“If life is like a box of chocolates, then getting married is like choosing a chocolate and saying, “That’s it, done,” and slamming the lid closed. When you make your vows, what you’re basically saying is: “That’s all I want, ever.”

Sylvie and Dan are a typical couple with a nice home and twin daughters who decide that they need surprises in their lives to help them sustain the long future of being together until death does them apart. They question if marriage should be only one flavor in a box of chocolates FOREVER.

As in all of Sophia Kinsella's novels, I felt as if Sylvie is sitting with me at a dinner party, speaking in her English accent, and we are laughing through out the entire story. As her story progresses I felt I could relate to her experiences and feelings; possibly reacting as she did when she findS out that she cannot always judge people by their actions and as a result giving herself permission to find herself. I believe her situation lead both her and Dan to see the true surprise in themselves and their marriage.

Although there are parts of the book which dragged, because I thought I was reading a typical “couple goes wrong” story, but the ending proved me wrong. There is so much more to the story that I needed to be reminded as in Sylvie to not judge a book by it's cover,


Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to review this book.

Once again Sophie Kinsella brings humor and depth to a life that the reader can indemnify with.
At an annual check, Sylvie and Dan get high marks and get an estimated sixty something years together. This caused the couple to really start to look at their life What will they do with all that time? Can they stay together that long? Sylvie starts Project Surprise Me where the two will have little surprises to keep their marriage fresh. This stirs up happiness, laughter, tears and more than Sylvie could ever imagine.
I love Sylve. She has real human fears and makes human mistakes. But each moment is fresh with humor while still looing at the truth of the world. How are we s couples adapting to longer life spans?
Surprise Me looks at the question with humor and heart. Another fun journey from the writer of the Shopaholic series.

This started slow, but there was a tipping point, after which I absolutely HAD to know what happened, and so I stayed up way too late finishing it. I really enjoyed it, ultimately, and I think it'll be a good recommend for our patrons.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I read many of Sophie Kinsellas books – and stopped a few years ago. When I read “Surprise me” I remembered why.

I was bored to death. When I read the shopaholic series it was a new funny twist – an overexcited young woman, a little bit superficial, there were these small explanations bracketed. But then there was a point when it was not funny anymore. It was unnerving. When I read a series, I expect a character developing. So I stopped.

But now for “Surprise me”.

I started reading and I was annoyed. There was this woman Sylvie – married for 7 years with Dan, with twin girls. And I should believe, that everything she was concerned about is whether she should wear a bow on her shoes or a floral printed dress? And when they were told at a doctors appointment, that – depending on the typical lifespan today – she and her husband have to expect to be married for probably 69 years this fact causes a kind of crisis. And they try to fight this crisis with expensive surprises. Hallo? How would they afford this kind of surprises for decades? And the story centers about shopping (again). And about surprises going wrong.

Normally I would not finish reading the book. Because I don’t want to waste my time.

So – the first half of “Surprise me” received just 2 stars.

I am happy that I continued reading, because the second half of the book was much more interesting, with – no – I will not spoiler – a secret from the past. Despite I cannot understand the way the hero and heroine handle everything, it was interesting to read and it shows some kind of character development.
So the second half was entertaining and I hand out 4 stars

Totaled up I give 3 stars.

Surprise Me is a fun jaunt through the lives of Sylvie and Dan, who have just found out that their marriage, according to statistics, will probably last 68 more years. As they purpose to surprise each other in ways that will keep their marriage fresh, Sylvie discovers a huge surprise, which makes her reevaluate her life and her marriage. This story will appeal to young, working moms who may identify with the struggle to keep love alive when "real life" hits hard. I liked it because the story is compelling and fun. It would be a great vacation or holiday read!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. I enjoyed this book very much. The story was interesting and humorous. A seemingly happily married couple come to the realization that they have another 68 years of marital bliss to look forward to. They try to spice up their marriage. Meanwhile, Sylvie, the main character has to face some disturbing information about her family. I enjoyed the plot and the main characters and didn’t want the book to end.

Surprise Me gave me so much anxiety reading it that I started and finished it when I should have been sleeping. I needed a satisfying ending or I was going to question everything about my 12 year marriage. THAT MUCH ANXIETY. Thankfully my marriage is safe and I thoroughly enjoyed the immersive reading experience of Surprise Me.

