It’s been a while since I have read a Kinsella novel, but Surprise Me, definitely didn’t disappoint!

I loved the characters and the plot. The raw story and emotions throughout. Kinsella had me interested from the first chapter with Sylvie’a witty character!

A great beach read! Highly recommend this one!!

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella brings us Sylvie and Dan. They are happily married thirty-somethings with two young children. At their annual insurance health check, their doctor mentions that with their fantastic health, they could live to be a hundred. Giving them 68 more years of marriage. How wonderful! Right?

Now that the number 68 has been thrown out there, both Sylvie and Dan start to wonder what their vows actually meant. 68 years is a long time. When they agreed to forever, did they really agree to 68 years? Trying to lighten the situation, Sylvie suggests that they can keep their marriage fresh by planning little surprises for each other.

Naturally, now that they are so focused on surprising each other, every little thing they do for each other turns into a small disaster. Nothing is working out quite right. With their close relationship thrown under the microscope, things are not looking all that great. And to make matters worse, Dan is obviously hiding something from Sylvie.

Will they make it through the current turmoil? Can they survive another 68 years? What is Dan trying to conceal from Sylvia? In typical Sophie Kinsella style, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry while you take this journey with them.

I found myself unable to continue reading this book and abandoned it at around 30%. I just found the whole premise improbable. I did not publish a review anywhere except for my comments here. This just wasn't my cup of tea, but I am certainly grateful for the opportunity to have been granted access to this book. Thank you very much.

I am a fan of Sophie Kinsella and have read several of her previous books. Usually they are riveting and i spend all night reading until I'm finished. However the writing style for this book just seemed different than usual, and not as compelling. Usually her books are laugh out loud fun reads, and I especially thought "My Not So Perfect Life" was her best yet. I was incredibly excited to start this one, and looked forward to the idea of spicing up a marriage with surprises. This book had some funny moments, but seemed to lack Kinsella's usual magic. Sylvie and Dan try to experiment to see if they can spice up their 10 year marriage after realizing that they will spend more than 60 years married. I couldn't relate to their idea that marriage was not for life, or a longtime commitment. Couples do need to stay on top of their marriages and make it a priority to spice things up, but to me, entering a marriage means a long time commitment by definition.
I love the author though, and highly look forward to her next book, while re-reading my favourites.

Funny and emotional in true Kinsella style

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have always loved Sophie Kinsella’s books. They are lighthearted, engaging and easy to read. Her books all seem to stem from a relationship mishap. In “Surprise Me”, Sylvia and Dave go to a physical and are told my the doctor that they will live for another 68 years. This translates to the couple as another 68 yeas of marriage. They decide to spice things up a bit by creating little surprises for one another. They also fleetingly consider having another baby. While the couple tried to spice up their marriage, the reader discovers that Dave doesn’t have the best relationship with his inlaws. Sylvia blames it on Dave being jealous of her late father- his wealth and charitable efforts. Until Sylvia realizes there seems to be more to the story that is being hidden from her. What are her mom and husband trying to hide?

Sophie Kinsella is supposed to be funny chick- lit... perfect when you want to read something light. Trouble is this is not funny and I can live with not laughing if it is an interesting or captivating read, sadly this was neither. Boring AF. I think I am officially calling it quits on this author.

I love Sophie Kinsella and have been reading her for years. Her 2017 release, My Not So Perfect Life was one of my favourites of last year (you can read my review here if you missed it). Because I adored it so much, I had really high expectations for Surprise Me, which was released last week. I don't know if it was my high expectations, my mood (it wasn't great when I was reading it), or the book itself but...I did not like this book.

I think my big problem with the book was I was bored. The story got itself set up and then...boredom. It just seemed like the same sort of things were happening. Sylvie and Dan tried to surprise each other and it went totally wrong. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. There was nothing new being added and it seemed like it was, dare I say it, sloppy storytelling.

I was also really frustrated with Sylvie and Dan. It reminded me of how I'd get annoyed with Becky in the Shopaholic series (and why I stopped reading them awhile back). I love chick lit and contemporary stories so humourous and awkward scenarios are common. Maybe it's just me but it drives me up the wall when the character is just so incredibly clueless and can't see what she's doing is totally bonkers.

That's not to say I disliked Sylvie and Dan. I really did like them. I'd love to have Sylvie as a friend and Dan seemed fantastic. But I just couldn't see why I was reading about them. They were just another couple facing a little bump in the road of marriage.

I did finally get interested at about 80% of the way through the story. Finally things were actually happening and Sylvie was becoming the woman I was sure she could be. Did the interest I had in the last part of the book make up for the boredom during the rest of it? No, not really. I'm happy with the way the story ended, I can say that much.

I'm so bummed I didn't love Sophie Kinsella's new book but my dislike of Surprise Me won't dissuade me from reading her books in the future. Have you read Kinsella's latest? What'd you think? I'd love to hear that other people disagree with me!

