I've read a few Sophie Kinsella novels a few years ago and loved them but for whatever reason, I haven't read a novel of hers since. Thanks to Hannah, I requested My Not So Perfect Life and SO glad I did! I loved reading this book. The setting, the characters, the story arc, the theme of perspective, it all combined to create a fantastic book.

Let's start with the setting. Cat, formerly and sometimes Katie, is a junior research assistant at a branding firm in London. She grew up in the country and is trying hard to become a full-fledged Londoner. I can relate to her desire because she talks about loving the energy of the city, that certain something that gives her a spring in her step when she walks down the street, I understand all of this. Symptoms of a soulmate city, if you ask me but I digress. So Katie is working extremely hard trying to find her niche in this job. She's smart, creative, driven, and really wants to learn from her boss, Demeter, who is a known creative genius in the industry.

The problem? Demeter is awful. Scatter-brained, forgetful, can't remember people's names, the worst. The whole office hates her and after some financial strain she loses her job and finds herself back home in the country helping out her dad and stepmom start a glamping business on their farm. Katie, formerly Cat, fights tooth and nail against moving back home but circumstances and fate intervene. I really enjoyed her internal dialogue about her definition of failure and feeling like she's settling by moving home for awhile. Even though, as the reader, I didn't think she was failing at all, it was easy to understand her rationale.

The great thing? She's amazing at running the glamping business. She works amazing with her dad Mick and stepmom Biddy. She designs all the advertisements and they're a smashing success. I couldn't get enough of her creative energy and desire to succeed at anything she was doing. The twist starts when Demeter arrives with her family at Katie's glamping business and she takes matters into her own hands. From there we have a couple of hilarious unfortunate (sometimes fortunate) events and they're hysterical.

This is also where the tide starts to turn in a different way. Why? Because Katie starts to see not only Demeter, but herself, in a different way. The second part of the books is an eye-opening experience and I loved how everything played out. Katie's ability to see beneath the exterior and understand somebody else's point of view was beautiful. I love books like this. When we think adamantly one way about someone and perspective gives us a whole new view of them. The saying you never really know a person until you walk in their shoes rings so true with this story. And when Katie embraces who Demeter really is and what happens from there was my favorite part. I loved seeing a camaraderie among these characters, it was so fun and endearing, I couldn't get enough and I definitely couldn't put the book down!

There are is a romance in this story but it's not at the forefront and I also really enjoyed that! The romance was fun and sparky but it didn't overshadow the story as a whole. I loved that this was more about Katie, discovering her true self, and seeing the good in other people. Of course, the topic of social media and a filtered life is also a large theme in the book and I think Kinsella handled it perfectly. In a world of social media, Instagram filters, and highlight reels known as timelines, it's hard to see beneath the cut away 2x2 snapchat of somebody's life and remember nobody's life is perfect, we all have our struggles, and our not so perfect moments. I HIGHLY recommend this book to any and all readers and think everyone who reads can get something out of this!

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. 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 at times humorous story that I feel you would enjoy.

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors, and My Not So Perfect Life is a winner. I would rank this novel up with my favorites of Can You Keep a Secret? and the Shopaholic series. Katie, the heroine of My Not So Perfect Life, is a clever and kind-hearted young woman. She is from the English countryside but is living in London pursuing her dream of working in advertising. Unlike our beloved Shopaholic Becky, Katie actually tries to stick to a budget and some of her money savings antics are hilarious. Her boss starts out as a demon, but as loyal Kinsella readers know, the heroine will eventually discover the best in everyone. Katie pulls some outrageous stunts, gets caught up in a web of lies, and of course has a fabulous love interest. I was so captivated by Katie and her antics that I read this book in only two days. Luckily for me I read it during vacation so it didn't matter so much that I was still reading at 3am. This book will have you laughing as well as shedding a few tears - but ultimately only the happy kind!.

This is classic Sophie Kinsella that we know and love! Even though the plot is largely predictable, I still enjoyed every minute of this book and rooted for all the main characters. Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite chick lit authors and I count down to new Kinsella stand alone novels -- this one did not disappoint.

Before she was Cat Brenner, upwardly mobile junior associate working for a London-based branding firm, she was Katie, a farm girl from Somerset who dreamed of bathing in the city lights. Living in London is all Cat has ever wanted, but she would admit her lifestyle is not nearly as glamorous as she would have her Instagram followers believe. She lives in a small flat she shares with two other people and is budgeted to the hilt. She works for a flaky, demanding boss, named Demeter, who has no idea who Cat is or what she does. All Cat's attempts to climb the ladder are pushed aside and ignored.

But it's nothing the re-branded Cat Brenner can't tackle with her straightened hair, practiced London accent, fake smart-girl glasses, and her knowledge (from blogs) about the area's hottest new restaurants. Sure her commute is over an hour long, and she has to keep her clothing in a hammock above her bed because her room has no space for a dresser-- but it could be worse! Well, until Demeter fires her. With no other offers, Cat finds herself back at her father's farm, helping him open a glamping business. She's back to being Katie, and London is increasingly looking like a distant dream. Then Demeter arrives at the glamping resort for a family vacation. Katie can't help but take a little revenge. But as she gets to know Demeter better, the revenge starts tasting a little less sweet. She might have had her old boss all wrong from the beginning.

