Sophie Kinsella is one of my go-to authors, I’ll read anything she writes, but I was not the biggest fan of Love Your Life. I really enjoyed the beginning when Ava/Aria and Matt/Dutch met at the retreat, I thought those chapters were some of the best in the book. When they returned to their regular lives, that is when the book slowed down for me a lot. Matt a character I originally liked became unlikeable to me. Ava reminded me a bit of one of my favorite Kinsella characters, Becky Brandon née Bloomwood. The end chapters did redeem the story for me a little bit, I wish we would have gotten to those sooner.

I'm a big Sophie Kinsella fan and read most of her books. I enjoyed this one but didn't love it, the main character Ava, was a little annoying but the ending was satisfying. I enjoyed the quirky cast of friends, they were fun without being irritating. I thought parts of the plot dragged but they all came together eventually. I recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the ARC of this book, the review is unsolicited and opinions are my own.

This is my fourth novel by this author as I’ve read her last three non-Shopaholic novels. This book was very clever and well-written. I liked her last one “I Owe You One,” and this one was even better.

We start with Ava (she is like Polly from Along Came Polly to the max) as she starts and stops new hobbies on a whim. She gets excited to do an aromatherapy course, but doesn’t finish, she wants to make products to sell on Etsy, but doesn’t follow through, she wants to do underwater basket-weaving and doesn’t learn how to weave (ok that last one isn’t part of the novel, but you get the picture of her as a character), etc. Her apartment is eclectic and cozy as it’s filled with all of her rescues – books, furniture, dog named Harold – and she is also a vegetarian. Her close-knit group of friends and her and in constant contact and will type messages every second of every day on WhatsApp if they’re apart (it’s very co-dependent, but it works in this story). She goes to a week-long writing retreat at a monastery on the Italian Coast (this place sounds amazing and I want to go there ASAP) to work more on her novel and this is where our story begins.

At the retreat, we meet “Dutch” (who later goes by his real name Matt) where our two lovebirds fall in love. They have a whirlwind romance during the retreat and it’s when they return to the UK that our characters now have to come back to reality and find a way to make the relationship work long-term in the real-world away from the seclusion of the retreat. Our two now have to find a way to be expats in their respective foreign countries – Ava-Land and Matt-Land. The both claim to not have deal-breakers, but they start to question themselves if they might have some afterall.. Is love enough to keep a relationship going or are our polar opposites (Ava and Matt) not meant to be?

I have a love-hate relationship with Ava’s hypocrisy depending on the context. During the retreat, she has a “rival” and it was funny how Ava “judged” the other woman for staring at Dutch/Matt instead of paying attention at the instructor one minute yet she was guilty of the next. However, she was very judgmental when her friend filtered out vegetarians on her dating profile, yet she couldn’t deal with Matt not being one at first and she got offended when he ate meat. I know it was supposed to make conflict, but it seemed too much for Ava, a vegetarian, to claim to have no “filters” for dating, but dislikes Matt not being one and asks like this could be her first omnivore boyfriend when statistically (unless she did filter them out on her profiles which she claims she didn’t) she would’ve been with almost entirely omnivores/carnivores of some degree throughout her dating life.

My other issue is that through the majority of the novel Matt makes tons and tons of allowances for Ava, but she rarely is open-minded to consider Matt’s side of things. In fact, I highly disagree with the description that she’s open-minded (just because she tries out different possible career ventures does not mean she’s this way). I found her very close-minded where she constantly believed that her way was the best and only way. If you take her thinking Matt’s room is freezing, she wants the temperature raised to accommodate her needs whereas she doesn’t think of the possibility that Matt might be boiling in her warmer room – it doesn’t cross her mind. This might be something small, but, to me, it showed a lot about Ava’s character and as a person who likes a colder room and my partner likes it warmer – he can put on layers to make himself warmer, but there is only so much I can take off to make myself colder to make us both more comfortable. There are parts of this novel that try to make it seem as if Ava is growing, but aside from a few things, she stays relatively the same.

There are two things that I wish never made it into the novel. The first is an incident involving Harold (when you get to it, then you’ll know). It was completely unnecessary to drive the events to make x,y, z occur as the events would’ve played out the same without the incident occurring (think Raiders of the Lost Ark – the events would’ve had the same conclusion whether or not Indiana was there or not). The other involved Genevieve as one thing happens to her that doesn’t match the rest of the story at all and just seemed like a throw-away line to add to her part of the story. There were so many other directions the author could have gone that would’ve matched the rest of the novel.

