Member Reviews
Thank you SO much for this ARC!
I am a forever fan of Sophia Kinsella and was so happy to read her latest novel. Yet again, another delightful story of a semi-lost main character who finds herself. While this seems to be a reoccurring plot for the author, each story is different and teaches new lessons along the way.
I did enjoy this book, although it did not read as quickly as others in the past. However, I did love watching Fixie gain confidence, courage and ultimately the love she deserved.
FINALLY the Sophie Kinsella I know and love is back! I have been a fan for years and years but I hate to admit that I have not been a fan of recent books. I am so happy to say that I Owe You One was fantastic! Kinsella is the queen of writing characters you fall in love with (despite their faults and because of their quirks) and this book is no exception.
Fixie can't help fixing things. She tries her best, but she just can't stop. But what if she is what needs fixing? What if she's stuck in a rut and her life needs a little shaking up?
This book is full of an entertaining and memorable cast of characters. From Nicole, Fixie's sister- who TOTALLY reminds me of Alexis from Schitt's Creek- to a store clerk with a dirty mind...this book made me laugh out loud. It also frustrated me in equal measures. Fixie needs a backbone- stat! I'm happy to say that by the end of the book I was literally cheering her on. Especially when she BURNS Briony with that zinger. GO FIXIE!
If you just want to simply feel good and enjoy a book, snag this one. I'm so happy that my love for Sophie Kinsella has been reinstated!
4 stars.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley and Dial Publishing. All opinions are my own.
I normally enjoy Kinsella, but this one didn't work for me.
Review copy provided by publisher.
Received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review of this book.
This one sure has the mixed up everything! I really like Fixie (horrible name, but better than her given one), she just needed to stand up for herself. The brother and sister are perfectly horrible and self centered, totally useless to her. I like her mom, and wish I could have known the dad as he seemed like an awesome guy.
I don't like to give spoilers when I write reviews, I think it's tacky. With that said, this is a really fun book. I was happy with all of the parts and people in it, and while I wanted more at the end, I know it has to end somewhere. If you want a quick, fun read, then pick this up when it comes out. I really enjoyed it!
Another fun novel from Sophie Kinsella about a woman known as Fixie who has trouble fixing her own life. Trying to run a family store, Fixie gets very little help from her own family. After her widowed mother goes on a trip leaving her adult children in charge, nothing goes as planned. the man Fixie has loved for years turns out not to be who she thought, Then she meets a man who owes her for helping to save his laptop. Debts of all kinds, family drama and humour make this a good -hearted read.
Oh, Sophie Kinsella. You have always been one of my favorites. However, I have to say this one is probably my least favorite book of yours.
Fixie Farr has a constant urge to fix things, situations, and people. The story centers around her dysfunctional family (who I honestly could not stand), relationships, and family owned store. While I understood the character development of Fixie, I missed the strong female lead that Kinsella is known for. The middle portion of the book dragged on, but the ending made it worth it. I will say, I have not had such strong negative reactions to characters before.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for my advanced copy in exchange for my opinion.
Sophie Kinsella has again delivered a stand-alone novel that has you cheering on the main character as they discover their strengths and what is truly important in their lives. Fixie is the dependable always looking for solutions and ways to make things better. When she saves a stranger's computer he declares that he "owes her one". But Fixie has always lived in the shadow of her older brother and sister and never feels adequate around them. When her lifetime crush, who is a friend of her brother, returns and seems to want to be with her she thinks her life is set and even calls in her favor for him.. But sometimes what you think you want does live up to your expectations and you have to fix your life to be happy.
I've never been interested in Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series but I have liked almost all of her stand-alone books. After being very disappointed with her last book Surprise Me, which I could not finish, I was a bit wary of trying her again. However, this book, I Owe You One, is definitely more readable. At first I didn't love it as we are presented with Fixie, a bit of a doormat getting walked all over by her family and her ex-boyfriend. But as I read on, I enjoyed watching her character develop and gain the confidence more fitting to a nearly-30-year old smart attractive businesswoman. There's a fun meet-cute and a few interesting secondary characters that develop in their own ways.
If you're looking for a light and quick read (even though you know exactly how the book is going to end as soon as you start it), this could be a good choice.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.
I love Sophie Kinsella. I really liked this book and read it in a couple days. It was really funny (as usual) and I liked the story and loved the guy. Her protagonists are generally all the same, naive and overenthusiastic, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Another fun book from Sophie Kinsella. A bit predictable at times but very enjoyable nonetheless. It was nice to see Fixie grow as a character.
Gosh where do I even start with this review? I loved this book so so much. I love that Sophie Kinsella doesn't only write books about Becky Bloomwood in her Shopaholic series, I love that she branches off and does independent books about other characters that are just as great as the rest of them.
This book is about Fixie, who if you couldn't figure out by the name, always has to fix things and has a major case of OCD. Fixie works in her family-rub business of selling quality products at value prices and never actually says what's on her mind in fear of hurting anyone's feelings or starting a drift within her family. When her crush of 17 years unexpectedly moves back she takes it as a sign that her wild dreams are coming true and she'll finally be happy. But a chance encounter at a coffee shop and a collapsing ceiling and Fixie meets someone that will completely change her outlook on life.
I loved the character of Fixie. I love how she went from a mousy twenty-seven year old just looking to fall in love with the rude, cocky, inconsiderate guy and changed herself into a confident woman that is no longer afraid to say exactly what's on her mind. She was my favorite character by far in the novel and honestly I wanted to reach in my iPad screen and throttle both Ryan and Jake. And then there was certain times I wanted to throttle Fixie with how much she put up with Ryan and from her siblings.
