I received I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella as an ARC from NetGalley. I'm a big fan of Sophie Kinsella and this book did not disappoint. The book tells the story of Fixie and Seb who meet in a coffee shop. Fixie saves Seb's computer from destruction and that starts a series of "I Owe You Ones'" between the 2 characters. Kinsella's books always feature a main character who has faults but you still love her and can relate to her. I loved this book and the characters and highly recommend it.

It has been a super long time since I read a Sophie Kinsella book. My last read of hers was "Twenties Girl", so it's been long overdue. I Owe You, gave me flashbacks of Sophies grounded roots of her earlier works. The main characters were relatable , quirky , unique and made you feel you would want to build a friendship with them. Fixie Farr, was a spitfire, but at times her indecisiveness and "doormat-ish" mannerisms ,irked me. Fixie grew and became a more confident gal eventually and loved how her outlook on life came together in one full circle. Sebastian was one of my favorites and was quite charming. Ryan on the other hand was a real stick in the mud. This was an enjoyable read and looking forward to future writings

I still love Sophie Kinsella, but this one was just not for me. Our heroine was just too downtrodden to really draw me in. The secondary characters were too Quirky Family!!! so I just wasn't pulled into story line. I'll still get her next book (The Shopaholic books, "Twenties Girls" and "My Not-So-Perfect Life were great fun!) but this one didn't do it for me.

I Owe You One is the latest book by Sophie Kinsella. Fawn Farr, known for most of her life as "Fixie" has a penchant for fixing things, and she's good at it as long as its someone else's life she's fixing. She's still recovering from a bad breakup, a failed attempt at running her own catering business, and years of being put down or put upon by her older brother and sister. Fixie's father passed away a few years earlier and Fixie now helps her mother run Farr's, the all-purpose family store . They all live and work in London. This is where the book begins. When Mum has a heart attack and is forced to take it easy, Fixie encourages her to vacation with her wild sister in Europe. Fixie and her brother and sister are in charge of the store and the madcap group of employees (who are hilarious!). Each Farr has his/her own ideas and agenda for running the store, usually pushing Fixie aside. It is on a trip to settle down and get a coffee that she inadvertently saves the laptop of a handsome young entrepreneur, Sebastian Marlowe, who becomes indebted to her (hence the title).

Fixie learns to stand up for herself against her brother and sister and on-again-off-again boyfriend. She falls in love, for real this time, and is able to pull the family and herself together all the while maintaining a sense of humor and compassion.

I love Sophie Kinsella's novels and look forward to each one. I was excited to receive the ARC and appreciate the honor of the preview. I highly recommend I Owe You One to fans of her writing. New readers will enjoy as well and become hooked as I was.

I absolutely loved this one! Sophie Kinsella delivers another really fun and heartwarming read. Fixie is a character that will resonate with many people pleasers. I found myself cheering her on and sharing her frustration. My only complaint was that it wasn't longer; I read it in one night!

Fixie is a hoot and so fun and witty. I really liked this book and I found it to be a pretty quick read. I liked the family dynamics and how they all grew together and helped each other. I was glad Fixie figured some things out for herself and didn't just settle.
There have been a few Sophie Kinsella I haven't like but I think this one really hit it out of the park. A great fun read.

Publication date: February 5th, 2019. Publisher: Dial Press

“You think i’m joking,” he says, watching as I pick up my cup. “But i’m not. I owe you one, Fixie Farr. Remember that.”

Fixie Farr (her nickname comes from her constant need to fix everything) works at the family-run housewares store once owned by her late father. She struggles with feelings of inadequacy compared to her more glamorous siblings. When a stranger in a coffee shop asks her to guard his laptop while he goes outside to take a phone call, Fixie once again saves the day by preventing the computer from being destroyed by a falling piece of ceiling. The man, Sebastian (Seb) Marlowe, is so grateful that he gives her an IOU for a favour on a coffee sleeve with his business card attached. Now her childhood crush, Ryan Chalker, is back in town. He’s broken up with his Californian girlfriend and is in need of a job. Fixie realizes there is something she can use her IOU for: a job for Ryan. Though she feels uncomfortable with the idea, she is willing to do it to bring a smile back to Ryan’s face and keep him from returning to California. From there the IOUs continue to trade back and forth between Seb and Fixie. Though the ending is predictable, as it often is with books in this genre, it was entertaining the whole way through. There is nothing wrong with a light read at the end of the day.

I did find Fixie at times to be a little annoyingly naive and a pushover when it comes to her frustratingly oblivious family. Her refrain of “family first,” which allows them to walk all over her, makes you want to shake her at times, but it is her relationship with Ryan, who uses her to get what he wants that is especially trying. Luckily, you know that the main character will experience growth by the end of the book, and Fixie does not disappoint. 

Thank you to Net Galley and Dial Press for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

Grade: B/B-

I love Sophie Kinsella books. I adore Fixie Farr like the bestie she would be if I knew her. And yet somehow I have struggled to write a meaningful review of this book. So well, at the risk of making a mess of it, at the risk of needing Fixie to do her fixing thing, I'm just gonna ramble.

