Sophie Kinsella has done it again! A funny, feel-good story with a wonderfully quirky, insecure, totally relatable main character, country girl Katie Brenner. Katie moves to the big city and tries to reinvent herself as cool sophisticated Cat. Nothing seems to go right, but Cat is determined to put on a good front for her friends and family by posting glam pics on social media. When Cat is made redundant, she moves back home to help her dad with his new business. Then unexpectedly Katie's two worlds collide and she has to decide whether to hide or step up and take charge.

In true Sophie Kinsella fashion, this book was a light, easy read with a very likable main character.
I loved that this booked differed than some of Sophie Kinsellas other novels because it didn't focus so much on the romance, but more so on the main characters personal development within her career and her personal life. I'm always drawn to books that give you the feels- and this one hit the spot. It made me smile, laugh out loud, and left me in a better mood by the end. Great book!

Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the Advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. I've already recommended the book to friends!

You know how, when you’re reading a book, you absolutely have to put it down because you KNOW, you just KNOW, something embarrassing, but hilarious is going to happen. Then you go back to it and it’s not quite what you thought, its better. That is the case with this book. Not that I’m saying it’s predictable. It isn’t, but you put yourself in that situation and you know what you’d do. I adored the main characters and loved how the story played out. It was different, but classic Sophie Kinsella. Never a dull moment. Loved every second of it!

There are times in your life when you need Chick Lit; when the only thing that will help you escape the drudgery of your life or what you read about in the news is a good romantic comedy. When this mood strikes, Sophie Kinsella's books are almost* always the perfect remedy. When the book begins, I thought it was going to be inspired by The Devil Wears Prada. It follows Katie/Cat Brenner as she works doing data entry in a marketing firm. Though Katie is young, she is a sponge and is willing to learn everything about marketing and about living from her boss, Demeter. We learn how hard Katie works to project that she leads a perfect life and to hide her hardships from her overprotective, farmer father.

One day she is made redundant in a very embarrassing fashion. With the pretense of going on a sabbatical, she goes back to the farm where she grows up to help her father and stepmother convert it into a glamping site. With her marketing expertise she is able to make the place a success before it even opens. However, as the first guests start to arrive, she realizes that she cannot keep her lies up for much longer.

*I am not a fan of her famous Shopaholic series.

Katie or Cat has dreamt of the bright lights of London since she was a child. But now that she is living in London, those lights are not so bright. Her bedroom is the size of a shoebox, her job is not that glamorous and when her boss Demeter calls her into her office for a special project what she actually wants is for Katie to help her dye her hair. When Demeter fires her, Katie has no choice but to pack her things and go back to Somerset where she helps her father and stepmother to turn the family’s farm into a glamping camp (a luxurious camp site for rich people). When Demeter suddenly turns up with her family and doesn’t recognise her, Katie sees her chance to get her revenge.
Sophie Kinsella’s characters are so realistic and down-to-earth that you feel you can connect with them. Katie’s struggle to leave behind her country manners and accent and make it in the big city is relatable and I love how she never loses her hope and optimism even when she finds someone else’s sandwich in her mouth during a horrible commute or when the hammock that she uses as storage space over her bed falls on her. Witty dialogues, fascinating and quirky characters, and hilarious scenes create another brilliant and outstanding novel from one of my favourite authors.

Katie Brenner is the Bridget Jones of this generation. She is funny, determined, and struggling to reinvent herself in London. Now trying to be Cat (rather than Katie), she has landed her dream job at a company that specializes in branding products.

I loved this book. It perfectly shows the anxiety of starting one's career and the pressure to be successful, for yourself, and for your family. I was rooting for Katie from the start.

What I liked:

London:

Sophie Kinsella captures all that is wonderful, and dreadful, about being young and alone in an expensive city.

I lived in England for a short time as a college student. I look back on it as a magical time. But when I really think back, I being to remember some of the not so glamorous aspects. Everything was ungodly expensive, and the people were so fashionable. I saved up for weeks in order to buy a stylish winter coat in order to fit in. But that was my only big purchase. I was mostly reduced to window shopping. London itself (when we went there on weekends) was so intimidating. I remember being overwhelmed trying to navigate The Tube. And the place where I stayed was so very cold...

Reading about Katie's misadventures brought me back to that awkward time of being an independent adult for the first time.

Glamping:

Glamping is a term for luxury camping, mostly for city dwellers who want to be in nature, but don't really want to rough it. Katie's father and stepfather start a glamping business to suppliment their income as farmers. I loved this part of the book because it showcased not only Katie's abilities as a marketer, but her father's and stepmother's skills as well. Her father is a natural charmer, when he want to be. His tendency to be a cheapskate is tempered by Katie's knowledge that in order to make this business a success, everything must be of the best quality. And her stepmother shines as she is able to showcase her cooking and crafting abilities.

