Loving Sofia

by Alina Man

Just before her last year of high school, Sofia Bianchi is forced by her mother to move to the States, leaving all she knows behind: her family, her friends, her safety. She knows her mom will make her life a living hell and now there’s no place to hide. Despite all, she finds solace in her new friend Ramona who is everything she’s not: confident, rich, and loved by her parents.
After college the two friends move together and things start to look up for Sofia. However, years of verbal abuse had shattered her confidence and she doesn’t feel worthy of happiness. Every day she puts her happy face on and goes through the motions with no expectations.
When her best friend starts dating Jonathan, Sofia doesn’t expect to fall for his best friend Mark. As time goes by her feelings for him only grow deeper but the fear of rejection keeps her from doing anything about it.
Mark knows he shouldn’t feel this way about Sofia but sometimes the heart has a different plan. When she starts dating Bradley, he is torn between telling her how he really feels and risking their friendship. Is he ready to risk it all?

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Friends To Lovers

219 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 2013

About the author

I live in California with my amazing hubby of 22 years and our three handsome sons. For as long as I can remember I loved reading and that love only grew stronger with age. My first book Loving Sofia was my first attempt at writing and while not perfect, it gave me a chance to turn a dream into reality and share my story with you. Make sure to stop by my facebook page for book updates and other fun stuff: http://www.facebook.com/Alina-Man.
Thank you so much for all your support. Many blessings to you all.

Reviews

[Marlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A veces las historias más sencillas son las que más te gustan. Loving Sofia es un libro sumamente sencillo con un argumento basado en como la relación de Sofia con su madre la afectó profundamente impidiéndole sentirse una mujer segura de si misma, incluso cuando es bella, inteligente, capaz y cariñosa, solo por mencionar algunos atributos.

Eso no solo la afecta a nivel personal o laboral, tanto así que prefiere estar en un trabajo espantoso porque siente que es lo que tiene que hacer, sino que además pasa por una relación amorosa nada amorosa quizá porque siente que no merece tener amor sino compañía... pero ey es que la persona que la apoyaba, su amiga Mona ahora está casada y viviendo su vida de ensueño, las cosas con su amigo Mark, su otro apoyo están raras, entonces ¿en quien se apoya? Super Bradley al rescate, pero Bradley tiene un secreto...

Cuando Sofia encuentra su propia voz comienzan a caer las piezas del rompecabezas y armarlo de forma perfecta.

Decir que me identifico profusamente con la historia de Sofia y su madre es un understatement, cuando comencé a leer este libro comenté que debía llamarse Loving Marlyn, por eso no me sorprendió para nada el secreto de Super Bradley... era como ver una partecita de mi historia....

Ahora bien ¿dónde está mi Mark?

Muy muy buen libro de verdad que sí, es sencillo, ligero, muy romántico e inspirador....

#EnjoyIt

[P.A. Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sofia moves to a new town and meets her best friend Mona there.They become best friends and move in after college together.Mark is one of Sofia's Best friends as well and is in love with Sofia.Sofia's mother is apparently a woman who has degraded Sofia for her entire life.She loses her job and has to move in with Mark making for some interesting happenings.
Loving Sofia was a decent read story.I loved that it was a straight forward romance.You did not have to worry to much about the characters and that was a breath of fresh air.I also liked that Mark and Sofia were such great friends.It was very predictable and I really at one point wanted to yell at the characters to grow up and state your feelings for one another.I did not expect the characters to be as old as they were either.I assumed they would be college age but they were well past that.Sofia's mom played a huge role in how she is now so I felt her mom should have been in at least one scene to make a scene but she never was.I as a reader never really felt that connected with the fact that Sofia's mom was verbally abusive and physically.It was missing that emotion.This book could also use a editor or proofreader as there were a ton of spelling errors and typos.It did not take away from the story but it was annoying.Other then that it was a good read and I would probrably suggest it to my friends.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately for me I didn't really connect with the characters and story. Sofia was living with her BFF Mona and working a job she hated. She has low self esteem due to her mother. Jon and Mona are dating, mark is Jon's BFF and they all hang together. Mark and Sofia secretly crush on each other but have never pursued it. Sofia loses her job, that scene wasn't that great. Mona and Jon get engaged so mark says hey, come move in with me. Sofia meets Bradley and they begin dating, she gets a job and life is good. Mark still pines for her and she pines for him. Bradley ends up being gay, Sofia rushes off to mark, they profess love and voila! They get married. I didn't feel connection to any of the characters. I wish there was more story/build up of mark and Sofia.

