I loved this so much. Fixie is instantly likeable but very complex, and those layers are beautifully drawn by the author. The supporting cast and the story are refreshingly believable, even with a pantomime style villain for good measure. I’m genuinely a bit gutted that I read this so quickly - I couldn’t put it down at all - I didn’t want it to end. Highly recommended!

I have read and enjoyed quite a few Sophie Kinsella books but neither the main character, Fixie, or the plot really lived up to my expectations.

Fixie (not her real name thank goodness) runs the family business with her mother and lives by the saying 'family first'. So much so that she not only lacks confidence but everyone ignores her suggestions and only wants her when she can do something for them. When her mother goes to stay with her sister she leaves the three siblings In charge of the business together with their uncle. Brother Jake sees an opportunity to change the business but he has grand ideas without the money to follow them through. Sister Nicole wants to run yoga classes in the shop and is so self centred she does little else. The uncle wants them to stock fishing products and sees his input as an opportunity to hold meetings in expensive restaurants at the shops expense.

When sat in a cafe Fixie saves a mans computer from ruin when the ceiling falls in. This sets off a string of IOUs marked down on a coffee cup,sleeve. Seb is a nice guy who seems to like Fixie but there are lots of obstacles In the way of their friendship. One of which is Ryan, the man she has loved since school. He is back from Hollywood and he is a very unlikeable character who pretends to love Fixie yet causes her problems and unhappiness.

I spent half the book wanting to shake Fixie into action and open her eyes to the way she was being so badly treated by her family and Ryan and then suddenly it was nearly Christmas and all is well.

3.5 stars

This wasn't my favourite Sophie Kinsella book. You know, I read quite a few reviews of this before I tucked in and they were quite varied. Quite a few said that it was great, and quite a lot more said it wasn't their fave either.

Having said that, I love Sophie Kinsella so thought I'd still give it a go. However, I can see why quite a few people said they didn't really enjoy it. I didn't really gel to Fixie (really not sure of that name either...) and when Ryan came into the picture he seemed like such a horrible person, and Fixie let him walk all over her! Not only that, but I really disliked Jake and Nicole too - basically Fixie just let everyone be nasty to her on quite a regular basis.

I just didn't enjoy the relationships, they felt forced and fake and overall it was quite a cringey read. The only character I really liked was Fixie's mum. I just didn't really get the storyline, it wasn't enjoyable. So I struggled to finish it.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this novel, which I have reviewed honestly.

Like so many of the other reviewers, I wanted to smack Fixie (and I do agree about the name, it's not nice).Her obsessions went on too long, her fixations with fixing, her lack of self esteem, her low self values...all became a tiny bit annoyingand dint seem to add value to the story.
The family situation was well written, thank goodness for one sensible person in the guise of Mum. As Fixie began to stand up for herself, things improved. The shop became normal again, but would brother Jake really have made such a 360 degree turn to become a nice gingerbread man?? And as for Uncle Ned, he became a caricature rather than a person.
There were so many things to enjoy within the story, I just found it a bit hard to take to some of the characters..
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a review copy of the book.

I love Sophie Kinsella books as a rule which was why I requested this. It was a nice enough story but unfortunately I spent most of the book annoyed by the various characters and their behaviour.

That said I think a three star rating would be unfair and as I can’t rate 3.5 I’ve given four stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I owe you one is the story of a family run business, focusing on Fixie, she helps her mum run the shop more than anyone else, and seems to enjoy what she does. Her brother is living a millionaire lifestyle, and her sister is aloof and self absorbed.
Like so many of us she just cant move on from her high school crush. (Some of us it doesn’t work out for, others it does). Ryan lives in LA – living a glitzy lifestyle, but all of a sudden hes back. WIll he want her, can they finally be a couple like shes always wanted?
Fixie needs to collect herself so she pops into a coffee shop and ends up doing a stranger a simple favour. Now her owes her and is determined to pay her back – but his girlfriend is slightly less than happy about it. First Seb owes Fixies a favour then she owes him – this is about trading favours with a subtle undertone of flirting and tension.
This story is a beautiful learning experience for Fixie, its a reminder that family is important, but you are just as important, and shows just what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it.

Its about love, and money, healing and taking control.

I love Sophie Kinsella, there's something about her books that always keeps my interest.
You know exactly what you're going to get with her books which means they never disappoint!
This was a funny, lighthearted read that kept me interested with charming, relatable characters.

I really enjoyed this.

I always enjoy reading Sophie Kinsella. Her books are usually amusing, her heroines a bit daft but with their hearts in the right places and good always wins. They're also light relief from all the dark crime I usually read.

Fixie Farr is a young woman who can't help fixing things. She works in the family business with her mother (nice), her brother Jake (conceited ass) and sister Nicole (total airhead). Although she is plainly worth 100 of her ghastly siblings she can't see this and always backs down and lets them walk all over her. This is the story of how she learns to stand up to them and in so doing helps them change into nicer human beings. At times you feel like reaching into the page and shaking her she's so spineless but she does get there in the end.

