Sophie Kinsella’s I Owe You One is the latest rom-com-nov to break no new ground

I don’t know. I’ve read quite a few of prolific romantic comedy novelist and Londoner Sophie Kinsella’s sweet books–the last three in fact–and they are fun (!) but always follow the same basic formula: quirky character is less-than-perfect, she meets someone interesting, life changes, she falls in love, they hit a road-bump usually the result of a misunderstanding, life gets hard but better in meaningful ways, and then they get back together.

Well, I do love that these stories are set near or around London–the subtle differences in product names or phrases make them not exotic exactly but just just sort of curious and like I said, the unique characters are always woman you’d imagine grabbing a pint with (see, I did it too!).

In these one, Fixie Farr goes too far to fix her family whose motto is “Family First” and after dating her dream guy growing up (never look back!), she finally takes charge, gets the cool guy, loses the cool guy (who equally needs to learn a lesson and change so it’s really neither’s fault), learns a lesson and changes, and gets back together with cool guy. The End … until the next installment of these bestsellers in about six months. I’m not complaining.

Wendy Ward
http://wendyrward.tumblr.com/

Ach, I always have my hopes that I will see what others see in Kinsella's books. I just cannot get into her stories. Thank you to net galley for the opportunity to give it one more shot.

Let me start by saying I have a bit of an iffy relationship with Sophie Kinsella's books. I was intrigued enough to want to review this one and am left a little torn about the book.
The protagonist Fixie starts off fairly cliched - also what kind of a nickname is that and why do you want to be known as Fixie? She lets people walk all over her through the book and while she grows a bit, the transformation feels a bit forced and not realistic. Her family is alternatively dismissive and domineering and even her mom's character, who I initially liked, is all 'poor Fixie, there, there' and not really taking her seriously. Fixie's relationships are cringe-worthy at another level bordering on self-delusion and abuse - even with the main lead Seb, who seems to be attracted to her, gives her some offhand advice but otherwise not be able to have a real conversation. The other relationships depicted in the book are downright terrible as well. Overall it is meant to be a light fun lead with a fairly typical story arc, but I just couldn't wave aside all these flaws and like the characters to enjoy the book.

Sophia Kinsella's I owe you one is about a woman's struggle to move beyond the need to make everyone happy and to fix everything. Fixie's family relies on her to always be the one to step up and get things done including running the family store while their mother is away on holiday. She allows them to use guilt and the family motto, family first, to put them before herself. Until one day she meet someone who helps to realize she must love her family and herself; to deal tough love unconditionally when needed.

I can relate to this kind sweet character through her inability to always want to “fix” everything. The story is a quick fun read which touches your heart and the ending makes you smile. As always I recommend this book as well as all Ms. Kinsella's books. They bring joy and remind me of the simple lives we need to live to be happy.

Thank you Netgalley is for the advanced reader copy.

You have to do justice to a name like "Fixie."

In her latest, I Owe You One, Sophie Kinsella paints a portrait of a young woman with a problem: the near constant need to fix things. Whether it's finding her childhood crush a job when he's done on his luck or adjusting the shelves of inventory in Farr's, her family's store, Fixie just cannot help herself.

One day, that constant need to fix things lands her in the debt of a kind stranger with "woodland" eyes and "frondy" hair. (I'm still not quite sure what "frondy" means exactly. Is this a British adjective? Can someone please explain this to me?) It's the kind of meet-cute one hopes for in this age of ever-changing technology.

But when her mom goes on an extended holiday, Fixie and her two older siblings are tasked with taking care of their family's store--

You know what? There's a lot going on in this book and I wouldn't be able to do it justice by attempting to summarize it here. Just read it for yourselves.

While a tad predictable in parts (Does Fixie end up with the woodland-eyed, frondy-haired, kind stranger? Or does she run back into the arms of her douchey childhood crush?), Kinsella's novel is, nonetheless, a delight.

I really enjoyed this book! I love the author and this one didn't disappoint. The characters were well developed and likable. You wanted them to succeed. I can't wait for her next book already!

I am grateful to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC. I adore Sophie Kinsella's books and was very excited to read this one. I loved the cover and just couldn't wait to read it. That is why it is difficult for me to say this, but this particular book of hers was not one of my favorites. I did not take to the main character from the start, and I could not get invested in the story or any of the other characters either. However, I am a firm believer that not every book is for every person. So, please do try it! Sophie Kinsella's books are typically fun and fabulous. Maybe this one just wasn't meant for me.

What can I say she has done it again. I read this book in a day and half. Her books always capture me and I devour them. I will admit that Fixie had me so upset I almost abandoned the book, but it also made me read faster to see how she would grow and change. I also wish we could have gotten more of the romance with Seb and less time with Ryan. It was underdeveloped in my opinion. I still love reading Sophie Kinsella's books!

As much as I love Sophie Kinsella, this book was a tough one to read.  Beginning with the main character who is a fixer of people and problems so her name is Fixie. 

Since her father has died Fixie and her mother with very little help from her self-absorbed siblings have been running their home goods store. When her mother takes some much-needed time off, Fixie basically becomes a doormat.

Everyone in this book walked all over her and she just annoyed me so much. Everyone was using her. And none of the other characters had any redeeming traits. Especially her brother and an old crush come back to town, Ryan. 

