Tag Archives: Sophie Kinsella

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella – a Review

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I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella – a Review

 

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Description:
Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” But since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It’s simply not in her nature to say no to people.

So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. Turns out the computer’s owner is an investment manager. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, Sebastian scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. But Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she?

Then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. She wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. And Seb agrees, until the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?

 

 

Review:

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella is a standalone novel.  We meet our heroine Fixie Farr at the start, as she is always picking up on things her siblings miss or do wrong; hence her nickname Fixie.  The Farr family runs a local store that caters to their clientele with various items in demand.  The story focuses on Fixie, especially, when her mother decides to go to Europe for a few months, leaving Fixie and her siblings alone to run the business.  Everything begins to fall apart, as Fixie cannot even control her own life, let alone stand up to her family, who are ruining things with their inept ideas.

This story did have potential being family oriented, but from the start I had mixed feelings. We can start with Fixie), as she tries to prevent her brother and sister from implementing their ideas, and alienating their customers.   Then her brother’s friend (Ryan) returns to town, and Fixie has always had a crush on him since her childhood; she continues to gush all over him, being delusional into thinking they had a future, especially when he was here a year ago and she slept with him; but he went back to California leaving her hurt.  Now she does it again, allowing herself to think they had a future; she also goes to bat for him to get a job, which in a short time after he is fired, and she learns some truths about him; it took her awhile for her to open her eyes and see what a creep he really was.  

In the meantime, she met a guy at the coffee shop, and happened to save his important laptop and he gave her a voucher  “I owed you one”.  A friendship builds between Seb and Fixie, but she is too dense to see that he is a good one, not the douche bag Ryan.  I did like Fixie, but at times she was annoying, especially in the first half of the book. 

I thought other then Fixie,  the secondary characters, her sister, her brother, her uncle, and Ryan were totally unlikable.  Seb was nice, but between her fixation with Ryan and his involvement with another girl held back their romance, until later when they finally made it work.

In last quarter of the book, Fixie became stronger, with her self- confidence improving, standing up to her family to put her foot down on their inept shenanigans.   I did like when Fixie finally stood up to Ryan once and for all.  It was nice to see Fixie bring her brother and sister together to work in harmony to help get the store back on track.

I Owe You One was a good storyline.  However, I feel that having characters you like (with the exception of villains or a bad person),  allows you to enjoy the story; in this case, many of the characters were just not likable.  I do enjoy reading Sophie Kinsella, though this was a good read, it was not one was not one of her best.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella – a Review

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Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella – a Review

 

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Description:
A witty and emotionally charged novel that delves into the heart of a marriage, and how those we love and think we know best can sometimes surprise us the most—from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sophie Kinsella
 
After ten years together, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, and beautiful twin girls, and they communicate so seamlessly they finish each other’s sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it’s casually mentioned to them that they could be together for another sixty-eight years . . . and panic sets in. 
           
They decide to bring surprises into their marriage to keep it fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me—from unexpected gifts to restaurant dates to sexy photo shoots—mishaps arise, with disastrous and comical results. Gradually, surprises turn to shocking truths. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other at all.
           
With a colorful cast of eccentric characters, razor-sharp observations, and her signature wit and charm, Sophie Kinsella presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered.

 

 

Review:

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella is a standalone novel.  I have read a number of novels by Kinsella, who does write stories with humor and craziness.  Early on though, I did have mixed feelings, as I thought some of the things were border line silly. Ok, now for my review.

Sylvie and Dan have been married for 10 years, and have twin girls.  They are very happy in their marriage and lives.  When they go to the doctor for their annual checkups, the doctor tells them they can both live to 100. Instead of being happy, they think about spending the next 68 years together, and doing the same things.  It freaks them both out (rolls eyes). They decide to come up with ways to keep things new and they call it Project Surprise.   One after another, they surprise each other with food, tickets, furniture, clothes; trying to outdo each other.  Frankly I did not really find this humorous, the craziness was more annoying.  But that is me. 

When the story centered on Sylvie’s job as a fundraiser, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and their two girls were adorable.  The story also focuses on Sylvie’s deceased dad, who was a powerful fundraiser and well respected, though for some reason, Dan and her father did not get along.   When Dan brings some old friends to visit, Sylvie meets Dan’s old girl friend, and becomes jealous. At this point, the story does change a lot, and I did enjoy the last half of the book.

