When Ava goes to a writing retreat for a week she's determined to write her book. And then she meets Dutch. Dutch isn't his real name, and Ava is going by the name Aria while at this retreat. The point is to not let anything distract them from their writing.
When they leave the retreat and find out each others real identities, things get rocky.

I did not initially like this book. I hated Ava and I was actually hoping that the two of them would break up. I thought that Ava was annoying and overly optimistic. She had a skewed outlook on life and believed that everything was sunshine and rainbows. I hated her. I just wanted to smack her over the head.
I didn't much care for Matt (Dutch) either. I felt that he was a bland character and I didn't really see much chemistry between the two of them.
I loved the side characters immediately. As I met each of them, I fell in love with them. They were the bright spot when I hated this book.
HOWEVER, in the last approximately 100 pages, I was enthralled. Enraptured. Captivated. I couldn't put it down. Ava and Matt figure themselves out first as individuals before they are able to figure out life as a couple. I found myself really enjoying it in the end.

I have been in a reading slump and Love Your Life was exactly what I needed. Once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down. I loved all the quirky characters! It was an escape read and hated for it to end. I thought Harold needed some manners too but he won me over in the end. I was really going to upset if something bad happened to him. So thank you for such an enjoyable read. It was everything I love about Sophie’s books.

While definitely not my favorite Sophie Kinsella, Love Your Life was a light-hearted romantic comedy.

Ava meets "Dutch" on a writer's retreat in Italy where no one is allowed to share their true names or personal life details. They have instant chemistry and both believe they're meant to be. But once they leave the retreat and their lives are revealed to each other, they might not be as compatible as they originally thought.

I think my big hang up with this book was Ava. I thought she was incredibly unlikable. She came across as very immature and erratic. Her inner self-talk was obnoxious.

The supporting cast of friends was great! They brought more depth and sincerity to the story. They made Ava better. I almost liked her based solely on her choice of friends.

This was not nearly as funny as My (Not) So Perfect Life but I think Kinsella fans will enjoy it.

Sophie Kinsella veers from the Shopaholic books to this fabulous stand alone novel about dating in the modern world. Ava is a hopeful romantic. Even after a bad breakup and a ridiculously bad dating app encounter she believes in fate and love. She has a great group of friends, since college, and an adorable beagle rescue called "Harold.". Ava is happy, but needs a break. In order to finish her romance novel, Ava heads to Italy for a writing retreat. No one can use their real name, the food is fantastic, and the entire set-up cuts down on distractions and helps Ava focus on her writing. That is until a `gorgeous martial arts enthusiast ends up at Ava's retreat when his own is cancelled. So now Ava, going by "Aria" meets "Dutch" and a hot, steamy romance begins. They decide not to reveal true information about themselves, including their real names, until the end of the retreat. Everything is perfect, and beautiful, right up until they leave Italy, when they must return to being Ava and Matt and decide if their attraction can survive in the real world of parents, friends, work and completely different lifestyles. They also have polar opposite ideas on how much Harold should be involved in their relationship. Kinsella's treatment of their mishaps and misunderstandings makes for a fun, easy read. The characters are realistic - who doesn't want a group of friends like Ava has? Readers of Kinsella's other books, the Bridget Jones series, Jo Jo Moyes and other popular British authors will love this. There is loads of opportunity for discussion, making this a fun, light choice for book clubs. I am grateful to Net Galley for the ARC. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Love Your Life is the newest book from one my favorite authors, Sophie Kinsella. The premise is really great- Ava and Matt fall for each other at an Italian writer's retreat where everyone goes by an assumed name and no talking about personal lives is permitted. However, when they return to their real lives in London, they realize real life is harder to navigate as a couple. I ended up really enjoying this one, although I almost quit it (Ava can be a bit over the top). I stuck with it though, because I really wanted to see how it turned out and I'm glad I did. I think this would've been better if some of Ava's eccentricities had been dialed down, but overall it was a fun read!

What happens when reality intrudes on fantasy?

In the book, Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella, we meet Ava. Ava is a woman who is tired of trying to find love online, who is trying to find herself by experiencing different ideas. She has booked a working holiday in Italy to work on her book. While there, she meets a mysterious man who sets her heart and her body on fire. Italy is a world away from her “real” life and when she decides to pursue a holiday relationship, she never thinks it could become real.

