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Love Your Life
I love you . . . but what if I can't love your life?
Ava is sick of online dating. She's always trusted her own instincts over an algorithm, anyway, and she wants a break from it all. So when she signs up to a semi-silent, anonymous writing retreat in glorious Italy, love is the last thing on her mind.
Until she meets a handsome stranger. . . All she knows is that he's funny, he's kind and - she soon learns - he's great in bed. He's equally smitten, and after a whirlwind, intoxicating affair, they pledge their love without even knowing each other's real names.
But when they return home, reality hits. They're both driven mad by each other's weird quirks and annoying habits, from his eccentric, naked-sauna-loving family to her terribly behaved, shirt-shredding dog. As disaster follows disaster, it seems that while they love each other, they just can't love each other's lives. Can they overcome their differences to find one life, together?
Ava is sick of online dating. She's always trusted her own instincts over an algorithm, anyway, and she wants a break from it all. So when she signs up to a semi-silent, anonymous writing retreat in glorious Italy, love is the last thing on her mind.
Until she meets a handsome stranger. . . All she knows is that he's funny, he's kind and - she soon learns - he's great in bed. He's equally smitten, and after a whirlwind, intoxicating affair, they pledge their love without even knowing each other's real names.
But when they return home, reality hits. They're both driven mad by each other's weird quirks and annoying habits, from his eccentric, naked-sauna-loving family to her terribly behaved, shirt-shredding dog. As disaster follows disaster, it seems that while they love each other, they just can't love each other's lives. Can they overcome their differences to find one life, together?
416 pages, Paperback
First published October 27, 2020
3651 people are currently reading
44194 people want to read
About the author
Sophie Kinsella
182 books44.4k followersSophie Kinsella had sold over 40 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, and she had been translated into over 40 languages.
Sophie Kinsella first hit the UK bestseller lists in September 2000 with her first novel in the Shopaholic series – The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (also published as Confessions of a Shopaholic). The book’s heroine, Becky Bloomwood – a fun and feisty financial journalist who loves shopping but is hopeless with money – captured the hearts of readers worldwide. Becky has since featured in seven further bestselling books, Shopaholic Abroad (also published as Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby, Mini Shopaholic, Shopaholic to the Stars and Shopaholic to the Rescue. Becky Bloomwood came to the big screen in 2009 with the hit Disney movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.
Sophie had also written seven standalone novels which have all been bestsellers in the UK, USA and other countries around the world: Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, Twenties Girl, I’ve Got Your Number, Wedding Night, and My Not So Perfect Life, which was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Best Fiction in 2017.
In 2014 she published a Young Adult novel Finding Audrey about a teenage girl with social anxiety and her madcap family, and in January 2018, Sophie published her first illustrated book for young readers about the charming adventures of a mother-daughter fairy duo, Mummy Fairy and Me (also published as Fairy Mom and Me).
Sophie’s novel, Surprise Me, published in February 2018, presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered.
Sophie wrote her first novel under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, at the tender age of 24, whilst she was working as a financial journalist. The Tennis Party was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and became a top ten bestseller. She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: A Desirable Residence, Swimming Pool Sunday, The Gatecrasher, The Wedding Girl, Cocktails for Three and Sleeping Arrangements.
Sophie was born in London. She studied music at New College, Oxford, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She lived in London, UK, with her husband and family.
Visit Sophie's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SophieKinsell...
Series:
* Shopaholic
Sophie Kinsella first hit the UK bestseller lists in September 2000 with her first novel in the Shopaholic series – The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (also published as Confessions of a Shopaholic). The book’s heroine, Becky Bloomwood – a fun and feisty financial journalist who loves shopping but is hopeless with money – captured the hearts of readers worldwide. Becky has since featured in seven further bestselling books, Shopaholic Abroad (also published as Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby, Mini Shopaholic, Shopaholic to the Stars and Shopaholic to the Rescue. Becky Bloomwood came to the big screen in 2009 with the hit Disney movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.
Sophie had also written seven standalone novels which have all been bestsellers in the UK, USA and other countries around the world: Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, Twenties Girl, I’ve Got Your Number, Wedding Night, and My Not So Perfect Life, which was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Best Fiction in 2017.
In 2014 she published a Young Adult novel Finding Audrey about a teenage girl with social anxiety and her madcap family, and in January 2018, Sophie published her first illustrated book for young readers about the charming adventures of a mother-daughter fairy duo, Mummy Fairy and Me (also published as Fairy Mom and Me).
Sophie’s novel, Surprise Me, published in February 2018, presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered.
Sophie wrote her first novel under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, at the tender age of 24, whilst she was working as a financial journalist. The Tennis Party was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and became a top ten bestseller. She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: A Desirable Residence, Swimming Pool Sunday, The Gatecrasher, The Wedding Girl, Cocktails for Three and Sleeping Arrangements.
Sophie was born in London. She studied music at New College, Oxford, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She lived in London, UK, with her husband and family.
Visit Sophie's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SophieKinsell...
Series:
* Shopaholic
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,701 reviews
May 10, 2022
Yes! This is hilarious, humorous, entertaining, heartwarming! This is a real winner!
I’m a big fan of author’s works and her last two books “ I owe you one” and “ Surprise me” were a little disappointing for me. ( Actually since I’ve read “ I’ve got your name”, I haven’t found any of her books so much adorable. I truly missed her optimistic, clumsy but likable heroines and smart,funny, feel good stories like first books of Shopaholic series and “ Can you keep a secret”, “Twenties girl”)
But here are the good news:
This book brought back the author’s old time books’ vivid, laughable, exhilarating, heart churning, emotional, sarcastic, clever vibes!
Other strengths of the book that I truly enjoyed: Well developed characters, inappropriate situations ( including naked sauna adventures, writing steamy scenes for your creative writing class based on your real experiences and sharing them with your classmates) , amazing supporting characters ( Nell, Maud, Topher we’re adorable! I have to admit at some parts of the book I loved them more than protagonists) opposite attracts, meaningful, heartfelt representation of chronic illness and emphasizing importance of tight friendship bounds.
There’s nothing to say more because there are so many things to fall in love with this book and take it to Vegetarian restaurant and end your night with creamy gelato!
Quick summary of plot line: Ava is free lancer between jobs and focusing on different things including aromatherapy and writing a book! With her close gang of friends’ pressure she attends a writing retreat program in coastal Italy.
She wants to focus on finishing her historical romance novel. But with the cancellation of martial art retreat program, a few students decide to join their writing group including very charming, sexy man with sunshiny smile nicknamed himself as “ Dutch” . As their retreat’s basic rule Ava also introduces herself “Aria”! But as you may imagine instead of writing her historical romance she starts work on a erotic romance because after she’s experienced cliff-jumping’s full taste of adrenaline rush, she also decides jumping on charming stranger and their whirlwind romance blooms faster they can imagine.
They realize they start to fall hard even though they don’t know anything about each other including their real names.
And as they both say they loved each other when they go back to London, harsh realities start to punch their faces incessantly because Aria and Dutch’s steamy insta love story turns into Ava and Matt’s struggling relationship which needs to handle with care because they don’t like their houses, job preferences, approaches to the art and have complex feelings about each other’s friends. Actually they don’t even like the same kind of food. And of course Matt’s pretentious, icy cold, irritating family members who adore his ex girlfriend don’t help to fix their problems.
Could the polar opposites have a long term commitment or should they give up and part their ways?
You’re gonna read and find out!
I’m still giving 4.25 stars! Don’t throw anything on my face! I still find crushed tomato pieces on my scalp when I get shower after writing a mediocre review for Shadows!
This book was so close to five stars but Matt’s 180 degree rotation and turning into a pretentious, nervous, serious stress ball and his unlikable attitudes around Ava and their too fast insta love theme are a little bit unrealistic for me. Romance parts are overshadowed by the entertaining parts and friendship bounding of the story. But of the protagonists’ friends stole their show. I loved their parts more and let’s not forget the mischievous, shirt lover Harold, the lovely dog who stole my heart!
Overall: I’m giving four stars but I highly recommend this book to all comedy, romcom, feel good romance lovers and especially the author’s fans like me. I had amazing time! I laughed so much! I’m so thankful to the author to make me smile and warm my heart !
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random Press Publishing/Dial Press for sharing this fantastic ARC with me in exchange my honest review.
I’m a big fan of author’s works and her last two books “ I owe you one” and “ Surprise me” were a little disappointing for me. ( Actually since I’ve read “ I’ve got your name”, I haven’t found any of her books so much adorable. I truly missed her optimistic, clumsy but likable heroines and smart,funny, feel good stories like first books of Shopaholic series and “ Can you keep a secret”, “Twenties girl”)
But here are the good news:
This book brought back the author’s old time books’ vivid, laughable, exhilarating, heart churning, emotional, sarcastic, clever vibes!
