I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from Random House Publishing Group – The Dial Press via Netgalley and these are my own opinions.

When asked to review this book, I read over the description and said of course. I have many of Ms Kinsella’s books and have liked them a lot. Unfortunately, I did not like this one as much as I had hoped.
I had a tough time with Fixie. She’s just too much of a marshmallow for me. She needs to stand up for herself and not be the ever present doormat.

I can only hope the next Kinsella book I read will appeal to me more.

Let me preface this by saying I'm a fan of Sophie Kinsella and always looks forward to reading her books. I am also really appreciative and thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in advance of the release in exchange for an honest review.

.With that said, it pains me to say that I didn't enjoy this. I liked the premise and liked the character of Fixie. She's flawed, but her heart is in the right place and I understand her need to fix everything and not rock the boat. I also liked Seb a lot. His and Fixie's relationship was the best part of the book. My frustration comes from Fixie's family and the inordinate amount of time that is spent on the family. One of my biggest pet peeves in life is entitlement and Fixie's family (except her mother) are a prime example of that. It's one thing to encounter it in real life, but to read about it for a good portion of the novel was extremely frustrating. I understand that the family dynamic has to be established, but it just went on for way too long. About halfway through the story shifts gears and I got into it more, but then it just lost momentum for me. I'll continue to read Kinsella's novels, but ultimately this was a disappointment for me.

3.25 Stars* (rounded down)

It’s Fixie or Forget it!

Fixie Farr is a gal who needs everything to be perfect. Whenever something is out of place she freaks. Truthfully, Fixie’s anxiety gave me a tiny bit of agita, I wanted to tell her to breathe, relax and let her know that everything would be alright.

The thing about Fixie is that she never ever puts herself first. Since childhood, the motto “Family First” has been ingrained into her, thus that is how she lives her life - even though no one else in her family appears to live by that motto. She is a gal who has never had any confidence and she lets people walk all over her, including her brother Jake and Ryan, a guy she’s crushed on for most of her life. Unfortunately for Fixie, time does not heal all wounds.

While at a coffee shop one day, a man named Sebastian asks Fixie for a favor.. he asks her to watch his laptop for a minute. Then the ceiling comes crashing down, literally. Fixie, of course, does what she does best, she saves the day. Then Sebastian gives her a coffee sleeve with an IOU on it. Fixie never imagines taking him up on it.

This is a novel that grew on me as time went on. Admittedly Fixie’s character annoyed me at first, her inability to relax and let things lie.. Once Fixie’s character calmed down, I too, settled down and grew to like her. This however didn’t take place overnight, and I wish Fixie had found her footing earlier. Though this novel was predictable, I found it to be endearing and I ended up liking Fixie, for her sheer determination and will.

“I Owe You One” by Sophie Kinsella is the second book I’ve read by this author (the first being “Confessions of a Shopaholic” seventeen odd years ago). Revisiting a past author is always fun and this was no exception. This was a buddy read with Kaceey! So glad we took yet another trip down memory lane Kaceey!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Random House and Sophie Kinsella for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on Goodreads and NetGalley on 2.2.19.

I really liked this book...once I got past the first half of the book. Fixie (strange name), has one main flaw and that is that she is always fixing things. She is such a timid character and her family takes advantage of her. I loved the writing style by Sophie Kinsella and wanted Fixie to speak her inner thoughts and conflicts out loud. Everything changes when she meets Seb (Sebastian) and I loved the interactions between these two. The story is woven so delicately between these two characters and I loved it all! I There were definitely cringe worthy scenes (especially with a past crush), heartbreaking scenes and lovely scenes. There were parts of the book that didn't make sense to me especially towards the end and how it tied up so neatly, but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. **ARC provided by NetGalley and the Publisher. All opinions are my own**

"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sophie Kinsella comes an irresistible story of love and empowerment about a young woman with a complicated family, a handsome man who might be “the one,” and an IOU that changes everything.

Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” And since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will?

It’s simply not in Fixie’s nature to say no to people. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, she not only agrees - she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, an investment manager, scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. Fixie laughs it off - she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she?

But then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life, and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. As always, she wants nothing for herself - but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. No sooner has Seb agreed than the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie - from small favors to life-changing moments - ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?"

What does every need to get through a cold and bleak February? How about some Chick Lit from the reigning queen, Sophie Kinsella?

