Looking to finish a novel she's been working on, Ava travels to Italy for a writing retreat. While there, she meets "Dutch" (aka Matt) and they fall quick and hard for each other. When they have to go back to their regular lives, though, they begin to realize exactly how compatible they are (or aren't) and how well they fit together (or don't).

I typically love Sophie Kinsella's stories and find them enjoyable, quick reads. While I did find Love Your Life quick and largely enjoyable to read, I found Ava's eccentricities and quirks to be a little much. I realize that much of her anxiety is part of her character, but her constant obsession over Matt and his prior relationships while not realizing their major differences and incompatibility was grating. It felt like it took much too long for them to reach the end of their story that I could see coming from midway through the book.

So sweet! Such a satisfying romance, too. As a writer myself, I really felt for Call and her plight to find authenticity and love.

I'm thinking that, at this point, I may have read too much Sophie Kinsella. I really liked I've Got Your Number, Wedding Night, and Can You Keep a Secret? Some of the others were just ok, but I think I've read almost all of them and enjoyed them.

Love Your Life has the usual formula - plucky, optimistic heroine, series of complications getting in the way of the main romance, and a cast of supporting characters who cheer the heroine on at every step.

Granted, all of Kinsella's novels are essentially romance novels, but they all have plots that work well with the romance. Love Your Life, on the other hand, is a bit more claustrophobic because it is single-mindedly focused on the romance. Yes, the heroine has to find herself career-wise, and her friends have stories of their own, but it mostly just focuses on the complications of the romance.

What I mean here (without giving too much away) is that the heroine meets the love of her life in the first few chapters, falls madly in love, and then spends the rest of the novel agonizing over the relationship to the exclusion of much else. It definitely doesn't pass the Bechtel test.

I wish there were more of a storyline here and the heroine were a little less aggravating. It's not a great sign when the reader can empathize with other characters' annoyance with the protagonist.

This was a book about friendship, romance and life choices and changes. The quirky cast of friends added quite a bit of interest to the book. I feel everyone has at least 2 of theses characters in their lives.

I was thrilled to get to read Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella. I'm a huge fan of Kinsella's books, especially when I want a nice lighthearted read. Her holiday book last year was a 5 star for me, so I was so excited to read this book.

It was bad. The beginning had so much promise, and I loved the set up. Once the couple returns home though, geez, it was the longest, most dull, least amount of chemistry, slog of a read ever. I just wanted Ava to leave Matt once and for all, and then the book would have finally needed. I only finished reading this because of the author, I held out hope until the end that the book would redeem itself, but it didn't.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC for an honest opinion.

A cute light romantic comedy to lift your spirits in these difficult times. When Ava meets the man of her dreams at a writing retreat they quickly fall in love. But when they return to real life will it last?

Meet cute, very cute. This couple find each other in a "bubble" attending a seminar in Italy.
Fall madly in love, still knowing nothing about each other until they get home. Turns into a comedy of errors. They find their way but not easily. Entertaining.
Quirky. Improbable. I liked it.

Sophie Kinsella has done it again. I don't know how she continues to churn out hit after hit. A light, fun, heartfelt romance and absolute joy to read.

Fun, light, easy read. I enjoyed the ARC copy of Love Your Life. the characters and their relationships kept you turning the pages !

Ava is a hopeless romantic. When one of her best friends goes on a dating site and specifies exactly what she's looking for in a partner down to how far he lives from the tube, Ava is skeptical. She wonders if the best matches really come from logarithms or if fate is the best way to decide who you will end up with. When Ava meets "Dutch" (real name Matt) on a writing retreat they engage in a whirlwind affair with no knowledge of each other's real lives back home. Ava and Matt are convinced that their romantic affair will not only continue, but stand the test of time when they return to their homes and real lives in London.

Back home they continue on enthusiastically but it isn't long before the cracks begin to appear. Matt isn't as enamored with Ava's flat as she thought that he might be and his taste in art is atrocious. Apparently Ava's dog isn't as well-trained as Matt would like him to be, and Matt's parents still wish that he would get back together with his ex-girlfriend. As they continue their relationship Ava wonders if maybe there's something to logarithms after all?