After realizing that the mysterious man in on the same flight home, they agree to see if the relationship could be more. The man’s name is Matt and once real life begins to intrude on their fantasy, life is nothing like the fantasy. What will Ava and Matt do when they are confronted by the reality of the other?

Love Your Life is about loving your life. Loving the life you have and yet wanting to become more than stuck in the life you are currently living.

Reading this story in the midst of a pandemic and buying a house reminds me that my life is worth loving and worth living the way it is while being hopeful that my life will continue to be the life I need and to LOVE MY LIFE in the moment.

would you believe me if I told you this was my first Sophie Kinsella novel? gasp--I know! not that I'm a stranger to her name or the infamous shopaholic series, but I never got around to picking up one of her titles. her latest release, LOVE YOUR LIFE, was so sweet and charming, and I'm happy that it was my first taste to her writing.

in a nutshell, LOVE YOUR LIFE tells the story of Ava and Matt, who meet on a writer's retreat in Italy and fall madly in love without knowing anything about each other. discovering that they both live in London, they fly back home, determined to make it work. but even with the best laid plans, as Ava and Matt discover more about their personal lives and relationship and preferences, it becomes clear that they might not fit into each other's lives as well as they'd hoped.

Ava and Matt's whirlwind week in Italy made me wish that I, too, were on vacation, meeting a handsome stranger and falling in love (LOL), but their story goes to show that not everything is rainbows and butterflies, despite how much you want it to be--which is basically life, in it's own nutshell, no? they both tiptoed around talking about what was bothering them and when it finally happened, a part of me was so relieved. if I've learned anything from reading romcoms, or any genre, for that matter, it's that people need to TALK about how they're feeling. about everything. not a bad rule for real life, either, haha.

there were some parts in the middle that dragged on for me, but I loved how it was tied together at the end. with friends and family--and PETS!--thrown in the mix, I loved reading about two people who also finally prioritized themselves before opening their lives and hearts to another person. LOVE YOUR LIFE is available now and is guaranteed to make you laugh, tear up (at least I did), and make you wish you also had an adorable beagle named Harold. huge thanks to Random House and Netgalley for sending a digital ARC my way! (note: this review is also available on goodreads, linked below.)

Thank you to Netgalley and Sophie Kinsella for my copy of Love your Life, for an honest review. I am a big fan of Kinsella and this story was very cute. The story starts with Ava heading to Italy for a writing seminar and she meets a man named Dutch. (His seminar name) It seems to be love at first sight and how they can leave Italy and continue the relationship. Back in London, Ava and Matt try to make a go at a relationship. What ensues is cute and loving banter. They seemingly have nothing in common and yet they might their way. Their friends are a great treat to the story. This was a Rom Com.. that didn’t disappoint. Over all this was a 3 star read for me and I have recommend to all my family and fiends that love this genre. See my review on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I received this book "Love Your Life" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This was a cute romance story. The characters are great, very funny at times.

Both funny and stale, Love Your Life is not one of Kinsella's best novels.

I love Sophie Kinsella. Her books are light and funny. Typical romantic—but a crazy kind of romance. I love her Shopaholic series so much. But that being said, I want Becky Brandon to stay to her books. No Becky doesn't actually make an appearance, instead, Ava is just a clone. This made a lot of the humor fall flat because I felt like I had read it before.

Spoiler
It is clear that these people weren't meant to be together. There is a message of compromise. But you should never expect some to become vegetarian because you are or lie to your partner about moving to a foreign country. Their inevitable breakup feels good. They need to go and live their own life instead of trying to change each other. I was sad about the outcome and its lack of truthfulness for a happy ending.

Love your life has its moments (like Ava's friend Nell who has lupus) but overall this was a rehash of old material with an unsatisfying ending.

I recieved a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the concept and the book blurb but the book just didn't work for me. Ava was so annoying and Matt had no personality. I dont see how they would actually end up together.
Ava and Matt meet at a writing retreat where nobody is allowed to share any personal information and they fall for each other. However once they go back to the real world they discover how incompatible they really are. And I mean really they do not work together at all. They HEA just does work for me in this book.

Sophie Kinsella always delivers fun, interesting characters infused with her British humor. This one was a bit on the long side and dragged a little in the middle. Between the insta-love and the lack of comb However, the ending was THE CUTEST!