This book is funny. There was a couple of times that I laughed out loud at my work's break room. The surprises that the husband and wife set up for each other backfires so spectacularly. There is a great twist in the end that I was happy with because it wasn't that the husband was cheating on her. Instead it was something that made a great deal with sense.

Some plot points were predictable. However, the message was clear and important.

I was so excited to receive a copy of this book to read and review. I love Sophie Kinsella’s books and couldn’t wait to read this one.

In this book, Sylvie and Dan have been happily married for 10 years, have twin daughters, and are living a good life. They visit the doctor for their annual physicals and he tells them they will live a long time, they’re both so healthy. When they figure out they will be married for 68 more years, it throws them into a tailspin because it seems like forever and how on earth will they manage?

At first, they try to surprise each other to keep things interesting but ultimately this doesn’t work out and over the course of the story, Sylvie realizes that she just needs to keep being fascinated with Dan as she sees something new about him daily.

I loved Sylvie. She reminds me of the zany Becky Bloomfield of the Shopaholic series. I loved watching her shed her Princess Sylvie, daddy’s little girl persona and become her own woman, too.

This is a really fun book. I loved it and highly recommend it!

A special thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have also had the pleasure of reviewing My Not So Perfect Life and couldn't wait to read Surprise Me. Sophie Kinsella, you've done it again! I absolutely adore your writing and your words make me smile. (If you haven't listened to one of Kinsella's books, I highly recommend it, especially if narrated by Jayne Entwistle.)

This witty and at times emotional novel takes a closer look at marriage and how we can still be surprised by those we think we know best. Sylvie and Dan have been together for ten blissful years. They have a lovely home life complete with twin girls, fulfilling careers, and an envy worthy relationship. A trip to the doctor predicts that they will live for another 68 years—this gives new meaning to "until death us do part" when it spans seven more decades together.

To keep the marriage alive, Project Surprise Me is born. The couple will surprise each other to keep things fresh and exciting. But is seems that each "surprise" exposes the flaws in their relationship and drives them apart.

Sylvie seemingly enjoys her work at a museum even though there are some pretty archaic systems in place—the owner, Mrs. Kendrick resists technology and Sylvie chalks this up to as charming. Mrs. Kendrick's nephew, Robert, takes an interest in the operations of the museum and questions their methods and systems. Is he trying to close down the museum and turn it into two-bedroom condos?

Facing changes both personally and professionally, Sylvie experiences a tremendous amount of growth. She adored her late father and has kept up the Princess Sylvie persona he created as a way to honour him, when in actual fact, she is doing herself and her family a disservice because she is not being true to herself.

I fell in love with the supporting cast of characters, this is really where Kinsella excels at writing. The tender exchanges between Sylvie's neighbours John and Owen were some of the most beautiful writing in the book. One of my favourite quotes is when John says "Love is finding one person infinitely fascinating."

Kinsella's latest work is charming, thoughtful, and simply delightful.

I absolutely LOVED this book and it SO needs to be a movie! I laughed out loud at so many parts - Sophie knocked it out of the park!

Another cute Kinsella novel. I loved the premise of thinking about truly living forever with someone, versus just staying together for a while. How would it change who you marry if you knew the timeline? It's a really interesting question. I thought the main character was a little flighty, but I was still rooting for everything to work out, and overall I really enjoyed the story.

I initially thought that the issue that the couple faced would be an actual affair which I would immediately have DNF'd, but thankfully that is not the case. So anyone hesitating picking up book because of this issue, you can relax. The wife does suspect that husband is cheating but he is not. So that aside, this book is about a couple who doesn't talk or know how to communicate. So while it is well written, one of my pet peeves is that the h is almost childlike in her thinking and the H is a clueless idiot to reminisce about an old ex to his wife so fondly, then proceed to invite her to his home and cook her dinner, confide in her in secret & hug her! While it was all innocent, if MY husband did that to me, well let's just say that a major organ of his would be missing for sure! hee hee!

This book is an absolute delight! I have always been a fan of Sophie Kinsella, and she never ceases to amaze me with her novels. This one, as most, is a must read!

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella isn’t her strongest work by a good mile. How well do you really know your spouse? Is there a thing as being too complacent with your marital familiarity? Surprise Me explores this conundrum through Sylvie and Dan, who love each other but dread spending the next 68 years together in an already very familiar relationship. As the two devise ways to make something old feel new again, they’re quite stunned to find that there’s still so much more to discover about each other.

