I just adore Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella. Fans of the opposite attracts troupe will love this one, too. It is such a fun, quirky read. Is it a bit unrealistic? Maybe. But it's fiction and it is an ABSOLUTE delight.

Ava and Matt fall fast and hard in a fairy tale bubble. However, real life for both Ava and Matt is quite different. The plot focuses highly on their struggles to remain a couple once their love bubble is burst. Although it initially appears they may have a lot in common, they are truly opposites. Ava is a bit naïve and flaky. She is opportunistic, a vegetarian and overly optimistic. Matt is a workaholic caught in a toxic family business. He is serious, a meat eater and his fun side rarely makes an appearance.

Then there is Ava's rescue dog, Harold. Lovely, confident Harold who is an absolute bastard in a great, entertaining way. He fits in so well with the plot that I secretly think this book is really about him.

Ava and Matt's attraction and love did feel a bit rushed to me. I was a bit taken back by this at first. I also thought the plot was a bit messy. However, as a long time Sophie Kinsella fan, I should have known better. Her mastermind has the situation under control. I just needed to sit back and .enjoy the ride.

By the end....after all the shenanigans, laughs and heart break, all I felt was happiness. I simply smiled. Love Your Life is Sophie Kinsella gold. It will give you a much needed smile. It will pull at a few heartstrings. It's an uplifting book about the messiness of life, especially as you try to share it with the love of your life.

I full heartedly recommend Love Your Life to those who need a smile, to those who need a little bit of sunshine and to long time Sophie Kinsella fans. Let's just say that, Ava and Matt gave some serious Poppy and Sam (I've Got Your Number) vibes. If you know, you know.

Sophie Kinsella fans will not be disappointed. This book was delightful, charming & unputdownable. It included a whole cast of unique characters, a romance and a scene stealing dog named Harold. It also reminded me a bit of the movie Notting Hill. If your looking for your next feel good read then I’d definitely recommend treating yourself to a copy on its release date : October 27th. I know I will be purchasing my own physical copy to read it all over again. I want to thank @netgalley @thedial @randomhouse & the author herself for my readers advanced copy to read and review.

This book is hilarious.

Ava is ridiculously optimistic. She decides to go on a retreat in Italy to help her finish writing her book. While there she meets Matt. At the retreat they're not allowed to know anything about each other, including their name. So Matt and Ava fall in love while in this bubble. Once they get home they find out how different their worlds are but they try to work things out because they want to be together.

The differences they have are so over the top and ridiculous that it's funny. Neither of their lives are perfect and they both pretend that they're fine with where they are. This relationship pushes them to evaluate things about themselves. Their desire to want to stay together even though Ava's furniture keeps hurting Matt and Matt's bed is so uncomfortable that Ava can't sleep through the night is very endearing and sweet. Ava's optimism can be annoying (yes, Ava, you should talk about ex's) but endearing like when she deals with Matt's strict parents or Matt's ex-girlfriend.

This review is based on an advanced reading copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

ank you to Netgalley and Random House for this arc! Love Your Life comes out on the 27th of October and I was so excited to read this one. I’m a big fan of Sophie Kinsella and really enjoyed her writing in this. This book follows Ava and Matt as they meet on vacation and fall in love before learning anything about their lives. When they go back home, they realize they have nothing in common.

This book made me laugh. There are definitely parts when you’ll wonder why Ava and Matt are even together, but she also shows sweet moments in their relationship. I enjoyed seeing them try to work through their problems even when they didn’t seem compatible at all. I enjoyed the growth in both the main characters. I really liked how their friends came together in this. Overall I had a lot of fun reading this and if you’ve enjoyed Sophie Kinsella’s books before then I definitely recommend this one!

Sophie Kinsella delivers the perfect book to escape from real life drama. It felt so great to laugh out loud while reading parts of Love Your Life. I loved the characters and setting. This is definitely a sweet read.

Have you ever been physically attracted to someone only to date them and learn all too soon that you don’t have as much in common with each other as you would’ve hoped and perhaps the other person has habits and interests that you can’t stand, so you decide you aren’t right for each other. That’s typically how it works, am I right?

