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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read everything she’s written and she is my most owned author (not counting multiple copies of Harry Potter 😏) So I was super excited to receive this advanced copy of I Owe You One!
Fixie is asked by a stranger in a coffee shop to watch his laptop while he runs outside to take a phone call. While he’s gone, the ceiling collapses, but Fixie saves the laptop. The stranger is so thankful and tries to buy her coffee or a muffin as a thank you, but she declines. Instead, he writes out an IOU for a favor in the future. It starts a exchange of favors back and forth.
If you like Sophie’s other books, this will fit right into your collection!
Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released on February 5th! #netgalley #bookreview #ioweyouone #sophiekinsella

I can always count on Sophie Kinsella to provide an entertaining chick lit novel. I was excited to get my hands on this copy since I've read most of her other books, and it didn't disappoint.

Our main character Fixie, whose real name I won't reveal but was a bit of a let-down, is a fixer. She has the itch to fix things and attempts to make things better with her fixes; she doesn't always succeed. Her father has passed away, and his "family first" motto is constantly running through her head, but it isn't always a good thing. She's a lovable character but also frustrating in that she's basically a doormat. She's hung up on a crush from her childhood day, trying to run the family store, and dealing with loads of family drama.

While I was frustrated with most of the characters throughout the book, including Fixie, I adored the ending. It was cute, and I liked how it all came together. Another sweet book from Sophie Kinsella!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

This is my first Sophie Kinsella novel and I have to say I was disappointed in the character development and plot.

Fixie was known as a “fixer” and people pleaser but, she was lacking in charm and depth for my reading preference.

The love stories made Fixie out to be a bit of a doormat and I struggled to relate to her story. I personally was not a fan of how it all wrapped up in the end...it left me unsatisfied.

Fixie Farrs is the girl behind the curtain: she runs the show (aka she runs the day to day for her family business in London) but is never in the spotlight. Before her father passed away, he drilled into her the importance of family loyalty. Fixie lives by this mantra even if most of the time it backfires.

One day, Fixie saves Sebastian Marlowe’s laptop in a coffee shop from a ceiling collapse. Turns out he’s a CEO of an investment firm, and the laptop is very important to his business. Sebastian insists on repaying Fixie somehow, and writes an IOU on a coffee sleeve. Right in the midst of this event, Fixie’s forever crush, Ryan Chalker, moves back from LA and is supposedly asking around about her.

Fixie is a character impossible not to love! She’s quirky with her constant need to fix things (she admits plenty a time that it’s her “flaw”). She’s devoted to her family (though they drive her bonkers - her brother and sister are SO irritating)! And something always happens that never works in her favor.

This was a seriously fun, witty and light read for me. Sophie Kinsella’s writing reminds me of Jojo Moyes - an added bonus!

I Owe You One was delightful. Sophie Kinsella brings us another great character, and as someone who is always taking care of everyone else (at my own expense), I connected with this book. Overly trusting, running to make everyone happy even while things seem to fall apart around her - Fixie's character was believable and relatable. True to form, Kinsella puts Fixie in a few situations that are truly cringe-worthy, there are misunderstandings and disappointments, and in the end, Fixie pulls it together.

This truly was a feel-good read (and I appreciate that it doesn't say that on the cover.)

I've always loved a good Sophie Kinsella book, but this wasn't one of them. Don't get me wrong, it was okay...but not the Sophie of Shopaholic days. The main character was overly silly and just plain irritating. I guess the clueless female doormat just isn't my thing.

I am a big Kinsella fan and always read her books. I appreciated the evolution of her writing and character development in her latest releases. I Owe You One is the story of a family, but it’s not a particularly likable one for the majority of the novel. The lead character, Fixie, allows herself to be a veritable “doormat” (frustratingly) for the majority of the book and has toxic relationships with men. Maybe it’s a 2018 reader’s response analysis, but I needed the empowerment and growth to happen much sooner! Still, as with all of the author’s books, lessons are learned, and the end is happy. I’ll be back for more. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a wonderful light hearted read. All of the characters were very relatable. Fixie and her family and friends were a great group to get to know. I was completely involved in the storyline and routing for everything to work out in the end. This is my first book to read by this author but I will definitely be picking up more of them.