Although those were all negatives to the story, I still loved this book and would happily re-read it as it is well-written and enjoyable. The novel is very believable and I found the couple having to truly work on their relationship very relatable. The friends are where this novel truly shines as they are very diverse in their personalities and you can see how each of them fit in to the story and each other’s lives. Our main two get pushed to the back-burner in some scenes as the friends take over in the reader’s mind because they are so interesting to read about. Overall, I loved reading this book and I found it very heart-warming and a good lesson that love is not always enough as you have to still work at any relationship to make it last.

**Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Love Your Life is a typical Sophie Kinsella book.This contemporary romance has a cute storyline,romance,humor and entertaining characters. Ava is finsished with online dating and goes to a writer's retreat in Italy.There she meets and falls in love with Matt. A fun,quick and enjoyable read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors. I was excited and looking forward to reading this book, and it did not disappoint. This book takes us through Ava and Matt’s relationship. Or shall I say Aria and Dutch, respectively. Aria and Dutch meet at a writing retreat, and their romance begins. Although at this time it is fun, baggage-free, and really just perfect. But of course it was time to get back to reality and their everyday lives. Ava and Matt begin to get reacquainted in their real lives this time, with friends and Harold in tow. Throughout their relationship they find that it wasn’t as fun and baggage-free as their time at the retreat. However, like all relationships worth fighting for, these two learn to live with their obstacles. And let me tell you there’s quite a few of them. This book takes us through their lives, and how different they can be. They work through those differences, because isn’t that what love and life are all about? These two wonderful characters are so different from each other, and that’s part of the charm of this book. Sophie Kinsella has a way of portraying her characters to really make us feel as we know them. We relate to them. We can even at times anticipate their thoughts and actions. Bravo to Sophie Kinsella for another wonderful novel.

I can always depend on Sophie Kinsella to draw me in and leave me feeling happy that I read her book. This book delivers, as usual. I was a bit slow to warm to these characters, both Ava and Matt felt too cliche to me at first. Both are so firmly entrenched in their own particular personas and the reader can't see a place where they could find common ground. But by the end of the book, they have meshed their lives perfectly and each have grown tremendously. This book explores how relationships change us and often make us better versions of ourselves. I loved it by the end and am so glad I took the journey.

This book was delightful, charming, romantic, and hilarious, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever read a book by this author. What I found especially impressive is that Kinsella weaved so much heart, depth, and character development into the book without bringing down the tone/mood. Both Ava and Matt learned and changed so much from the first page to the last. Harold the dog was adorably terrifying! Both sets of friends added so much to the story, and I loved how protective of Matt Ava was to his mother. As an author of romantic comedy, I find the ability to combine such delicious humor with a poignancy that pulls on heartstrings very inspiring and motivating.

Unlike her friends, Ava doesn't believe that love connections happen through filtered data mediums. She signs up for a remote writers' retreat in Italy where attendees are encouraged to not share their real names and other personal info. No biggie, she doesn't expect to see these people ever again. However, she finds an unexpected connection with a man going by the name of "Dutch." Do they have a future together when they return to their real lives and personas?

I generally love Sophie Kinsella, but really I struggled to connect with this book. The plot sounded interesting, but I didn't find the characters as engaging as usual. I was ready to give up on Ava by chapter two. Normally Kinsella's humor can make any book shine, but this one missed the mark for me.

Ok. So this was super cute—I was unsure about our heroine at first as she drove me nuts for a minute. She’s so blithely unaware of herself that I just couldn’t believe she didn’t see herself clearly. But then she grew on me because she’s warm and loyal and compassionate and funny. In the end I was totally rooting for her.

In fact, all the characters are so well rounded and alive, especially our hero. I just really love the premise of this book and it totally worked for me. Highly recommend!