Love Your Life is about a woman named Ava and a man named Matt who find themselves physically attracted to each other and thus, decide they must be compatible. Nothing they learn about each other could sway their compatibility. They have a refreshing determined-to-make-it-work attitude that in my opinion, is rare to see.

Of course, efforts to force the relationship to work are hilarious in the true Sophie Kinsella comedic style. The book will leave you enjoyably questioning what love truly is and realizing how much work a relationship takes to be lasting one. It will have you questioning how much you’re willing to sacrifice to make it work. Honestly, I felt like I would have given up way before Ava. Kinsella’s book is rich with deep messages about the importance of compromise, overthinking partner criteria, and the impossibility of perfection.

I loved that Kinsella could craft her characters to be ditsy and maintain a humorous outlook on a book with deep, insightful messages. I would highly recommend this read.

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favourite authors. Most known for her Shopaholic series, her books are full of interesting characters, humour and romance. Love Your Life was no exception.

Ava is a young woman who thinks that love should be found meeting someone in person and not using a variety of apps and algorithms. She’s a woman who has a lot of ideas which she starts, but has a problem with completing. When she has an opportunity to attend a remote writer’s retreat in Italy, she sees this as a way of completing the novel she is determined to write.

At the retreat, the attendees are told that they are not to communicate about themselves and to keep their lives (and names) from the outside world separate. During the retreat, Ava “Aria” meets Matt “Dutch” and the two end up having a whirlwind vacation romance. What they didn’t expect was that they both lived in London and could continue this romance back in the real world. Would they feel the same about one another once they truly got to know each other?

I really enjoyed this book. Ava and Matt’s holiday romance was truly romantic and I felt myself swooning. Once they returned home to their separate households, (both very unique), and their diverse and quirky set of friends, the flavour of the book changed to humour. I really appreciated that there were so many well-developed characters (I can see this group with their own sit-com). The book was engaging throughout and I loved the twists to the story which kept me wanting to read more. This is not only a great romantic comedy - it is also a story of the personal growth we experience as a byproduct of relationships.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

I'm a fan of Sophie Kinsella for years but this book read to slow. I couldn't get through it and had to stop after 9%.


**********************I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.*******************

In typical Kinsella fashion, Love Your Life is funny and endearing, bursting with energy but with profound, tender moments that make you pause to think and feel. Ava and Matt, aka Aria and Dutch, meet at a retreat and fall in love without knowing anything about their lives, let alone their real names and where they live. That week is idyllic, but what happens when the blinders come off and reality, including lifestyles and exes, crack open their new love? Their relationship is messy and exhilarating, frustrating and delightful, and an absolute treat to read. Their friends are spectacularly quirky and add an extra layer of love and laughter. But it’s Harold the rescue beagle who steals the limelight every time he appears on the page! In a world that can be crazy and scary, spend some time with this entertaining book and let yourself feel hopeful once more.

Love Your Life is the story of Ava and Matt, who meet on a secluded vacation and instantly have a connection. In the beginning, I was thinking this was going to be an insta-love story and I found myself rolling my eyes ALL the time. I was half tempted to put the book down. I'm glad I didn't, though, because it turned out to be a lot more than I was expecting. Once the newness of their infatuation wears off, we see two real characters, who have problems, insecurities, weird friends and families, and are trying their best to be together. The characters in this were awesome and I'd love a follow up book about some of the secondary characters. It took me a little longer to read, but it was an enjoyable book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book!

3.5 stars!

"I don't want to sound dramatic, but he's crystal meth. In a good way."

It wouldn't be Sophie Kinsella if you didn't get a little anxiety over the main character and then end up loving the book in the end.

Ava has a lot going on - she write brochures, she's writing a novel, studying to be a certified aromatherapist, and has a small collection of "rescue" furniture. To give her the push she needs, she heads off to a writing retreat in Italy, where she meets a man. The twist is, at this retreat, you aren't allowed to share any personal information including your real name. So Dutch and Aria (Ava's fake name) decide to enjoy this bubble while they're in it, but can they keep the romance going after they head home and start seeing each other's real lives?

This was one of my first Kinsella books where I didn't love the main character. I honestly related, and liked, Dutch more, but we didn't get chapters from him. Ava had a lot of qualities that I personally find very overwhelming. But she did finally grow on me towards the end.