*An advanced copy of this novel was provided by the publisher, Penguin Random House, via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.*

I often read a lot of historical fiction which I love but can be heavy at times. This book was great! It's just what I was due to read. It's refreshing and made me laugh out loud. It is about a couple, Slyvie and Dand who are totally sync with one another. They can finish each others sentences. They know what to order for the other one if they're at a restaurant. They are happily married raising twin daughters. They make a great team What could be better? One day they go to the doctor who tells them they are healthy and should plan on living another 68 years. With that news they panic. How will the next 68 years be? How will they keep each other happy? This is when Slyvie comes up with the idea to 'surprise" each other to keep this fresh. The surprises they give one another turn out to be funny, although not meaning to be. This is a great book club book because it will open up discussions on how well do you know your spouse. As well as what you might do to surprise your spouse. This light and funny book would make a great "beach bag" or vacation book, I plan on picking up another Sophie Kinsella book in the future.

I was sort of wondering why this book was getting so many critical reviews (Yes I know that everyone's tastes are different) until I realized that this was actually a serious book, or at least most of it was. I think that most reader's are expecting something funnier, lighter. Yes, this book has its moments but the subject matter end's up being a bit more serious.

The book starts off humorously enough -but somewhat frustrating for me -when this couple is told that they may end up living long enough to be married 68 years. I couldn't see the problem here and why this couple freaked at this, but then again I just celebrated my 38th anniversary so this part of the book was a little ludicrous to me.

The next 2/3 of the book deals with misunderstandings. A possible affair comes up but finally ends up being a book about a mature woman growing into her skin and being a caring woman but not one who takes too much crap.

There are parts of this book that had me laughing, frustrated, angry and in tears and the mix of emotions was just what I needed.

Sylvie grows just so much and it was a fun trip to take with her.

*ARC supplied by publisher.

What happens when you hit that ten year mark in a marriage. For Sylvie and Dan it means she is questioning where they and what happened to their lives. When a secret comes between them their whole existence is not what it seems.
While this was not a book that I am accustomed to by Sophie it was a great read.


** I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

(3.5/5) Honestly, I read Sophie Kinsella to laugh out loud but at least chuckle and with this one there wasn’t a lot of that going on. It’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, I did but it’s just different than her other books. I did enjoy that instead of a singleton, her main character is married and a working mom. I didn’t like that the trap was that her husband was supposedly cheating on her. That part seemed so cliche. There were a couple moments where I felt she took the story in a different direction, which I was happy for.

Overall, it isn’t her best book in my opinion but I’ll still keep reading her. Her characters are at least silly and fun.

This is the fourth book I´ve read from this author and it's different from her previous books that I´ve read, but in the end I did enjoyed it, it's very funny.

I found it funny and strange that instead of being happy to have a good prospect of life, both begin to worry about being married for so long. It was very funny to see them try to surprise themselves and see that not all the surprises came out as well as they expect.

In the end, Surprise Me is a very funny and charming story, about a marriage that they did not know as well as they thought, they have a lot of misunderstandings and communication problems (without them there would be no plot), but at the end they have a good ending.

Unfortunately Surprise Me wasn't for me. I tried twice to get into the book, but I just didn't jive with the main characters and felt like it was moving super slow. I look forward to more Sophie Kinsella books in the future as she is one of my favorite authors.

Let me preface this review by saying that I have been with my husband (whether dating, engaged or married) for almost 21 years and we married at around the same age(s) as the main characters. To that end, I found some of the aspects very relatable – finishing each other’s’ sentences, etc. That being said, I found some of the mutual freakout about their spending “’till death do us part” together a bit overblown. However, I do think it still brought up some issues/topics that real married couples face regularly.

As with most Kinsella books I've read, I loved the crazy things that the characters got up to – there were definitely some chuckle-out-loud moments while reading this one. Once I started reading, I didn't want to put it down since I was eager to see what was going to happen next (both in regards to the surprises that were thought up to keep the marriage "fresh" as well as the more emotional drama that came out later in the story. While I had a partial idea of the surprise twist at the end, it wasn't nearly what it actually turned out to be.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I liked this one, but it took me a long time to get through. I wanted a light-hearted story and it wasn't as light-hearted as I had hoped. Great characters, good storyline, and good writing style.

I always look forward to reading Sophie Kinsella's books and Surprise Me is another one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a story about marriage, trust and family that is wonderfully written with a great cast of characters. I read this at a good time as I needed some comic relief and this book had me laughing out loud quite a few times. It did have a twist that did "surprise me" with an ending that was totally satisfying. Sophie Kinsella's books never disappoint, and this is one that I'll be recommending to my friends.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favourite authors. I really enjoyed Surprise Me. I didn't expect the turn it took, slightly moving away from trying to warm up the couple relationship to the family drama it really was. That was a surprise at the end, literally, which was nice. Kinsella's characters are always likeable. I particularly enjoy the humour in her books and found myself laughing out loud, especially in the first third of the story. Surprise Me had a depth to it that I didn't find in her other novels, it was nice to see the growth in the protagonist.

I've read numerous books by Sophia Kinsella and have enjoyed them. However, I just couldn't get sucked into this story. The plot sounded good, but I just wasn't connecting with the characters, or their story.

This book was has a feel good vibe and just overall refreshing. That being said, it was just a little too gooey for me. I love the idea of trying to make sure that your marriage doesn’t lose the spark or interest. However, for lack of better term, it was more of a rich type couple. I couldn’t relate. Freaking out over having another 68 years together? Just crazy. If I knew I would be with my husband that much longer, I would be very happy. Especially with the doctor telling them they are that healthy. It’s a good book for a light hearted read.