I had such a hard time getting into this book and its characters. I didn't finish. I've always liked Kinsella books as a light read in the past but this one just didn't work for me.

I am a huge Sophia Kinsella fan. I love her humor of storytelling and the mix of real life situations. Sadly, I was a little disappointed after reading this long awaited new novel. It fell a bit short compared to some of my favorites. The story did pick up towards the end but the beginning was hard to get through.
I Owe You One is worth the quick read. I loved envisioning the Farr family shop and the streets of London 9with chance encounters). The family struggles are real and who doesn't love a love story!

I'm a fan of Sophie Kinsella and I've come to expect certain things from her novels- a few really good laughs, empowerment of our main character and strong relationships. Unfortunately this one did not deliver for me.

I suppose I somewhat liked Fixie but I was immensely frustrated most of the read which made me slightly dislike her too. While I understood that Fixie was herself a work in progress, was learning to find her voice and stand up for herself, I didn't really want to dislike all the other characters in the novel quite as much as I did! They were almost universally horrendous and as far as I could tell there wasn't really a good reason for it except gross selfishness. Fixie seemed much smarter than the rest and this doormat behaviour just didn't mesh for me with the rest of her personality. She was single-handedly trying to run and revive her family business so obviously she was someone with power in there somewhere? I was also most frustrated by their mother who seemed to have picked a favored child based on nothing? (Not that one should have a favourite of course but at least choose the one that is kind and loving?). I couldn't even get on board with the romance in the novel- it was truly confusing.

I fear I am being overly judgmental, I do apologize, but I just did not get out of this novel what I had been hoping for or expecting. I will, of course, read any Sophie Kinsella that passes my way and likely this is a one off set of feelings from of my favourites.

I started off reading with an eye roll with the introduction of Fixie and her cliched nickname. Right away, I knew something was off. I would have appreciated something a little bit more clever and nuanced than a character who is defined by a stupid nickname. Fixie’s character annoyed me in the beginning, but she did grow on me. She does go through the typical Kinsella transformation and develop somewhat. The side characters are uneven and encompass one cliche after another. Then there is the plot. It’s just one giant mess.
The romance: Fixie’s relationship with Seb was bizarre, to say the least. One minute he’s dating someone else, then he is dating Fixie, then they break up and he is back to the old girlfriend, and then he is back with Fixie--just like that. There was very little tension and depth to their relationship, leaving much to be desired.
There are some bright moments that shine through and reminded me of classic Kinsella. However, these moments were not enough to save I Owe You One.

Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book! I appreciate the kindness. <3

Sophie Kinsella returns with another delightful meet-cute. I Owe You One is a love story that almost never happened. Through the trading of favors, Fixie (the glue that keeps her complicated family together) and businessman Seb cross paths over and over igniting a spark between the two. However, careers, friends, and especially Fixie's complication family all combine to do their utmost to keep the lovebirds apart. Kinsella's humor will keep you reading even as you are secretly yelling in your head at Fixie to ditch her ungrateful family and move on.

I always have mixed feelings about Kinsella's stories, this one is no different. The blurb on this book mentioned that it was a story of love and empowerment featuring a young female protagonist. It certainly sounded cute and there were a few chapters that did manage to keep my attention. The rest of the time, it dragged on. I never connected with the characters and felt the story was similar to others I've read in this genre. *Advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Family is everything --- well except for Fixie. I spent a majority of this book rolling my eyes and yelling STOP BEING A FECKING DOORMAT FIXIE! By the time she pushed back I just didn't even care anymore. Not one of Ms. Kinsella's best books for me.

She’s back! I’ve always loved Sophie Kinsella books and was ecstatic to dive into this new book. Ki sella is an expert at character development and this book is a love letter to the romantic comedies that used to be in the 90s.

The story line behind the 'I Owe You' is engaging once it develops but the first half of the book dragged on a little too long. I had a hate/love relationship with the main character, Fixie. I hated the way she let everyone walk all over her and her motto "Family First" doesn't apply when you are the only one who follows it. Of course it has some surprises at the end which makes it a classic Kinsella novel. I do recommend reading all the way through as the ending is definitely worth it. I would also highly recommend Undomestic Goddess or My (Not So) Perfect Life.

