So Ava, the main character starts this story at the beginning criticizing today's way (her friends way) of finding a mate by cutting out everything they dont like. She then tells us how she thinks finding your mate should work. This to me sets up for the whole rest of the book because that very young idealized way of thinking of relationships (romantic love) does not change for her the whole time and as we follow her crush on a man she does not know (but projecting her own fantasy upon) we see how her way of thinking plays out and how it does or does not work for her. The other main character (her crush) Matt also has his own way of dealing with relationship (more of an avoidence, rejection) and we also see how they work within a new relationship.

I loved the way the writers camp was going. The ways in which they were trying to get creative juices flowing and how some came into it not on purpose BUT, for "MYSELF" i felt the grown people were pretty childish. However maybe they are suppose to be super young and that is why it came off that way to me. I saw red flags all over the place but i guess that had to be to get the plot going. I also liked the robots idea in the mens place though again how old are the guys? I did tend to like the friends better than the main characters. Both main characters kinda rubbed me the wrong way. shallow or kinda dumb. I felt it was pretty predictable and the main characters were not not very likeable for me but, I did enjoy the light hearted journey anyway. I liked the writing parts in the beginning also. The roomates made it a little more enjoyable. I think maybe for 20 somethings this book may be more fun. Alot of the time i felt like the characters were in a college dorm with part time fluff job or interns not grown people living on their own serious about any kind of relationship but was that maybe what the author was going for?

The main character also LOVES her dog. A deal breaker for her was someone who was not also a dog lover although again seems she ignores that again hoping that the fantasy in her head is what is really going on. If you are a dog lover then I am sure you will get her feelings on alot of it but if not the references and issues with her and her animal may annoy you.

Anyway, cute book. I do not read alot of romantic fiction so this was a first after a long time and was kinda fun though mushy and fluffy like i thought. lol. As always just my opinion.

Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella was a read I have mixed feelings about. The story begins at a writer's retreat. As part of the retreat, the attendees don't reveal their true identities and instead take on aliases. At the retreat "Aria" (Ava) and "Dutch" (Matt) form an electric connection. With this, they know very little about who the other person really is, and they like it that way focusing instead on their chemistry. As the retreat ends, they realize they both live in London. They decide to keep seeing each other outside of the retreat, and that's where things get quite complicated. The complexities are honestly where I struggled as a reader. I think when you read a rom-com-esque book, there's something that you find yourself rooting for. Honestly, y'all, I knew what I was supposed to be rooting for, and I just couldn't get there. I anticipated where things were going to end, and I found myself seriously questioning if that was what was best. Independent of all the issues before, the ending was cute. However, because of all the mess before then, I didn't end this reading with that "Awww" feeling of a love story. I have loved so many of Sophie Kinsella's stories, and I'll definitely be back for more, but this round just didn't land for me. Thanks to NetGalley for an early look at this October 2020 release.

Didn’t Love this book as much as previous works by this author. Characters were annoying and it took a while for the story to really become enjoyable,

So I have to admit, I was so frustrated with these characters half way into the book I wanted to throw my tablet (softly, on my bed, so I didn’t damage it...but I still wanted to throw it). The weird thing is that both Ava and Matt annoyed me equally, to an extreme...and that’s when it hit me that it must be on purpose. Which it was :)

Sophia Kinsella NEVER disappoints!!
I love every book she’s written and this was no exception! My only complaint is that they end too soon! Her characters are loveable and they always draw me in!!
Always a good read!

Ava has been unlucky in love, so she decides put her romantic life on hold and leave London to attend a writing retreat in Italy. At the retreat, the attendees are asked to withhold personal information, including their names, and Ava is quickly attracted to one of the other attendees. The pair meets under their aliases of “Aria” and “Dutch”, and a whirlwind romance strikes up between the two. However, when the retreat comes to an end, they return to their regular lives as Ava and Matt. The two struggle to adapt to one another’s very different lifestyles, and begin to question if their fantasy romance will last.

Overall, I just found the story to be a bit too far-fetched for my liking. I understand the author was trying to make the characters very different so they would clash, but I found both lead characters to be too extreme and unrealistic. I struggled to connect to Ava, but she did grow on me throughout the novel. I use to frequently read and love Sophie Kinsella’s books, but this particular one did not resonate with me personally. Overall, it is still a decent light read, and okay for a low stress read in these stressful times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I adore Sophie’s work and this story is no different. She creates such charming characters and makes them relatable for people like me.

This story was a unique approach to how the characters meet. Our main heroine is trying to finish her novel when an opposing martial art retreat gets cancelled, volunteering our main man to join the group of writers. Rules are though: you can’t use your real first names.

This obviously causes a lot of mystery between the two main characters. But can they make it last once they get home and start realizing maybe they don’t have as much in common as they thought?

I’m giving this book 4 stars. I highly recommended this for those romantics that love a good romcom. Fans of Sophie will love another home run of a novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Random Press Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I typically love Sophie Kinsella, and I think I've read everything she's written. I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Love Your Life. While overall I enjoyed this book, I did find myself trudging through the first half of the book. The real magic is in the second half where the stories begin to come together. To be honest, I didn't believe in Ava and Matt as a couple as they left the retreat. It wasn't until things started to fall apart that I started to root for them. Ultimately I loved the friendships in this story, I love the multiple storylines, I loved how the theme of loving your life weaves its way through so many of the characters. I only wish the first half of the book were as strong as the second half.