Other strengths of the book that I truly enjoyed: Well developed characters, inappropriate situations ( including naked sauna adventures, writing steamy scenes for your creative writing class based on your real experiences and sharing them with your classmates) , amazing supporting characters ( Nell, Maud, Topher we’re adorable! I have to admit at some parts of the book I loved them more than protagonists) opposite attracts, meaningful, heartfelt representation of chronic illness and emphasizing importance of tight friendship bounds.
There’s nothing to say more because there are so many things to fall in love with this book and take it to Vegetarian restaurant and end your night with creamy gelato!
Quick summary of plot line: Ava is free lancer between jobs and focusing on different things including aromatherapy and writing a book! With her close gang of friends’ pressure she attends a writing retreat program in coastal Italy.
She wants to focus on finishing her historical romance novel. But with the cancellation of martial art retreat program, a few students decide to join their writing group including very charming, sexy man with sunshiny smile nicknamed himself as “ Dutch” . As their retreat’s basic rule Ava also introduces herself “Aria”! But as you may imagine instead of writing her historical romance she starts work on a erotic romance because after she’s experienced cliff-jumping’s full taste of adrenaline rush, she also decides jumping on charming stranger and their whirlwind romance blooms faster they can imagine.
They realize they start to fall hard even though they don’t know anything about each other including their real names.
And as they both say they loved each other when they go back to London, harsh realities start to punch their faces incessantly because Aria and Dutch’s steamy insta love story turns into Ava and Matt’s struggling relationship which needs to handle with care because they don’t like their houses, job preferences, approaches to the art and have complex feelings about each other’s friends. Actually they don’t even like the same kind of food. And of course Matt’s pretentious, icy cold, irritating family members who adore his ex girlfriend don’t help to fix their problems.
Could the polar opposites have a long term commitment or should they give up and part their ways?
You’re gonna read and find out!
I’m still giving 4.25 stars! Don’t throw anything on my face! I still find crushed tomato pieces on my scalp when I get shower after writing a mediocre review for Shadows!
This book was so close to five stars but Matt’s 180 degree rotation and turning into a pretentious, nervous, serious stress ball and his unlikable attitudes around Ava and their too fast insta love theme are a little bit unrealistic for me. Romance parts are overshadowed by the entertaining parts and friendship bounding of the story. But of the protagonists’ friends stole their show. I loved their parts more and let’s not forget the mischievous, shirt lover Harold, the lovely dog who stole my heart!
Overall: I’m giving four stars but I highly recommend this book to all comedy, romcom, feel good romance lovers and especially the author’s fans like me. I had amazing time! I laughed so much! I’m so thankful to the author to make me smile and warm my heart !
Special thanks to NetGalley and Random Press Publishing/Dial Press for sharing this fantastic ARC with me in exchange my honest review.
October 20, 2020
Love your life by Sophie Kinsella made me absolutely hate my life every time I had to pick this book up. This was my first novel of hers and quite possibly my last. Ava goes to Italy for a writing retreat to help inspire finishing her novel. She meets a man on this retreat and they instantly fall in love and she basically blows off her expensive writing course. The love was so cheesy, unrealistic, and my eyes rolled so hard that my eyes almost got stuck that way. The pacing was extremely fast in the beginning, not just with Ava and Matt but also with events occurring - it was ridiculous.
Ava herself is so immature, overly hyper, and desperate to be “in love”. I thought I was reading about a high school child rather than a grown woman. Her only redeeming quality is her love for dogs. Actually, not one of the characters were likable except Harold the dog and maybe a few of Ava’s friends.
Anyway, after this retreat Ava and Matt return to London only to discover they have nothing In common. Oh no. Who would have thought such a thing could happen? Once they enter back into the real world, they discover they have nothing in common and struggle through a crappy relationship. Matt was a dry desert with no personality. I found myself cringing through the whole book and internally screaming while checking to see when this would be over. I always wanted to read The Confessions of a Shopaholic but now I really don’t think I will.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced readers copy of this book.
Ava herself is so immature, overly hyper, and desperate to be “in love”. I thought I was reading about a high school child rather than a grown woman. Her only redeeming quality is her love for dogs. Actually, not one of the characters were likable except Harold the dog and maybe a few of Ava’s friends.
Anyway, after this retreat Ava and Matt return to London only to discover they have nothing In common. Oh no. Who would have thought such a thing could happen? Once they enter back into the real world, they discover they have nothing in common and struggle through a crappy relationship. Matt was a dry desert with no personality. I found myself cringing through the whole book and internally screaming while checking to see when this would be over. I always wanted to read The Confessions of a Shopaholic but now I really don’t think I will.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced readers copy of this book.
August 28, 2021
Actual rating: 2,5
Ever since I started reading for pleasure, I consider Sophie Kinsella one of my favourite authors. After all, her book (Shopaholic) is the one that showed me how fun reading can be.
Today, Kinsella is still on top (somewhat because I'm nostalgic, but also because her writing style is simply amazing), even though I don't think Love Your Life was a masterpiece I hoped it would be.
I still had lots of fun while reading it, and laughed at some scenes, but I really disliked the characters, specially our protagonist, and overall, I am not a fan of the mess this story turned into.
I think Love Your Life had a potential to be really good general fiction, if only the romance wasn't pushed on us so strongly.
I wasn't a fan of the couple, I think they would be better off without each other than together, and I do appreciate how the author wanted to create a love story in unfriendly environment, with two totally opposites, but I didn't buy it.
Also, Ava's friends were the worst.
This was 3-4 stars for me until the last two chapters, when the author ruined it for me.
I don't like how she used the dog for that sentimental grand finale, and also, why the bad guy can't just be a bad guy, why did she had to go overboard and make her the unbelievable villain, so far away from her real nature.
I feel like she (Kinsella) had to goo and make her the baddest as possible to make Ava seem like a nice, positive person.
The best thing about reading Love Your Life was that I got to buddy read it with my friend Amanda (her thoughts are similar to mine, if you wondered).
Anyway, I am still looking forward to read future books by this author.
Ever since I started reading for pleasure, I consider Sophie Kinsella one of my favourite authors. After all, her book (Shopaholic) is the one that showed me how fun reading can be.
Today, Kinsella is still on top (somewhat because I'm nostalgic, but also because her writing style is simply amazing), even though I don't think Love Your Life was a masterpiece I hoped it would be.
I still had lots of fun while reading it, and laughed at some scenes, but I really disliked the characters, specially our protagonist, and overall, I am not a fan of the mess this story turned into.
I think Love Your Life had a potential to be really good general fiction, if only the romance wasn't pushed on us so strongly.
I wasn't a fan of the couple, I think they would be better off without each other than together, and I do appreciate how the author wanted to create a love story in unfriendly environment, with two totally opposites, but I didn't buy it.
Also, Ava's friends were the worst.
This was 3-4 stars for me until the last two chapters, when the author ruined it for me.
I don't like how she used the dog for that sentimental grand finale, and also, why the bad guy can't just be a bad guy, why did she had to go overboard and make her the unbelievable villain, so far away from her real nature.
I feel like she (Kinsella) had to goo and make her the baddest as possible to make Ava seem like a nice, positive person.
The best thing about reading Love Your Life was that I got to buddy read it with my friend Amanda (her thoughts are similar to mine, if you wondered).
Anyway, I am still looking forward to read future books by this author.
July 16, 2020
This was a hot mess of a book and sadly it did not work for me. Initially I was hooked by the premise and I had really liked a lot of Sophie Kinsella's other works, so I thought that this would be right up my ally, but oh boy how wrong I was. Reading this was like watching a reality tv show where two people hook up and then immediately date, aka: red flags everywhere. Barely spending a week together, they both decide they love each other without knowing anything about the other person. Once they get back from the retreat and actually begin a relationship and learn about the other it is road blocks everywhere because: duh you both don't know a single thing about each other. Ava was immediately obsessed with Matt, to a worrying degree, and was in denial about how much they were incompatible with each other. Reading their interactions and conversations just made me cringe and want to scream: just break up, you both are better off. Ava is exhausting, she is over eager and a bit unhinged, while Matt is just a tepid and lukeworm love interest. They both keep brushing off all these things that they dont like about the other and barely talk about the main issues in their relationship. Every chapter is just Ava being annoyed at Matt or Matt just brushing her off. ( If I'm being honest I was more invested in Topher and Nell than Ava and Matt). I cannot find the chemistry between these two. 83% and they finally recognize just how bad they are together. The ending just conveniently wraps up everything and suddenly everything is okay again. So, all in all, this book was not for me but I want to thank Netgalley for sending me a arc anyways.
August 29, 2020
Love Your Life or Ava-Land and Matt-Land was quite an entertaining and sweet novel. The end of the book left me with a big smile on my face.