I really wanted to like this book and as I enjoy the author. I was quite pleased to receive an advanced readers copy. The description sounded great and I just knew it would be a fun read. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Typically every family has one person who is the go to, person. That one reliable person who takes care of all the stuff no one else wants to, but wow, was I sadly disappointed. The main character Fixie isn't just the family fixer, she is the willing family doormat and that along with a lot of her other traits makes it hard to actually like her. Feel badly for her yes, but she constantly allows the world, okay mostly her awful siblings and pompous brothers best friend to treat her so awfully and she just keeps going back for more. I found myself wanting to yell at the kindle as if it could respond and change her!! She also hurts other good (good’ish) people as she continues to try to help others that she wants to like her, but treat her terribly. I really wanted her want more for herself, but I lost patience for that to occur to her. Had I not committed to a review I would have stopped reading. I did finish and at about the 3/4 mark it did get somewhat better when everyone decided to grow up, but it was almost too little too late. I think that die hard Sophie Kinsella fans may like it as the writing is terrific and will be forgiving of the unlikable cast of characters, but for me, I would not want any of these people in my life in any way. Not even on paper.

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella is a charming novel about a woman finding her inner confidence. An easy read for a lazy Saturday or when you’re on vacation!

Sophia Kinsella is one of the best in women’s fiction. She’s a bestselling author perhaps most known for her Shopaholic novels. I’ve read a majority of her books and they’re always enjoyable—very similar to old-school romantic comedy movies. She has a formula and she tends to stay within those lines and it’s no different with I Owe You One.

The story follows a woman named Fixie who earned her name by always “fixing” problems. After her father passes away, he leaves a home goods store to the family and it’s mainly Fixie and her mother keeping it afloat. Her other two siblings, Nicole and Jake, don’t have much interest in helping out. So, Fixie has grown accustom to not saying no and when a stranger asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, she not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, an investment manager, scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card.

But then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life, and he’ without a job. As always, she wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. No sooner has Seb agreed than the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?

No rom-com is complete without the romance! And the reader can tell pretty early on that Fixie’s childhood crush is a dud and that Seb is a much more quality guy. But of course, he has a girlfriend and Fixie is still in lust with Ryan, despite his obvious horrible qualities. It’s one of those stories where the reader wants to yell at the protagonist that she’s done the wrong thing but of course, she has to figure it out on her own.

Overall, this is a cute story that is easy to read with plenty of humor and romance. If you’ve read any of her work in the past, you know what you’ll get with this and that’s not a bad thing at all. Sometimes you need a palate cleanser between intense thrillers and literary fiction and this will do the trick!

Loved this love story for the romantic meet cute & for the main character’s path to self confidence! I liked the Kinsella trademark misconception that leads to drama with the romantic and comedy of this love story. Truly couldn’t stop reading! Grand story telling & romance!

Looking for a light read with a loveable protagonist? I Owe You One is the perfect book to add to your list!

Fixie Farr has the urge to fix everything – for better or worse she cannot leave well enough alone. It can be something as simple as a crooked painting or as complicated as her relationship with the guy she thinks is “the one”. She dubs it her flaw after years of criticism from her family. Until one day, a man gives her an IOU that changes everything and eventually drives Fixie to re-evaluate her life.

I had a love / hate relationship with Fixie. On the one hand, she is kind, thoughtful and generous, but on the other she is far too trusting and allows herself to be taken advantage of. She is willing to do anything for the people she cares about, even if it is at her own expense. I found her lack of self-esteem incredibly frustrating; at times I wanted to ring her neck for not seeing how great she is.

At its core, this is a story of empowerment and learning how to be true to yourself while still honoring your love for others. I found the message uplifting and the story delightful. It was reminiscent of One Day in December and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Fixie, similar to the protagonists in both of those novels, is a woman unknowingly on a journey of healing and self-discovery, who finds what she is looking for when she least expects it.

Put aside any negative views you might have of Kinsella and try this one for a delightful combo of family dynamics and romance. You and I know Ryan is not a good guy, despite the fact that Fixie has been in love with him since she was 10. He's back in town and, at the same time, Fixie's mom- the rock of the family- has decided to take a vacation. Fixie, her brother Jake, and her sister Nicole are left in charge of the family shop- sort of a general store- in West London. They all have different visions of what it should be and only Fixie sees it for what it is. She meets Seb at a coffee shop and, because she saves his laptop when the ceiling falls in, finds herself in a sweet back and forth IOU relationship documented on a coffee sleeve. This is an interesting relationship and, as we all know, the path of love is not always smooth. This has great characters (Briony is a boo hiss villain and Leila is a sweetie) and some terrific scenes (including the dinner with Uncle Nick). It's a good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

As much as I adore Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series, I also love her stand-alone novels. There are always new characters to meet and some interesting situations that she puts them in. This time around, I enjoyed meeting Fixie and her family.

