Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
I decided to try reading a book outside of my usual genre this month and went for a contemporary romance. Sophie Kinsella (aka Madeleine Wickham) is many reader's go-to author for chick lit, light hearted, charismatic reads. Some of her other books are titled, "Girls Night In", "My Not So Perfect Life", and "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Just the titles alone make me think of pink, champagne, bubbles, and facemasks. I don't know much about the other books outside of their titles, but Surprise Me seems like it may have a little more depth and seriousness to it than some of Sophie's other works.
Sylvie and Dan, a happily married couple, have been together for ten years now. They have twin girls, fulfilling jobs, and can finish each other's sentences. A trip to the doctors tells them fabulous news! They will have another 68 years of marriage together. As the reality of that statement sets in, they start to panic. Will their marriage be able to last another 68 years or will the routine of life grow tiresome? They decide that they need to spice up their marriage in order to keep things fresh, new, and exciting. But not all of the surprises go to plan, and anxiety sets in about their future together.
The first half of the book was mostly charming and humorous. Some of the initial story building at the very beginning seemed to drag for me, but it was worth it to continue reading. The section of the book that shows the couple's surprises back and forth to each other was the best part of the book. Laugh out loud funny and so relatable. As the story progresses into the second half of the book, it does take a more serious turn. At the end there is a totally unexpected element that was a lot darker than the rest of the book. I was not expecting the ending at all, but I love how it rounded out the story and finished things off nicely.
After reading a few other reviews on the book, I found most people were surprised to see, and didn't like the more anxiety ridden main character of Sophie, in comparison to Kinsella's usual protagonist. Most faithful Kinsella readers point people to her Shopaholic Series if you're looking to explore her works for the first time. As I had no prior knowledge of her works, I didn't see any problem with the book at all. I really don't know if I could stomach something like the Shopaholic series, so this one was probably better for me personally. If you're used to light and fluffy books, then you may be better of starting with the Shopaholic Series if you haven't read it already.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Positives: Pretty light and fluffy with some good laughs while still having some substance to keep you interested and engaged.
Negatives: Dragged a bit in the beginning. I almost wish the sections where they surprised each other would have continued instead of taking the more serious turn, but I still enjoyed the book as a whole.
Sylvie and Dan, a happily married couple, have been together for ten years now. They have twin girls, fulfilling jobs, and can finish each other's sentences. A trip to the doctors tells them fabulous news! They will have another 68 years of marriage together. As the reality of that statement sets in, they start to panic. Will their marriage be able to last another 68 years or will the routine of life grow tiresome? They decide that they need to spice up their marriage in order to keep things fresh, new, and exciting. But not all of the surprises go to plan, and anxiety sets in about their future together.
The first half of the book was mostly charming and humorous. Some of the initial story building at the very beginning seemed to drag for me, but it was worth it to continue reading. The section of the book that shows the couple's surprises back and forth to each other was the best part of the book. Laugh out loud funny and so relatable. As the story progresses into the second half of the book, it does take a more serious turn. At the end there is a totally unexpected element that was a lot darker than the rest of the book. I was not expecting the ending at all, but I love how it rounded out the story and finished things off nicely.
After reading a few other reviews on the book, I found most people were surprised to see, and didn't like the more anxiety ridden main character of Sophie, in comparison to Kinsella's usual protagonist. Most faithful Kinsella readers point people to her Shopaholic Series if you're looking to explore her works for the first time. As I had no prior knowledge of her works, I didn't see any problem with the book at all. I really don't know if I could stomach something like the Shopaholic series, so this one was probably better for me personally. If you're used to light and fluffy books, then you may be better of starting with the Shopaholic Series if you haven't read it already.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Positives: Pretty light and fluffy with some good laughs while still having some substance to keep you interested and engaged.
Negatives: Dragged a bit in the beginning. I almost wish the sections where they surprised each other would have continued instead of taking the more serious turn, but I still enjoyed the book as a whole.
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