Normally a Kinsella fan, I struggled to get through this one. The plot felt lacking and the characterization just wasn’t as strong as normal. Still an entertaining read, but not her best work

Plot: I really liked it! The premise of Ava and Matt falling love, without really knowing anything about each other, then discovering how very different they are, was interesting! I don't want to say too much more about the plot of this one, for fear of spoiling it for people!
Characters: I liked all the characters! Ava was delightful, and I loved all her friends! The scenes with them were some of the ones that made me laugh the most. Also, I wanted to write one thing, but don't know if people would consider this a spoiler, so be warned about this next paragraph!

**SPOILER** I was really happy when I read that Nell's (Ava's friend) chronic condition is Lupus. I have Lupus, so to read a book by one of my favorite authors, that featured a character with it, was really, really nice. I also think the way she portrayed it was really accurate, because Lupus can be very different for each person who has it, with the way it affects the body. A couple of problems Nell faces, were exactly ones I've dealt with. It was also really nice that Nell got a relationship in the book, because so often the "sick friend" doesn't get to be happy, which irritates me, so I'm really happy with that! **SPOILER**

The Cover: Cute! I love illustrated covers, and I really like the ones Sophie Kinsella's book have been getting recently, including the reprints.

Overall: I expected to love this book, because it was a Sophie Kinsella book (One of my all-time favorite authors!), and I'm happy to write I did! I won't say too much here about it, for fear of spoiling it for people, but I highly recommend reading!

I am a big Sophie Kinsella fan and have read the majority of her books. I actually prefer her standalone novels over the Shopaholic series. So of course I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. Unfortunately I wouldn't place this one among my favorites but everything came together quite nicely by the end so at least I finished it on a positive note.

Ava lives in London, and signs up for a remote writers' retreat in Italy. Attendees are encouraged to not share their real names with the other writers and to avoid giving out other personal info. So Ava goes with the flow and chooses to go by the name Aria. Pretty easy and she'll never see these people again anyway. Well... she hits it off with a guy going by the name "Dutch" and they have a nice little romance at the retreat. But now its time to pack up and go back home. While "Aria" and "Dutch" seemed like a perfect match in Italy, they also didn't know anything about each other's past. When forced back to reality in London, do these two have a legitimate shot at love?

I'll admit by the end of the 1st chapter I was already getting nervous about this one. Things did start to pick up once Ava was at the writers' retreat but my first impressions about the characters were pretty spot on. As the story progressed Ava became more and more annoying, and don't come after me dog lovers, but her dog Harold got on my nerves as well. I probably share way more personality wise in common with Matt, aka Dutch, than I do with Ava so that could factor into my opinion as well. (Honestly though, I think poor character development was the main reason I struggled at times with this book)

The good news is at the very end I finally "got" Ava and understood what others saw in her. And the same thing applies to her group of friends. Had they clicked sooner with me in the story, this would have been a much better read for me. Much of what I love about what this author brings to the table didn't shine through until the last few chapters. I do think a below average Sophie Kinsella novel is still better than about 80 to 90% of other books in the chick lit genre. And I got to end the book with a smile on my face which is always a good thing.

Sophie Kinsella manages to write another rom-com hit! When Ava decides to indulge in a week long writers retreat, she plans to be 100% focused on finally making progress on her rom com. At least until her absolute perfect man shows up and they spend the week falling in love. Part of the deal at the retreat was that they can't share any personal details, so while they know nothing about each other's identifies, they know they were made for each other. Surely, nothing will go wrong back in the real world??

I am still a bit shocked by how much I enjoyed this book, because to be honest Ava was quite annoying and Matt was terrible at dealing with serious issues. However, Kinsella's writing is always fresh and funny and can turn any character into someone you're rooting for.

It was a nice break from the usual rom com plot lines to read through Ava and Matt's struggles when they realized they maybe weren't compatible AT ALL. This time, there weren't any unlucky outside forces or misscommunications keeping them apart. They had to figure out a very real life scenario where their lives didn't match up perfectly.

All in all, yet another delightful novel. Fans of Kinsella or the chick lit genre in general will surely enjoy this!

I absolutely adored this book. I have loved all of Sophie Kinsella’s books so I was THRILLED to be approved for this one. The characters drew me in and kept me hooked. This is a great read that I can’t wait to recommend!!

I typically LOVE Sophie Kinsella novels and can't wait for her next to come out but I didn't enjoy this one as much as others. It did have a creative, if sometimes unbelievable, storyline and characters but it was tough to connect with them in any meaningful way that drew me into the book and held my attention. I would still suggest this book to other Sophie Kinsella fans though since it did have some funny, loveable parts. It just might not be for me, like Finding Audrey.