Yet, the beginning of the book didn’t do it for me. I thought "oh no, this is an insta-love story" which is my least favorite. How wrong was I? Very. I ended up liking it quite a bit more than I thought.
Most surprisingly was that I liked all the main character's friends too. There is Nell who has some serious health issues but she doesn't play the martyr and she can be brutally honest. Sarika who only wants to date someone who lives close to her home (Too far away it's a deal-breaker). She’s using a dating app's algorithm to narrow the perfect guy for her. Then there's Maud who is impossible to say no to. When she asks you for a favor, you don't even realize you're agreeing to do it. To avoid saying yes, it's best not to engage her.
On Matt's side, his friends and flatmates, Topher and Nihal were both amusing and in their own way, supportive of Ava. They were both good guys, Topher despite his antisocial personality and Nihal with his multiple robots.
Now, getting back to the main characters, the book begins with Ava. She likes to start multiple things at the same time but doesn't really finish any of them. Her new thing is she wants to write a book. She wants to write a historical romance novel and for this reason, she joins a writer's retreat in Italy. There she meets "Dutch" who's real name is Matt. Dutch was joining a martial arts retreat but after it gets canceled, he ends up in the writing one. Ava and Matt have a spark and soon they become an item. By the time a real name is needed, they discover they both live in London.
London changes everything for this couple. Going back to the real world reveals their huge differences. They don't seem to agree on anything including food (Ava is a vegetarian, Matt's a carnivore). There is also Ava's dog, Harold, who can destroy a shirt in ten seconds or disappear any good steak in a millisecond.
For me, the last third of the book is where the story shines. I liked the way Sophie Kinsella's characters in this Chic-Lit/RomCom novel resolved their issues in a full circle kinda away.
4/5 Fangs
Cliffhanger: No
A complimentary copy was provided by Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
August 12, 2024
This is a romance/contemporary book. I have read mixed reviews about this book, and I was getting scared to read this book because I really have been looking forward to this book. I have to say I loved this book so much. The beginning was a little slow and I really did not love how fast the characters fell in love, but then the book token a 180 turn. This book is so different then most chick-lit or women's fiction. This book had a real feel after the first a little bit. I have to say the characters where well developed and each of them where so much fun to follow. I really loved Harold, and I think that dog really brought the book to life. I have read a few other Sophie Kinsella books, and I love how she does her chick-lit books. Her books follows there own path and breaks away for that other books. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (The Dial Press) or author (Sophie Kinsella) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.
September 11, 2020
I am a big Sophie Kinsella fan and have read the majority of her books. I actually prefer her standalone novels over the Shopaholic series. So of course I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. Unfortunately I wouldn't place this one among my favorites but everything came together quite nicely by the end so at least I finished it on a positive note.
Ava lives in London, and signs up for a remote writers' retreat in Italy. Attendees are encouraged to not share their real names with the other writers and to avoid giving out other personal info. So Ava goes with the flow and chooses to go by the name Aria. Pretty easy and she'll never see these people again anyway. Well... she hits it off with a guy going by the name "Dutch" and they have a nice little romance at the retreat. But now its time to pack up and go back home. While "Aria" and "Dutch" seemed like a perfect match in Italy, they also didn't know anything about each other's past. When forced back to reality in London, do these two have a legitimate shot at love?
I'll admit by the end of the 1st chapter I was already getting nervous about this one. Things did start to pick up once Ava was at the writers' retreat but my first impressions about the characters were pretty spot on. As the story progressed Ava became more and more annoying, and don't come after me dog lovers, but her dog Harold got on my nerves as well. I probably share way more personality wise in common with Matt, aka Dutch, than I do with Ava so that could factor into my opinion as well. (Honestly though, I think poor character development was the main reason I struggled at times with this book)
The good news is at the very end I finally "got" Ava and understood what others saw in her. And the same thing applies to her group of friends. Had they clicked sooner with me in the story, this would have been a much better read for me. Much of what I love about what this author brings to the table didn't shine through until the last few chapters. I do think a below average Sophie Kinsella novel is still better than about 80 to 90% of other books in the chick lit genre. And I got to end the book with a smile on my face which is always a good thing.
I was provided an advance digital copy by Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
Ava lives in London, and signs up for a remote writers' retreat in Italy. Attendees are encouraged to not share their real names with the other writers and to avoid giving out other personal info. So Ava goes with the flow and chooses to go by the name Aria. Pretty easy and she'll never see these people again anyway. Well... she hits it off with a guy going by the name "Dutch" and they have a nice little romance at the retreat. But now its time to pack up and go back home. While "Aria" and "Dutch" seemed like a perfect match in Italy, they also didn't know anything about each other's past. When forced back to reality in London, do these two have a legitimate shot at love?
I'll admit by the end of the 1st chapter I was already getting nervous about this one. Things did start to pick up once Ava was at the writers' retreat but my first impressions about the characters were pretty spot on. As the story progressed Ava became more and more annoying, and don't come after me dog lovers, but her dog Harold got on my nerves as well. I probably share way more personality wise in common with Matt, aka Dutch, than I do with Ava so that could factor into my opinion as well. (Honestly though, I think poor character development was the main reason I struggled at times with this book)
The good news is at the very end I finally "got" Ava and understood what others saw in her. And the same thing applies to her group of friends. Had they clicked sooner with me in the story, this would have been a much better read for me. Much of what I love about what this author brings to the table didn't shine through until the last few chapters. I do think a below average Sophie Kinsella novel is still better than about 80 to 90% of other books in the chick lit genre. And I got to end the book with a smile on my face which is always a good thing.
I was provided an advance digital copy by Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.
December 10, 2020
I laughed out loud at so many parts and I also got teary and warmhearted at others (I am sappy though..) and I loved it!!! 4.5⭐ rounded up to 5 just because I needed this fun, couldn't put down read and it made me feel all the things I wanted it to💖
To note, I did listen to the audiobook and loved the narrator, Fiona Hardingham, she gave both Ava and Matt the perfect voices and I was done this in one day! I am mentioning this because in my post finishing joy, I went to see what others had to say about how much they loved it so that I could bask in the glory of joint admiration of a book and was a bit jarred to see that people didn't love it as much as me😂 hmmm, so, maybe it was that I loved it, maybe it was the narration, maybe it was that I love Sophie Kinsella's writing? not sure and I don't care, it did the trick for me and I am still smiling, this was my kind of book!
Ava and Matt meet at a ridiculous writers retreat and there are so many cringy moments but for me the good kind where I am embarrassed with them not for them lol! They fall instantly in love, yes I know ridiculous but 🤷🏼♀️, I loved it! Now the problem.. can two people who are away in beautiful Italy at a retreat, pretending to be two different people than they are, come home and still like each other?
Is Ava flighty? Yes.
Are her friends over the top? Yes.
Is her dog Harold adorable? Yes. (mostly)
But these are definitely caricatures of people who I know, and I love to have a fun plot and funny people in a story that doesn't take itself too seriously other than in its heart. One thing that I love about Kinsella is that she tends to find the good in people, even the ones we struggle to want to support show us their good character and humanity. Ava is a classic Kinsella heroine, equal parts frustrating and winsome but never failing to bring out the best in people (along with their anger sometimes)
Bravo to this book and how it made me feel after a few heavy reads and a VERY heavy year!! If this seems like the kind of thing you would enjoy, I +++ recommend that you see if you would love this in your life💖
To note, I did listen to the audiobook and loved the narrator, Fiona Hardingham, she gave both Ava and Matt the perfect voices and I was done this in one day! I am mentioning this because in my post finishing joy, I went to see what others had to say about how much they loved it so that I could bask in the glory of joint admiration of a book and was a bit jarred to see that people didn't love it as much as me😂 hmmm, so, maybe it was that I loved it, maybe it was the narration, maybe it was that I love Sophie Kinsella's writing? not sure and I don't care, it did the trick for me and I am still smiling, this was my kind of book!
Ava and Matt meet at a ridiculous writers retreat and there are so many cringy moments but for me the good kind where I am embarrassed with them not for them lol! They fall instantly in love, yes I know ridiculous but 🤷🏼♀️, I loved it! Now the problem.. can two people who are away in beautiful Italy at a retreat, pretending to be two different people than they are, come home and still like each other?
Is Ava flighty? Yes.
Are her friends over the top? Yes.
Is her dog Harold adorable? Yes. (mostly)
But these are definitely caricatures of people who I know, and I love to have a fun plot and funny people in a story that doesn't take itself too seriously other than in its heart. One thing that I love about Kinsella is that she tends to find the good in people, even the ones we struggle to want to support show us their good character and humanity. Ava is a classic Kinsella heroine, equal parts frustrating and winsome but never failing to bring out the best in people (along with their anger sometimes)
Bravo to this book and how it made me feel after a few heavy reads and a VERY heavy year!! If this seems like the kind of thing you would enjoy, I +++ recommend that you see if you would love this in your life💖
July 4, 2025
1.5 ⭐️
I want to start this off by saying I am a huge Sophie Kinsella fan. I own and love all of her books, that's why I was beyond excited when I received this ARC! So it greatly disappoints me to say I could barely make it through this book, I strongly disliked every single character. Everything about this book felt amateurish and if Kinsella hadn't written it, I would've dropped out very early on.