I also loved all the family dynamics in this book. I loved how each character was so different from each other and each had their own problems that got solved in the end. I myself don't have any siblings that I've ever had to bicker or disagree with but I love reading stories like this and I love how different this book was from her other books. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I haven't enjoyed every book she's written but I love how none of her stand alone novels are similar to each other.
Anyone that knows me knows how much I love Sophie Kinsella. I honestly can't remember how or when I read my first book by her which was Can You Keep A Secret but I've been hooked since then. I was so excited when I saw that she had a new novel coming out and I am so thankful to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for sending me a copy!
Cute. Slow beginning with the typical "doormat" female lead. I liked Seb, but his hand up to the point of serious anger didn't make sense, neither did his relationship with Briony.
Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Kinsella, Random House and The Dial Press for an advance copy of this novel.
Sophie Kinsella does it again. This was a very entertaining book that I devoured in three days. I loved Fixie, and absolutely hated her brother Jake. I've never read a bad SK book, and I don't believe she can write a bad one.
I've been reading Sophie Kinsella for a long time; I loved the Shopaholic series. But if you read enough of Kinsella's books, you start to see a pattern: spineless doormat heroines. I couldn't stand it anymore and so I took a break. I OWE YOU ONE is my first Kinsella book since 2011 and sadly, not much has changed. I wanted to smack some sense into Fixie and definitely smack that piece of human garbage Ryan. I get the point is that by the end the heroine finds her spine, but I'm so irritated at the behavior to start with that it's painful to get that far. Still, it was well-written with memorable characters and trademark Sophie Kinsella humor. I"m glad I stuck it out until the end.
I inhaled this one last night and into today, I kept compulsively reading it between work tasks until I scrolled to the end on my Kindle app. This isn't Becky Bloomwood, and I think maybe that's why this just is not my favorite, but it's still a solid Kinsella book. You can depend on it to make you smile and laugh and believe in love for a fleeting few hundred pages, and that's really what we need at the end of the day.
I have read and loved many Sophie Kinsella novels. Her ability to create unique characters always proves for a fun read. I really enjoyed the premise of this novel, but struggled to really get into it. Still loved the characters and the plot, but overall the story felt weighted down instead of being the typical fast-pace stories I have read in the past.
I have to start by saying I love Sophie Kinsella and will continue to read every single thing she writes. Sometimes you need a super lighthearted kinda cheesy book and she always satisfies that need. And while I love the concept of I Owe You One, it just wasn't a hit for me.
I love the idea of the initial meet-cute with Fixie and Seb and also thought the concept of "I owe you" in a new relationship is a good one. But there are so many parts of the book that just didn't feel believable to me, that were over the top, and that felt a bit forced. It also didn't really feel like there was much of a "story" until the book was practically over. Even the fact that the main character's name is "Fixie" felt super forced to me.
To be fair, I have to remind myself that most of Kinsella's books are like this and that's what most of us like about them. I mean, Becky Bloomwood wasn't a totally believable character and was super exaggerated, but we love her nonetheless. I honestly think that my serious love for My Not So Perfect Life almost ruined Kinsella for me because I thought that book was so awesome and enjoyable and I want another one of those for her!
Still, if you're a Kinsella fan, you should read this one, too, especially if you need a break from anything heavy.
It’s a heartwarming story of self-discovery, what truly makes you happy and what it means to actually love someone (friends, family, partner). Full review: https://wordpress.com/post/mellaing.wordpress.com/962
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for me to read and review.
I've always been outspoken about my love for Sophie Kinsella. Her books are these little bright spots in my life. The characters are so flawed, yet so funny and endearing.
Simply put, I loved this book.
Fixie was great. Her inescapable desire to fix things and her strained relationship with her family were way too relatable to me. The infuriating brother with a super sweet girlfriend? Yeah, I know all about that. When Fixie was contemplating why his girlfriend like him so much, I nodded along and looked at my own family dynamic.
Kinsella's books have a comfortable formula, yet she manages to pull me in with each story she creates. I wanted to scream at Fixie during her interactions with Ryan (and again, my own parallels bubbled up in my mind), and I came as close to swooning as I ever do whenever Seb showed up.
Every character was fun and unique and brought something to the story. Fixie's siblings were infuriating, but watching them evolve and change was good. The employees at the shop were all hilarious and endearing - each in their own way.
The ending was not unexpected, but I still felt that deep sense of satisfaction when everything fell into place.
This was a home run for me. To be fair, I would probably read an instruction manual written by Kinsella, but this was a great read, and I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to get a sneak peek.
Sophie Kinsella's books that fall out of the Shopaholic spectrum range from awful (Finding Audrey) to really good (Twenties Girl) but mostly fall in the middle. Somewhat good fluff. A quick fun read. There's nothing wrong with it, and I admit I look forward to reading her yearly piece of fluff. I was happy to get an early copy from Netgalley.
At first this seemed a little weightier than the last book Kinsella came out with, which was so unimportant that I can't even remember what it was about (something about being bored with your spouse), but as the book went on it got so bogged down with plot that it turned into another so-so Kinsella book. There was a LOT happening in this book, and it flew along so quickly that I didn't have time to get the bigger picture of the plot. I found I didn't really empathize with the characters and their situations enough. It helped to read through the book again once I had finished it the first time, because there are little clues that are mentioned once in the book that are never brought up again, that made me realize why one character did something later in the book, and why another character had a strong reaction to it.
It was a good read. I didn't mind reading it twice back to back. I will probably read it again in a few years when I have forgotten most of the plot, and I expect I will mostly enjoy it then too.