What follows is Sylvie’s attempt to help fix her job’s fundraising money drive, which was well done and interesting.   Sylvie is also begins to think Dan is having an affair, and this part of the story was at times funny and life changing.  Sylvie will learn the truth about her father, and his disrespect for Dan; as well as the lies her family kept from her.

I really enjoyed the last half of the book, which became more about family, trust, perceptions, communications, and hidden truths.  Surprise Me had a bit of everything, including Kinsella’s trademark humor, emotional drama, some suspense, family and marriage issues. 

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella – a Review

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My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella – a Review

 

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Description:
Katie Brenner has the perfect life: a flat in London, a glamorous job, and a super-cool Instagram feed.

Ok, so the real truth is that she rents a tiny room with no space for a wardrobe, has a hideous commute to a lowly admin job, and the life she shares on Instagram isn’t really hers.

But one day her dreams are bound to come true, aren’t they?

Until her not-so perfect life comes crashing down when her mega-successful boss Demeter gives her the sack. All Katie’s hopes are shattered. She has to move home to Somerset, where she helps her dad with his new glamping business.

Then Demeter and her family book in for a holiday, and Katie sees her chance. But should she get revenge on the woman who ruined her dreams? Or try to get her job back? Does Demeter – the woman with everything – have such an idyllic life herself? Maybe they have more in common than it seems.

And what’s wrong with not-so-perfect, anyway?

 

Review:

My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella is a standalone novel.  Katie Brenner, our heroine, has just started a new dream job in London.  Katie grew up in a small town, where her father has a farm.  She is determined to make a successful life in London, which she has always dreamed would be her perfect life; which at this point is not so perfect.  Katie, who uses the name Cat, hates her daily train commute to work, since she can’t afford the rent in London.

She is the new girl on the job at a marketing firm, where she finds herself totally in awe of her boss, and naïve as to the politics of the workers and management.  Her co-workers befriend Cat, and constantly complain about the boss, Demeter, who is somewhat of a bitch.  However, Cat sees in Demeter everything she wants for her future; successful high paying job, designer clothes, celebrity acquaintances, lives in a mansion, and has a happy family life. Cat feels if she works hard, she can attain the same life.  But nothing is always as it seems.

Just when she gets to impress Demeter with some of her ideas, and meets hot Alex, one of the owners of the firm, Cat is shocked when she is fired.  When she is unsuccessful in finding another job, Katie (back to her real name) is forced to go home; secretly telling her father that she is on sabbatical in order to help him with starting his new Glamping business on the farm.  Katie uses her wonderful marketing savvy to do a great job in setting up a website to promote the new business, utilizing an Instagram site for pictures, and other unique ideas. After a short time, Katie is shocked to see Demeter arrive on their farm for a family vacation.   Katie is still angry at Demeter, and goes out of her way to disguise herself somewhat and make life a little crazy for her ex-boss.  In a short period, Katie will see Demeter in another light, which turns out to be a not so perfect life. Once Katie learns more about Demeter, the book does take a turn, which for me I enjoyed much more.  I found the first half of the book a bit slow, and especially a little ditzy when she was doing those crazy antics to Demeter; but I really loved the last third of the book.

What follows is a nice story about learning that what you see in front of you is not always reality.  Katie begins to see how Demeter, living the perfect life, has many of her own problems; her marriage is suffering; she works long hours in a demanding and competitive job; she doesn’t spend much time with her children, who are somewhat distant with her.  Slowly, when Demeter finally recognizes and remembers Katie, things change with their relationship.  Katie privately gets Demeter’s kids to understand their mom better, and to be nicer. Demeter learns more from Katie about how the office staff hates her, and wants to make amends.  However, soon Alex arrives on the farm and Demeter knows he is here to fire her, since everything on the job was crumbling around her.  It will take Demeter and Katie to join hands to discover the truth about what was happening behind the scenes.

I really liked Alex, who was considered a womanizer, and whom Katie finds herself falling for, but she  thought  that he was having an affair with Demeter, which turned out to be another untrue fact.  When Alex shows up at the farm, their relationship begins to turn into a very nice romance.  There were some very good characters that Kinsella has created besides Katie, Demeter, & Alex.  Especially, Katie’ s Dad and Stepmom, Biddy were a lot of fun, and Demeter’s two kids.