Ava, a writer who strongly believes in true love and romance whisks off to a writing retreat in Italy after many failed attempts at dating. While in Italy, meant to be working on her novel, circumstances lead her to meeting Dutch, a mysterious and handsome man who joins the retreat as a late entry. The two have an instant attraction and begin a relationship-maintaining the rules about not sharing any personal information. The whirlwind love affair continues back to London, where Ava and Dutch (Matt) begin to discover each other for their true selves. Quickly, they realize that they aren't who the other thought they were, can they make it through?
First, the characters. Ava, while good intentioned and loyal, is a mess. I think she was meant to come off as quirky and different, and she does, but she's also annoying, frustrating and delusional. She seems to lack understanding of the world as it happens around her, is attached to her dog in a way that made me cringe and lives this all over the place, super disorganized life. She constantly makes excuses for those around her, claims she's a feminist but allows herself to be treated horribly by her friends and Matt, and continuously stops herself from expressing her true thoughts and feelings. The fact that she "fell in love" so quickly with someone she had zero chemistry with, and claimed to stay in love with that person was so unbelievable. Matt is a liar, he's inconsiderate and secretive. He came off as so bland and boring past the beginning of the book it was hard to read about the relationship with Ava. Again, absolutely zero chemistry between the two. I found the countless friends, I believe who were also written to be different and quirky, annoying, weird and rude in their own way. While I found them realistic, which I appreciated because Ava certainly wasn't, Ava brushed them off and they were present but just odd. Next, the plot. Basically if you want to read a book about two characters who have absolutely nothing in common besides a love of ice cream, with zero chemistry, who in no world should be together, this is the book for you. The entire book is just them realizing they're not meant for each other but staying together anyways. I thought the side plot with Harold just made Ava weirder. Ava is just so naive and all she wanted was to make something work that so clearly wasn't, although it tried, this book was about little else. I do not recommend this read at all. I would rate it 1 star but since I finished I'll rate it a 1.5 rounded up.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.
I want to start this off by saying I am a huge Sophie Kinsella fan. I own and love all of her books, that's why I was beyond excited when I received this ARC! So it greatly disappoints me to say I could barely make it through this book, I strongly disliked every single character. Everything about this book felt amateurish and if Kinsella hadn't written it, I would've dropped out very early on.
Ava, a writer who strongly believes in true love and romance whisks off to a writing retreat in Italy after many failed attempts at dating. While in Italy, meant to be working on her novel, circumstances lead her to meeting Dutch, a mysterious and handsome man who joins the retreat as a late entry. The two have an instant attraction and begin a relationship-maintaining the rules about not sharing any personal information. The whirlwind love affair continues back to London, where Ava and Dutch (Matt) begin to discover each other for their true selves. Quickly, they realize that they aren't who the other thought they were, can they make it through?
First, the characters. Ava, while good intentioned and loyal, is a mess. I think she was meant to come off as quirky and different, and she does, but she's also annoying, frustrating and delusional. She seems to lack understanding of the world as it happens around her, is attached to her dog in a way that made me cringe and lives this all over the place, super disorganized life. She constantly makes excuses for those around her, claims she's a feminist but allows herself to be treated horribly by her friends and Matt, and continuously stops herself from expressing her true thoughts and feelings. The fact that she "fell in love" so quickly with someone she had zero chemistry with, and claimed to stay in love with that person was so unbelievable. Matt is a liar, he's inconsiderate and secretive. He came off as so bland and boring past the beginning of the book it was hard to read about the relationship with Ava. Again, absolutely zero chemistry between the two. I found the countless friends, I believe who were also written to be different and quirky, annoying, weird and rude in their own way. While I found them realistic, which I appreciated because Ava certainly wasn't, Ava brushed them off and they were present but just odd. Next, the plot. Basically if you want to read a book about two characters who have absolutely nothing in common besides a love of ice cream, with zero chemistry, who in no world should be together, this is the book for you. The entire book is just them realizing they're not meant for each other but staying together anyways. I thought the side plot with Harold just made Ava weirder. Ava is just so naive and all she wanted was to make something work that so clearly wasn't, although it tried, this book was about little else. I do not recommend this read at all. I would rate it 1 star but since I finished I'll rate it a 1.5 rounded up.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.
May 19, 2021
"Love Your Life" by Sophie Kinsella was a cute-quirky-fun read!
Ava, wanting to finish that novel she's been working on for a bit too long, goes to a writer's retreat at a monastery in Italy where the participants are not allowed to know each other's real name or identity. The focus, after all is on writing, not who you are or what you have done, right? Ava takes the name of Aria and "cute guy" calls himself Dutch! Aria and Dutch definitely notice each other and ditch class for an afternoon at the beach. It seems to be 'love at first sight'! You see, Eva/Aria is a hopeful romantic who believes in the old fashion ways of finding love, not the on-line stuff that seems so impersonal! She now sees 'hearts and flowers' with Dutch - seriously she does!
Then it's back to London and real life as Eva and Matt. Although they seem to be determined to stay together, it all becomes a bit rocky! Ava just seems a little too ditsy to follow in a conversation, which bothers Matt and Matt seems distracted about work, which is troubling to Ava. Is it no longer possible for Eva and Matt to live together and survive life 'outside the bubble' of Italy?
That's when Ava suggests the brilliant concept of discovering 'Ava-land' and 'Matt-land' as a way for them to get to know more about each other. So the plan of getting to know each other's friends, Eva getting to know Matt's family, Matt getting to know more about Eva's dog, Harold, begins. But will it go wonderfully right or horribly wrong?
This book is a bit crazy and unbelievable, funny at times, sad and heart breaking at others, and with some serious family dynamics! Both Ava's and Matt's friends are over-the-top great additions to this book and often overshadow the two main characters. And, Harold, Ava's dog possibly overshadows them all! A truly delightful bunch! Have I mentioned before how much I love quirkiness?
It felt a bit slow, at times, and definitely a bit long at over 400 pages. But, I did really like it, plan on reading more from this author and will recommend it to others!
Disclosure: Tearjerker ending and I loved it!!
______________________________________
Thank you to Goodreads and Random House Book Club for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Ava, wanting to finish that novel she's been working on for a bit too long, goes to a writer's retreat at a monastery in Italy where the participants are not allowed to know each other's real name or identity. The focus, after all is on writing, not who you are or what you have done, right? Ava takes the name of Aria and "cute guy" calls himself Dutch! Aria and Dutch definitely notice each other and ditch class for an afternoon at the beach. It seems to be 'love at first sight'! You see, Eva/Aria is a hopeful romantic who believes in the old fashion ways of finding love, not the on-line stuff that seems so impersonal! She now sees 'hearts and flowers' with Dutch - seriously she does!
Then it's back to London and real life as Eva and Matt. Although they seem to be determined to stay together, it all becomes a bit rocky! Ava just seems a little too ditsy to follow in a conversation, which bothers Matt and Matt seems distracted about work, which is troubling to Ava. Is it no longer possible for Eva and Matt to live together and survive life 'outside the bubble' of Italy?
That's when Ava suggests the brilliant concept of discovering 'Ava-land' and 'Matt-land' as a way for them to get to know more about each other. So the plan of getting to know each other's friends, Eva getting to know Matt's family, Matt getting to know more about Eva's dog, Harold, begins. But will it go wonderfully right or horribly wrong?
This book is a bit crazy and unbelievable, funny at times, sad and heart breaking at others, and with some serious family dynamics! Both Ava's and Matt's friends are over-the-top great additions to this book and often overshadow the two main characters. And, Harold, Ava's dog possibly overshadows them all! A truly delightful bunch! Have I mentioned before how much I love quirkiness?
It felt a bit slow, at times, and definitely a bit long at over 400 pages. But, I did really like it, plan on reading more from this author and will recommend it to others!
Disclosure: Tearjerker ending and I loved it!!
______________________________________
Thank you to Goodreads and Random House Book Club for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
October 27, 2020
Love Your Life is an entertaining book. It is a typical Sophie Kinsella book with a cute story line, fun characters, romance, and laughs. Sophie Kinsella's books always make me happy and this is no exception. Love Your Life is a perfect book for something lighter during 2020.
I highly recommend Love Your Life to all Sophie Kinsella fans and anyone looking for a cute fun story. Anyone looking for a happy story Love Your Life is for you. This book will make you laugh and you will feel like the characters are your friends. Anyone that is a hopeless romantic and sick of online dating will love this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House for Love Your Life.
Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...
I highly recommend Love Your Life to all Sophie Kinsella fans and anyone looking for a cute fun story. Anyone looking for a happy story Love Your Life is for you. This book will make you laugh and you will feel like the characters are your friends. Anyone that is a hopeless romantic and sick of online dating will love this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House for Love Your Life.
Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...
November 1, 2020
DNF. I am so upset right now. I am a big kinsella fan. I’ve been looking forward to this book as a 2020 bright light. However, I just can’t finish because Ava was just too annoying for me to continue to read. Dutch went from fun to Dull Matt and I don’t blame the guy since he had to deal with Ava. This was just another reason why 2020 sucks.
February 13, 2021
Sappy, Sweet, and Funny too!
After meeting at a writer's retreat under fake names, “Aria” and “Dutch” (Ava and Matt) fall head over heels for each other, even though they aren’t able to divulge anything about their true selves.
Their whirlwind romance sweeps both of them away, faster than a ride down a roller coaster, that is until they head back into the real world as Ava and Matt and realize they don’t actually have anything in common.
Is it even remotely possible that Ava and Matt’s love story can survive, well, reality?
A cute rom-com, full of laughs, in which Sophie Kinsella returns to form. My favorite character here was definitely, Harold, Ava’s dog. If you’re looking for a character to steal your heart, he most certainly will.
3.5 Stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group -The Dial Press for the arc.
Published on Goodreads and Twitter on 2.13.21.
After meeting at a writer's retreat under fake names, “Aria” and “Dutch” (Ava and Matt) fall head over heels for each other, even though they aren’t able to divulge anything about their true selves.
Their whirlwind romance sweeps both of them away, faster than a ride down a roller coaster, that is until they head back into the real world as Ava and Matt and realize they don’t actually have anything in common.
Is it even remotely possible that Ava and Matt’s love story can survive, well, reality?
A cute rom-com, full of laughs, in which Sophie Kinsella returns to form. My favorite character here was definitely, Harold, Ava’s dog. If you’re looking for a character to steal your heart, he most certainly will.
3.5 Stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group -The Dial Press for the arc.
Published on Goodreads and Twitter on 2.13.21.
September 17, 2020
Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review
I really wanted to like this book. The premise is fun - a woman meets a man on an anonymous writing retreat, they fall in love without knowing the personal baggage they bring to the table, and then they try to make it work outside of the writing retreat. Fun, right? But no. Not fun.
I just truly didn't like the main characters at all. There was no chemistry between them. They weren't compatible in any way. It's one thing to have characters who are a little bit opposite of each other, but it's another thing to have two people who are just clearly not meant to be together at all.
Ava makes Matt change everything about himself essentially all for her and her very poorly behaved dog. As someone who is probably a little over the top with the love I have for my dog, I feel like Ava should be relatable, but she isn't. Her relationship with her dog is insane and it made me really hate her. She lets her dog act like a total asshole the entire book and constantly makes excuses for him instead of trying to fix the behavior or just simply keeping him away from other people's belongings so that he doesn't destroy them. It's ridiculous.
The friends had a lot of potential to be good, but they are all very basic. You have the sick friend - who always serves as the weird "get us out of this intense scene" excuse with a phone calls that's always like:
*Main characters are in some type of heated conversation/argument, Main Girl's phone rings*
Main Girl: "Hello?"
Person on Phone: "It's *insert sick friend*. You need to come."
Main Girl to Main Guy: "I have to go. It's sick friend."
Main Guy to Main Girl: "I'll take you."
I never want to read a scene like that again I swear.
There's another friend whose whole thing is asking people for favors all the time, which is really weird. I think it's supposed to be humorous, but it's literally the character's entire personality that she's just always asking people to do things for her. There's another friend who is described as ugly when we first meet him because he's "hulk-like" and has acne. Then, every time after that when he is mentioned, we get a reminder that he has super bad acne and is super ugly - in case you didn't remember from all the other times it was said. You WILL know that he's ugly and has acne.
Also there is this scene toward the end that has absolutely no place in this book whatsoever, and I am severely disappointed that this made it into the book. It completely ruined an otherwise decent ending.
The ending is the best part of the book (minus the spoiler scene I mentioned). I still think that Ava and Matt are too incompatible to have a healthy, long lasting relationship, but whatever floats your goat I guess.
Happy reading!
I really wanted to like this book. The premise is fun - a woman meets a man on an anonymous writing retreat, they fall in love without knowing the personal baggage they bring to the table, and then they try to make it work outside of the writing retreat. Fun, right? But no. Not fun.
I just truly didn't like the main characters at all. There was no chemistry between them. They weren't compatible in any way. It's one thing to have characters who are a little bit opposite of each other, but it's another thing to have two people who are just clearly not meant to be together at all.
Ava makes Matt change everything about himself essentially all for her and her very poorly behaved dog. As someone who is probably a little over the top with the love I have for my dog, I feel like Ava should be relatable, but she isn't. Her relationship with her dog is insane and it made me really hate her. She lets her dog act like a total asshole the entire book and constantly makes excuses for him instead of trying to fix the behavior or just simply keeping him away from other people's belongings so that he doesn't destroy them. It's ridiculous.
The friends had a lot of potential to be good, but they are all very basic. You have the sick friend - who always serves as the weird "get us out of this intense scene" excuse with a phone calls that's always like:
*Main characters are in some type of heated conversation/argument, Main Girl's phone rings*
Main Girl: "Hello?"
Person on Phone: "It's *insert sick friend*. You need to come."
Main Girl to Main Guy: "I have to go. It's sick friend."
Main Guy to Main Girl: "I'll take you."
I never want to read a scene like that again I swear.
There's another friend whose whole thing is asking people for favors all the time, which is really weird. I think it's supposed to be humorous, but it's literally the character's entire personality that she's just always asking people to do things for her. There's another friend who is described as ugly when we first meet him because he's "hulk-like" and has acne. Then, every time after that when he is mentioned, we get a reminder that he has super bad acne and is super ugly - in case you didn't remember from all the other times it was said. You WILL know that he's ugly and has acne.
Also there is this scene toward the end that has absolutely no place in this book whatsoever, and I am severely disappointed that this made it into the book. It completely ruined an otherwise decent ending.
The ending is the best part of the book (minus the spoiler scene I mentioned). I still think that Ava and Matt are too incompatible to have a healthy, long lasting relationship, but whatever floats your goat I guess.
Happy reading!
August 18, 2020
One of my common complaints with romances and women’s fiction with romantic elements (this novel is the latter), is that I don’t fall in love with the hero. In this book, I liked the hero just fine, but found the heroine insufferable. She’s relentlessly upbeat, and it got exhausting. She keeps trying to ignore all the ways she and Matt aren’t actually compatible, and her mantra is essentially, “Stay positive! Look at it this way and not the way it actually is!”
Ava and Matt meet at a writing retreat in Italy where they’re not supposed to tell each other any personal details about themselves, including their real names. So while they are falling in love with the people they are away from their jobs, family, and friends, everything is magical. When they return to their real lives, many things about the other person’s life drives them batty.
The ending is good.
This is a fun novel, but not my favorite book of Kinsella’s.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, which RELEASES OCTOBER 27, 2020.
January 5, 2021
I had such high hopes for this one, and I liked the beginning a lot and found it hilarious. But then Ava and Matt’s terrible personalities quickly ruined everything. Even Ava’s dog is awful. How on earth do you make a beagle unlikeable? That part offends me the most, because normally protagonists with dogs are the best. Dogs can save a story and animals are often my favorite part of a book.
My second issue was the plot. For this genre you do have to suspend disbelief, but every component was beyond ridiculous and conveniently resolved without being plausible. That combined with Ava’s incredibly annoying, manic and immature character and Matt’s sullen and nonexistent energy just killed it. On top of which, their insta-love made no sense to me-the characters are not remotely compatible, and that never changes. Like, where is this chemistry that’s supposedly happening and why do they want anything to do with each other besides physical attraction?
The retreat in the beginning and Ava hanging out with her friends initially was a solid 4.5 stars but the second half was a 2.
All I can say is that I’m glad Ava isn’t real and I will never have to encounter her ever again. On to the next!
My second issue was the plot. For this genre you do have to suspend disbelief, but every component was beyond ridiculous and conveniently resolved without being plausible. That combined with Ava’s incredibly annoying, manic and immature character and Matt’s sullen and nonexistent energy just killed it. On top of which, their insta-love made no sense to me-the characters are not remotely compatible, and that never changes. Like, where is this chemistry that’s supposedly happening and why do they want anything to do with each other besides physical attraction?
The retreat in the beginning and Ava hanging out with her friends initially was a solid 4.5 stars but the second half was a 2.