Sophie Kinsella, well known for her Shopaholics series, gives us a new contemporary romance about making relationships succeed in the digital age. Ava is an optimist with a capital O. Bubbly and loving, she hunts for the bright side amidst the life struggles and gives her love openly to the most important people in her life: a trio of friends and Harold her feisty beagle. Her newest passion is a regency romance novel that she can’t quite seem to finish so she books a writing retreat at a monastery in Italy to buckle down.

The twist? Everyone wears the same simple clothing and goes by a new name. Ava, now Aria, meets a handsome fellow retreater named Dutch. The two fall in love but when the retreat is over the real trials of their relationship really between. Between Harold’s antics, Dutch’s (real name Matt) family, and Ava’s friends Love Your Life is full of Kinsella’s delightfully funny scenes. I honestly laughed out loud at some of the situations Ava got herself into.

This book excels in its commentary in the work it takes to make a relationship work. Ava doesn’t believe in dealbreakers as opposed to her super picky friend Sarika who relies on a list of dealbreakers to find her perfect match. Ava puts in the work to love a person as they come flaws and all, annoying parents and a persistent ex and all.

The only weak spot for me was Matt. He isn’t as fully realized as the other characters in Ava’s world and it’s hard to get a sense of who he is. He remains kind of a random mystery and we readers have to rely on Ava’s voice to tell us who he is instead of getting to see for ourselves.

However, Ava is strong enough to carry this book on her own. I was utterly charmed by her sense of self and passion. She just gushes love and care. This book also has tremendous heart and made me read until the very end to see every character to get their HEA.

Disorganized Ava, who enjoys rescuing old books, furniture, and at least one incorrigible dog, goes on a retreat and meets the man of her dreams. The retreat is anonymous so Ava/Aria doesn't know the real name of her love. They finally meet up and spend time together in 'real life' London where Ava learns Matt is a neat freak and he realizes the true level of her scattered habits.

And, of course there are Matt's parents who firmly believe he should end up with his former girlfriend who works with them all in the family firm. Their friends get along and Matt and Ava try to make it work, until they can't any more.. They go their separate ways for awhile. and finally meet one another again. Have they each changed enough to be together again?

With Kinsella's trademark bits of hilarity (naked saunas and self-destructing furniture), this is quick, escapist read.

I’m a Sophie Kinsella fan. When I saw her latest book was available on Netgalley, I clicked that request button faster than ever!

That being said, this was not my favorite of her books. I loved Ava and Matt and all of their friends (including Harold!), but I just had a hard time reading about their relationship. The further we got into the story, the less I understood what they were even doing together when it was so obvious that they shouldn’t be! And while I liked how everything got tied up at the end, I can’t say that I found it completely satisfying or realistic.

However, I still enjoyed the author’s writing style, and the fun world she created. This was definitely a quick read that would be easy to sit down with and fly through!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I Owe You One, an utterly delightful novel about a woman who ditches her dating app for a writer's retreat in Italy--only to find that real love comes with its own filters

My notes: Sophie Kinsella, author of Shopaholic seires and Domestic Ungoddess, created a new standalone story about Ava and the man she knew as Dutch at a writing retreat in Italy. In some ways, this story is different from the other stories. I really wanted to like this story since I loved most of the Shopaholic books and many of her stand alone novels.. This novel is a slow burning read. I received a free digital Advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

The premise of this book sounds interesting. It sounds like it should be an excellent relaxing pop-corn read, something that you breeze through quickly. Not for me. I was wondering why when I was reading this that my stomach was burning and in knots, I had a stress headache, and I felt depressed -now that I've finished this ARC, I know why.

It is said that a person's brain reaches its adult growth stage at 25. Now I don't know if that is true or not, but with these two characters, I would have to say that information is totally false. I have never seen two so-called adults act like they were still 13 but with sex. I could not stand flaky, insipid Ava, or stick up the butt, closed off Matt.

The premise ended up being preposterous and unbelievable. How could anyone fall in love in less than a week, plus do it without knowing not one thing about the other? Not even their real name?

I'm sorry, I know this book is getting fantastic reviews, but I just don't buy the HEA in this book.

*ARC received from the publisher.