[Jeanie V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story. Loved the characters Sofia, Mark & Jon. Absolutely loved Sofias snarkiness & personality. Loved that I could relate to her in so many ways, from her Starbucks & Kindle, to her thoughts filling out job applications to her shopping preferences. I wish there was more though - I think there could have/should have been more (would have loved for more romance...) this story was too simple and a little rushed for my taste. There just wasn't enough of Sofia & Mark... I just wish there was more of their romance instead of it all being summed up in the epilogue. The epilogue was sweet though! Sweet story & I adored Sofia & Mark!

[Susana U · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is really slow... I feel like it has a lacking of development, I know that you have to cultivate romance and all that but this book had me on the edge.. The plot is good but it's really slow and for me the book wasn't really good

[Laura's Book Addiction · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it and it would have been 4 stars but I feel a little cheated by the epilogue!!!

[Gabriela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro corto, sencillo y facil de leer. Me gusto mucho la historia aunque Dios nunca me imagine lo de Bradley. Amo a Mark locamente <3 <3 <3

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a book for a lady. Whoever is looking for anything like sexy and steamy scenes should looking for in another place.





Sofia is a young woman with a low self-esteem because of her mother, maybe that is the reason why she doesn't notice her feelings about Mark. She has exiled herself in her world: job, books, cooking, friendship and nightmares. When her friend and roommate got married she’s forced to get out of her comfort zone.

Mark is a nice guy, that friend who Sofia can trust with her life. He has strong feelings for her since a long time, but both of them are blind people. Can’t see they love each other. Throughout the story, we’re witness of epics moment between Sofia and Mark, also we can see how Sofia developments a new attitude and get control into her life.

Loving Sofia is Alina Man’s first book. There is a good basis for a novel author, characters well written, storyline decent and a happy and conventional ending.

I’ve read second edition and I must say it was edited and revised. There is an improvement in relation with the first one.

I totally recommend it if you’re looking for a light and modest book.

Bottom line?

3.5 stars.

[Jessica ♡. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok, It's a fresh read and I was thinking Oh It's not bad because i see the reviews but when I read the mention: Fifty Shades or A thousand years ... I say Oh no please not!!!!! This is not good for me when I find in a book this kinds if things.

I think that it's not so bad when i read the persons review and sometimes I was kill to Sofia really and Mark was sweet. Her best friend Mona I don't see like a friend o best friend with her advices and go away about Mark I hate her in this moment and I love when her boyfriend then her husband Jon righ (? say STOP! and scream her because I think that She only think in her. Me, Me, Me and the problems of Sofia don't care and this isn't a best friend anyway it's ok.

The ending well good because the're together.

http://clarywayland.blogspot.com

[N. Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll go with cons first. Yes, there are some editing issues, but not enough that you can't read the book. I would have like to know a little more background on Mark. You really get a lot on Sofia, but since there are two POV in the book, I feel we should have known more about him. The ending felt a little rushed. And, I don't see where Crazy Lisa adds anything to the story, other than filler.

Pros, this is just your sweet little romance. I whizzed through it on a Saturday afternoon. It's one of those feel-good stories that leave you smiling. Two friends in love, afraid to tell each other. Getting past my few 'annoyances' I rather enjoyed the story. If you're looking for light reading, this is it.

[ChicaLectora · Rating 4 out of 5]

No le pongo 5 estrellas, porque me lo reservo.

Una buena historia de amor, sencilla. La historia de una persona (Sofia) que arrastra un problema de baja autoestima, entre otras cosas, pero que encontró buena gente en su camino.