I loved these things so much that I made a Pinterest board for this book!

Characters:

Demeter is Katie's demanding boss at the branding firm. She seems to have everything: Beauty, a perfect family, a successful career, and a lover on the side. But is that really who she is? I can just see Rosamund Pike as Demeter.

Katie is the college grad who yearns for the perfect life and if she isn't quite there yet, well... no one needs to know. She obsessively posts perfect shots of London life on Instagram. It's all a farce, but she doesn't seem to get that if she is faking her life online, probably others are too. She simply takes what she sees as other people's perfect lives at face value. I see Emilia Clarke as Katie.

What I Was Mixed About:

The ending was a little too perfect. While I love endings where all the plot points are tied up, this ending was over the top. I would have loved to have Katie make some hard choices about what her priorities were. That would have been more realistic and just as satisfying.

Rosamund Pilcher, Sophie Kinsella and Maeve Binchy remain on my list of favorite “go to” authors when my brain is on murder and mayhem overload and I need a break from suspense/thrillers hence my decision to read MY NOT SO PERFECT LIFE. Sophie Kinsella has managed to capture the feelings each of us has experienced at some time in our lives with her Katie Brenner character. Who of us has not suffered from “the grass is always greener on the other side” syndrome as we see someone else enjoying the life about which we have always fantasized? But is someone else’s reality really that much better than ours?

Katie (Cat) Brenner has escaped from her life on a farm in Somerset to what she believes will be the perfect life in London. Unfortunately what London offers is an entry level job at a branding company, sharing a shabby apartment with two bizarre roommates as well as trying her best to have her talents acknowledged by her ice queen boss, Demeter Farlowe. The job has turned out to be not quite what Katie expected, the only upside being that she has met Alex, a man who could fulfill her search for prince charming.

When a situation arises that forces Katie to return to the family farm what ensues is a delightful lighthearted romp that contains a perfect blend of family bonding, comedy and romance.

Nothing too deep that will overwork your tired brain, just a perfect read for sunny beach days or even a quiet evening in front of an open fire. Whatever your pleasure, this book will definitely make it more satisfying.

A fun story with a likable, relatable main character. Readers will be rooting for spunky Katie as she discovers who she is and what's really important, both in others and for herself. This may be my favorite Sophie Kinsella book!

Catherine "Cat" Brenner is a Somerset girl who has always wanted to live in London. Now that her dream has been fulfilled, she is living the hardships of living in a big city, still having many dreams to be fulfilled.
Her life, which always seems to be in chaos, is a contrast to the perfect life of her boss, Demeter.
Demeter is 45 years old and is an Executive Creative Director at Cooper Clemmow. She has a beautiful family, a beautiful house and two beautiful cars in the garage.
As anyone normal - and dreamy - Cat would like to be like Demeter, until many events show Cat that not everything is what it seems and that even her life, not so perfect, can be better than everything that she imagined other people's lives.
What would your life be like from the eyes of others? How do you see other people's lives through social media? Do you and they have something in common?

Sophie Kinsella's new book demystifies the idea that other people's lives are more perfect. Maybe they just know how to disguise better than you.

Written in the first person, Sophia always creates main characters with a comical side.
Cat didn't captivate me, despite the plot being interesting. In fact, at some point, I think Cat "talks" too much and was already annoying.

3 stars

I haven't read a Sophie Kinsella adult novel in a while (though I did read Finding Audrey last year, and I really liked it!). When the opportunity to read My Not So Perfect Life presented itself, I took it - and I am so glad. I quite enjoyed it! It's all about Katie Brenner, a young lady who is trying to make a life for herself in London. Her dreams are inspired by the ideal, perfect lives of people she's observed; her reality is she's got a tiny room in a flat, a terrible commute and a job that isn't necessarily providing the opportunities she expected. Still, she's determined to make it work.. until she gets fired. Retreating to her family's farm in Somerset, she keeps herself preoccupied by helping set up the new family business - a holiday retreat - even as she struggles to find a way to keep her London dream alive. But when Demeter, her former boss with the perfect life, shows up as a guest, secrets are spilled, truths are revealed and Katie's life changes once again.

My Not So Perfect Life is utterly charming, peppered with really funny moments that had me laughing out loud. But, best of all, it's so relatable. As someone striving to find her place in the working world, and as someone who is still working on accepting my life's journey (flaws, mistakes and all), I could totally put myself in Katie's shoes. Her vulnerabilities mirrored many of my own, especially back in my early twenties, so I really felt for her. I loved seeing her grow; I especially enjoyed seeing her make mistakes, as well as watching her rise up against the way circumstances derailed her and prove herself over and over again. It was also a real treat to see how Kinsella explored Katie's relationships with her father, her pseudo-stepmother, her boss, her coworkers, since they were all really nuanced in the way that all relationships are. My only reservation was really the romance, which felt underdeveloped and suffered for it. But otherwise, My Not So Perfect Life was a really good read! I'd highly recommend adding this one to your TBR.