All I can say is that I’m glad Ava isn’t real and I will never have to encounter her ever again. On to the next!
April 12, 2021
Look, I got nothing. Ava is a straight up villain this whole freaking book. Nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. Between Ava's terrible dog, her passive aggressiveness, and her otherwise inability to finish a project, I was over her about 20 pages in. When I got to the 50 percent mark I was definitely done and just wondering how Kinsella was even going to make me care even a little bit about Ava and Matt. Spoiler alert she did not. This read like a rough draft of a debut romance book. I am baffled by what Kinsella was thinking here. I am also annoyed I bought this book and cannot wait until my library allows donations again.
"Love Your Life" follows Ava who is about to take a writer's retreat trip to Italy. Ava is writing what sounds like the worst romance novel known to existence (hmm was that foreshadowing?) and is determined to write her book, but also finish up being qualified in aromatherapy, and eventually finding a great boyfriend. When Ava gets to Italy she's at first fired up about writing, but then she meets a man (calling himself Dutch) who she decides is going to be her soul mate or something. One issue is that while at the retreat, Ava cannot provide her real name or details about her life so she's immersed in the writing. But she and Dutch have such a great connection these fools are like I love you 3 days into just having sex and sharing no real details about their lives. Of course the book moves them back to London and reality comes crashing down and we get to see how messed up Ava is and how her and Dutch (government name Mattias-nickname Matt) really don't work.
I don't know. I laughed at lot while reading, but in disbelief. There is a lot of messed up behavior by Ava, her dog (the dog sucks and was not funny at all) and even her three friends. I think that I was supposed to find this endearing instead of me mentally screaming at Matt to get out. Matt is not that awesome either, but at least seems to understand boundaries.
I think the biggest reason why this book tanks so hard is that you get to the 60-70 percent point and then Kinsella tries to bring things back together and it just does not work. You can't show the majority of the book why people are not going to work out to just be all love is the answer.
"Love Your Life" follows Ava who is about to take a writer's retreat trip to Italy. Ava is writing what sounds like the worst romance novel known to existence (hmm was that foreshadowing?) and is determined to write her book, but also finish up being qualified in aromatherapy, and eventually finding a great boyfriend. When Ava gets to Italy she's at first fired up about writing, but then she meets a man (calling himself Dutch) who she decides is going to be her soul mate or something. One issue is that while at the retreat, Ava cannot provide her real name or details about her life so she's immersed in the writing. But she and Dutch have such a great connection these fools are like I love you 3 days into just having sex and sharing no real details about their lives. Of course the book moves them back to London and reality comes crashing down and we get to see how messed up Ava is and how her and Dutch (government name Mattias-nickname Matt) really don't work.
I don't know. I laughed at lot while reading, but in disbelief. There is a lot of messed up behavior by Ava, her dog (the dog sucks and was not funny at all) and even her three friends. I think that I was supposed to find this endearing instead of me mentally screaming at Matt to get out. Matt is not that awesome either, but at least seems to understand boundaries.
I think the biggest reason why this book tanks so hard is that you get to the 60-70 percent point and then Kinsella tries to bring things back together and it just does not work. You can't show the majority of the book why people are not going to work out to just be all love is the answer.
September 6, 2020
Despite being more predictable than a virgin's period, Love Your Life was, at its core, a pretty fuckin' hilarious and über cute read. Without a doubt, it was a step up from Sophie Kinsella's last novel, I Owe You One, which was uncharacteristically lacking the signature spark that I've come to expect from her books. Thankfully, with the publication of Love Your Life (which I'd argue is her funniest book yet), it would seem that Ms. Kinsella has reclaimed her mojo and laid the fears to rest that I Owe You One was anything more than a one-time fluke.
Love Your Life excelled where most rom-coms/chick-lit novels consistently fall short: having full-fledged supporting characters. While most books in the genre tend to have nondescript, one-dimensional, stock supporting characters whom you wouldn't be able to tell apart with a gun to your head, Love Your Life was the rare, but welcome, exception to the rule. Each character brought something different and fresh to the table. The friend characters were all fun and interesting in their own right, and it felt like they served a greater purpose than simply filling the designated rom-com role of proverbial BFF/sidekick whom the female MC can bitch to and get either conflict-inducing or conflict-resolving advice from when shit goes down with the token boy toy. I can count on one hand the books that I've read in which the supporting characters outshone the MCs, and now Love Your Life is definitely among their number. I can honestly say that Ava's friends (especially Nell and Sarika) were my favorite—not to mention the funniest—characters in the book.
Where the problem lies, however, is in the unlikability (I'm coining a new word here—call me Shakespearina) of the female protagonist and MC, Ava. If you looked up the definition of likable heroine in the dictionary, Ava would be pictured as an antonym, to be sure. Ava is the archetype of your everyday astrology ho. She's all perky and wannabe hipster and "I know Matt because I feel his energy," which at first was super funny but didn't take long to really get under my skin. She's just not someone I really liked or could connect with as a character, which made liking and being able to get through the book kind of difficult for me. But to each her own. I'm sure others will enjoy Love Your Life much more than I did simply because they find Ava amusing and endearing instead of annoying af and/or they are just overall less tetchy with MCs than I am.
Nevertheless, I can't deny that Love Your Life is chock-full of the very wit and charm that have become a staple of all Sophie Kinsella's books. If you're looking for a quick laugh or something to transport you out of the real world for a short while, Love Your Life is the perfect book to help you on those fronts.
Love Your Life excelled where most rom-coms/chick-lit novels consistently fall short: having full-fledged supporting characters. While most books in the genre tend to have nondescript, one-dimensional, stock supporting characters whom you wouldn't be able to tell apart with a gun to your head, Love Your Life was the rare, but welcome, exception to the rule. Each character brought something different and fresh to the table. The friend characters were all fun and interesting in their own right, and it felt like they served a greater purpose than simply filling the designated rom-com role of proverbial BFF/sidekick whom the female MC can bitch to and get either conflict-inducing or conflict-resolving advice from when shit goes down with the token boy toy. I can count on one hand the books that I've read in which the supporting characters outshone the MCs, and now Love Your Life is definitely among their number. I can honestly say that Ava's friends (especially Nell and Sarika) were my favorite—not to mention the funniest—characters in the book.
Where the problem lies, however, is in the unlikability (I'm coining a new word here—call me Shakespearina) of the female protagonist and MC, Ava. If you looked up the definition of likable heroine in the dictionary, Ava would be pictured as an antonym, to be sure. Ava is the archetype of your everyday astrology ho. She's all perky and wannabe hipster and "I know Matt because I feel his energy," which at first was super funny but didn't take long to really get under my skin. She's just not someone I really liked or could connect with as a character, which made liking and being able to get through the book kind of difficult for me. But to each her own. I'm sure others will enjoy Love Your Life much more than I did simply because they find Ava amusing and endearing instead of annoying af and/or they are just overall less tetchy with MCs than I am.
Nevertheless, I can't deny that Love Your Life is chock-full of the very wit and charm that have become a staple of all Sophie Kinsella's books. If you're looking for a quick laugh or something to transport you out of the real world for a short while, Love Your Life is the perfect book to help you on those fronts.
September 6, 2020
I always love Sophie Kinsella’s warmth and sense of humor, and both are on full display in this sweet book. I love Kinsella, so I didn’t read the blurb and just dove in, which I think is a good way to go with this book because it doesn’t take the expected chick-lit path. In the beginning, our heroine is at a writer’s retreat in Italy where no one gives their real name. She goes by “Aria” and meets a gorgeous man named “Dutch.” They have a whirlwind romance but come to an agreement not to ask eachother any real-life details, including names. And that’s just the beginning of this sweet, affectionate book.
Without giving away the plot I have to say there were several unique heartwarming aspects I loved most. One is Ava’s dog, Harold, who is a character unto himself. Another is Ava’s close friend Nell. Nell has a serious illness and all her friends rally around her. Her disability is presented always in a realistic, kind and well-considered way. As someone who has had my own health challenges in the past, I love to see disabled characters thriving in books, particularly romantic books like this one. And my final two favorite things were the two main characters. As always, Kinsella creates a magical and vibrant world in which you can totally lose yourself. I always emerge happier after reading one of her colorful novels, which are always a little deeper than they first seem.
I give this book 4-plus stars. It’s a great, heartwarming escape when you need a little runaway time to another place where you can feel good about life, love and the world (like say in the middle of a pandemic or a contentious presidential election).
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Sophie Kinsella for the advance copy of this sweet and warm book. I am looking forward to reading Harold the dog’s book next.