Fixie is so well-meaning, she could teach the proverbial goody-two-shoes a thing about shoes. Fixie's siblings are sort of awful, each in their own way. Let's just say there are no well-adjusted adults in this family. They all have some historic-level baggage and each of them good at fooling themselves.

But don't count them out.... The Farr family may have "Fa.... a longer way to run" but they do know how to lace their trainers admirably. Okay, none of that made sense, even to me.

Fixie might at long last find the kind of love she can believe in. And a guy to believe in her. Her brother may find a way outside the con job he is pulling on himself, and her sister may even face whether she has issues to work on in her marriage *cough.*

This is the kind of Christmas story worth reading. And it wouldn't go badly with a dose of "Love, Actually" movie pixie dust.

This book delivers the goods.

I've been a fan of Sophie Kinsella for years and have read all of her books, so I was really looking forward to her latest book, I Owe You One and I wish I could say I enjoyed it as much as her other books, but this is my least favorite book that she has written. I struggled getting through this book, at so many times I wanted to stop reading it, but I kept hoping it would get better. I think for me, the main downfall of the book is that the main character, Fixie Farr is someone you almost do not want to root for because she is too much of a doormat. Fixie got her nickname because she has always been the one to fix everything, even when it backfires on her. Her family's saying is family first, but her family treats her horribly and they continue to do so because she lets them. When the book started to get better for me, there were only four chapters left. I also felt there was too much going on in the book with Fixie's siblings and friends, that it also dragged the storyline down.

While this book was a miss for me, it definitely will not stop me from reading Kinsella's future books, since I do love the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

It's Kinsella. It's such romantic, fun storytelling. The beginning was so maddening, learning how far behind the eight ball Fixie was, but she eventually found her footing and gained ground.

This is my second Kinsella book, and unfortunately it didn't quite live up to My Not So Perfect Life for me. While there are similarities in the story line of a young woman trying to find her way, I had a few issues with the fact that the female lead is basically a doormat for the first 80% of the book. Almost all of the supporting characters are unlikable and treat her terribly, but she just goes along with it because she is too nervous to speak up and doesn’t want to offend anyone in her family with her opinion.

She eventually finds her voice, but it felt a little late in the story. Subsequently, the ending was rushed and some major story lines are forced to wrap up in the last two chapters of the book. I wanted to like this one, but ultimately it fell flat for me. There are quite a few romance story lines in this book, so if that is more your style you might like this one!

A quick and fun read, but I have to admit that I spent a fair amount of time cringing for the main character. She spend most of the book being a doormat! Of course she did experience the typical Kinsella personal growth by the end of the book, but it was hard to read at times up until then. That being said, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it if you like Sophie Kinsella.

2.5 Stars - I was looking for a cute and fluffy read, so I picked up this Kinsella novel. I've never read Kinsella, but I was hoping to find a new favorite author. Right off the bat I was so frustrated with so many of these characters. Fixie lets everyone walk all over her, her brother is an asshole, her sister is self-centered, and her love interest is a total douche nozzle. The cuteness of the IOU doesn't even come very much into play until about 50% into the book. Then it doesn't take long for everything to go crumbling. I don't know, I guess I'm just not the kind of person who enjoys books where everything goes wrong all of the time. There were some very funny and very cute parts to this book, in general I liked their family business, but so much of it was focused on the changing of it. I kept waiting for Seb and Fixie to get together. Once they did I felt like their relationship was confusing, and so were their motivations. I did end up liking the ending, but getting there was painful.

Not my favorite by Sophie Kinsella. Didn't think the characters were very likable and I had a hard time getting into the story.

A very typical Sophie Kinsella. Fun, full of great characters and inspiring. Highly recommended for a fast, great read.

Sophie Kinsella's newest novel is a British rom-com of a book. The protagonist, Fixie Farr, is part of a family who owns a shop in London. Farr's sells household goods and is a stable, unfussy, type of shop that boasts loyal customers. The family now consists of Mum Farr, Fixie, Jake, and Nicole. Mum is the rock of the business since her husband died. She has always put her entire life into the store and into taking care of her children.

After a medical issue comes up, Mum goes off to spend some recovery time with her sister in Spain. The business remains in the hands of the kids which means Fixie gets pulled into every scheme her siblings have up their sleeves.

Jake and Nicole push all the work onto Fixie as they create pipe dreams about how to get rich quick or in Nicole's case, how to fatten up her Instagram page.
The novel is a good piece of hoping the underdog will win out over the selfish characters in the story (there are several).

I enjoyed this fast read. It is a good airplane book.

