charmettebooks 's review for:

Love, Coffee, and Revolution: A Novel by Stefanie Leder

3.0

lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Love, Coffee and Revolution is the story of Dee Blum and her adventures in Costa Rica. Dee is a college student who is uncertain of her future path, and wants to be an activist, so she drops out of college and heads to Costa Rica to work in and learn more about the coffee industry. In Costa Rica, Dee quickly realizes that she is in over her head. She knows little about the country and lacks the life skills to navigate the situation. 

As the book progresses, Dee learns about both sides of the coffee industry, and finds herself torn between two men who represent each side. Adrian is fun and adventurous, but his wealthy family owns a traditional coffee plantation, which doesn’t align with Dee’s political views. Matias is on the opposite side politically, and is a passionate activist for worker’s rights.

As Dee spends more time working as a tour guide in Costa Rica, she learns that the fair-trade organization she is working for is not as beneficial as she originally thought. She suspects that this organization may be harming the environment, and exploiting the workers. Dee questions her own beliefs and struggles to decide what the right thing is to do. She risks her own safety to try to find a solution and help the workers. 

I enjoyed this book, but had issues with Dee’s extreme naivete and lack of understanding about Costa Rica. She is unprepared for moving to a new country and working as an activist. The romance aspect of the book was fun, but Dee’s character was annoying at times. I didn’t love either of the male main characters, so I wasn’t really invested in the romance part of the story. 

This book is a good combination of romance and political activism. The author skillfully shows the reader detailed views of both sides of the coffee industry in Costa Rica. Many of us wanted to go out in the world and change things for the better, so in that way, Dee is very relatable. I wanted to love this book about adventure in another country and personal growth, but it just didn’t work for me. 

Thank you to Stefanie Leder, Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.