This book helped get me out of a reading rut. While the ending was a bit unbelievable, I was rooting for our heroine and enjoyed seeing how it was all going to shake out.

perfect weekend read-notable for the witty writing and the glamping experience come to
life

I found the first few chapters of this book slow. Like all Sophie Kinsella books you laugh and you also sometimes feel like you want to hit the main character for being so stupid.

This isn't one of my favourite books by Sophie Kinsella but it isn't my least favourite either. It is entertaining.

I give this 3 out of 5 stars.

I'm a big fan of Kinsella's previous books so I went into this with some pretty high expectations. It's definitely not my favorite, but it was an enjoyable read. What I love most about this book is how it serves as a great reminder that what you see on social media and what you see from observing another person's life from the outside is not always how it really is. No one has a completely charmed life. I also really like that it all wraps up nicely. I'm a big fan of tidy endings in somewhat fluffy books. 3.5/5 stars. It's not a book I need on my shelves to re-read and I'm not rushing out to recommend it to everyone, but I definitely didn't hate it.

First, thank you so NetGalley (Random House Publishing) for an e-book copy of this delightful book for my enjoyment and review. What a fun book, in every way, Ms. Kinsella has written. Taking place in London and Somerset, the book grabs you from the beginning as Katie (Cat also) Brenner is riding the tube to her new job in London. Laughs begin as she is forced to take a bite from another passenger's breakfast sandwich because of the crowds, and humor moves on from there. The story goes from her job in London, happenings with her boss Demeter, an office romance, and onto returning to her dad's farm to help with his vacation business. The story is very light, definitely chik-lit, a bit long, but very enoyable in character and story development. Another great read by Kinsella.

I really enjoyed this book. It is the perfect escape from the troubles and cares of the real world. The protagonist can be a little grating at times, but she redeems herself by the end of the book. This was exactly what I was looking for in this particular author.

As always, a great read by Sophie Kinsella. The story line is similar to the Shopaholic series, but different enough to be enjoyable. I really enjoyed the story, and the development of all the characters in the book.

Humorous, amusing and heartwarming!

Departing slightly from her usual fanciful romantic comedies, in this latest novel Kinsella writes a story that is rich in character development and touches on the pitfalls of pretense, unrealistic perception, social media fallacies, and finding one's true self all in a plot laced with humour, lightheartedness and a touch of romance.

The writing is crisp and witty. And the characters are a quirky, unique bunch that are likeable, flawed and genuine.

Overall, this is an enjoyable, thought-provoking story filled with cheeky banter and spirited hijinks that will definitely make you laugh and entertain you for hours.

Thank you to NetGalley, especially Random House, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be totally up front. When I started reading this I thought, this is boring and I don't think I like it. I was totally wrong. I made this judgement in the first couple of pages. (I'd just finished a very emotional book surrounding the story of a child's death so wanted something light and airy, fun.) My Not So Perfect Life is so good on many levels. Once I let myself settle into it I read it in less that 24 hours.

This is my first time reading a book by Sophie Kinsella. I like that she wrote in Cat's/Katie's voice. It's the only way this could have been done. As a reader I was inside of this girl's head. And even though she is a woman, she seems like such a young girl at the start of the book. London and the life to live there is all preconceived by the dreamer who set her sights on living and having a career there. As the story unfolds, Kinsella gradually opens Katie's eyes to the reality of so many things. There is a journey toward clarity and maturity. A very emotional and tense journey at times, a comical one when she finally learns to be herself. I love the humor in this book.

This is such a "the grass is always greener on the other side" story. There are some truly laugh out loud moments. There is a series of events that I can honestly say had me smiling as Katie embarks on a bit of revenge that is like something anyone could harbor in the little dark side of the brain.
Lessons are learned.

The characters are very well developed as is the plot. This took some planning and hard work I'd think. There could be an award or to in the future for this book. Twists and turns are 'spot on'. I particularly like Biddy, who is quite the character as a sort of surrogate mother for Katie. Demeter, the bigger than life boss is a powerful character in more ways than one as is Katie herself. Of course, there's a love interest, Alex, who could break the country girl's heart.

On a personal note I hate the common "F" word. It is sprinkled throughout. Other than that it's a tasteful story and one that an office worker, daughter or low employee on the totem poll will recognize.

This is also published on Goodreads.