Without giving away the plot I have to say there were several unique heartwarming aspects I loved most. One is Ava’s dog, Harold, who is a character unto himself. Another is Ava’s close friend Nell. Nell has a serious illness and all her friends rally around her. Her disability is presented always in a realistic, kind and well-considered way. As someone who has had my own health challenges in the past, I love to see disabled characters thriving in books, particularly romantic books like this one. And my final two favorite things were the two main characters. As always, Kinsella creates a magical and vibrant world in which you can totally lose yourself. I always emerge happier after reading one of her colorful novels, which are always a little deeper than they first seem.
I give this book 4-plus stars. It’s a great, heartwarming escape when you need a little runaway time to another place where you can feel good about life, love and the world (like say in the middle of a pandemic or a contentious presidential election).
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Sophie Kinsella for the advance copy of this sweet and warm book. I am looking forward to reading Harold the dog’s book next.
February 23, 2021
2.5 stars
No one is more surprised than me when it comes to the fact that I rated this book 2.5 stars. Sophie Kinsella is historically one of my favourite authors but this book....was not a favourite.
The story started out so promising and I really was loving it, until the characters returned from Italy. Even at that point, I started getting an inkling that the tides were turning for my love of the novel when there was such quick declarations of love from the characters.
When the main characters returned from Italy, they were much different characters than the people they started out as, especially Ava who we read about briefly before the trip. These changes were not due to a difference of vacation versus real life. I feel Ava's personality and her character as a whole was drastically altered from the character we read about in the beginning of the book.
The rest of the story was fairly bland, clichéd, and cringeworthy. I'm all for a quick vacation romance but felt that it was a little odd for both of them to expect that their lives would combine perfectly immediately. I love a HEA but I think many people that read this will have to suspend their disbelief when it comes to this romance.
It was a fairly long novel for something that was so mediocre. I wish I would have liked this novel more but unfortunately that was not the case.
No one is more surprised than me when it comes to the fact that I rated this book 2.5 stars. Sophie Kinsella is historically one of my favourite authors but this book....was not a favourite.
The story started out so promising and I really was loving it, until the characters returned from Italy. Even at that point, I started getting an inkling that the tides were turning for my love of the novel when there was such quick declarations of love from the characters.
When the main characters returned from Italy, they were much different characters than the people they started out as, especially Ava who we read about briefly before the trip. These changes were not due to a difference of vacation versus real life. I feel Ava's personality and her character as a whole was drastically altered from the character we read about in the beginning of the book.
The rest of the story was fairly bland, clichéd, and cringeworthy. I'm all for a quick vacation romance but felt that it was a little odd for both of them to expect that their lives would combine perfectly immediately. I love a HEA but I think many people that read this will have to suspend their disbelief when it comes to this romance.
It was a fairly long novel for something that was so mediocre. I wish I would have liked this novel more but unfortunately that was not the case.
October 6, 2020
I have always loved Sophie Kinsella’s books! Can You Keep A Secret and I’ve Got Your Number are two of my favorite books. However, I had felt it hard to connect with her last couple books and was questioning whether she would remain an auto-read author for me. I am happy to see Love Your Life redeemed her for me and I really enjoyed the book. It features romantic and whimsical Ava who is an aspiring writer that attends a writing retreat in Italy where you have to call everyone by an alias. Ava who is now “Aria” meets “Dutch” at the retreat and the two instantly connect and fall into a whirlwind romance. By the end of the retreat their feelings have evolved and they both believe they are in love and want to try their hand at a real relationship in the real world.
When Aria and Dutch aka Ava and Matt return to London and their real lives, they are surprised to discover how completely different they are. Ava is a vegetarian who has many different career aspirations but can’t quite seem to finish any. Her apartment is filled with furniture she has rescued and books she has purchased because she believed no one else would buy them. Her lovable dog Harold was also a rescue who is rambunctious and often causing trouble. On the other hand, Matt is extreme straight laced working for his family company and lives in a cold and modern high rise with art that Ava can’t begin to understand. The two try to navigate how they can make their relationship succeed. Can they find anything they are compatible with?
I really enjoyed reading about Ava and Matt. While I seriously questioned whether they should be together at times throughout the book, by the end I really was rooting for them. The friends were everything in this book! I loved both Ava and Matt’s friends, especially Tucker. They added so much depth and humor to the story. I couldn’t get enough of them. Overall, I would give this one 4 stars and am excited for Sophie Kinsella’s next book!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random Press Publishing for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.
When Aria and Dutch aka Ava and Matt return to London and their real lives, they are surprised to discover how completely different they are. Ava is a vegetarian who has many different career aspirations but can’t quite seem to finish any. Her apartment is filled with furniture she has rescued and books she has purchased because she believed no one else would buy them. Her lovable dog Harold was also a rescue who is rambunctious and often causing trouble. On the other hand, Matt is extreme straight laced working for his family company and lives in a cold and modern high rise with art that Ava can’t begin to understand. The two try to navigate how they can make their relationship succeed. Can they find anything they are compatible with?
I really enjoyed reading about Ava and Matt. While I seriously questioned whether they should be together at times throughout the book, by the end I really was rooting for them. The friends were everything in this book! I loved both Ava and Matt’s friends, especially Tucker. They added so much depth and humor to the story. I couldn’t get enough of them. Overall, I would give this one 4 stars and am excited for Sophie Kinsella’s next book!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random Press Publishing for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.
March 31, 2022
I give up. I don't have any respect for Ava and that's making it hard for me to want them to get together. She's all emotion, all the time, and seems to just expect things to work out because the world is a good place and/or she's a good person. She keeps puttering around with "courses", including the writing one that kicks this book off, and yet hasn't completed any. And I'm wondering what the heck she's living on?
I mean, sure everything in her apartment is a "rescue" and half of everything was found in a skip. But how the heck is she making rent? And "rescue books" that she takes in because it hurts her heart to think of them being pulped? Look, I love books I'd say above the ordinary. But I'm not going to weep if a random automotive manual heads off to the great beyond. And her dog is a monster because her method of discipline is to talk encouragingly to him and give him lots of love.
And I resent a little that Kinsella isn't even bothering to make it a fantasy because her dog is awful and her life is chaos and when you see her life through Matt's eye (by proxy, we don't get his PoV, but Kinsella is writer enough that we can totally see his reaction) you see exactly what you'd expect with someone who makes her decisions solely on emotion and never considers the obvious downsides.
I kept going for a bit because I know this is going to be about growth arcs and compromises. But Ava has so very far to go before she'll rise to tolerable non-flake that I just stopped caring. I'm giving this a second star because Kinsella is a talented writer and if Ava doesn't make your eyes want to bleed it's likely a very interesting romance...
I mean, sure everything in her apartment is a "rescue" and half of everything was found in a skip. But how the heck is she making rent? And "rescue books" that she takes in because it hurts her heart to think of them being pulped? Look, I love books I'd say above the ordinary. But I'm not going to weep if a random automotive manual heads off to the great beyond. And her dog is a monster because her method of discipline is to talk encouragingly to him and give him lots of love.
And I resent a little that Kinsella isn't even bothering to make it a fantasy because her dog is awful and her life is chaos and when you see her life through Matt's eye (by proxy, we don't get his PoV, but Kinsella is writer enough that we can totally see his reaction) you see exactly what you'd expect with someone who makes her decisions solely on emotion and never considers the obvious downsides.
I kept going for a bit because I know this is going to be about growth arcs and compromises. But Ava has so very far to go before she'll rise to tolerable non-flake that I just stopped caring. I'm giving this a second star because Kinsella is a talented writer and if Ava doesn't make your eyes want to bleed it's likely a very interesting romance...
June 3, 2021
Oh how I loved learning about Ava-land and Matt-land 💕. This is a funny and entertaining story with all the happy feels. It's a story about love, friendship, and compromise. A story about being brave enough to do what you love and standing up for yourself.
I've been a fan of Sophie Kinsella's books for years, so I always look forward to reading her latest book. I highly recommend this one to anyone looking for a fun and quirky love story. I hope you'll be entertained by Ava, Matt, and their eclectic group of friends as much as I was.
I've been a fan of Sophie Kinsella's books for years, so I always look forward to reading her latest book. I highly recommend this one to anyone looking for a fun and quirky love story. I hope you'll be entertained by Ava, Matt, and their eclectic group of friends as much as I was.
September 9, 2020
The premise of this book sounds interesting. It sounds like it should be an excellent relaxing pop-corn read, something that you breeze through quickly. Not for me. I was wondering why when I was reading this that my stomach was burning and in knots, I had a stress headache, and I felt depressed -now that I've finished this ARC, I know why.
It is said that a person's brain reaches its adult growth stage at 25. Now I don't know if that is true or not, but with these two characters, I would have to say that information is totally false. I have never seen two so-called adults act like they were still 13 but with sex. I could not stand flaky, insipid Ava, or stick up the butt, closed off Matt.
The premise ended up being preposterous and unbelievable. How could anyone fall in love in less than a week, plus do it without knowing not one thing about the other? Not even their real name?
