After a whirlwind fling in on a romantic Italian retreat, two strangers with seemingly incompatible quirks return to London to discover that making things a love story work is more challenging when work, family, and reality intrude.

Verdict: not as to-the-point as other romances, heavy emphasis on a secondary cast of friends, idiosyncratic leads who lack self-awareness

Both the main characters in this novel, Ava and Matt, have strong quirks and a total lack of self-awareness about them, which is clearly a deliberate (if frustrating) choice by the author. Ava is a sunshiney, rainbow-loving aromatherapy stan who aspires to write romance novels, while Matt is a businessman who prefers Brutalist design, intense athletic competition, and a total lack of color.

Understandably, they spend most of the book pretty much driving each other crazy. Why does this sometimes feel more frustrating than fun? Because each finds the other’s idiosyncrasies clearly absurd, yet they remain almost stupidly unconscious of how their own quirks might affect the other person for the bulk of the novel.

That said, their most redeeming attribute is that both have a loving cohort of friends around them. Those friends’ unconditional acceptance of the protagonists’ eccentricities ultimately helps them build a similarly compassionate understanding of each other – and (finally!) awareness regarding their own flaws.

This is a story of personal growth and flawed but incredible friendships, not sizzlin’ seduction. If this is the kind of outcome that you find satisfying, then this might be a welcome variation from the more classic resolution-of-romantic-tension type of love story.

TLDR: Read this if you want to see gradual self-growth from our two obtuse but well-intentioned leads. The cuteness of their ’90s rom com storyline comes second to personal development and lifelong friendships.

Cute concept, interesting couple, though slow at times. Ava meets the man of her dreams at a writers retreat; they're not allowed to tell each other any background info... but fall madly in love. Of course, real life hits them hard upon their return to reality! Can their fragile love withstand past relationships, unaccepting family members, and all of those other little annoyances that tend to impede progress?!

This is my first book by Sophie Kinsella and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters were very well developed for such a light read. Perfect book for me to read for the end of the summer.

Another great Sophie Kinsella book. A stand alone, yes, but it is a good one, Well developed characters, a believable storyline and a few surprises. A great beachy summer read. A must read for any Kinsella fans.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sophie Kinsella and Random House Publishing Group Dial Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 10/27/20

3.5 stars. I haven't read a Kinsella book since the original in the Shopaholic series. But the cover and description caught my attention. Matt and Ava meet while she is at a week long writers retreat in Italy. He is there for a different retreat that is canceled and ends up joining hers. In Italy they agree to ask few questions and to live in the moment. They make assumptions about each other and know there is attraction.

Returning to London and their real lives they start to see differences. Ava said she collects furniture and he wasn't expecting that mean refurbishing second hand items. Matt is not a vegetarian like she assumed. Ava is scattered and likes starting new ideas and projects, but she never seems to finish them. Matt is a serious businessman who doesn't love his job. The story is told from Ava's point of view and occasionally I wanted to know what Matt was thinking or why he put up with her. She has a Pollyanna attitude that love will conquer everything, But sometimes there are real issues that need to be dealt with to make the relationship survive.

Some of the better moments were from their friends. They are fully developed real characters and add humor and warmth to the story. I really liked the beginning, the middle dragged (for me) and the ending third left me appreciating the journey. I especially liked that it wasn't a quick wrap up and growth was allowed for both characters. Several bits had me laughing and I left the book with a smile on my face. My bookclub has a PG-13 limit and this would easily qualify (after the pandemic ends and it we start meeting again). Thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC ebook in exchange for a honest review.

Ava goes on a writing retreat and comes back not with a finished book but with the perfect mate. The problem is they are perfect together when they know nothing about each other and the every day is the writing retreat. What happens when they go back to their lives? Will they still be the perfect match? What is perfect? How do you build a life you love?

Love Your Life or Ava-Land and Matt-Land was quite an entertaining and sweet novel. The end of the book left me with a big smile on my face.

Yet, the beginning of the book didn’t do it for me. I thought "oh no, this is an insta-love story" which is my least favorite. How wrong was I? Very. I ended up liking it quite a bit more than I thought.

Most surprisingly was that I liked all the main character's friends too. There is Nell who has some serious health issues but she doesn't play the martyr and she can be brutally honest. Sarika who only wants to date someone who lives close to her home (Too far away it's a deal-breaker). She’s using a dating app's algorithm to narrow the perfect guy for her. Then there's Maud who is impossible to say no to. When she asks you for a favor, you don't even realize you're agreeing to do it. To avoid saying yes, it's best not to engage her.