I have a complicated relationship with Sophie Kinsella. I have never disliked one of her novels, but there are only a few that I have LOVED. This reminds me more of some of the ones I have loved in the past.

I love the type of storyline where two characters meet and hit it off in an environment outside of their typical one, and have to see if they have the same chemistry when they return to real life. When done right, I find these characters hard working and dedicated to their potential partners. If you, like me, are attracted to that kind of plot- this book might be for you!

Try as I might, I could just not get into Sophie Kensella's Love Your Life. I have read and like other books by her, but this one fell a wee bit flat for me. I would also say to try reading it on your own, we all have different tastes!!

3 1/3 stars

Love Your Life is pretty standard Sophie Kinsella, so if you're generally a fan of her books, you'll probably enjoy this one. Sometimes I need a bit of a lighter read in my life, but I think Kinsella is just a little too light for me. As usual, the main character in her newest is a bit too extreme and overly quirky (think Becky in Shopaholic, but not as ditzy) and the storyline is a bit predictable. But it's also entertaining and kinda fun.

I guess I should mention that there are many aspects of the book that aren't super realistic, which tends to drive me a bit nuts. Ava travels to Italy to take a creative writing course and ends up meeting a very attractive man. He was actually there to take a martial arts class, but when it gets canceled he opts to take the writing class instead (really?!). Ava ends up basically ditching much of the class to spend time with him (it's an $$ class). The kicker? They aren't allowed to share personal info in the class; not even their names, and Eva and "Dutch" decide to just build their relationship off their attraction to each other and not talk about their past or even their "real lives" until they leave Italy.

When they return home, Ava and her man discover they actually don't have a whole lot in common. Cue many cringe-worthy moments, but also some funny and endearing moments, too. The book actually reminded me a bit of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days a bit. But with a really great dog. I think Eva's relationship with Harold was my favorite part of the book... I could relate to her so much on this! But it drove me crazy that they let him he a raw steak that he steals off a plate at one point in the book.

I think my main issue is that so many of Kinsella's main characters are so, so similar. My other problem is that I REALLY enjoyed My Not So Perfect Life from a few years back and I just keep waiting for her to come out with another book that lives up to that for me.

Looking back, I see that I give most of Kinsella's books 3 stars (I did like this one better than I Owe You One and Surprise Me) and yet I will continue reading them forever and ever I'm sure. If you generally like Kinsella's books, you will likely enjoy this one, too!

Let me preface this with how much I LOVE Sophie Kinsella. I love her style and humor. I love the way she tells a story.
Unfortunately, this one just didn’t do it for me UNTIL it did. I never really gained interest in any characters, it seemed like she spent time in irrelevant details and storylines, and it honestly didn’t seem like HER kind of story...AT FIRST.

It definitely got better as it went on, but to be honest, I struggled getting through the first half—especially the retreat parts.

Once they returned after the retreat, I did start to buy in and ended up liking the book! Parts made me laugh and cringe and all this author’s typical comedic moments were included, and I especially love Harold the dog!

Overall the ending was what I enjoyed most...and I ended up giving it a 🌟🌟🌟

Sophie Kinsella has done it again. Her books are consistently so fun and truly always have me grinning from ear to ear. As a write myself, falling in love on a writers' retreat? Such a dream! I loved watching their relationship bloom on their vacation and then have to face the trials and tribulations of "real life." It has some laugh out loud moments that had me chuckling with tears strolling down my face, and some moments that had me cringe, and even more moments that had me swooning. This was the PERFECT rom com and I really loved it.

Sophie Kinsella writes some of my favorite rom-coms, so I was excited to read Love Your Life. This one is interesting. It grapples with concepts of identity and what happens after the "happily ever after." There were some times when this one felt like it was dragging a bit for me, but I ultimately logged seeing a couple working through problems and figuring out if they could work.

Many thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Sophie Kinsella is always a go-to author for me. Her books are light-hearted, funny (especially awkward funny), and gripping. Love Your Life was no exception; although I did not feel as connected with these characters as I usually do when I read one of Sophie Kinsella’s books. The romance was not as believable as I would have liked, but there are two great friends groups that made up for it.

This one wasn't for me. I was hoping for a fun, light read to help me out of a reading slump. What I got instead was a cheesy, unrealistic mush of a book that felt forced. There were a few parts that I liked, but not many. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this copy in exchange for my honest opinion.