This probably isn't the best Kinsella novel but it's certainly readable and with some laugh aloud moments (the party at Jake's club turns up some nice humorous moments. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I Owe you One
I really wanted to love this book having enjoyed many previous works of this author, and although I did enjoy parts of the story I certainly didn’t love it.
Fixie ( oh how I hated that name) wants to fix everything for others hence the awful name, unfortunately she needs fixing herself as she allows everyone family, and employees to walk all over her and take advantage as she never sticks up for herself. With a cast of unlikable characters I spent the first 50% of this book annoyed.
The story did start improving when she finally found some back bone and stood up for herself, but even then I felt she was still letting them get away with how they’d treated her in the past.
There could have been a lot more development in the romance part, dealt with rather too lightly and quickly for my taste, and Seb the boyfriend annoyed me for what he did.....sorry would be giving away spoilers if I said more.
It’s does sound as if this book did nothing but annoy(sorry that word again) me, It did but perhaps that shows the characters were well written to invest such emotion in them....not sure though??
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

Another great book from Sophie Kinsella!

Fiixie has her nickname because she can't help trying to fix everything. That is how she meets Seb, as she saves his laptop in a cafe. They have a series of events where they end up owing each other for a good turn - she asks for help finding Ryan a job. As you meet the character Ryan you dislike him straightaway, and hope things go somewhere with Seb instead, but will her inability to stop fixing things cost Fixie her happiness in the end?

I love Kinsella, and think her trademark wit and awkwardly hilarious protagonists never fail to make for a great story. This standalone story of Fixie Farr and her incorrigible need to fix things was a solid - but not inspiring - entry into Kinsella's catalogue.
Fixie is a fairly normal protagonist by Kinsella's standards. She's actually unusual in that she actually really likes her job, although she has some career skeletons in the closet, and she has a tendency to end up in the most overwrought and awkward situations which are, to be fair, highly entertaining. The story here was good too, with a focus not on romance, but rather on family, and finding your voice, which was refreshingly honest. Fixie has a poor relationship with her siblings, and when she's suddenly left to deal with them both alone, her anxiety about being the youngest makes it hard for her to speak up. But her growth over the course of the book is endearing, and very satisfying to watch.
I don't know what it was about this book which failed to make it brilliant. Perhaps it was the lack of Kinsella's humour? There were very few laugh out loud moments in this book, which is something I normally expect in a Kinsella novel, so this was a little disappointing. As well as that, Fixie in the beginning was, well, a bit wet. She's seriously bad at standing up for herself, and lets her siblings walk all over her. And this goes on for so long, I actually got kind of annoyed at her. She did grow as a person, but very late in the book, and I had almost lost hope in her entirely by then.

Nonetheless, these criticisms are only possible because I expect such great things from Kinsella. As an entry in the chick lit canon, this is a thoroughly entertaining, and heartwarming experience, and definitely worth reading. I thoroughly enjoyed I Owe You One, and Fixie's journey, and would definitely recommend it.

Fixie Farr is the definition of a traditional family girl and would do anything for her Mother and her siblings after her dad has entrusted her to continue the family motto of “family first” following his death. His legacy included the family homewares store, which Fixie is obsessed with, but her siblings don’t feel quite the same, leaving her to pick up all the slack whilst they chase their dreams. Until one day when Fixie loans out a favour to a complete stranger in a coffee shop which sets off the ultimate string of IOUs. This throws Fixie’s life into slight turmoil whereby she is forced to decide what is more important; keeping up the family traditions that nobody else seems interested in, or following or heart to achieve her own dreams and desires.

I do love me a good, classic chick lit read! I feel like they’re a little bit of a guilty pleasure of mine for some reason, when there is nothing to be guilty about. This book totally delivered on giving me all the giggles, all the “no she didn’t!”s and absolutely all the feels.

Yes, the main character is fluffy and a little clumsy whilst also a tad obsessive and dare I say it, a bit of a goody two shoes but she’s funny and endearing and romantic and normal. She’s what I want from a chick lit. I find that Sophie Kinsella’s main characters always have a “journey” and I’m always rooting for them at the end as they finally reach their destination and Fixie was no different. I was rooting for her from the start and by the end I was seriously feeling the GIRL POWER ✌🏽

I indulged in this book over the weekend, snuggled on the sofa with a glass of wine and it was the perfect setting to accompany a fab girly read. This was such a fun, light-hearted read that reminded me not to be a book snob. I can indulge in contemporary romance and chick lit novels, laugh at them and sit around with a sappy smile on my face because it makes me giggle and makes me feel all warm and cosy. Thank you Sophie Kinsella for reminding me of that!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sophie Kinsella has always been one of my favourite chick lit authors and this doesn’t disappoint. “Fixie” Farr (surprisingly she likes to fix everything) is a complete doormat to her everyone, especially her family. She’s helping run the family business (a household store) while her mum goes on a well-deserved holiday with her sister and leaves Fixie to run the business with her very selfish arrogant brother and flaky sister who try to take over and change everything.

