Trish Doller

When her mother has the chance to establish an eye clinic for the poor in Cairo, Egypt, seventeen-year-old Caroline reluctantly gives up her plans for a summer spent with her best friend and boyfriend and instead moves to Cairo, where she encounters a culture and city that enchant her and a charming boy who challenges her thoughts on love, faith, and privilege.

In a Perfect World

Lorelei Petcu

This was really adorable and overall enjoyable but I guess I was just expecting a bit...more? 
I just love Egypt so much and I kinda wanted everyone to just live happily ever after there, ya know?

so basically, this book is about this girl who is planning to stay in egypt for a year due to her mom’s job. she ends up falling in love with adam, who’s dad basically drives her around everywhere. but he gets sick, so adam take his place.

don’t even get me started because caroline was sweet and all but she didn’t deserve adam. i’m sorry. adam is literally amazing and says/does so many kind, loving things but caroline just like.. never reciprocates it ig?? like she’s always receiving and never giving. she thought about him a lot, but never like DID something. and it felt like sometimes she expected him to just completely disregard his culture, family, beliefs, etc. for her. like babe y’all have barely known each other for a couple months.

also, i get that she was going through culture shock, but she could be somewhat rude about some of the questions she had. like some things were straight up backhanded. idek. and she just said really dumb things sometimes. babe was trying her best tho.

something that really annoyed me was it felt like she had to bring up the fact that men would hit on her every two seconds. yes, i sympathize with her and i realize it wasn’t great, but she literally compared that to people assuming adam would be a terrorist.

overall, it’s a pretty good book and im surprised it’s not more popular. it had a lot of good romance quotes. also, it had a more realistic take on love. still ended up getting that somewhat happy ending with him in nyc tho. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

addi d.

honestly mixed feelings.

(spoilers ahead)

so basically, this book is about this girl who is planning to stay in egypt for a year due to her mom’s job. she ends up falling in love with adam, who’s dad basically drives her around everywhere. but he gets sick, so adam take his place.

don’t even get me started because caroline was sweet and all but she didn’t deserve adam. i’m sorry. adam is literally amazing and says/does so many kind, loving things but caroline just like.. never reciprocates it ig?? like she’s always receiving and never giving. she thought about him a lot, but never like DID something. and it felt like sometimes she expected him to just completely disregard his culture, family, beliefs, etc. for her. like babe y’all have barely known each other for a couple months.

also, i get that she was going through culture shock, but she could be somewhat rude about some of the questions she had. like some things were straight up backhanded. idek. and she just said really dumb things sometimes. babe was trying her best tho.

something that really annoyed me was it felt like she had to bring up the fact that men would hit on her every two seconds. yes, i sympathize with her and i realize it wasn’t great, but she literally compared that to people assuming adam would be a terrorist.

overall, it’s a pretty good book and im surprised it’s not more popular. it had a lot of good romance quotes. also, it had a more realistic take on love. still ended up getting that somewhat happy ending with him in nyc tho. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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It's been ages since I picked up one of Trish Doller's books and, truth be told, I'm pretty much kicking myself for not reading In a Perfect World sooner after it was released. It was a gorgeous book. I loved this look at the Egyptian culture and the Muslim religion and, of course, the romance. 

Caroline was an interesting character. She was totally out of her element in her new life in Egypt, but she really was trying to embrace it as much as she could. There were missteps, sure. Sometimes she said or thought things that made me cringe, but I think those flaws are part of why I enjoyed her character and this book as much as I did. None of us are perfect. We can all do better at times. Watching Caroline adapt to her new surroundings and truly grow as a result of her experiences was a good reminder of that. 

In a Perfect World was about more than romance, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it. Adam was amazing. It was a joy watching things develop between them, even if I knew it would have to come to an end at some point. Which, yes, made me really sad. I loved their connection and how they learned from each other. It really was a beautiful thing, even if others (like his family) might not have felt the same way. Feels for days, you guys. I won't spoil the end for you, but I will say I was pleasantly surprised by how things wrapped up and there were totally tears of a happy nature involved. 

This book was the winner of My TBR List in August. I should've posted this review last Saturday, but I thought there was one more Saturday left in the month and I didn't start the book in time. Whoops! That said, once I did start reading this one, I couldn't stop. I read it in a single day, in one sitting more or less. I laughed, I swooned, I FELT. I loved seeing Egypt through Caroline's eyes. Trish knocked it out of the park with this book. 

FAVORITE QUOTES

“The whole world's pretty messed up, isn't it?"
"Perhaps. But there is also kindness everywhere.” 

“The devil does not whisper things you do not wish to hear; he tells you a beautiful story that you want to believe.”

In a Perfect World

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