I'm sorry, I know this book is getting fantastic reviews, but I just don't buy the HEA in this book.
*ARC received from the publisher.
It is said that a person's brain reaches its adult growth stage at 25. Now I don't know if that is true or not, but with these two characters, I would have to say that information is totally false. I have never seen two so-called adults act like they were still 13 but with sex. I could not stand flaky, insipid Ava, or stick up the butt, closed off Matt.
The premise ended up being preposterous and unbelievable. How could anyone fall in love in less than a week, plus do it without knowing not one thing about the other? Not even their real name?
I'm sorry, I know this book is getting fantastic reviews, but I just don't buy the HEA in this book.
*ARC received from the publisher.
February 2, 2021
fun! Feel good! Fab! Sophie Kinsella is One of my favorite authors and never before has a year needed a SK book like 2020! Ava has had it, so she decides to do something for herself and heads to a writers retreat in Italy. At The retreat you are to forget about everything you left behind - you can’t talk about your past, you don’t even use your real name. while at the retreat Eva( going by the name aria) meets a boy who is going by the name Dutch. Aria and Dutch have an instant connection and fall head over heels for one another. BUT will Ava and Matt (Dutch) find that same connection when they leave ideal Italy for real life? They have never discussed their jobs, their homes, their food taste, their friends, their taste in music, their family, their finances.... This is the story about what happens after the happily ever after.
I just loved everything about this story! Ava was such an adorable character I’d love to be friends with her. Her group of friends were amazing, a little overwhelming, but amazing all the same. Matt was a little uptight, but I could tell he was a good guy. His friends were great, would probably be a little trying if they were your boyfriend’s friends, but I’d imagine they grow on you. Ava‘s dog Harold stole the show! He was such a great dog good for so many humorous moments, and of course the best loyal companion. The story took a little twist I was not anticipating but I think it was the perfect direction for the story. Really gave me a lot to think about and made it so real. another excellent, entertaining, engaging Story from Miss Kinsella.
*** Big thank you to Random House for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
I just loved everything about this story! Ava was such an adorable character I’d love to be friends with her. Her group of friends were amazing, a little overwhelming, but amazing all the same. Matt was a little uptight, but I could tell he was a good guy. His friends were great, would probably be a little trying if they were your boyfriend’s friends, but I’d imagine they grow on you. Ava‘s dog Harold stole the show! He was such a great dog good for so many humorous moments, and of course the best loyal companion. The story took a little twist I was not anticipating but I think it was the perfect direction for the story. Really gave me a lot to think about and made it so real. another excellent, entertaining, engaging Story from Miss Kinsella.
*** Big thank you to Random House for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
November 7, 2020
Sophie Kinsella has written some of my favorite chick-lit books ;
Can You Keep a Secret?
The Undomestic Goddess
I've Got Your Number
this got that delightful feel of it & humor that I appreciate in her books
I love the premise of this book...two people meet on holiday, being their best self & having a great time..of course when they return to real life all the drama ensues because this stranger doesn't look so perfect anymore...
the ratio of fiction and realism was just perfect..
completely enjoyable..audiobook is very good too if you want to go that route...
Can You Keep a Secret?
The Undomestic Goddess
I've Got Your Number
this got that delightful feel of it & humor that I appreciate in her books
I love the premise of this book...two people meet on holiday, being their best self & having a great time..of course when they return to real life all the drama ensues because this stranger doesn't look so perfect anymore...
the ratio of fiction and realism was just perfect..
completely enjoyable..audiobook is very good too if you want to go that route...
February 1, 2022
it started off with insta-love: “i love him. i don’t know anything about this guy. not his age, not his job, not even his name. but i love him.” ava and matt were not compatible and i didn’t find myself rooting for them. also, there is a scene at the end where an animal is injured, and i didn’t think it was necessary to the plot. this book was a major miss for me. 😞
May 8, 2021
I love anything and everything by Sophie Kinsella, I am a big fan of her Shopaholic series and in my opinion, her books just get better and better, and her newest book, Love Your Life, does not disappoint.
My Review:
I sure enjoyed this book. Ava and Matt are away from home, with time on their hands, and romance blossoms. Then, comes the reality of back home, and life falls apart. The entire book is just delightful to read.
These characters are fun! And not only Matt and Ava, but Ava’s and Matt’s friends are hilarious, quirky, and charming too.
I liked the plot. Matt and Ava meet in Italy at a writers retreat, but since the retreat has everyone using pseudonyms, they don’t know each other’s real names until after they fall in love. Aria (Ava) and Dutch (Matt) are positively delightful as they meet and fall in love in Italy at the retreat. Love comes to them fast, but that’s the way it is when you’re on vacation and having the time of your life. And when they return to London, that’s when we see the really fun interactions with all the friends and family of Ava and Matt.
I can’t recommend this book enough, it’s just so much fun, you won’t regret reading this.
My Review:
I sure enjoyed this book. Ava and Matt are away from home, with time on their hands, and romance blossoms. Then, comes the reality of back home, and life falls apart. The entire book is just delightful to read.
These characters are fun! And not only Matt and Ava, but Ava’s and Matt’s friends are hilarious, quirky, and charming too.
I liked the plot. Matt and Ava meet in Italy at a writers retreat, but since the retreat has everyone using pseudonyms, they don’t know each other’s real names until after they fall in love. Aria (Ava) and Dutch (Matt) are positively delightful as they meet and fall in love in Italy at the retreat. Love comes to them fast, but that’s the way it is when you’re on vacation and having the time of your life. And when they return to London, that’s when we see the really fun interactions with all the friends and family of Ava and Matt.
I can’t recommend this book enough, it’s just so much fun, you won’t regret reading this.
June 14, 2021
Ava goes to a writer’s retreat in Italy where she’s not allowed to reveal anything about herself. Not her name, where she’s from or her profession. Everyone takes on a fake name for the retreat. At the retreat, she meets “Dutch” and they have a passionate fling. I was LOLing so hard at some of the writing samples, especially the scene after they both got amorous and it snuck its way into their scene. SO FUNNY. When it’s time to go, they’re both seeing hearts and little Disney birds flying overhead, and have idealistic thoughts of who the other must be.
And then comes the reality check. They have absolutely nothing in common and in fact drive each other crazy. This novel felt not so much like a romance (there was so much arguing, I truly wondered if the two main characters would end up together) but a story of friendships and family. I loved the friend groups of both main characters and their interesting backstories. Matteo’s family was also interesting and fun to read about. And of course, every scene with Harold the beagle was priceless. I've probably read at least 6-7 Sophie Kinsella books and all of them have been 5-star reads for me. She's an amazing writer and I love the Shopaholic series. This one was just a miss for me.
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
And then comes the reality check. They have absolutely nothing in common and in fact drive each other crazy. This novel felt not so much like a romance (there was so much arguing, I truly wondered if the two main characters would end up together) but a story of friendships and family. I loved the friend groups of both main characters and their interesting backstories. Matteo’s family was also interesting and fun to read about. And of course, every scene with Harold the beagle was priceless. I've probably read at least 6-7 Sophie Kinsella books and all of them have been 5-star reads for me. She's an amazing writer and I love the Shopaholic series. This one was just a miss for me.
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
March 10, 2021
My first Sophie Kinsella book. I’m trying to read sunnier books in 2021 and finally giving a Sophie Kinsella a chance (after many recommendations, even though they’ve never appealed to me before).
I was one chapter in and all the cheesy dialogue was driving me nuts but the synopsis had interested me and so I (forced myself to)kept reading.
It’s hard to love a book with a character as annoying as Ava. She seemed awesome at first (vegetarian dog lover)but she has to be one of the most annoying main characters ever and it honestly took me almost the whole book to appreciate her.
Up until about 85% into the book I was ready to give the book a 2.5 or 3 stars rating but then it all changed. It suddenly became fun and easygoing and nice and light (read it while we were in lockdown). And as I read the last couple of chapters I started to love this book. I loved its optimism and romance. I even started to like Ava. It was the perfect stuck at home in grey February type of book.
Will I read another Sophie Kinsella? Not in a rush but yes!
I was one chapter in and all the cheesy dialogue was driving me nuts but the synopsis had interested me and so I (forced myself to)kept reading.
It’s hard to love a book with a character as annoying as Ava. She seemed awesome at first (vegetarian dog lover)but she has to be one of the most annoying main characters ever and it honestly took me almost the whole book to appreciate her.
Up until about 85% into the book I was ready to give the book a 2.5 or 3 stars rating but then it all changed. It suddenly became fun and easygoing and nice and light (read it while we were in lockdown). And as I read the last couple of chapters I started to love this book. I loved its optimism and romance. I even started to like Ava. It was the perfect stuck at home in grey February type of book.
Will I read another Sophie Kinsella? Not in a rush but yes!
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