NetGalley ARC | Send me to a monastery with wine and a beach nearby any day. I don't always read Kinsella, but I enjoyed the themes of fantasy vs reality, compatibility, and true love. I cracked up at the huge differences in Ava and Matt's life, and I love the dollhouse business drama. Their eccentric friends are so lovable.

I will also say that I never read books with animals...and why, Kinsella, why?! Not really a spoiler, but Harold *does* survive. I could really do without that scene, though. Why do authors always feel the need to hurt or kill animals in every story? It added nothing except upset me, quite frankly.

See the full review here: https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/october-2020-book-releases/

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really couldn't get into this book and for me it dragged. It is cute and kind of funny, but really wasn't for me.

I have been a fan of Sophie Kinsella for years, so I was excited to read "Love Your Life".

Ava and Matt are both compelling leads in their own rights, one being eccentric while the other is uptight. They meet on a holiday where the participants weren't allowed to give anything substantial away about themselves. While there is definitely lust and interest there, it makes for a strained relationship when they find they live near enough to each other to carry on the relationship.

Perhaps it's because when I was younger I rushed into a relationship without knowing the person well enough that it made this book a bit of a hard pill to swallow. There are a lot of disagreements and clashing of personalities that make it hard to support them being together.

However, the sweet moments between the leads, and their friends great personalities do make up for a lot of the shortcomings. Overall, while not my favorite book from Sophie, it is still an enjoyable addition.

3.5 stars out of five

**Received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity

Very cute, funny, easy read. As close to perfect as chick lit can get! This rom-com is indicative of the kind of we need more of in the world: those that feature people like you, like your mom, like your best friend, flawed heroines who make the best out of the wild and wacky journeys we all go through—at work, with our families, in love and in life

I am a huge Sophie Kinsella fan, but this book missed the mark for me. I was so disappointed, especially because it started off strong! There wasn't enough of an initial connection between Ava and Matt to justify their pursuit of a relationship, though, and I found many of the jokes/humorous situations to be cringey instead of funny (especially those with Harold, the dog). I was happy with the ending but almost gave up several times.

I am a big fan of the author and I have read all of her previous novels. Kinsella’s characters always seem like old friends. The main character is Ava, a pharmaceutical writer and aspiring writer of a romance novel. She meets a man at a writers’ retreat in Italy - and the ride begins. The book is witty, light, and fun.

Ava decides to put love on hold after a breakup and go to a writer's retreat. She moves from project to project without ever really completing anything and hopes that this retreat will help her to finish the novel she started. The attendees at the retreat are not allowed to use their real names or reveal personal details about themselves. Soon after the retreat starts, Ava meets "Dutch" who she quickly falls in love with. Things between Ava and Dutch seem perfect until they go back to the real world. Dutch, whose real name is Matt, and Ava realize that their lives and personalities are very different. They struggle to keep that connection they felt so strongly on the retreat work in real life.

I have loved Sophie Kinsella's book since I found them. This one had a slow start for me, which prompted me to put it down a few times. Once the plot took off it was an enjoyable read.

*I received a free ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

Sophie Kinsella's books have been hit or miss for me (with more hits than misses) with Love Your Life unfortunately falling in the miss column. The premise is interesting, but I found the characters to be lacking. Much of Ava's insistence on continuing her relationship with Matt after leaving the retreat came across as her just wanting to prove to people that it wasn't just a fling. I could not figure out why or how they fell in love with one another - their entire relationship was so superficial and they both refused to put in any effort to really getting to know one another. Ava is extremely judgmental and selfish so I never understood what Matt liked about her. Furthermore, her inability to understand why someone may not love a dog that chews up all of their things just reinforced her selfishness. She wants Matt to fit her idea of the perfect boyfriend and doesn't seem to really care about him at all. As for Matt, he is kind of a jerk once they're back in London - he never once stands up to his family or ex to defend Ava (and they are all horrible to her on multiple occasions) - so I never really understood what Ava liked about him. Having the story told entirely from Ava's point of view also prevents us from ever getting to know Matt as a person so it's very difficult to care about him. I was not rooting for Ava and Matt as a couple and since both of their transformations into better people were done mostly off the page I didn't care when they reunited at the end. The supporting characters were far more interesting and I found myself wishing I could have read about Nell and Topher rather than Ava and Matt. I'd give this 2.5 stars.

I received an advanced copy of, Love Your Life, by Sophie KInsella. I loved the Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella, and I loved this book too. Ava goes on a retreat, a writers retreat, in Italy. Ava has bad luck with love, will she meet the love of her life in Italy? Or will it just be a holiday romance?

Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella

Ava goes away on a writing retreat where she meets the handsome Matt. They are instantly infatuated with one another and enjoy their time in Italy knowing nothing about each other.
Once the retreat is over they need to discover what life is like for each of them. It’s a very humorous realization that they are incredibly different but are committed to making it work.

The beginning of this book was fantastic! I was excited for the potential love these two found with each other. As it got to the middle and there lives intertwined, I was less interested in it. I couldn’t stand the catty ,immature behavior of Matt’s parents and ex girlfriend to the point I could have not finished . It did pick up though . I laughed so many times. The story became one of love, friendship, devotion. Ava grew in such a beautiful way and Matt too. I ended up really loving the way it ended.

Love your life will be out on October 26th. Don’t forget to go out and get your copy. Thank you #randomhouse and #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

at first this was a slow read for me but got better in the middle and at the end, love Sophie's books!