Lost Sofia, Carina Rissi

Hello everybody ! At the start of 2023, I wanted to give you my opinion on the book Perdue, written by Carina Rissi and published this year, in June.

It’s the story of a young woman living in 2010. In everyday life, she uses everything we use today, including her cell phone, and can’t seem to live without it. One evening, her phone falls into the bathroom of a bar and she is forced to buy a new one. Sofia decides to follow the advice of a saleswoman to choose a new laptop: however, from the first use, it seems defective… and ends up propelling Sofia two hundred years back in time, to 1830. She is taken in by a young man on horseback and, not knowing how to get home, is forced to adapt to this new environment, straight out of a novel.

To be completely honest, after reading just a few pages, I thought I was going to hate this book. I didn’t like the writing: I found it childish and too full of exclamation points. In addition, I didn’t connect with Sofia’s character… nor with her lifestyle. After reflection, it was undoubtedly the author’s desire to portray her in a rather detestable way at the beginning of the novel. I wondered what rubbish I could have stumbled upon, and I almost put it down straight away. Luckily for me, I continued reading a few chapters, and eventually got drawn into the story. I found her very funny, I often smiled and I quickly became attached to Sofia as well as to the other characters, each of whom is just as well thought out as the next. The love story between the two main protagonists is quite classic, but I still liked it. I’m not promising you the best story of the year, nor the most beautiful dialogues, but I loved this story, it kept me in suspense until the last page and I read it at the speed of lightning.

I found that the author had chosen a good time to develop her character. Not being familiar with the 19th century and its customs, I cannot tell you that the author portrayed the period accurately, but that was more than enough for me. Sometimes it seems like Sofia makes no effort to use anything other than 21st century expressions to express herself orally, but that makes the lyrics even funnier. As you will have understood, I judged this book very badly at first glance, wrongly! And I encourage you to read it if you’re looking for a sweet romance to occupy your winter days. See you soon ♡

Image from the movie