This book is quite fun as per usual with all of Sophie Kinsella's work. It starts out a little slow with lots of emphasis on 68 years of marriage left as the two main characters Sylvie and Dan find out in the beginning of the book. Sylvie plots out ways to make their marriage last as they both seem to be scared of all of the years that are going to be spending together. A few fun twists and we find Sylvie fearing for the worst in her marriage - that she has sent Dan to the arms of another woman. The reader will soon find out she is all wrong and an interesting plot twists enters here. By the end of the book the characters are together and stronger and feel that 68 years is not enough! They renew their vows in front of their children and it's a happy ever after so to speak. Sylvie's character goes through a lot of growth and this was great to see her to come in to herself. Great read!

I have always loved Sophie Kinsella books and it took me a little bit into the story to get lost in Sylvie and Dan's journey, but once I did, I couldn't put this book down. I was enraptured by the little things they started to do for each other and found myself laughing at the hilarity of their surprises. It was a sweet, endearing read that held me captive. I wanted to find out what surprise was in store for them next, what was going to happen to Sylvie's job and what Dan was really doing. I enjoyed the realness to their story and what was happening in their lives. I felt for Sylvie as the truths started her on a new and different journey. I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend this read!

Not my favorite Sophie Kinsella book, but I definitely won't shy away from her books in the future. Great idea for a storyline, but it moved a bit too slow for me.

I was an ardent fan of the Shopaholics books and really wanted to enjoy this one. It was just very trite and didn't seem to go anywhere. Several funny moments but not up to her usual caliber.

I received an advance copy of this ebook for review. I was excited to receive it, because the last Sophie Kinsella book I started to read, I was unable to finish because it made me sneeze. I picked up a paperback of one of her older titles at a free lending library and it must have had water damage or something because I sneezed a lot, but I was enjoying the book so I decided to just read faster and finish quickly. That was dumb because that just extended exposure to an allergen. I finally couldn't deal with the sneezing and gave up about halfway through and decided to read it again some other time. That was two years ago and in retrospect, maybe I didn't really like it as much as I thought I did. I never put much effort into finding another copy.

So, fast forward a few years later, and NetGalley has the new Sophie Kinsella title available (ebook version, no sneezes!) and I jumped at the chance to read her new book! I love the premise - a couple thinks they're perfectly happy until a doctor suggests they will live to be 100, and the reality of continuing their routine for another 68 years is a sobering thought that prompts them to reevaluate their marriage. I think it sounds delightful, and I enjoy Kinsella's characters because they are funny and flawed in a relatable way. But in the end, the way I felt about finishing 448 pages of this book was not unlike the characters themselves felt when they were told how long their marriage would last. I was along for the ride for the first half, but 2/3 of the way through the book, I just wasn't having fun anymore.

I'd prefer not to give this a star rating because I think it's a personal preference that I'm not that into this genre. I should have known when my ocd didn't mind when I suddenly stopped reading her other novel right in the middle. That's unusual for me to have to stop reading without moving heaven and earth to find another copy to finish. I can see why she has so many fans, and I don't think someone would be disappointed in Surprise Me if they enjoy her writing. It's just not for me, I guess.

I enjoyed the premise of Surprise Me, although certain parts of it did miss the mark for me. It was difficult to empathize with the main characters at times, especially Dan. I connected with Sylvie more. Her work scenes and the time she spent with Tilda, who I loved, were my favorites.

Fun weekend read the author has a uniquely conversational style while capturing the heroine and her inner monologue. You think you are reading the infidelity plot but the twist happens and is timely in the current me too climate

OK, so I wound up liking the end of this book, but getting there was torture. More than the last 15% of a book has to be enjoyable. The primary conflict in the beginning of the book is that the main characters find out they're going to have a long and happy life together, and they freak. Sorry, it's hard to empathize with people who are too healthy (in a country that, you know, has health care), or that have such a perfect marriage they.... don't want it to last forever? It makes no sense.

The surprises predictably go largely wrong, but Kinsella's trademark hilarity is missing here. The things that happen are more weird and sad than funny. Which means that as I was waiting for the big surprised promised by the prologue (which is more than SEVENTY PERCENT into the book), I was bored.