I stopped reading chick-lit years ago because they became so formulaic. This book was less predictable then I'd thought it would be. Katie is a down to earth, relateable character. However, I did think the book sagged a little in the middle. Towards the end, things got a little campy, a little too "Katie fixes everything!" The ending is a little too perfect. I enjoyed this book for what it was, some lighthearted fun, but the more I think about it, the more the downsides stick with me over the charm. Initially, I gave this 4 stars, but I've downgraded it to 3.

Goodness, I didn't realize how much I'd been missing Sophie Kinsella's books until I got a chance to read this one. I completely agree everyone who says this book has all the charm of Kinsella's older books. Heroine Katie is endearing and relatable, and her narrative is hilarious even when everything is a disaster. I laughed out loud numerous times throughout this story. I especially loved Katie's relationship with her Dad and Biddy and how that grows through the story, as well as the unexpected friendship she develops. The romance in this was a nice element. Although slow to get going and not my favorite of Kinsella's (Can You Keep A Secret and Twenties Girl are my favorites), it turned out well in the end. I just wish we'd gotten to know Alex more and sooner. And though the message - that it's easy project a false image of ourselves through social media, but we shouldn't be afraid to show our real selves - is very timely and clearly shown, I did think it was a little over the top and black and white in its directness. (spoiler: Suddenly Demeter is actually totally good! and 100% misunderstood! I wish she'd acknowledged more of how awful she was, instead of Katie mostly feeling like she'd misunderstood her boss /end spoiler)

I read this story in one day and had the best time hanging out with Katie and her family and watching her begin to see herself and others more clearly and real-ly (haha. Not a word, I know). I want to go glamping in a yurt on their farm now! Definitely recommended for Kinsella fans - and if you haven't read her books, she has a great back catalog.

This is classic Sophie Kinsella! I enjoyed this book, even if it does loosely follow Kinsella's format. . .why else do I jump all over her books as soon as they come out! There were a few interesting twists and turns in the plot. It's always good to see a woman (the main character) develop confidence in herself and find her way to make her mark in the world. I give this one 5 stars! Please keep 'em coming -- I love Ms. Kinsella's books!

I've always been a big Sophie Kinsella fan - she's my easy reading of choice. Like any other chick lit author, she has a formula, which is usually ditsy girl meets perfect guy, she does something embarrassing, he rescues her, they fall in love, they have sex, something bad happens, they're not together for a while, then in the end they make everything better. My Not So Perfect Life breaks that mold. While some things are still the same, the protagonist is much smarter and more capable than of her last heroines (save for The Domestic Goddess, although I disliked that one for other reasons). She's clever but down-to-earth, talented but relatable, and above all much more compassionate and human than the others. I could see the hardcore romance lovers giving this some flack - after all, it's not as much about the romance as it is character and career development - but I personally loved it. Way to go SK - now stop writing those god-awful Confessions of a Shopaholic books.

I loved this book. A great reminder that everything looks a little nicer from the outside in. A good story to tell the tale.

Katie's life seems like it's as perfect as it's going to get: a small London apartment, a low-paying job, and an Instagram account where she posts things about her life that aren't entirely true. Things get even more depressing when her boss, Demeter, fires her and she feels as lost as ever. Katie sees her chance when Demeter and her family go on vacation, but should she seek revenge or try to get her job back?

My Not So Perfect Life is Sophie Kinsella's best book yet. I devoured it in one day of intense reading. In British terms, it's brilliant. Her characters are very realistic and funny. The swamp scene is one of the best I've read in a long time. This book has all the elements of a great story: character development, good deeds are rewarded, and the villains are duly punished. The main character is quixotic, but steady. Readers can identify with at least one nuance of Katie Brenner's trials and successes. Reading this on the first day of the new year was an excellent choice for a great year of superlative reading,

I have been a fan of Sophie Kinsella since I read her first book several years ago. This book was a little slow for me to get into in the beginning. But I see it was laying the foundation for the rest of the book, which was a very fun read & humorous at times, while making one think about what you really want from life. I really enjoyed reading this book! I would rate it 4.5 stars & recommend it, especially if you are a fan of her previous books!

My Not So Perfect Life was a fun, chick-lit romp, but my favorite part of this book was the strong female characters. I wasn't a huge fan of Shopaholic, which is the only other Kinsella book I've read, because I felt like the main character was a shallow, materialistic girl who needed to be saved by a man. And though I was worried that this book would be similar based on Katie's "perfect" Instagram account, I soon realized she was a smart, capable, and independent woman. Throughout the book, Katie comes to the realization that the front that people present does not always represent the truth, and she comes to embrace her own imperfections, too. She is a strong character who actively works to solve her problems and challenges.

I enjoyed the other characters, too. Alex is a great love interest, and it turns out that Katie helps him just as much as he helps her. Demeter is another strong woman. Even though this is a chick-lit book, it passes the Bechdel test because Demeter and Katie have many conversations that are not about a guy. I loved this book, and it makes me want to read more by Sophie Kinsella. There was just the right amount of romance without making it the whole focus of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!