El final a mi gusto fue muy de pronto,pero no por eso malo.

4 estrellas estan bien.

PD: ¿Quien no se identifico con Sofia y el Kindle? eh? :)

[Teena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story had lots of potential, but it just did not go anywhere. It felt rushed in parts and then the story dragged in others. The characters were superficial yet the author had plenty of scope for creating their personalities.
To top it off the book needs to go back to the editor. Strong YA feel to it.

[Rose L · Rating 3 out of 5]

le doy tres porque es el primer libro de la autora y para ese nivel esta bien, odio las referencias culturales que tiene, porque obviamente no soy su publico objetivo, asi que sobre la historia me choca que en el centro de ella no pase mucho y se vuelva aburrida, y hacia el final lo arruine contando el desenlace de manera abrupta,

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conocen esa frase “Cualquier parecido con la realidad es pura coincidencia”??... Bueno así es esta historia. Es esa típica relación de mejores amigos, que los dos están enamorados uno del otro, pero como el “titulo”, por así decirlo, se interpone entre ellos no van por lo que quieren. Sin embargo es una historia muy linda en cómo se desarrolla, la recomiendo.

[Alina Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving Sofia is my first novel and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it ;) I’m currently working on my second book called “Finding my way home” and you can read the first chapter here on Goodreads. Thank you for your support.

[Donna Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this book, the four main characters are fab. didn't expect the twist about Bradley. was so pleased with the ending, thought it was never going to happen. gave 4 * and not 5 due to some of the spelling. well worth a read.

[Paola Sánchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro fresco, me sentí identificada en muchas cosas con Sofía y con las situaciones de su día a día :)
Aunque tiene sus partes de drama y baja autoestima.
Rápido de leer y entretenido, me hizo soltar mis buenas carcajadas.

[Anupama CN · Rating 4 out of 5]

the cover is very misleading
the book is very Harlequin n Mills n Boon wer i was expecting new adult
either way,it was cute
a lil too cute
but wadahell
il giv it 4 stars

[Melanie Billings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely satisfied with the way everything panned out :)

[Romeo Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to read the book before it was published since Alina is my wife. This is a really enjoyable love story and great debut book. 5 stars :)

[Ker ᥫ᭡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cortito, hermoso... REAL
Identificadísima con Sofía
Lo amé de principio a fin.
Mark me recuerda a alguien (jajaja xD)

[AnimoR Lomy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corta y hermosa historia!

[Anays · Rating 3 out of 5]

El libro comenzó muy bien, pero el final definitivamente fue un poco aburrido, después de todo esperaba mas...

Le falto mas a el libro...

[Yoaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoy decidí leer algo al azar, no lo pensé dos veces .
Y la verdad me sorprendió mucho, es una lectura sencilla y fácil de leer
Me gusto mucho ;)

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Linda historia.
Cuando un chico espera por ti, sean como sean las circunstancias, y los dos son buenos amigos, no hay otra respuesta que un 'sí'.

[Alba(alba&thebooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calificación:3.75 estrellas

[Nicole Aroca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know what to say, because I had potential but I didn't like this book at all.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sofia and Mark have been good friends for years and their best friends, Mona and Jon, respectively, are a couple. Without the other knowing it, Sofia and Mark are interested in each other, Mark for some time, Sofia is just realizing it. Mark keeps kicking himself for being a coward about telling Sofia how he feels about her, even after she moves in with him for financial reasons and especially after she starts dating a guy he’s working on his current project (he’s an architect) with.

That’s pretty much the plot of the whole story. Not a lot goes on, well, it does, there’s an engagement, a wedding, a firing, a hiring, a surprising twist to a relationship (at least it’s supposed to be, it just seemed tacked on for shock value and to set up the predictable ending to me), but the storyline didn’t flow. I had no idea how long had actually passed throughout the story, something would happen at work, or with Mark and then, the next paragraph or start of the next chapter would be a few weeks later.

