I did not realize this author wrote the Shopaholic books until the end. But I haven't read those, I only saw the movie, so it doesn't make much of a difference. Anyway, I thought the beginning of this book was kind of dumb. Like, what did they think when they got married, that they wouldn't be together for their whole lives? And it seemed like cooked up drama--but then the real drama got started and the plot got heavier and by the end I was sucked in. Also, just the sassy British humor was amazing and that's really what kept me reading even when I thought the plot was kind of dumb. So, overall, I was pleasantly surprised.

This is the first book I have read of Sophie Kinsella's. She writes in a very hands-on, happy style. The characters are all people you would be interested in having as friends. The trouble in the story starts with the realization that our main character and her husband, albeit in an extremely close relationship, have been given a clean bill of health and a lifespan that will take them another 67 or so years to use up. This opens up a realization that they will be with each other for another 67 or so years and how to make that sustainable. The book then gets a little comical in the various methods successful or not they each employ to "surprise" each other geared to help maintain interest in each other for the long run. Of course mayhem ensues as well as secrets which in a relationship never bode well. On the surface the book is lighthearted but in actually it deals with really getting to know your partner and being in love with them for who they actually are. The very act of seeing each other. The same with the other people in your life.
I liked this book, and was very happy to have the opportunity to read it thanks to NetGalley and copy they sent me. I look forward to reading other stories by Sophia Kinsella.

“The secret to humor is surprise.” ― Aristotle

I was eager to read this one after reading My Not So Perfect Life, and was ecstatic when NetGalley and Random House granted my request for this ARC! As of right now, Sophie Kinsella has become my go-to author when I need a pick-me-up. Surprise Me has a bit of everything and was exactly what I have come to expect from this author.

The book gets your attention from the very first page and it holds on to you with a relentless grip all the way though. The story follows Sylvie and her husband Dan who are happily married with two beautiful five-year-old twin girls. When faced with the reality of just how long their marriage might last, Sylvie wants to create fun ways to spice up their marriage. She comes up with an ingenious idea and creates Project Surprise Me. Reluctantly, Dan agrees to give her idea a try and this is when are taken on an amazing ride!

What started out as innocent fun soon turns into a fiasco. Small surprises turn into unbelievable ones and Sophie Kinsella has managed to keep the reader engaged. When you begin to feel the emotions, the anxieties, hopes and pains of the characters then you know the writing is on another level. This book made me laugh, think, cry and cheer from start to finish.

One of the things I enjoy about Kinsella’s writing is her creation of realistic and relatable characters. The way she develops each character is outstanding. I truly enjoy a book that allows the characters to grow and change, become better and find themselves.

As I mentioned above, this book has a bit of everything. There will be moments when you will laugh until you cry then suddenly the story takes a turn and breaks your heart. You will ride a roller-coaster of emotions that will leave you wanting more.

I always love Sophie Kinsella books and this one was no exception. Her heroines are always witty and sharp. I didn't understand the initial crisis here-Sylvie and her husband Dan find out that they will probably live another 68 years-oh the horror! How will they be able to stand it?? First of all, how can any doctor know this and second of all, why is this is crisis?? That being said, there were a number of different story lines that while interesting, didn't seem to fit together but no worries, eventually they all worked out! Sylvie was engaging, her twin daughters were adorable and all of the side characters felt lovable and interesting in their own ways. I would give it a 3.5 stars-a little slow at first because I didn't understand the dilemma but definitely speeds up as the marriage angst starts.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Everyone knows that Sophie's books are my guilty pleasure! And this one didn't disappoint.

Sylvie and Dan have been married 10 years now. With adorable girls and jobs they enjoy. After an annual check up they are both given a clean bill of health and told they would probably live a nice long life. Which leads them to question how they are going to keep this thing going for the next 7 decades!

The characters in the book are all hilarious in their own way and some of the "surprises" they come up with are beyond funny! And embarrassing.

When Sylvie suspects Dan of an affair things come out that have been hidden for years. Which leads Sylvie to ask if she ever really knew her family at all or has she been carrying around a little girl's view of her family?

This was great fun with a bit of mystery thrown in, so go ahead and Surprise Me! anytime Ms. Kinsella!