I thought more of the book would be spend at the retreat in Italy, but they were done at home around the 20% mark, so the majority of the book was showing them struggling to integrate into each others lives. And it did get slow in the middle, but the ending, in my opinion, made up for it.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to people who like romantic comedy books.

4/5 stars - I was toying with 3.5 since the middle was slow and I didn't connect to Ava, but the ending (last 15%) is what brought it up to 4 stars for me.

Love Your Life was the first Sophie Kinsella read for me and I can see why she’s such a big name in chick lit! The main characters, Ava & Matt, have a chance meeting at a writing retreat where they are stripped of their baggage and background. It isn’t until they re-enter the real world and realize they might not be as compatible as they thought.

I really struggled to get through this book. I disliked Ava so much that I would have to set aside my kindle. She was incredibly immature, acting more like young teen who is obsessed with boys, strangely attached to her dog, judgemental and self righteous. She also needed some medication for her ADD. I wasn’t rooting for her and Matt. They were completely incompatible and the “resolution” didn’t give me any satisfaction. Not a winner for me.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My heart feels so full after finishing this. While I’m not the biggest fan of Insta-love, this book takes you on a journey as you find out if Insta-love is all it’s cracked up to be.
This book follows Ava, an eclectic young woman with dreams a plenty. When her friends push her to go on a writing retreat to work on a book idea she has, they did expect her to come back with the love of her life. This book was charming, sweet and did a great job showcasing the ups and downs of being in a relationship. It was funny and heartfelt. It’s not the greatest rom com ever written, but I truly enjoyed getting to know Ava and Matt and how life isn’t always a fairytale.

𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 (to be released Oct 27, 2020)⁣
By: Sophie Kinsella ⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
Let me start off by saying that Sophie is one of my favourite authors. Her “Shopaholic” series is one of the funniest, most enjoyable series ever! ⁣
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All of her women’s fiction standalone novels are great, especially “My Not So Perfect Life” and “I’ve Got Your Number”. However, I found this one fell flat. I really like Ava and her quirky-ness and her dog, but I thought that her love interest fell a little short for me. He was kind of bland and I really believe that she deserved someone equally quirky and special! ⁣
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My favourite part was definitely the sauna scene with the tourists, had me bursting out laughing in bed!⁣
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It’s a feel good book, but I felt like the end tied up too nicely with a random situation right near the end. ⁣
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Still, it’s an entertaining read! Thank you @Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ⁣

I adore Sophie Kinsella's books. I always want to be friends with her protagonists and Ava is no exception. I can always count on Kinsella for a light-hearted fun read that will make me laugh out loud. And this one has a beagle named Harold to boot! What more could you ask for?

Ava is always starting projects. She decides to go on a writing retreat in Italy to work on her novel. Except she finds romance in the best possible way, uncluttered with details of the past and normal daily life. She actually refers to the period as "the bubble." Dutch is handsome, funny and carefree and they adore each other. Until they return to London and reality, where they find their bubble has literally burst.

I adored Ava's character. Yes she is flighty but she is also charming, funny and full of life. I really felt the difference between Dutch's character in Italy versus London. No spoilers but some infuriating things happen that just make you want to shriek. I loved Ava's group of friends and how they always have each other's backs. Maude is my favorite but don't let her ask you for a favor.

Overall, this book is absolutely delightful and I expected nothing less. If you are a big fan of Kinsella already, you will fall in love with this book too. If you've never read her before but enjoy charming chick lit with funny, smart, sassy female protagonists, you'll get hooked on Kinsella's book. This is a stand alone so you don't have to know her books to love it but I guarantee you will.

Hard to talk about this one because it was different then Kinsella’s other novels. SO, first off I liked the main character Ava for maybe half the book and then she just got annoying. Matt was way more likable. These two characters are so different but yeah opposites do attract and work out sometimes. I have issues with this romance because the things that bug them are never resolved. I don’t mean that there has to be a compromise. I mean you spend 80% of the book yelling about how much you hate X because of Y reason and could never accept it. Then you just accept it.

I'm so glad I waited to review this book until after it had fully wrapped itself around my mind. I will be honest and say it was not my favorite Sophie book. I am a HUGE fan of Sophie Kinsella; I've been reading her books for years. I love her characters, and her books always make me happy by the end. Love Your Life was not one that immediately grabbed my heart, however.