I'm sorry, but this one had no depth for me. I did not care one way or the other what happened to her. 

Netgalley/February 5th 2019 by Dial Press

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella is set in England in modern times. Fixie Farr, is nicknamed as such because she can’t stand things not being right whether it is straightening a vase on a shelf or people’s lives. Her family owns a houseware store and they all work there, to some extent. Her father has passed away so her mother is now in charge. Fixie and her siblings don’t see eye to eye very often. Fixie is at the local coffee shop when a business man asks her to watch his laptop while he steps outside to take a call. While he is gone the leaky ceiling collapses but Fixie jumps up and covers his laptop getting covered with ceiling debris and soaked in the process. Sebastian is elated that she did this for a stranger. He writes an IOU on the coffee sleeve and gives it to her along with his business card. This is the beginning as he does her a favor then something happens and she owes him, back and forth goes the coffee sleeve. How will they put an end to this?
I liked the story but felt bogged down at times in the issues with her family. Fixie was so busy trying to fix others she often neglected herself and any common sense she might have. I did find the characters to be realistic though Mom was a bit of a pushover. The ending is excellent. I believe this book will appeal to a wide audience. I give this book 4 of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Predictable, but still a fun fluffy read. Most of the time I was internally yelling at Fixie for not having a spine, but am pleased that she ended up growing one in the end. I would have loved for the ice skating issue to be completely resolved - perhaps in a sequel??

Sophie Kinsella is one of my go to authors. I Owe You One just solidifies why. I fell in love with Fixie and her story. Just one of many likeavle characters in this novel and an ending I had hoped for!

I've never read Sophie Kinsella, and was pleasantly surprised by the first chapter of her new novel, I Owe You One. Because of her reputation, I was excited to read her, and the first chapter had me hooked. But after that, I'm terribly afraid I didn't love the novel as much as I had hoped. Fixie was an endearing character that, at first glance, seemed charming. However, by the end of the novel, I found her to be a bit cliche.
Perhaps I've read too many romance novels lately, but I just didn't love this one. I tend to enjoy romance novels from Tracey Garvis Graves and Colleen Hoover - that's my taste. Unfortunately, this compared to Jasmine Guillroy's novel "The Proposal" for me. Well-written, but not unique; entertaining, but not satisfying.
I will definitely give Kinsella a chance in the future - I've not written her off yet, but this just wasn't a top pick for me.

If you've read Sophie Kinsella before, this one does not disappoint. Fixie the heroine made me so angry in the beginning, she's took it upon herself to fix all the issues with her family and is in love with the stupidest guy. Thankfully she meets Seb and after saving his laptop from water damage, he is soo thankful that he gives her a written and signed I Owe You, which she redeems. I really enjoyed this book, it was nice to see Fixie coming into her own and standing up for herself. I have to say that I love how close her family was, although for most of the book I hated most of her family members. A very fun read indeed!

I think I've read every one of Sophie Kinsella's books, and I've yet to regret any of them. This one is no exception - sweet, light-hearted, and centered around Fixie, who is striving to keep the family business alive despite two dunderheaded siblings that can't seem to take an interest. Of course there's a nice romantic subplot as well, and things all turn out pretty much for the best.

My goals for "lightweight" romantic comedy is entertainment and while I ultimately found the book engaging, the initial chapters were frustrating as the main protagonist, "Fixie" appeared to be beyond obtuse. This is a story of a family business, siblings and parents and off course, romance. Ultimately, the story became much more engaging, and involved issues of romance, siblings, work, goals and communication. It never was, unfortunately, fully believable, but it became a pleasant read.

A fun read it wasn’t my favorite by this author but was a solid book I enjoyed. I liked the character of Fixie a lot. Her witty mind had me cracking up and her loyalty to her family even when they drove her crazy was very sweet to read about. Her character really made this book! It was heartwarming and fun and a easy read!

Mini review:

DNF

Trigger warning: Abuse of power and authority. Making someone feel small. Ceiling falling on top off someone’s head.

I received this E-ARC via Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was really looking forward to reading this! I have enjoyed Kinsella’s books in the past. Unfortunately I didn’t like it.

I really liked Fixie! I simply didn’t care for anyone else. Nor did I care for the story. As I read on I started to get bored and was pulled out of the story.

This was a personal thing. I still recommend.

I really enjoy Sophie Kinsella books as they're entertaining, charming and funny. Lately though, I've found them a little predictable. I Owe You One fell into that category, I felt as though I had read it before. I continued it as the characters were entertaining and it was a story I didn't have to get too involved in.

This book follows Fixie Farr, a girl tragically still obsessed with her high school crush at 30. Fixie works in her family's hardware store, Farrs, just as she's done for years, when one day she has a chance meeting in a coffee shop with a man who might just be "the one." After saving his laptop from a roof leak, he leaves her with an IOU, which leads to repeated meetings in order to cash in the IOUs that they pass back and forth from that day on.

Overall, I'd say this book is cute, but nowhere close to as good as all of Sophie Kinsella's other novels. I've been reading Kinsella's books for over a decade now, ever since I came across Confessions of a Shopaholic in high school and I've loved them all. If you're looking for a quick chick-lit read or are a big sophie kinsella fan, I'd say give this one a chance.