have instant attraction.
Both Jack and Sophie make some mistakes, but for the most part I felt like they handled things in a mature and respectful way. They both had things that were causing them to doubt things, and they both needed to work through those issues. I enjoyed their ability to work with each other as well. They made a great pair. There's also some moments of tense action, and this helped to keep the story from getting bogged down in the romance. This was a fun, quick read that left me satisfied.
Book provided for review. -
This is one of those times where I think this book would of made a better movie. It was a sweet story of love at first sight and all that comes with the tension of trying to fight it. I enjoyed the characters and I thought the camping in South America was cool. I am however just not a big fan of pages of inner dialog(hence why I think this would make a better movie). I also didn't love the fact that Jack was so insecure of what he could offer to Sophie. I get that its a "man thing" so maybe I just don't it. But, when it came time to really fight for her in the end he did "what was best for her." I think he did what was best for him. I'm not saying he didn't have to fix some stuff, I'm just saying that I think he could of done that with Sophie. I think she forgave him way to quickly. I am all about forgiveness. But if you want to marry me in three days when I haven't heard from you in weeks... I'm not sure about that.
Okay I understand that I just ranted. Guess we found yet another pet peeve! -
Sophie Kendrick is a 32-year-old pediatric surgeon with a very successful boyfriend, Peter Elliott. Peter wants to marry her, but she can't convince herself that she loves him enough to marry him. Her father has been missing in Costa Rica, and she decides to go find him.
So she hires Jack Mathison to guide her through the jungle of Costa Rica. She knows he doesn't take women and so she intentionally lets him believe Dr. Kendrick is a man. It is an understatement to say that Jack, who is bitter against God and women, is not pleased when he discovers that Dr. Kendrick is a beautiful woman. But Sophie proves that she can handle all the challenges of the jungle, and Jack finds himself falling in love with a woman who definitely deserves someone better than him.Through his actions, Jack constantly reminds her how wrong he is for her. If they could only figure out how to ignore the chemistry between them...
Content: Clean, no swearing
Source: Review Copy (opinion is 100% my own) -
I enjoyed this book for the most part. Sophie, a 32-year-old pediatric surgeon, sets off to Costa Rica to find her father who has been missing. She hires Jack to guide her through the jungle. The instant, passionate chemistry between these two develops rather unbelievably quickly for me. And I would think that Sophie would have been put off a little longer by Jack with his prickliness and bitterness against God and women. Other than that I really did enjoy the story. I like the parts where they are able to be of help medically to the villagers. The book is fairly fast paced and there are definitely some nail-biting situations that keep you involved in the story. A clean Christian romance.
*I received an eBook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.* -
This was a super good book. Sophie’s father has gone missing down in the jungles of Costa Rica. She leaves her pediatric practice, as well as her almost fiancé, to go down and find him. But she discovers more than her father’s whereabouts when she hires Jack Mathison to guide her into the jungles. I loved both characters. Jack is a handsome tease who charms her against her will. But he deals with demons from his past that make it hard to trust women. Sophie is a sweet, kind young lady who I loved from the start. She’s determined and driven, yet still has a beautiful heart that guides her hardest decisions. There is adventure, danger, romance and heart-tugging in this book. It’s clean and well-written. Once I started, it was hard to put down. I highly recommend this one.
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I received a e copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Discovering Sophie had a lot more religious references than I am used to reading in a book .When Dr Sophie's father goes missing she decided that heading out to Costa Rica leaving behind her boyfriend who is applying the pressure to marry is the way to go. Hiring Jack as a guide through the jungle Sophie and Jack start to fall for each other. I don't want to give the story away so what I will say is we have action, humour, romance all wrapped up in an excellently written piece of fiction, a lovely pleasant surprise and I will look forward to reading more from this author.
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Did not finish at 47%
I was hoping that this story would be an adventurous tale of two people trekking through the rain forest on a mission to find a missing person, whilst battling the dangers of the tropics and simultaneously falling in love.
What it actually was about?
A Mary Sue and a fiercly-tormented-roguishly-moody-super-baby-heart-throb falling in insta love while casually strolling through a very tame jungle and trying to fight against (for a whole two days) their school-girl crushes they have on each other.
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Loved this book. It was very fast paced and I had a hard time finding a spot to put it down. It had romance and adventure. I really like Cindy Roland Anderson's books. Sophie was sweet and spunky. Jack was rough around the edges at first but starting showing his potential. I highly recommend this book.
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Sophie Kendrick hires Jack Mathison to guide her through the jungles of Costa Rica as she searches for her missing father. The jungle held a lot of experiences for Sophie and Jack. It also held a good amount of attraction and romance. I really liked the book and enjoyed reading about their adventure. The ending was fun, and there's an epilogue. Love those!
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Loved this story! I was captured in this adventure from the first page of the book and completely adore Sophie and Jack's characters, they were sarcastic, spunky and real. I love Jack! He is the perfectly imperfect rugged man. The cover is wonderful!
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Romance, clean, contemporary; Series but stand alone read
Sophie and Jack's adventure in Costa Rica was a wonderfully varied romantic, adventurous read. Sophie was a great character. Strong, determined, giving, and sassy. Jack, fighting his attraction for her and not wanting to guide her into the jungle, his strength, determination, courage, and of course, caring for Sophie as he discovers her goodness, kindness, and genuine character, along with their sweet attraction.
Cute, light romance. Reading this another time, made me round up instead of down. -
Oh my lanta it was so good! My favorite book of hers thus far! I didn’t want it to end so I took it slow even though it was a page turner! Think “enemies to lovers” clean version! I was on the hunt for something like that and now that I found it with this book I’m scared I won’t be able to find another one like it! Hence another reason I read it slow, I had to make it last! I loved the faith aspects to it as well!