I Owe You One is a delightful story from start to finish. I had such a great time reading it. There were some great laugh-out-loud moments. Fixie had a huge problem to solve and I wasn't sure of the direction the situation would go. However, I was pleased with the end result. I learned a lot about running a family business and the parts about helping the store boost their sales were interesting. I could see myself shopping at Farr's if I lived in the UK. I could easily picture people, places, and things throughout the story.

This novel is another winner from Sophie Kinsella and I'm excited for whatever she comes up with next!

Movie casting ideas:
Fixie: Daisy Ridley
Nicole: Candice King
Jake: Jason Ralph
Ryan: Billy Magnussen
Seb: Tom Cullen
Briony: Serinda Swan
Hannah: Eleanor Tomlinson

I Owe You One was a delight and exactly the lightly romantic, comedic writing I have come to love and expect from Sophie Kinsella.

Fixie is in a predicament. She is stuck loving an unattainable old schoolmate and is helping run her family's housewares shop after a failed run at her own catering business. When her mother has a health scare and takes a sabbatical, Fixie is thrust into an unfamiliar position within the business and her own family. Enter Seb, a successful and ethical businessman who is exactly the type of guy who should interest Fixie. Will she learn to assert herself in order to find happiness, rather than trying to "fix" everyone else?

I loved getting to know Fixie and her kind heart. She truly wants the best for those she loves, even if it comes at the expense of her own needs. As with all Kinsella's books, the characters are real, flawed and quirky. Another win from one of my favorite authors!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press for the opportunity to read this book before publication. All opinions are entirely my own.

4.5 stars.

Loved this book! I haven't always been a Sophie Kinsella reader but I've read her on and off for the last five years or so and I like her quirky but real characters. It's important for you to know what you're signing up for when you read her books. These are fun, sweet books and if you go in with a different expectation, they will disappoint or frustrate you. I find that there are moments where her books are just right for me.

I like the windy plots that you know are going to end well. I like that she drives you mad with "why is the character doing that?!" but deep down you know the character is just being human and it's hard to be a human.

Her characters grow as you read the book and you fall in love with them piece by piece and root for them even as they drive you mad. And then when the book is finished, you feel sad knowing you will not get more of those characters.

I think this book was exactly what I needed right now. It's light, it's sweet, it's like a nice, warm hug that made me smile.

I Owe You One is Sophie Kinsella's latest stand-alone novel, and unfortunately I didn't love it. Fixie was fine as a character, but everyone else was so unlikeable. Between her self-absorbed brother and sister who belittled everything about her to the egotistical guy she deludes herself into thinking she has a relationship with, I stopped reading about a third of the way through. Honestly, I was so annoyed by all of them that I didn't care what happened. I do enjoy Sopie Kinsella's novels most of the time, and I'll definitely continue to read them, but this one just wasn't for me. It would be good for readers who want a predictable novel with clear-cut roles for the characters.

Sophie Kinsella used to be one of my favourite authors. I mean I read a lot of her books but the past few books I have read by Sophie Kinsella I have not liked at all.

I found I Owe You One to be quite boring and I just couldn't stand any of the characters at all. I actually almost DNF this book but I thought maybe the characters would grow on me but nope.

Sorry but I have to give this a low rating

Sophie Kinsella’s books are some of my favorite books to laugh with. I can always expect a quirky heroine, outlandish situations, with a side of romance. While I OWE YOU ONE wasn’t my favorite of Kinsella’s books, I still enjoyed reading this. Fixie is a fixer. She tries to fix all problems she comes across and that can get her into some predicaments. She runs her family business like a boss yet just can’t seem to find confidence in regards to her love life. What set this book apart for me was her career and family dynamics. While her siblings were frustrating to say the least, I loved how the story arc came around. Fixie’s job as a cooking store owner in her family’s business was so fun to read about. I loved her employees who were an interesting cast of characters. Her playful relationship with Sebastian after she saved his laptop resulting in a series of IOU’s was fun for me. While the book felt a little long and some of the token Kinsella antics were a little more ridiculous and went on way longer than necessary, in my opinion, I still enjoyed this one and wanted to see what happened next.
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READ THIS IF...you love Kinsella, quirky heroines, and a lot of crazy antics.

I Owe You by Sophie Kinsella is a standalone novel. We meet our heroine Fixie Farr at the start, as she is always picking up on things her siblings miss or do wrong; hence her nickname Fixie. The Farr family runs a local store that caters to their clientele with various items in demand. The story focuses on Fixie, especially, when her mother decides to go to Europe for a few months, leaving Fixie and her siblings alone to run the business. Everything begins to fall apart, as Fixie cannot even control her own life, let alone stand up to her family, who are ruining things with their inept ideas.

