I love Sophie Kinsella, but this was not one of my favourites. I had a terrible time connecting to Ava. She was actually annoying to me. And I was absolutely sure Matt didn’t really want to be with her. The last few chapters were classic Kinsella and made the reading worth it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced reading copy.

I just could not fully connect with this book. Kinsella's writing has no spark as in her other earlier works that were funnier and much more vibrant. Not bad but it's not great.

A fun, rompy, laugh out loud rom-com! I loved the snark and the witty writing. It was light and refreshing, which is just what I was looking for. I’ve always found the author to be hit-or-miss and while i didn’t love this one, I did enjoy it. The characters are adorable and the shenanigans that ensue hilarious. It got a bit too over the top and campy for my tastes and that’s where it lost me. My thanks to the publisher for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review

Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella is a contemporary romance with a unique setting. There are lots of interesting and well-developed characters that are classic to Kinsella’s novels. This one is lots of fun to read and has a wonderful theme.

As with any novel by Sophie Kinsella, the main character is interesting and quirky. Ava is a free spirit who is always excited to tackle new things. She also has a rescue dog who has some behaviour issues that provide lots of laugh-out-loud moments to the story. Additionally, Ava has some interesting friends that add a fantastic flavour to the novel.

❀ ROMANTIC AND UNIQUE SETTING

One thing that makes the story unique is the monastery setting, as it is a great romantic backdrop for the romance that brews between Ava and Matt. The workshop has a rule that personal backgrounds are left behind, so when sparks fly, they attempt to leave the baggage from their pasts out of the equation. It works well while they are at the monastery, but once they are back to their real lives, they have to learn about one another all over again.

❀ STRONG FRIENDSHIP THEME

The friendship theme is really strong in this novel and it is really enjoyable reading about the close connection that Ava has with her friends. Also, the underlying theme of finding the perfect match makes you think about how far one should go to find the right person. There are many differing viewpoints in the book and I loved seeing how Ava and her friends were able to navigate their love lives.

❀ A ROMANTIC ESCAPE READ

Although Love Your Life is not my favourite Sophie Kinsella novel, it is lots of fun to read and definitely warms your heart. The characters are signature Kinsella and the concept is unique. It is a story that I recommend to anyone looking for a romantic escape read.

This was a pleasurable escape of a novel. It was nice to read a book where, like real life, everyones life is a total mess. While I found Ava to be a little grinding at times, I really enjoyed her relationship with Matt and Matt's family. This is a fun weekend or beach read.

Oh man, this was exactly what I needed right now. The main character is a little insane, but in the way of any good Kinsella heroine, she's extremely likable and quite funny. If you, like me, can basically only stomach light, heart-warming stories, this is just the perfect thing to combat pandemic brain. I'd broadly recommend to readers of light-hearted romantic comedies or anyone who likes Kinsella's other offerings.

If you like Sophie Kinsella / and or Romantic Comedies you will like this book! Also read if you need a smile!

The latest love story from the mind behind the popular “Confessions of a Shopaholic” book series takes readers on a whirlwind vacation romance that finds itself landing with a great thud against the restrictions of the real world.

“Love Your Life” by Sophie Kinsella opens up as a fluffy and almost too sweet romance between two strangers on a retreat in Italy. They don’t know anything about each other as the retreat doesn’t allow attendees to share personal information, but Aria and Dutch find that they don’t need to know the other’s real name for sparks to fly. By the end of the retreat the couple are deeply in love even though they know very little about each other. After the retreat the couple is determined to make it work in their real lives, but want to maintain the champagne glow of their vacation bubble ... which of course leads to some hiccups. Now that they know each other as Ava and Matt they discover that they lead VERY different lives and have vastly different personal tastes. The only things they do seem to agree on is their mutual love of ice cream and dogs.

As reality sets in the two try to cling to the easy and light days of their relationship only to find that their lives are determined to pop their happy bubble. Kinsella’s latest protagonist, Ava, is an eccentric and at times overly kooky woman whose optimistic outlook on life is so sunshiney some readers might feel compelled to pull out a pair of sunglasses. Despite Ava’s many eccentricities and bubblegum sweetness, she is a very kind and loyal character that will endear herself to the most cynical of readers. Matt is revealed to be far more tightly wound than his vacation persona would have suggested as he shoulders family burdens and relentless work hours.

When the harsh realities inevitably do pop their bubble, Kinsella shows readers just how far these two characters will go for love and crafts a story that suggests people can find love but might need to put themselves in order to keep it.

I picked up Sophie Kinsella's Love Your Life because I am taking part in PopSugar's 2020 Reading Challenge, and one of the prompts requires you to read a novel by an author who has published more than 20 books. I had no idea that Kinsella had such an extensive backlist, having never read her novels aside from a few from the Shopaholic series in the early 2000s. I must say that I am pleased with my pick and found Love Your Life to be just the light-hearted and funny read that I needed at the end of this tumultuous year.

Ava's friends may be just fine with finding love on dating apps, but Ava prefers to make a connection the old-fashioned way - in person. So it is no surprise that she falls for a guy insta-love style at a writer's retreat that she attends in beautiful and romantic coastal Italy. To make her whirlwind love affair even more heady and mysterious, none of the retreat participants are allowed to use their real names or share any personal information with each other, so Ava and her new love interest only know each other by "Aria" and "Dutch."

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Ava is sad to eventually see the retreat (and her newfound romance) come to a close - can she and Dutch keep the spark alight long distance? So imagine her surprise when she learns that Dutch actually lives in London too ... and his real name is Matt! But love in the real world comes with its own entanglements. It turns out Ava and Matt are complete opposites and keep bumping heads over a myriad of issues, including flats, friends and family, pets, art, and hobbies. Should they try to make their new relationship work or is their love affair bound to be over as quickly as it started?