February 13, 2018  Netgalley/DialPress

I was looking forward to reading this as I've enjoyed some of Kinsella's earlier books and the premise for this one sounded promising. However, this one left me cold. I couldn't finish it. Sylvie is so incredibly shallow and not in a funny way. Just plain irritating. I couldn't finish it.

This is my second Sophie Kinsella book. Having loved “My (not-so) Perfect Life”, when I saw this one I knew I HAD to read it. I won't lie, it was very different to her previous book and different from what I thought, but it was good.
Sophie has a very talented way of telling a story, in a fresh, light and enjoyable way. I love her characters and I truly liked Sylvie in the beginning, her voice was so funny, I love that type of characters and I love that we get to know their thoughts, know them from the inside. As the story went on I started to like her a little bit less, and in some point on the story I really couldn't understand and I thought it was going off-topic and everything was confusing. But then...oh! I definitely understood why all that happened and why things were the way they were, everything made sense!
In the end Surprise Me was a very funny and lovely story, it's a story about REAL love, no fairytale love, no sugarcoated love, and I liked that. I deeply enjoyed and I'd definitely love reading more of Sophie's books.

I received this as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This book is a fun romp through a marriage and the trials and tribulations of spending every day with someone for the rest of your lives. What does that really mean? How do you keep something fresh when, by definition, it is decidedly not fresh?

This book was fun, and it's been a while since I've read something by Kinsella. The premise was intriguing. The characters were quirky, the various plot lines melded well, and the end wrapped things up nicely - albeit a little oddly. I definitely didn't see that coming, which is always satisfying in a book. It wasn't my favourite Kinsella book, and I wasn't as invested in the characters or the outcome as I would have liked for a book like this.

All in all, would recommend as a fun summer read, or something to keep you occupied on a long flight or quiet day at home.

It was a cute book, but the part that really would have made it standout and be interesting (Sylvie coping with her father's affair with a 16 year old girl) was glossed over at best. Many of the marital troubles she had with Dan would have been solved by decent communication skills, so that was frustrating to read sometimes. I wish that rather than having Dan and Sylvie's marriage at the core of the book, it was about the relationship with Sylvie and her father, and dealing with betrayal after his death.

Reading Surprise Me I thought that it was a book about a couple rediscovering themselves after drifting apart in their marriage. While it was that, I was not expecting it to be deeper. The blurb did hint at it but that hint barely scratches the surface of this book. Barely scratches it. Put it this way, I was surprised at what came out in this book.

Surprise Me starts off with Sylvie and Dan coming out of a Dr's appointment stunned. They had been told that they had 68 more years together. Shortly after that, Sylvie notices that Dan is very stressed out. That he is hiding things. He starts to come home late and is acting sneaky. After witnessing a moment between Dan and his ex-girlfriend at a dinner party and finding a secret cell phone, Sylvie comes to one conclusion. Dan is cheating on her. While Sylvie is dealing with her personal issues, she is also dealing with issues at work. Her boss's nephew has come and is making changes to the museum she works at. Sylvie's personal and work issues catch up with her. But, everything is not what they seem. The truth behind why Dan is acting the way he is and the nephew's changes will come out. Will Sylvie be able to handle the truth once it comes out? Or will she lose everything?

I liked Sylvie and thought she was hilarious. Her reaction to living with Dan for another 68 years would have been the same reaction I had. I was dying laughing when I read those scenes. I also felt bad for Sylvie. She had a breakdown when her father died. She hero-worshipped her father. The growth of her character during this book was amazing. She came into her own in all areas of her life. She went from this sheltered spoiled princess to a confident woman who could handle everything that was thrown at her. I loved it!! What I also liked is that she was willing to do anything to keep the spark in her marriage. Her "Surprise Me" take on that was very good. Except Dan kept one-upping her....lol.

I was with Sylvie with Dan cheating on her until she got to the lawyer's office. Then I had the same reaction that she did when confronted with the truth. I wanted to hug her. I also wanted to smack her mother upside the head. I thought she was a selfish person. 

I mentioned above that I liked Sylvie's transformation. It was not only physical (cutting her hair) but mental too. When she discovered the truth about things, it was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. I loved reading that.

The end of Surprise Me was wonderful. I loved seeing Sylvie's complete transformation. Her acceptance of everything was wonderful (she did have help). 