As I have noted before, the last third of the book was great, with Katie rising up to help save Demeter, and her nice romance with Alex.  Katie herself used the time on the farm to prove that she was very talented in marketing and working with customers.  Her not so perfect life was a fun motto on her Instagram page, which added to the fun at the end.  This was a good and humorous story that I feel you should be reading.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella – a Review

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Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella – a Review

wedding night

Links to order Wedding Night: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository / Kobo

Description:
Lottie is tired of long-term boyfriends who don’t want to commit to marriage. When her old boyfriend Ben reappears and reminds her of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance. There will be no dates and no engagement—just a straight wedding march to the altar!  Next comes the honeymoon on the Greek island where they first met. But not everyone is thrilled with Lottie and Ben’s rushed marriage, and family and friends are determined to intervene…


Review;

What can I say other then, Ms. Kinsella has done it again.  She’s scored another best seller with Wedding Night.  This book satisfied my need for a good chuckle from beginning to end.  I have no idea how Ms. Kisella does it book after book coming up with her crazy ideas that take place within her books.  It just seems there is one disaster after another for poor Lottie and Ben.  Little do they know, these disasters are all part of a plot to keep them apart by Lottie’s sister Fliss.  However, soon Ben’s co-worker/friend Lorcan, along with Lottie’s recent ex Richard all get pulled into this outrageously funny story.   You see, Lottie is known for going off on some hair-brained scheme after a breakup, and her most recent one in a very long list of hair-brained schemes is running off and marrying Ben, a former teenage boyfriend after all these years. 

I must say that I very much enjoyed the way Ms. Kinsella set up this book.  We get to see Lottie through two POV’s, her own, and her big sister Fliss.  So instead of having a book set around one heroine, we get a story that has two, each giving us separate viewpoints on the same situation.  Having the two POV’s doesn’t deviate at all from the flow of the story, but in fact helps to develop it even further, thus giving more depth and personality to the characters, well at the same time advancing the plot and sub-plots.  The main plot being Lottie running off and marrying Ben on a whim after breaking up with Richard, and Fliss still dealing with a bad divorce and placing much of her feelings towards men and relationships on Lottie, thus creating the catalyst for her plot to interfere with Lottie and Ben’s honeymoon. 

Instead of a honeymoon on a beautiful Greek island, while staying at a 4 star plus hotel Lottie and Ben get Disasters R Us, lol.  The events that Lottie’s sister sets in motion to keep the two love birds apart until she can get there and talk some sense into her sister had me howling out loud in fits of laughter many times.  My cheeks and sides hurt from laughing so hard during a couple of scenes.  As if Fliss and her scheming weren’t enough, enter Lorcan and Richard.  The addition of these two characters, allows for further plot development between Lottie, Ben, and Fliss, while at the same time adding to more funny situations. 

As the story progresses, we get to see Fliss begin to deal with and examine her life since her divorce, well Lottie finally, finally sees through her lack of judgement issues and realizes what a huge mistake she’s made. Has Lottie’s lack of judgement made it too late to be with Richard, or are she and Ben really meant to be?  Will Fliss finally accept her divorce and move on, is Lorcan the right man for her? Will Lottie find out that Fliss was behind all the disasters that happened to them, and if she does, will she forgive her sister? If you want to find out, you’ll have to read the book.  I wouldn’t want to spoil all the fun in this one by giving away the answers. 

 

If you are looking for a fast paced, funny read then look no further.  Wedding Night is well written, with well developed and charming characters.  You can’t help but become attached to all the characters in this one and hope that there’s a HEA in the end after all the disasters that take place.  It will have you turning page after page wanting to see what Fliss will do next to poor Lottie and Ben, well at the same time holding your sides from laughing so hard.  You might even want to make sure you are reading this one someplace quiet, or people might be looking at your strangely as you break out in fits of laughter over some of the events that take place.  Ms. Kinsella has definitely done it again, and I for one can’t wait for her to announce the title of her next release. I know she’ll have me in stitches once again.

Until next time, happy reading everyone.