Another problem was that the writing and the plot seemed a bit too young and simple to me. The characters were in their mid-twenties or older, yet they sounded, and sometimes acted, like young teens. There were also a lot of things in the book that are pet peeves of mine, the girls and guys call each other babe, girly, baby and they use the word biatch, which I don’t think was ever really a big enough thing to be used in a young adult, let alone a New Adult, book. I like it when regular things that real people do, eat, go to, etc. are in books, but the Kindle was mentioned in this book so often over a few pages that it felt like product placement like they have in movies. There were also too many situations that didn’t make sense. For example, Birdie finds a bunch of jobs, called a few places and had interviews all day. No way are you going to call a place that falls into the category of “real job” and get an interview that day without sending a resume and waiting for someone to go through them and set up interview.

I never felt connected to the characters, either. Mona was too much of a caricature for me; she’s supposed to come off as cool and uninhibited, but instead was over the top, loud, larger than life and kind of annoying Who tells their best friend to marry a guy she knows her friend isn’t in to just because she thinks he’s more responsible. Sofia was kind of boring and the whole troubled girl with a difficult background never really materialized. We didn’t find out much about her relationship with her mother, who was supposed to be so horrible, nor did we really see anything that would leave her so emotionally scarred, at least in my opinion. Finally, Mark. His POV kind of came off like a girl writing what she thinks a guy would be like. Additionally, he was kind of a douchebag. He kept kicking himself and calling himself a coward for not telling Birdie how he felt, and he did this over and over and over again. Plus, he hated Bradley (who initially acted so cocky with Sofia, I can’t believe any woman would’ve taken him seriously) and made him seem like he was evil, yet, much like with Birdie’s mom, we never really saw anything to back it up. Throw in the fact that he is supposedly so in love with Birdie, yet he slept with an ex because she stopped by and grabbed his crotch while they were hanging out. Yeah, no way you can say no when that happens!.

I’ve been reading a lot of self-published books and have been finding that people have a combination of really poor knowledge of proper grammar and, apparently, no friends, relatives or co-workers that they can ask to edit their books. This one was no exception; there were too many grammatical mistakes and the spacing of paragraphs (which I assume isn’t the author’s fault, but is distracting nonetheless) detracted from the book, and when I’m already not big on it, it makes it that much worse.

As I said, I just never felt connected to any of the characters, there was no real tension between Mark and Sofia and the writing was too simplistic; it very much seemed like a debut novel (though I think there is the potential for this to get better as the author writes more). A lot of the other reviewers seem to have liked it and obviously saw something in it that I didn’t, but I can’t recommend Loving Sofia.

[Nahia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sofía es una chica que se mudó a los Estados Unidos cuando estaba en la secundaria. Entonces, conoció a un grupo de amigos compuesto por quince personas entre los que destacan Mona, la mejor amiga de Sofía; Jon, el novio de esta y Mark, el mejor amigo de Jon, y podría decirse que también el de Sofía. Sofía vivía con Mona hasta que este decide casarse, entonces tiene que irse a vivir con Mark o terminaría en la calle ya que la acababan de despedir. Y entonces empieza todo.

Para ser sincera, la novela refleja una actitud completamente de adolescente teniendo en cuenta que la protagonista tiene ya sus 24 años. Pero, eso sí, es bastante entretenida y una lectura muy rápida. Esta narrada a dos voces, por una parte la historia nos la cuenta Sofía y por otra nos la cuenta Mark. Es agradable que no se repitan demasiado las mismas situaciones con ambos personajes ya que así no resulta repetitivo.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great, easy read.

Sofia has always been told she was worthless by her mother and as such has trouble trusting people and finding success with relationships. She lives with her best friend Mona and secretly is in love with Mark, Mona's boyfriend Jon's best friend. The foursome spend so much time together but Sofia doesn't thin the others are aware of her feelings.

Mark feels exactly the same way Sofia feels but doesn't want to ruin his friendship with her so doesn't make his feelings clear.

Loved that the book flowed between Mark and Sofia's points of view so that we got both sides if the story as it was going in.