First let's talk Matt and Ava. When they met in Italy, I was like YES! This is the dream team, keep this relationship going. As we got to know the real Matt and Ava, I didn't like either of them. Matt was cold and aloof and Ava was so scatterbrained that I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes. I hated the descriptions of both of their apartments, and I honestly wanted them to break up. Like. immediately.

Let's talk friends next. Maud's character? What the HELL was that about? I don't even think this kind of character is believable, and if anyone out there has a friend like Maud? Drop her like a bad habit. She might have been more unlikeable than Ava, and that is saying a lot. As for Topher and Nihal? I LOVED THEM. Like, loved-them loved them. They were the typical computer-nerd stereotype: antisocial, not aware of social cues, not into the fashion trends, and this is what endeared them to me the most. My love for them just grew through the book. Also: Topher and Nell? YES.

Fast forward to the convention and beyond: Ava really started to warm to me when she had the sweet conversation with Ronald, Matt's grandpa, who suffered a humiliation at the hands of internet trolls. The rest of his family cast aside his problems, but Ava sat with him and let him talk. She also developed a friendship with him that extended outside of her relationship with Matt. This is where Ava really became a likable character. I feel like this is where Kinsella was heading the whole time; Ava adopting the books/furniture/plants, and adopting Harold yet refusing to see any of his flaws. (I love dogs as much as anyone, in fact, I have four, BUT even I could see Harold was a nightmare.) I think where Kinsella failed us with Ava is not letting us see the true nature of Ava, the caring side. Telling me about adopted books, etc, just screams "PACK RAT!" and annoys me. Showing me Ava being sweet to a man in turmoil tugs at my heart strings. I wish this had happened much earlier in the story.

When Ava returns from the retreat and forward, especially the restaurant Ava-Land/Matt-Land scene was pure perfection. This scene is what actually changed my entire perspective of this book. Again, we see that the flaws we've been introduced to throughout the story are actual the parts that make up the whole of Ava and Matt. Maybe I should have gotten there on my own, but the flaws were so cringeworthy and made me so mad that this translation got lost for me.

LONG STORY SHORT: I really liked this book. I will continue to read Kinsella time and time again; she'll always be a go-to for me.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

I received this book at no cost from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't ever read a Kinsella novel that I haven't liked, and this is no exception. Ava is a delicious heroine, and I love all her quirks. She's totally relatable and easy to understand. Matt is her perfect male counterpart. The way their stories come together is magic; easy to digest, believable, and heart-warming. This book is a perfect example of why Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite rom-com authors!

Kinsella's latest, Love Your Life, follows dreamer Ava as she goes to Italy for a writing retreat. The neighboring martial arts retreat loses its instructor, and hunky, perfect Dutch joins the retreat.

The retreat's goal is to remove all the external things that distract from your writing -- choosing outfits, small talk, even your own name. Ava takes on the name Aria and falls hard for perfection-made-flesh "Dutch." Throughout their weeklong Italian romance, they make guesses about what each other's real names are, what they do for a living, where they might live, etc. Ava falls in love with her made-up carpenter Jean-Luc who loves dogs and is a vegetarian like her.

At Heathrow, the vacation bubble suddenly bursts. Ava's ill-behaved dog attacks Dutch's chauffeur -- wait, he has a chauffeur? -- and her friends reveal her real name before she has the chance. She finds out that Dutch is Matt, the CEO of a dollhouse empire. Matt loves dogs, just not her dog. And upon returning from their vegetarian retreat, the first thing he did was scarf a hamburger. Ava doesn't see these red flags for what they are and continues living in her fantasy world where they end up getting married and having babies. Ava and Matt's relationship seems doomed, but can they make it work despite their differences?

Ava follows the model of Kinsella's other leading ladies, who are flawed yet charming. She's a bit awkward, a dreamer, and has a big heart. Ava rescues everything -- furniture, books, even her dog. She's an endearing character and the reader wants her to succeed despite her ridiculous friends, dog, and life that would make a normal person squeamish.

This is a cute novel with a more unconventional story arc than your typical romance, but it's definitely not my favorite of Kinsella's books. Recommended for Kinsella's many fans and readers of romance and contemporary women's fiction.