Fixie has two men in her life – Ryan (her brother’s best friend) who she has worshipped and secretly loved since she was at school and Seb who she unexpectedly meets in the local café following a freak accident. Both guys are completely different in personality.

The story is all about how Fixie tries to fix everything and everyone and never takes time to think about herself. She is literally surrounded by the most selfish and annoying obnoxious people ever and, even though she can be annoying at times because of the way she is, you end up rooting for her in the end and get so engrossed in the easy going story that by the time you know it the book is finished.

I really enjoyed the book but am now beginning to realise that sadly maybe I am getting a bit too old for Sophie’s books (the Shopaholic Series will always be my favourites) as they tend to always follow the same sort of pattern and the endings are so predictable.

Definitely not one for those of you that hate typical chicklit books.

Three and a half stars.

Fixie Farr works in her family's general houseware shop in Acton, West London. Her older brother Jake is a successful businessman who made his first fortune importing nude, seamless underwear. He has high aspirations for the shop, wanting it to appeal to a more upmarket clientele. Fixie's older sister Nicole is beautiful, she modelled for a short period (aka once) and is very into new age thinking like crystals etc. The store is managed by their mother with Fixie's assistance until her mother becomes unwell and goes to stay abroad with her sister to get better. Suddenly Fixie is combatting her brother's attempts to sell £95 olive oil and £1,000 watches and her sister's decision to hold yoga classes in the shop in the evenings.

The only high spot is that Jake's BFF Ryan has returned from his successful career as a film producer in Hollywood, suddenly single and raising Fixie's hopes that their one-night stand several years ago might blossom into something more permanent.

Then Fixie agrees to look after a stranger's laptop in a cafe while he takes a personal call, the ceiling collapses and only Fixie's quick reflexes save the stranger's laptop. The grateful stranger, Sebastian Marlowe is a local businessman, an ethical investment manager, he gives Fixie an IOU, written on a coffee sleeve, in recognition of her good deed.

What ensues is a series of IOUs where Fixie and Seb exchange favours back and forth. But romantically who will Fixie choose? The new guy or the guy she's been in love with since she was a little girl?

I have to say, for most of this book Fixie was so clueless about the behaviour of her siblings and Ryan that I wanted to shake her, she was infuriating and definitely fell into the too-stupid-to-live category. She was so ineffectual, so passive, so pathetic that I lost any empathy for her, she literally couldn't see what was in front of her eyes. By the end of the book Fixie had turned herself around but by then the damage (for me) had been done. So, I liked the ending but the start was slow.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

You know what you’re getting with Sophie Kinsella and this does not disappoint. Light, enjoyable and uplifting - this is the literary version of a glass of Prosecco and a chat with good girlfriends.

I have read and enjoyed all of Sophie Kinsella’s previous books so was very excited to receive her latest from net galley.
I sat and read this is one sitting! I was rooting for Fixie all the way through, thanks to Sophie’s knack of writing characters so well.
A really enjoyable read.

I have read and enjoyed all of Sophie Kinsella's books and I was delighted to receive a copy of her new book I Owe You One.
The story is about Fixie who has been infatuated by Ryan since she was ten years old. She works in her family's shop and still lives with her mother.
Fixie is a character that I could not connect with and unfortunately I didn't find the story as amusing as the previous books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

As-it-happened not-too-spoilery book review....

1. I hate this character’s name so, so much. Fixie, WTF? It’s a nickname, because... because she likes to fix stuff. Not, like, fuses, but as in noticing problems and putting them right. Everyone calls her this. It’s almost too awful to bear. Luckily it’s written in first person, so limited exposure to That Name, and I do love Sophie Kinsella, so...
2. I NEED to know this girl’s real name so I can start thinking of her by it.
3. Anyway, they have a family shop which sells householdy things.
4. Her brother is obsessed with money. Her sister is obsessed with herself. Her mum seems nice. They all have normal names. The girl (I’m not saying her stupid name) is a bit of a doormat and has been obsessed with the same guy forever (he seems not worth it), but I’m sure she’ll improve, because character growth.
5. What *is* frondy hair?
6. There are some characters in this book (Jake, Nicole, Ryan, Uncle Ned) who really need a slap. Not Seb of the frondy hair, though. He’s nice.
7. Found out her real name. It’s not great. But it’s not as bad as Fixie.
8. Character growth! Yay!
9. And a happy ending, of course!
10. A really fun lighthearted read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
In true Kinsella fashion, the story is fast paced and easy to read. There is a physical connection to the characters where you either want to laugh, cringe or strangle some of them. Except Fixie's Mum. Fixie's Mum is like the glue holding it all together, and when she's gone, all bets are off.
It's a fun, lighthearted novel that makes you want to fight for the little guy and be honest always.
3.5 stars