I wouldn’t say this was my favorite Sophie Kinsella, as I’m generally a fan of her writing; it lacked the fresh characters and the sharp quips which usually hold free reign in her stories. The premise feels recycled, the ending predictable. Still, Kinsella engages the reader enough to plow through, and there are genuine and poignantly funny moments.

Sylvie and Dan Winter have been together for ten years, married for seven of them, and have a set of five-year-old twins. Sylvie says “We’ve always been that couple. Blended. Intertwined.” But on the tenth anniversary of their relationship, everything changes. It begins when they both get their annual physicals and the doctor predicts they will both live long lives: “You should have sixty-eight more wonderful years of marriage!”

Instead of heartening them, it fills them with anxiety. How will they maintain interest in one another?

Dan works out how many more times they will have sex: 11,000. “Give or take.” And they enjoy sex, and in fact have sex to celebrate their longevity. The sex is great. But as Sylvie says after they do, “. . . it was amazing. And I do love him. But - totally, absolutely honestly - there’s also another tiny voice in my head. Saying: One down. Only another 10,999 times to go.”

Sylvie decides they are living in a marital Groundhog Day” and they need to mix things up: “We need to be jolted and entertained and challenged with lots of little surprises. And then the next sixty-eight years will whiz by. Yes. This is it!”

But there is trouble in paradise, and the surprises don’t all turn out positive. For one thing, Sylvie is convinced Dan dislikes her family, particularly her needy mother and the memory of Sylvie’s late father. Sylvie was a daddy’s girl; she thought of her dad as handsome, dapper, and charming. He died two years before in a car crash, but Sylvie remains bereft, and even still keeps her hair long, like Rapunzel, because that’s how her dad liked it. She thinks Dan resents her relationship with her dad and her dad’s elan and financial success.

After a contentious day they spent with Sylvie’s mother, Sylvie thought: “I can’t possibly contemplate being married to Dan for another sixty-eight years. The last sixty-eight minutes have been bad enough.”

In addition, Sylvie soon comes to believe that Dan already *has* gotten tired of her, and is having an affair. She thinks it is with an old flame Dan has never mentioned before:

“…all Dan’s former girlfriends [are] logged in my brain, in the same way that FBI agents have America’s Most Wanted. There is not and has never been a Mary. Until now.”

Dan invites Mary and other old friends over for a dinner. “This is officially a Marital Situation. And actually I’m quite freaked out, in a way I really didn’t expect to be.”

So Sylvie does some sleuthing, and finds out there is indeed a lot about Dan she didn’t know. And she has to figure out what to do about it, and to find her own identity in the process.

Evaluation: As with previous books, Sophie Kinsella manages to find delightful humor in sticky domestic circumstances, and to provide many laugh-out-loud moments. I thought the initial premise of this book about longevity was a little hokey, but once the author got into the “meat” of the story, it vastly improved.

Kinsella's books are always entertaining, and Surprise Me is just that! I enjoyed reading about Sylvie, a married working mom who idolized her dead father and questions her marriage. Sylvie begins to question what she knows about Dan, and worries that their relationship is falling apart. With humor and surprises, this book is a fun, quick read, great for a vacation read!

I LOVED this book!! I felt like the main character, Sylvie, was my bestfriend telling me about her life. I laughed so much and really enjoyed myself. I can't remember the last time a book made me feel like this.

Sylvie and Dan have been married for ten years and are trying different "Surprises" to make life more exciting. How else will they last for the 68 years their doctor projected due to their awesome genetics. The side stories of with Sylvie's job and her neighbor add so much to the story that you feel apart of Sylvie.

When the Sylvie figures out that there is a secret that is being kept from her, you can feel the emotions that she feels. Her minds races to so many different conclusions, the same way a person would in real life.

I would recommend this to anyone that wants a book that will make them laugh and feel very attached to the main character. It gets all the STARS!!

Having read and enjoyed all of Sophie Kinsella’s previous books, I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of Surprise Me. Although I expected the book to be her usual humorous “chick-lit”, this book seemed to be more substantial than her other books. I was pleased that the book still had plenty of humor, but there were also some serious issues discussed about marriage, family relationships, etc. I liked the characters and the work setting, and I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual story. I’m very glad that this wasn’t a cookie-cutter version of a previous work but rather an original premise. I highly recommend this very entertaining book.