The other basic conflict is that the MC (who was so uninteresting to me, I found myself just calling her Sophie for most of the book) idolizes her dead father to the point that she's comparing him to her husband and her husband is coming up short. And then she has the appalling lack of self-awareness to think her husband just didn't like her father because he was rich, and not because she constantly made him feel inferior. I get it, she's daddy's little princess, but... uggggggghhh.

Sure, the end fixes a lot, but it's too little, too late. The whole book has to be entertaining. I've read and loved everything Kinsella's written (including the Wickham books), so maybe it was time for her to miss the mark. Maybe the book was rushed, I don't know. But I'd recommend re-reading any of her other books over this one.

***I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

If you enjoy Sophie Kinsella, this book will not disappoint. Sylvie & Dan's story seems like a somewhat predictable one...married for a while with young twin girls, feeling a little bit like they are in a rut (at least from Sylvie's point of view). Trying to add some spice to their marriage with surprises leads to some interesting discoveries. Sylvie is another fun female character by Sophie Kinsella. I love how the story plays out & highly encourage picking this book up to find out what chaos ensues.

It was a solid book. A little slow for me but not bad.
Thanks Netgalley

**Review will be published to blog in end-of-year reading roundup on 27 Dec 2017 at 10:00AM EST, and full review on blog in early February.**

I chose this book because:

I was sent an email about Sophie Kinsella’s new novel Surprise Me, as I had previously read and reviewed her novel My Not So Perfect Life. Sophie Kinsella was one of the authors of my child/teen-hood, so I’m always excited for one of her books. When I checked out the blurb on Goodreads, I was skeptical/concerned(?) when I read the part about the couple not expecting to be together for seven decades, because aren’t most couples like, I’m gonna love you forever for the rest of our lives which is forever, rather than, damn I’m stuck with this person who I love for this long?? Maybe it’s different when you’re married haha. But anyways, I’m intrigued by the mishaps and secrets that get revealed.

Upon reading this book:

I was a bit skeptical of the storyline when I read the blurb, but I was open to it because it was Sophie Kinsella. Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me, which is a shame because I love her books. I guess I was never able to wrap my head around the premise of this book though. I couldn’t help but think, “What. They’d rather die than continue being married for so long? How in love could they be?”

From the very beginning, I couldn’t help but think that the couple was dysfunctional. I didn’t get the sense that they finished each others sentences, except for at the beginning of the book when it was explicitly stated, but I didn’t feel that connection. Their bickering felt like the trivial bickering of high school kids and I couldn’t believe that they were married with kids; I couldn’t take them seriously and I couldn’t sympathize with the challenges of their marriage.

However, what I did appreciate about the book was how fast-paced it was. It dove right into the problem shown in the blurb and didn’t drag it out, so I was carried along with the story, rather than experiencing it like I was waiting and expecting certain things to happen.

Kinsella’s book Surprise Me is a pleasant surprise; it is thought provoking while also entertaining. The main characters, Dan and Sylvie, who have been together for 10 years, learn at their respective physicals that they are likely to live another 65+ years, based on their current health and family history. At first this is exciting news but the reality of being with the same person for six more decades starts to affect them. The spouses start evaluating their choices and decisions, both current and future oriented.

Along their journey of self discovery and re-evaluation, both realize they did not know themselves or one another as well as initially believed. Each decides to try and surprise the other with gifts and actions, to liven up their lives. However, plans often don’t go as intended, and with Kinsella’s wry humor, the story is entertaining and funny, without being predictable or too unrealistic. The couple has to figure out what they really want out of life and how he other fits in with their idea of the future. The tale unfolds with some twists and turns that I did not anticipate, and the end result was both satisfying and appropriate.

As a 50 year old, I thought I was aging out of Kinsella’s audience range, but Surprise Me showed me that I was wrong. She is able to continually develop new plots and keep the concepts fresh and new, while being relatable to many ages.

Not my favorite Sophie Kinsella--felt more like her Madeleine Wickham alter-ego. Just wasn't fun for me which I was expecting. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a very interesting book. The premise was not something I ever read before and did not expect the twist. Great characters, wonderfully funny dialogue and a lovely surprise ending!