On Matt's side, his friends and flatmates, Topher and Nihal were both amusing and in their own way, supportive of Ava. They were both good guys, Topher despite his antisocial personality and Nihal with his multiple robots.

Now, getting back to the main characters, the book begins with Ava. She likes to start multiple things at the same time but doesn't really finish any of them. Her new thing is she wants to write a book. She wants to write a historical romance novel and for this reason, she joins a writer's retreat in Italy. There she meets "Dutch" who's real name is Matt. Dutch was joining a martial arts retreat but after it gets canceled, he ends up in the writing one. Ava and Matt have a spark and soon they become an item. By the time a real name is needed, they discover they both live in London.

London changes everything for this couple. Going back to the real world reveals their huge differences. They don't seem to agree on anything including food (Ava is a vegetarian, Matt's a carnivore). There is also Ava's dog, Harold, who can destroy a shirt in ten seconds or disappear any good steak in a millisecond.

For me, the last third of the book is where the story shines. I liked the way Sophie Kinsella's characters in this Chic-Lit/RomCom novel resolved their issues in a full circle kinda away.

4/5 Fangs

Cliffhanger: No

A complimentary copy was provided by Random House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Love your Life has all the good Sophie Kinsella formula, quirk characters, absurd situations and it guarantees many laughs.

Ava is an optimistic over the top wannabe writer (among other things) that decides to go to Italy on a writing Retreat. Not a lot of writing gets done there because, of course, she meets Dutch aka Perfect guy and has the perfect romance..... Until they go back and have to deal with all the differences in their lifestyles. Will they manage to overcome all the obstacles and prove that love conquers it all? (Well, it is a romance book, almost a rhetorical question lol)

It was a quick and fun read, and I would give a better rating if I had liked the main character a bit more - she was very obnoxious for me. I also got a bit frustrated about how both of them were simply unwilling too compromise for most of the book, and I could not see exactly why they loved each other. It just looked a lot more like an infatuation, and the constant reminders to Italy did not help me thinking otherwise. Seemed like they were in love with a memory, and constantly holding on to that to keep the relationship going. It just went opposite with my own beliefs about love. But the ending was great, and the book is so light and funny that those things don't really take away the enjoyment.

It is a quite great summer read, I would recommend to anyone looking for a romantic and quick read!

This was a quick do no finish for me. I'm thankful for being able to try this one, but I hated the main character in the first couple of minutes. I LOVE Sophia Kinsella books and have read most of them. Maybe it was an off day and I'll try to pick it up again. I think the main character felt like Becky Bloomwood, but WAY more over the top ditzy and trainwrecky. I'm not sharing this review anywhere else, but while this one may not be for me, I'll definitely keep future Kinsella novels on my radar because I usually enjoy them!

A typical Sophie Kinsella novel. Easy reading, funny, upbeat. A great escape.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53479913

This was such a disappointment. I used to love Kinsella books, but that was 15 years ago. I stopped reading the Shopaholic series, and then tried a few of her stand alone novels. I loved a few, hated a few. Unfortunately this one falls in the latter category. Insta-love after a week? That premise was bad enough but this book followed along the same lines as all her other books - hapless young woman, flighty, crazy (in the good way not come-after-your-bunny-way), meets man of her dreams in a random meet/cute. Only after meeting does she realize he is rich/businessman/tycoon/family heir. He tries to understand her charmingly annoying habits, she tries to change him to be more like her. They fight. They break up. They get back together after realizations, apologizes and self-actualizations. (Like everyone else does, right?)

I believe I have finally matured-out of this type of book, as I definitely felt my age while reading this, eye rolls included. This book was not for me, but I'm sure this will reach new readers - some of whom may have still been in school when we first met Becky Bloomwood, who will fall in love with Sophie Kinsella the way I did all those years ago.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Usually I love every book by this author and get hooked from the beginning. I had a hard time getting into this book and skipped around to see if I could skim through and know what happened. The story is hard to follow at times, however I am glad I was able to finish the whole book. The characters are quirky and not very compatible in the beginning but develop a strong story about how you can be totally different and still find love. I received an advanced copy from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC... I loved this book. As soon as I opened this book and started reading it had me in its clutches. Sophie Kinsella does it again. I did not want to stop reading and I didn't. This was such a fun quirky story to read. The characters were great. Every Single One of them! While reading I felt like I was there and a part of their friendship circle. What a great group of friends (including Harold) and all that they shared.