Reviewed by Marcie

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I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

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I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

 


As everyone knows I’m a diehard fan for the paranormal, but even I need a break from that genre from time to time.  When I’m in need of something different, light and comical I always turn to a Sophie Kinsella book.  She’s the type of author that you can just sit down with your glass of wine, martini, chocolates, etc and read without riding an emotional roller-coaster, freakouts, tantrums etc.  I love that I can just sit back, relax and giggle away till my hearts content and thinking, yeah I can see something like that happening to me.  Her characters are funny, quirky, clutzy, down to earth, and just make you smile.  I’ve Got Your Number is no different.

I knew from the little excerpt on the back of the book that I would enjoy this tale.  It sounded fun, silly and comical to me and it didn’t disappoint.  Here’s what the book cover says;

“I’ve lost it. The only thing in the world I wasn’t supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It’s been in Magnus’s family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I’ve lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate Poppy. Stay positive!!

 Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier.  She is about to marry the ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her ‘happy ever after’ begins to fall apart.  Not only has she lost her engagement ring, but in the panic that followed, she has now lost her phone. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers!  Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

 Well, perfect except the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton doesn’t agree.  He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life.  

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages.  As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents… she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.”

This had me chuckling to myself and thinking, yup I can totally see something like this happening to me. Oh come on, admit it, you were thinking the same thing.  Who hasn’t had something crazy along these lines happen to them. I totally related to poor Poppy as she found herself in dilemma after dilemma trying to keep the news of the lost ring from her fiancé.  Just when you think Poppy’s going to be found out she manages to pull another rabbit out of her hat and save the day, thus keeping her secret safe for now.  Each and every hair brained idea of Poppy’s had me laughing out loud wondering what was next.

One of my favourite parts of this book were the text messages back and forth between Poppy and Sam.  That part of the book was brilliant and just goes to show you how much we depend on our cell phones in this day and age.  It’s like they’ve become another part of our anatomy and heaven forbid we are ever without them. Seriously, when did we become so attached to them??? I knew exactly how Poppy felt without her phone.  I feel like there’s something missing when I don’t have my phone with me, or the battery has died.  Kinsella hit the nail on the head with that part of the book. Plus the messages from Poppy and Sam as we begin to see him changing are down right funny and playful.

I really liked Sam and Poppy, they made me like them from the start.  Both characters are strong in their personalities and Kinsella does a good job of developing these two characters through the story.  She balances the two personalities brilliantly, while at the same time creating the hilarity and chaos that ensues around the two of them (eg. the scrabble game scene with Magnus’ family, her ‘burned’ bandaged hand). Watching these two personalities grow and develop keeps the storyline moving, and makes the reader want to keep reading to see just where this new relationship developing between Poppy and Sam may be heading, seeing as Poppy is engaged to Magnus.  It’s pretty much a guessing game for the reader up to the very end of the book.

It’s an interesting setup that Kinsella has developed by creating a triangle between the couples (Sophie and Magnus, Sophie and Sam) without it becoming your typical soap opera couple triangle.   We get to see Sophie with her fiancé Magnus, to which I don’t see how these two are even compatible.  Magnus bored me every time he was in a scene, I much preferred Sam and his up tight personality to Magnus’ stuffy fuddy duddy personality.  At least Sam had a little bit of humour in the beginning, which grew as the story progressed, and he liked Poppy’s quirkiness even though it annoyed him at first. Unlike Magnus who doesn’t really seem to get Poppy for who she is.  I felt Magnus and Poppy were polar opposites and by bringing Sam into the mix, you get to see Poppy for who she really is.

I really enjoyed this book. It satisfied my need for change from the paranormal and had me laughing out loud to the very end. It’s another classic feel good book from Kinsella.  She keeps it light, fun and down to earth.  She writes characters that are real and allows the reader to identify with them, and see themselves in similar situations.  For every Kinsella book I’ve read, there has always been one moment where I’m going, yup been there done that, or, oh yeah, surprised that hasn’t happened to me yet.   It’s a fun book and I guarantee you a good laugh.  You won’t be disappointed, and I would never steer my fellow friends and book-aholics wrong.  For a change in your everyday reading, Kinsella would be my pick for you.  Happy reading 😉

Reviewed by Marcie

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