Surprise Me wasn't quite the typical romantic comedy I'm usually looking for when I read Sophie Kinsella, but I did enjoy the story.  The main character has a nice arc and changes by the end, which was a relief because I was a bit annoyed with her at times. I was equally in-the-dark about the biggest surprise of all as Princess Sylvie herself was, so the curiosity momentum definitely kept me reading. It was nice to read a love story that didn't have as predictable a plot, even if picking up in the middle of a marriage robbed me of my beloved meet-cute. 

I suspect I'd have enjoyed this book a lot more if I was seeking stories about how married people's love lives can still have surprises, too. As it was, I enjoyed the book but don't know that I'd have picked it up on my own based on the synopsis. So, I recommend this book for anyone looking for a love story that isn't boy meets girl so much as it is man and woman with kids try to keep the spark in their marriage alive and surprise one another along the way.

This is one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to reading her books. I took my time with this one. However, I expected something different and was disappointed. I thought it was going to be about saving the marriage of two people (and it was), but the whole other story of Sylvie's dad's past and the book didn't seem to fit in. It seemed like I was reading two different books at some points. That storyline seem to take away from the marriage problems and I wanted more funny things about Dan and Sylvie trying to surprise each other. I look forward to the author's next one.

Sophie Kinsella is a wonderfully talented author who has written some of the wittiest and most enjoyable books in contemporary romance today like her widely acclaimed "Shopaholic" series. This book is a standalone featuring Sylvie and Dan who have been together for ten years. They take a trip to the doctor and are told they they are so healthy that they could live to be very old and that would mean being married to each other for another 68 plus years! Dan and Sylvie freak out at the thought of being married that long. (Didn't care for this plot line) Sylvie is afraid that Dan will want out of the marriage so she decides that they should implement "surprises" into their relationship! There are also a menagerie of likable characters in the story like Sylvie's best friend, Tilda and her son, Toby. Sylvie's mother was also a character but I really didn't connect with her as she seemed to be out-of-touch and someone that I would never really care to be around. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Sophie Kinsella's books, this just was not one of my favorites. It was enjoyable but I really wanted more of her older style of stories like The Undomestic Goddess and Shopaholic books. I give this book 3.5 stars but still enjoyed reading it.

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella will be available February 13, 2018 by The Dial Press, an imprint of Random House Publishing Group-Random House. An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

I think anyone who has been married for some time can relate to the situation put forth in Surprise Me. I have been married to my husband for almost 12 years now and we have definitely been in a rut before. I think that obviously Sylvie and Dan take things to the extreme in their reaction to realizing they would be together for a long long time (didn't they already know this when they got married? lol), but marriage is not always easy and sometimes there needs to be something to shake things up. I didn't like that these two characters, who had been married for quite some time, didn't seem to know the other very well, as evidenced by their surprises for one another...but if they would have known each other better there wouldn't have been any drama to help elevate the book. I loved the idea of the surprises and didn't like how those went down, but I STILL want to try Project Surprise with my husband. The difference is, I probably won't tell him or ask him to do the same. What I loved about the book was the characters learning more about each other and Sylvie ending up surprised after all in the end in a way she would have never expected. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys women's fiction.

Another wonderful addition to the Sophie Kinsella collection! I devoured every page of this book and did not want it to end! This book made me think--what would it be like if I knew I was going to be with my husband for another 68 years? At first, the thought is exciting, and then, much like the main characters, I realized that it it impossible to even think that the next 68 years will be exciting.

The couple tries to surprise each other, which is a sweet thought, but goes utterly wrong in so many ways. The overall "surprise" at the end had me shocked. When I thought about it though, Sophie had laid small clues throughout the story leading to that twist--so well written. The book moved at a quick pace and the characters were all so wonderful. I would love a sequel to know how they are after a few years have gone by.

I am so honored to have been granted the chance to review this book.

I Love Sophie Kinsella and was super excited to get a copy of this book.

Sylvie and Dan have been together for 10 years they have twin daughters and have a great relationship. One day they go in for a doctor visit and are told they are healthy and plan to spend a good long life together. But those words take a spin and makes them both rethink the whole “till death do us part” But to amp up their life and remember to enjoy each other they come up with Project Surprise Me. With tons of laugh out loud parts and cute moments this book pulled me and held me to the very end.

This is a great read and I would most definitely recommend it to my friends.