I’ve read all of Sophie Kinsella’s books as they’ve been released over the years, so I was very excited to receive my first ARC from Net Galley for her newest novel, “Love Your Life”. Ava meets Matt in Italy while attending a data-free writers’ retreat - a “bubble” meet-cute reminiscent of reality TV shows like The Bachelor. The result is a whirlwind vacation romance in which Ava and Matt fall head over heels for each other without knowing much about the other’s real life. As the retreat comes to an end, they decide to pursue their connection in the “real world” (back in London). Unfortunately, their reality personas don’t integrate quite as well as Ava had hoped...

This premise makes for a fun, entertaining read, filled with the usual series of ridiculous, hilarious events Sophie Kinsella fans can always expect of her novels’ heroines. I would recommend!

Thank you Sophie Kinsella, NetGalley and Dial Press / Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

This is another typical Sophie Kinsella book. It's funny, over-the-top, filled with impossible situations. The best thing is obviously the happily ever after. It's a sweet, charming and sigh-worthy ending. Enjoyed it tremendously.

This was brilliant and over the top and dramatic and frivolous and absolutely delightful.

And there's a dog. Five stars for Harold!

I am a fervorous hater of instalove. ButI am a fan of people who break the rules when they know what the rules were in the first place. In this, Sophie Kinsella has taken some instalove, added a lot of self-awareness and humour, and turned it into something really brilliant. In addition to the trademark ridiculous scenarios and crazed characters, this featured people who grow and get better and realise they are flawed. It featured distinctive characters with their own goals and ambitions. It featured strong friendships and aspirations. It featured a love story I rooted so far for (view spoiler).

I actually managed to read this slowly because I wanted to savour it and enjoy every moment. And I laughed out loud. I forgot how Sophie Kinsella makes me laugh out loud. She's the bestest.

Ava and Matt meet at an anonymous writers retreat in Italy and immediately connect. When they return home to London, they decide to continue their relationship while learning real details about each other's lives. But real life isn't as charming as their romantic affair in Italy, and their opposite personalities present more challenges than optimistic Ava is willing to admit.

Until like the last 15% I really did not like this book. Matt and Ava are so ill-suited for each other, it was totally unbelievable that they would try so hard to stay together. Well, it was believable that someone as crazy as Ava would try, but not someone like Matt.

Ava is insufferable. I get that she is a "free spirit," but since when is that code for totally flaky, scatterbrained, out of touch with reality, and wildly immature? I was so glad when she finally went back to the writing retreat to finish her book and did not go crawling back to Matt. That did redeem her somewhat in my eyes.

And HAROLD. UGH. I am not a huge dog person to begin with but Harold is INSANE. I don't care who you are, it is not ok that your dog REGULARLY destroys other people's property. They should not have to accommodate your uncontrollable animal. And I can't believe how disrespectful Ava was to her friends and Matt about Harold. Ava just assumed her feelings about Harold should trump everyone else's. Totally not cool.

The reason why this book gets as many stars as it does is because of the end. Sophie Kinsella is such a charming writer, and the endings of her books ALWAYS ALWAYS make me smile. They are just so heart-felt and lovely. When Matt and Ava reconnect at dinner and read their Ava Land and Matt Land books, I was literally crying. It was such a beautiful gesture from their friends and really did portray Matt and Ava in the sweetest and best light. This is why I keep coming back to Kinsella's books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Kinsella, and Dial Press for this eARC.

During the few first chapters of this book, I honestly could not stand Ava. She seemed so flighty and her friends could hardly keep her focused on anything. Once she started dating Dutch/Matt, I started cringing at how frustrated I was with all of the dynamics. But I was far enough into the book, that I decided to keep going. Once I was about 3/4 of the way through, I started to enjoy the characters and the ridiculous situations and dialogues. I appreciated that prior to ending the book, that there was a significant lapse in time. Most books seem to take a week and then all of the problems are magically fixed. I ended up loving how this ended and how all of the characters seemed to transform and grow.

Overall, it ended up being a really fun read once I got over the few issues I did have with the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dial Press/Randomhouse for access to the e-galley.

A huge fan of Sophie Kinsella, this newest addition to her lineup did not disappoint! A quick, fun read as I followed Ava and Matt. Lots of laughs along the way and I enjoyed the settings of Italy and London too.