Love Your Life is a refreshing entry in the chick lit/romance genres. It was nice to read a story where the main character and love interest don't exactly click and have to realistically work through relationship problems that most of us face in the real world. I found Love Your Life to be a convincing portrayal of the complications that arise in new relationships between people "with baggage," and shows both the pros and cons of working through your differences vs. abandoning the relationship altogether. This book is entertaining and humorous, and will appeal to readers in their late 20s and 30s, as well as those who are on the dating scene.

Sophie Kinsella is an author that never disappoints! Love Your Life has a super cute storyline and kept me laughing through the entire novel. A romantic comedy at its best!

Not quite your typical rom-com, but in the end I would recommend. But my favourite part of the book wasn't the romantic leads, but their friends! Both Ava and Matt have such lovable quirky friend groups that you get to know throughout the book, and I was definitely a fan.

I was so excited to read the new Sophie Kinsella book, but found it difficult to get into because I didn't like the main characters! And I really did try, but I just wanted to yell at them at times. The two meet in Italy at a retreat where they cannot know anything about each other including their names, and this is where the relationship starts. Through the book, however, Ava and Matt did grow on me. And as I mentioned their friends are just fantastic, so that certainly helps. The novel challenges a number of typical rom-com tropes and actually looks at why a relationship can be messy. How differences arise and different ways one reacts. On top of all that, Ava has a mischievous dog named Harold, and I mean there always has to be a lovable fur baby right? Overall yes I would recommend, and if you struggle to like the characters at first- keep going, it's worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are all my own.

I really enjoyed this light, fun rom com by Sophie Kinsella. It’s about a woman who falls in love while at a writer’s retreat in Italy. When the couple returns home to London, they find out their lifestyles are very different. Will their differences be “deal breakers” or will they work things out? While reading this book, I found it easy to route for this couple as well as fall in love with each of their friends. Thank you to Net Galley for the free digital copy in exchange for an honest review

I wasn't so sure about this one, but Kinsella doesn't disappoint. I am a huge fan of her stand alone novels. In LYL, at first, I was skeptical. I thought "no way this happy ending is happy right now!" As always, Kinsella provided a lovable heroine, great secondary characters, and a ride along for the reader, where the heroine tells her own story.

I love the Shopaholic Series and many of the stand alone books. This book not so much. I HATED the characters. All of them, even Harold the dog. I disliked Ava the most and found her completely crazy. Why did she go to the book writing workshop? She did zero writing. She knew nothing about Dutch but they LOVED each other after a week. She would get mad about the littlest thing. Her reaction to someone suggesting Harold needed training was ridiculous. Actually, Ava's relationship with her dog was over the top. Everything seemed so unbelievable. Ava wanted Matt to completely change to her way. Why does he have to become a vegetarian? The sauna was the funniest part of the book. Ava's friends were so out there. Maud asking everyone for favors, even people she just meets.

Give the book a try, it just wasn't for me. I look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Random House through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Love Your Life” by Sophie Kinsella, October, 2020

Sophie Kinsella, the author of “Love Your Life” has written an amusing, witty, and entertaining story. The genres for this novel are Fiction, Humor, Romance, and Women’s Fiction. Especially in these stressful times, I would certainly recommend a dose of Sophie Kinsella’s “Love Your Life”. The timeline for this story is set in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events. The author describes her colorful characters as complex, complicated, flawed and totally likable! My favorite character is Ralph, and you guessed it is a dog, definitely has a way of asserting himself!

Ava is through with all the various dating apps, and is off to Italy on a writer’s retreat. All the visitors give a “fake name” for the duration. With the addition of a few new members, Ava is drawn to a man who seems to like adventure, and she has the best time of her life. When it is time to leave the retreat, she learns his name is Matt. The two both live in London.

Back home at London, both discover they have very different lives, and have to decide if they can compromise, and accept each other as they really are. This is a refreshing and charming read, and just perfect to escape from the problems in our worlds.

I really enjoyed this book! I love Sophie Kinsella books because they are funny, romantic and just fun to read! I loved how this one really delved into a relationship and if love at first sight happens and what happens when a vacation romance faces reality.
The side characters were so fun as well. I loved both of their sets of friends and how supportive they were. Overall this was a classic Kinsella book and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Love Your Life is the name of this book but I am like LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! Sophie Kinsella is a sure thing for me, she writes books that will take me to a happy place and boyyyyyyy do I need to go to a happy place right now! I love the way her story has so much, there is romance yes def but they is so much more! I love the romcom aspect of this book but wow watch out this book was a little edgy! I loved it so much!

This was the perfect book to read during this time. I loved the characters, the story line, the humor that Sophie Kinsella always incorporates into her novels! Highly recommend this if you are in the need of a lighter read.

This was my first book by Sophie Kinsella and I have no idea why I have waited so long to pick up one of her fantastic reads! This had a very cute story line, super fun characters, romance, and laughs. Some of the last books I read were pretty heavy and I needed something else to to get me through a few rough weeks. This book definitely did it! Such a light-hearted, fast read that I couldn't put down.

I’m always a Sophie Kinsella fan so I was pumped to pick this one up. Per usual, the characters were hilarious and so much fun and the story was fast paced. I had a few problems with the romance in the story and felt like that held me back from giving it a full 4 stars. But all in all this novel was super cute and a entertaining read! Thank you netgalley and Random house for sending this novel in exchange for an honest review.