LOVE YOUR LIFE is another light-hearted hit by Sophie Kinsella. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the wacky characters and the plot line and and also found the subject matter to be quite timely considering the digital, app-based dating world that we live in right now. This is a must-read for fans of Kinsella and of women's fiction alike and left me staying up far past my bedtime to "just finish this chapter'.

For fans of Sophie Kinsella, this book will not disappoint! Ava and Matt get caught up in a whirlwind romance on a retreat. They know little about each other but fall in love fast. When they return to 'real life', they have to start to learn a little more about each other and find out if they are really 'in love'. This book made me laugh out several times as many of Sophie Kinsella books do. Both characters were quirky as were their friends which made the story laugh-out-loud funny!

Chemistry vs. Compatibility, what makes for a stronger relationship? Very fun story about friendship, love and responsibility. As it often is with Sophie Kinsella romances I had to follow the twists and turns and bumps in the road to get to the place where I didn't want to leave the characters in the end.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book. I would say that the main character, Ava, reminded me a bit too much of Becky from Confessions of a Shopaholic. I found myself getting frustrated with her and just how much she was willing to ignore in her life and red-flags in her relationship. In the end she matures in this respect, but I felt like it took us too long to get there and then the book wrapped up quickly.

I liked the premise of the book though. If you're looking for an easy, quick, rom-com to read I think you will enjoy this book. Otherwise I think there are definitely better books by Sophie Kinsella. I usually LOVE everything by here.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this ebook to review!

I must admit I was a bit disappointed with this latest offering from Kinsella. Ava and Matt meet at a writer's retreat and after very little time together, decide they are destined for each other. When back in the real world, all signs indicate otherwise. I tried so hard to like this book but it felt forced. Not my favorite from this author.
2.5

Love Your Life is another light and breezy read from Sophie Kinsella. It's funny and romantic...but something about these characters - all of them - were just...too much. It seemed like there wasn't one character that wasn't over-the-top and outlandish. It definitely made for some humorous moments, but I felt like I needed just <i>one</i> straight man and got none. One of my absolute favorite parts of the novel though was how Ava was with Matt's grandfather. I love that she kept in touch with him the whole time and allowed him to open up to her when everyone else shut him down. Also, Ava is vegetarian, and I LOVE that.

I love anything by Sophie Kinsella and was so excited to read an ARC of Love Your Life. Like every other book Kinsella writes, this story has a great story line, memorable characters, & is impossible to put down. This is my favorite book by Sophie Kinsella, which says A LOT, because I love ALL of her books!

I have previously read one other book by Sophie Kinsella, (I Owe You One) and I remembered her characters were funny and the story was a light, easy read so I was happy to pick up another.

This story is about a woman Ava who meets a man at a writer’s retreat and without knowing anything about him due to the strict rules of the retreat, falls in love with him. But when they go back to the real world and learn about each other's real lives, things get complicated.

Right away we learn that Ava believes you only need passion to find the right person after her best friend is using a new dating app that allows you to eliminate people based on very detailed preferences. So right away I assumed that the story line was going to test this theory.

When Ava is at the writer's retreat and falling in love with "Dutch", I kept questioning where this story was going to go. It seemed so out of place and very unrealistic. This was my least favorite part of the story.

Once they return back to their real lives and attempt to keep their relationship going after learning more about each other, the story shifts tones. I enjoyed this part better. I liked the banter with the roommates and friends of the main characters the most.

I liked that this book was funny and light but there were some things that confused me. I feel like this would have been a GREAT rom-com movie, but not my favorite type of book to read.

Love Your Life
A Novel
by Sophie Kinsella
Random House Publishing Group - Random House
The Dial Press
Romance | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 27 Oct 2020 | Archive Date 11 Jan 2021

As I was reading this I could think of several people I know who would enjoy this book. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC.
Great read !

I got a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book. Awkward at times due to the nature of real life, I feel that it so perfectly captured the essence of real life. This made me ache for a true love and gave me all the feels about my own fierce tribe of friends. Kinsella has rarely let me down with her books, and this is no exception. 5 stars.

I loved the characters! I wasn't too sure about the story of meeting someone and seeming to fall completely in love with them after knowing them for such a short amount of time. However, the story seemed to work. I could see where the characters and plot were heading, but it was still a good read.