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Wonderful!
I was riveted from page one! I loved all the distinct characters, the amazing adventures in the jungle, the brilliant banter and wonderful romantic tension between Sophie and Jack. There were lots of amazing kisses too. I also loved the faith element, how Sophie's trust in God led her to Costa Rica and Jack. Such a great story.
I read the book and listened to the audio in between - the narrator was fabulous.
Highly recommended. -
There were parts of this book that I really did like, but I didn’t really like the religious part of it really (just not for me, and it was too cheesy for my liking). The intense parts about her dad and being taken were intriguing, but if that wasn’t in it I would have stopped.
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Jack & Sophie
Wow this book had me on the edge of my seat, other times laughing! I love how Jack reconnected with God. Love how after everything they went thru it all came together like it was supposed to. Fell in Love with Sophie and her love for children and Jack and his wit! -
I was actually very excited for this book, however I felt rather disappointed just because it seemed almost the entire book, the characters were pining for each other and yet they wouldn't say word. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. It seemed well written, it just wasn't my thing.
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Discovering Sophie by Cindy Roland Anderson is a very fascinating read a romance/that is part adventure/part mystery and suspense
Dr Sophie Kendrick has not heard from her father in over four months, now it's not unusual for him to become so engrossed in his work in Costa Rica, and now is very worried about him and hires a PI to find out his whereabouts but her boyfriend, Peter, believes she is wasting her money and he should hire someone down there.. Sophie comes up with the idea of doing it herself and contacts a guide as Dr S Kendrick arranging to be taken to the village he was last seen in! When she arrives it is not the guide that meets her but his assistant, Hector Garcia who is very cheerful and happy when he meets her!! The guide Jack Mathison is not at all pleased when he meets Sophie, he refuses to guide her into the Costa Rican jungle because he does not take women there(because he does not like women.. after his fiancee ran off with his brother while he was on mission in South America!)
Somehow Sophie persuades Jack to take her to find the whereabouts of Dr Edward Kendrick in or around Por El Rio. Jack loads all the supplies in the Jeep along with Sophie and Hector and he must have hit every bump in the road.. poor Sophie gets thrown all about but does not say to return to where they started! At the end of the road Jack tells her to keep only the things she needs in her pack and proceeds to set a punishing rate, with Hector cutting a trail with his machete who is so happy that Sophie is keeping up. Jack finally calls for a stop at the end of the day Sophie just does some muscle stretches and goes and puts up her tent faster than Jack and asks if he needs help.. but he does not!
Thus starts their trek into the jungle Sophie finds Jack to be most infuriating, sarcastic, devilish man, handsome man with piercing blue eyes.. 'she didn't like Jack Mathison' and yet 'felt a warm, fluttery feeling inside her chest' of all the men in the world 'why did she have to pick this one to be attracted to'!
Jack also has been watching and having thoughts about Sophie but he's trying to ignore them. This leads to many amusing situations but there is also the more down to earth times for Sophie when they arrive in Por El Rio meeting Manuel Carrero head of the village and his daughter, Elaina who hangs all over Jack... Manuel says now that people know there is a doctor in the village, Sophie will be busy. Elaina thinks she will have Jack all to herself until her boyfriend finds her! Sophie has a whole group of people needing her help, Jack has to translate for her much to the chagrin of Elaina(Jack's lover in the past who thinks she owns him) Sophie learns more words to add to her memory when she gets down to the last old man, he takes out his teeth and shows her a cracked molar, what is she supposed to do crazy glue it? when Jack tells him he's got the wrong sort of doctor and the old man just puts his teeth back in! Just as they are leaving an old woman, Guadlupe, Elaina's great-aunt says that her grandson Mario is very sick could Sophie come and see him, yes with Jack as translator yes the boy is very very sick and Sophie gets him cleaned up, as he has a deep laceration on his leg needs antibiotics and IV therapy when they are done Sophie can have a HOT Bath! That evening they attend a fiesta, where the new clothes which Sophie match Elaina's. Elaina claims Jack even though he came and sits next to Sophie.. Elaina feeds him and is mad when Jack pays attention to Sophie taking it away from her(she's sorely jealous) but Sophie leaves and checks on Mario and spends the night, as he is very, very sick and it does not look good!! after he improves they leave headed further into the jungle to the place he was last heard of El Sol...
This romance novel is a gritty adventure with lots of action,fun and suspense, where is Sophie's father? Will they find him?
Why are both Jack and Sophie not outspoken about their feelings for one another?? Why does Jack behave like a little child when he "'raised eyebrows' and says 'So you think I look good'" Men!!
Jack thinks, Sophie is a very intelligent young woman, who has a chemical attraction towards her(even though he doesn't want to admit it even to himself) Sophie who knows about it thinks Jack is caustic, sarcastic, very irritating and has her totally confused about this man who is so different from Peter who is wealthy, settled and loves her, and even with Terry her former boyfriend before Peter who she had a passion for was nothing like feels for Jack.. Will there ever be a happy ending for them as a couple?
I can't tell you but this book has something for everyone, it is well written, excitement abounds, we have suspenseful parts where things could go really bad quickly.. the romance sizzles enough to add a little pep to it.. lots of kissing, but it's a clean, Christian based story and I highly recommend it!
The only thing I didn't like was repetitive dialogue!
5 stars for excellence
Cindy Roland Anderson bravo job well done, I look forward to your next one.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review, this is it! -
Great book! It had it all. Good storyline. Great characters. Chemistry. Happily-ever-after ending. Epilogue!
Recommended