Surprise Me is written in 1st person and is told only from Sylvie's perspective. While I liked it, I do wish that the book flashed to Dan so we could get a hint at what was going on. Other than that, I loved the book. I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 16. While there is a couple of sex scenes, they aren't graphic. There is language, but it is mild. I would reread this book too.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group, The Dial Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Surprise Me.

All opinions stated in this review of Surprise Me are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

For some reason I struggled to get into this book. I did finish reading it and I did like the general statement the author is trying to make about relationships and trust and family. It just wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you netgalley for an Arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars. This read like a very typical Sophie Kinsella book, down to the miscommunication between spouses, the personality and thought process of the protagonist, to the characterizations of the friends, etc. My brain was making very strong Becky Bloomwood comparisons with the protagonist as I read.

I enjoy Sophie's books but I would've been interested in something a little more than her usual story/character template.

I definitely had to work for this one a bit. I’m not sure why, maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for this book when I read it. The story was fun though, and I did enjoy the characters. I have recommended it to so many patrons already and purchased several copies for my library. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read it early.

I was pleasantly surprised when Random House offered me an advance reader copy of Kinsella's newest novel - without me even requesting one! I've previously read a bunch of Kinsella's work and it came at the perfect time of needing something relatively fluffy to read, so with excitement, I jumped in.

At first pass, this is a really enjoyable novel, full of the hijinks and miscommunications that one expects from Kinsella. The action begins when Sylvie and Dan, a married couple, go for a physical and receive the excellent news that they are in good health... and can look forward to another 68 years of marriage together. Cue the panic, as Sylvie worries that she and Dan are too comfortable and that boredom has begun to set in, and seeks to bring more excitement into their marriage by instituting a new expectation that they surprise each other, with varying levels of success.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, and felt that Sylvie and Dan were relatable as a married couple facing the question of how comfortable is too comfortable. However, some of the plot twists were a little out of left field, and the more I considered them, the more crazy they became. Without giving away too much - Why, oh why, would the family trust Dan to negotiate? And not the attorneys? This bizarre way to tie everything together fell flat for me upon reflection. Given the circumstances, I just don't see this as an even remotely realistic chain of events.

Even with unbelievable plot twists, I enjoyed reading this. Much thanks to Random House for the advance copy!

I know I am behind in the world but this was the first book by Kinsella that I have read. The preface had me interested in the book right away. I found the idea that a husband and wife would freak out that it was predicted they would be married 68 more years, very sad. There were parts of their story that made me laugh out loud. Situations that they found themselves in were funny at times.

I would read more by Kinsella but I think I would save her books for the beach when I want something light.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance readers copy. All opinions are my own.

Surprise Me, was an uplifting book. I really enjoyed the relationship between Dan and Slyvie, and Slyvie and Tilda. Slyvie reminded me of people that I have met, and watching her worry and change was interesting.

Surprise Me is a new standalone book by the fabulously talented Sophie Kinsella.

While we loved the concept of this book and the beginning of Sylvie and Dan's story, we felt like this story was similar to other plots that we have read and not that original.

Of course we will continue to read books by Sophie Kinsella, because she is a favorite of ours!

Sylvie wants to spice up her love life so she decides her and her husband, Dan, should plan little surprises for each other. Most of these surprises fall apart but they do reveal a scandal that could shatter their marriage.

The plot was well written with many different side plots. I wasn't sure where Kinsella was going with all the side plots so when they were all woven together for the shocking conclusion I was surprised, I never thought that scandal would have been that! The romance between Sylvie and Dan was a bit too mushy gushy, I hated the fact that they could finish each others sentences. The surprises Dan and Sylvie planned each other were sweet but I found the aftermath even better. I got a few good chuckles as surprises fell apart or had disastrous consequences.

Overall this was a funny and enjoyable novel. I loved the ending and the path Sylvie decides to choose and to whom she showed her loyalty for. I really liked how Sylvie showed sympathy and understanding to someone who could cause havoc for her future. I would suggest this novel to everyone who enjoys humorous romantic/contemporary novel. Thanks to Dial Press and Netgalley for this ARC.

A light hearted and enjoyable book reminding us that even in marriage surprises can still happen from those we love and those we think we know best. Quirky and fun loving characters with surprises along with way make this a must read book! Thank you for the opportunity to have read this book prior to publication.