I absolutely loved this! An old boyfriend comes back to town and Fixie thinks that things will go back to the way they were. She was so wrong. In the mean time she meets someone else. He has his own issues with a loss in his past. I loved following them and how they become stronger people and learn how to deal with heartbreak and Fixie learns how to stand up for what she feels is right. Even if it means standing up to your family. Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to review this.

Full review on my blog, Everyday Reading: https://everyday-reading.com/i-owe-you-one-by-sophie-kinsella/

After reading about 25% of the book I had to put it down. I couldnt get into it and had a hard time connecting with the characters. This book wasnt for me but I could see how others would enjoy it.

Fixie got the name as a child because she was compelled to fix things and make them right.

She has plenty of scope to do this with her family and friends. Her boyfriend is an opportunist, lying lout – but she overlooks this. Her brother is a self serving, egotistical fantacist, but at least he is aware of things unlike Fixie’s sister who is caught up in her own wants and the image she projects.

So not surprisingly, when her amazingly unaware mother asks Fixie to keep the family store running until she returns, it is no easy task. The only reasonable, unselfish person she encounters is laden with baggage and many issues of his own. He also has a catty girlfriend who unsheaths her tallons if she suspects her monopoly over him is about to be jeopardised.

Whilst this isn’t as good as My Perfect Life the last Sophie Kinsella I read, it is still very entertaining and a nice stress relieving read. Fixie’s attempt to take a pot plant as a hospital gift, via a lift, a grabby child and other catastrophes is both so human and so funny too

I saw recently that when the author attended a small book shop event on the Lancashire Fylde Coast one in the audience had travelled from New York for the event. I do understand why.

Sophie Kinsella is my favourite author in the chick lit genre. I will read anything she writes. I really enjoyed I Owe You One!

Entertaining story, but I found almost all of the characters annoying. They seemed like caricatures rather than genuine characters.

Fixie Farr is a gal who needs everything to be perfect. Whenever something is out of place she freaks. Truthfully, Fixie’s anxiety gave me a tiny bit of agita, I wanted to tell her to breathe, relax and let her know that everything would be alright.

The thing about Fixie is that she never ever puts herself first. Since childhood, the motto “Family First” has been ingrained into her, thus that is how she lives her life - even though no one else in her family appears to live by that motto. She is a gal who has never had any confidence and she lets people walk all over her, including her brother Jake and Ryan, a guy she’s crushed on for most of her life. Unfortunately for Fixie, time does not heal all wounds.

While at a coffee shop one day, a man named Sebastian asks Fixie for a favor.. he asks her to watch his laptop for a minute. Then the ceiling comes crashing down, literally. Fixie, of course, does what she does best, she saves the day. Then Sebastian gives her a coffee sleeve with an IOU on it. Fixie never imagines taking him up on it.

This is a novel that grew on me as time went on. Admittedly Fixie’s character annoyed me at first, her inability to relax and let things lie.. Once Fixie’s character calmed down, I too, settled down and grew to like her. This however didn’t take place overnight, and I wish Fixie had found her footing earlier. Though this novel was predictable, I found it to be endearing and I ended up liking Fixie, for her sheer determination and will.

I was really hoping to enjoy this book however I did not. I had so many problems with the writing and the characters. Mainly that all of the characters were super immature and irritating. There was some development but barely and it seems to unrealistic. This is definitely not like her other books in my opinion. Things just magically seemed to fix themselves at the end way to quickly as if she was tired of writing the book and just decided to end it there. The plot was super easy to guess how it was going to end and what the “twist” was. I usually love her books but for some reason this one was just not for me and that is ok.

This was my first Sophie Kinsella book and I enjoyed it. The main character Fixie was a bit of a pushover, which really bothered me the first half of the book. I wanted to scream at her and tell her to stand up for herself but in the end, she redeemed herself and I enjoyed her character.

The story was fun and after reading other reviews on Sophie Kinsella books and how well liked her other books are I will read her again.

Thank you to Random House/Dial Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Such an excellent book. Fixie is such a relatable character. This book is a great example of the twist and turns of life and how when life throws you a curve ball, you just go with it.