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

Another fantastic read by Sophie Kinsella. Her books are a wonderful escape. They make you want to clear your weekend, cuddle up with a fuzzy blanket and hot tea, and enjoy her latest novel. This is a story of Fixie who is always thinking of others in her life and works hard on fixing everyone's problems. But when faced with her own challenges with her family, work, and of course her love life, Fixie has to make a choice. Continue to worry about how to help everyone else, or to finally take a chance on herself.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

Is owing someone a debt of gratitude enough to change your life? For Ms. Kinsella's latest foray into romance, her characters become entangled in each other's lives after one good deed grants an eternal IOU. Now, to tell you about it without any spoilers!

The convoluted, if not over the top family characters end up taking each other for granted in a variety of different ways while "Fixie" and "Seb" work out what it means to love vs. feel obligated to one another.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, this sweet fun read by Sophie Kinsella is perfect for romantics and comedic book lovers, alike. Kinsella gifts her readers with "Fixie" who ultimately lives up to her nick-name after a roundabout journey growing up.

The lessons learned are sweet and not over the top, in this general fun weekend-read story. Well done, once again, and we'll anxiously await your next story!

First, let me say thank you to Random House and NetGalley, who sent me this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I Owe You One will be released February 5th, 2019!

This was the first book I've ever read by Sophie Kinsella. I know she is a veteran author and has a few bestselling novels. That being said, I Owe You One has its flaws. Right off the bat I'm going to say that there are probably much better Kinsella novels out there, and I am going to read them!

Fixie Farr is a fixer, she's the youngest in her family, who owns a cookware and home goods shop called Farrs, which was the pride and joy of her late father. She is constantly putting family first, even though her brother and sister are no help to her or the business at all. Right from the start, Fixie is acknowledging that she overly-apologizes and that she can't seem to speak up, even though in her head she has the answer and responses to advocate for herself. It made me really excited for her to finally reach that point where she advocates for herself.

Then a few things are put onto Fixie's plate: her mother goes on a much-needed vacation (leaving Fixie and her siblings in charge of the shop); her life-long crush, Ryan, moves back home to London from L.A. and Fixie hopes they can pick up where they left off; and a rich, ethical investment banker named Seb asks Fixie for a simple favor, and when Fixie over-delivers that favor, they end up in a slew of debts/favors/IOUs back and forth, and he slowly becomes a strange constant part of her life.

Jake and Nicole Farr are Fixie's older siblings and they definitely provided some well-executed humor. Their antics are laugh-out-loud, social commentary hilarious. But sometimes Jake can be a bit of a caricature, and Nicole can be a bit of a ditz, and I wanted a few more layers from them. Fixie cares about them so much, even though they aren't the most supportive siblings, and I wanted to care about them that much too, to better understand Fixie's actions. There are plenty of characters in books that are annoying/troubling, but that we still care about to find that growth, but with Jake and Nicole it took a lot of effort for me to get there. That being said, Nicole and Jake's display of what life "should" look like in your 20's and 30's was such a great reflection on society and social media today, I really enjoyed it.

As for the romances....there was a lot of cringe for me. But I'm not much of a romance reader, so seriously, if you are an avid romance reader, you might love those moments! Nothing wrong with that! There were also some timeline issues for me as well, and I wish I had a better idea of what time of year, how long it's been between instances, etc.

The premise of this book is genius and modern - a woman who puts so much pressure on herself and has so much trouble advocating for herself is now owed a favor by a man, then he owes her a favor, repeat, etc, it's the perfect feminist story set-up - but the execution left me disappointed....

While this isn't a book I'll be picking up again, it's not one I regret reading or regret not putting down sooner. I am definitely going to try some of Kinsella's more famous novels, because she is clearly a master - I Owe You One just wasn't the right fit for me. But if you are a tried and true chick lit reader, and you're familiar with Kinsella's work, then go for it!

I have been a fan of Sophie’s Kinsella’s novels for many years, but the last few of her books have been a bit disappointing because the author has relied on the tried but true, resulting in yet another predictable story. While “I Owe You One” isn’t a departure from Kinsella’s typical writing, I did find the storyline amusing, which helped to remind me why I started to read Kinsella’s novels in the first place.

Fixie has earned her nickname because she can't help fixing things. She tries her best, but she cannot stop. But at the same time, Fixie cannot fix herself. She needs a backbone as it is impossible for Fixie to stand up for what she wants, whether it’s her siblings or her romantic partners.

Fixie’s family owns, Farrs, a local store that sells a collection of houseware. Her deceased father’s motto had always been “family first,” and with gone, the business means a lot to Fixie, but not so much to Jake and Nicole, her siblings. When her mother experiences heart trouble and takes a break from the store, Fixie watches in horror as Jake and Nicole try to implement their own crazy ideas for the store. At the same time, her past crush, Ryan, returns to London and Fixie falls for him, head over heels, only for him to walk all over her. The only good thing she has going is an evolving friendship with Sebastian whose laptop she saves—hence, the reason why he “owes her one.”

As with other Kinsella novels, this is an easy, fun read, though I did think Kinsella could take more of an effort to develop her characters and stray from formulaic plotting. But you do not expect great literature from Kinsella and with that in mind, I think many readers will enjoy “I Owe You One.”

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks also to Dial Press and the author, Sophie Kinsella.