This story did have potential being family oriented, but from the start I had mixed feelings. We can start with Fixie), as she tries to prevent her brother and sister from implementing their ideas, and alienating their customers. Then her brother’s friend (Ryan) returns to town, and Fixie has always had a crush on him since her childhood; she continues to gush all over him, being delusional into thinking they had a future, especially when he was here a year ago and she slept with him; but he went back to California leaving her hurt. Now she does it again, allowing herself to think they had a future; she also goes to bat for him to get a job, which in a short time after he is fired, and she learns some truths about him; it took her awhile for her to open her eyes and see what a creep he really was.

In the meantime, she met a guy at the coffee shop, and happened to save his important laptop and he gave her a voucher “I owed you one”. A friendship builds between Seb and Fixie, but she is too dense to see that he is a good one, not the douche bag Ryan. I did like Fixie, but at times she was annoying, especially in the first half of the book.

I thought other then Fixie, the secondary characters, her sister, her brother, her uncle, and Ryan were totally unlikable. Seb was nice, but between her fixation with Ryan and his involvement with another girl held back their romance, until later when they finally made it work.
In last quarter of the book, Fixie became stronger, with her self- confidence improving, standing up to her family to put her foot down on their inept shenanigans. I did like when Fixie finally stood up to Ryan once and for all. It was nice to see Fixie bring her brother and sister together to work in harmony to help get the store back on track.

I Owe You One was a good storyline. However, I feel that having characters you like (with the exception of villains or a bad person), allows you to enjoy the story; in this case, many of the characters were just not likable. I do enjoy reading Sophie Kinsella, though this one was not one of her best.

4.5 Stars

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella is everything I hope for in a contemporary novel. The characters are quirky and flawed, and the concept is super unique. The family theme in the book is also enjoyable to read about.

If there is something that I have come to expect from Kinsella’s writing, it is her eccentric characters. I love all of the characters in I Owe You One, even the side characters are lots of fun. Fixie is a perfect narrator for the book and her flaws are very relatable. She goes through a lot of growth as the book progresses and it is hard not to root for her when things start to go her way.

The concept of I Owe You One is so fantastic. It is such a romantic idea to have a stranger write an IOU on a coffee sleeve. This sets up the story for some interesting meetings and interactions. There are so many hilarious scenes that balance out some of the drama in the book.

One of my favourite themes in contemporary fiction is the theme of family. Fixie’s family life is very relatable and she has her fair share of sibling rivalry. Her brother and sister are well-developed characters and have their own issues to deal with. The family shop is the one thing that they all seem to have a vested interest in, even if their ideas clash.

If you are a fan of Kinsella’s other novels, you are sure to enjoy I Owe You One. There is a cast of engaging characters and the story is so much fun to read. I can’t wait to find out what she writes next!

This might be more like 3.5 stars. At first, I was not sure if I was going to like this book - I'd heard mixed things and a few of the characters drove me a bit crazy for a little bit but I was still invested in the setting and the family business and the allure of the IOU note. I have to say that it definitely improved and I read this in a day because I was really interested in how Fixie would grow as a character. I definitely enjoyed the ending too :)
Nothing earth-shattering here but this was overall a nice way to pass a cold winter's day/night, for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/The Dial Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Sophie Kinsella books. I remember Twenties Girl and The Undomestic Goddess were my first true tastes to the chick literature genre. I loved I’ve Got Your Number and My Not So Perfect Life and all of her other older standalone books. I will probably continue trying to read her books since I loved them in the past and still reread them once a year.

I haven’t found one recently that I loved as much as the older ones, and sadly I did not love I Owe You One. I wanted to like it because I was super excited when I heard there was going to be another Sophie Kinsella book. The blurb sounded like it had the old spark and I was even more excited.

It sadly ended up not being for me.

I started off liking the main character Fixie, and her voice. I did like it very much at first.I also liked the plot at first.

I thought I would be able to stick with it, but there was one flaw that was a major flaw to me. All of the other characters in the book (with the exception of Sebastian and Fixie’s mom) seemed to treat Fixie like she was some type of bug on the wall. Any interest she had in something and they just belittled the interest. Any idea she had was just brushed to the side. If she brought up the fact that flirting with a customer would be breaking a rule, they thought that was silly. It was hard to read because they wouldn’t listen to her, didn’t seem to give her the time of day. Even with Ryan it was all about him, he didn’t seem to care about her at all really.

I kept reading to see if this would get better, but it left me feeling frustrated and I know there is most likely some lesson that is learned later on at the end that makes up for the characters but I couldn’t finish for now.

This book was rated one star for me because I did not finish at about 40 percent. I will still probably always read a Sophie Kinsella book in the future and reread my favorites. I may even try to give this a shot again in the future, but for now this one was not for me. Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this.