fun! Feel good! Fab! Sophie Kinsella is One of my favorite authors and never before has a year needed a SK book like 2020! Ava has had it, so she decides to do something for herself and heads to a writers retreat in Italy. At The retreat you are to forget about everything you left behind - you can’t talk about your past, you don’t even use your real name. while at the retreat Eva( going by the name aria) meets a boy who is going by the name Dutch. Aria and Dutch have an instant connection and fall head over heels for one another. BUT will Ava and Matt (Dutch) find that same connection when they leave ideal Italy for real life? They have never discussed their jobs, their homes, their food taste, their friends, their taste in music, their family, their finances.... This is the story about what happens after the happily ever after.

I just loved everything about this story! Ava was such an adorable character I’d love to be friends with her. Her group of friends were amazing, a little overwhelming, but amazing all the same. Matt was a little uptight, but I could tell he was a good guy. His friends were great, would probably be a little trying if they were your boyfriend’s friends, but I’d imagine they grow on you. Ava‘s dog Harold stole the show! He was such a great dog good for so many humorous moments, and of course the best loyal companion. The story took a little twist I was not anticipating but I think it was the perfect direction for the story. Really gave me a lot to think about and made it so real. another excellent, entertaining, engaging Story from Miss Kinsella.

*** Big thank you to Random House for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

It's unfortunate when you are super excited for a title, but just don't vibe with the story. I struggled to connect with the characters, and to really care about the relationship. The book started off strong, but it was difficult to finish.

However, the author is incredibly talented. While it wasn't *my* favorite book, I can see it being others.

I love Sophie Kinsella’s stories but this one I struggled to finish. I thought Ava was just too whiny all the time in her head and how she treated Matt was just horrible by trying to change him.

This is a fun and entertaining read. Ava and “Dutch” meet at a writers’ retreat and have a fun fling. Although the writers are not supposed to share personal information about themselves, the two ultimately find themselves living in London after the retreat ends. They work on keeping their romance going once they settle back into their real lives.

This book was very funny and a cute love story. I did struggle a bit with Ava’s personality (she is the polar opposite of me) but it didn’t ruin the read for me. If you are looking for something to escape in, this book is a good choice. I liked it enough to sail through to the end to find out how Ava and Matt’s (Dutch’s real name) storylines played out.

Thanks to Sophie Kinsella, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish at the 50% mark. I liked the writing style, a lot. But the relationship between the characters didn't get deep enough to keep my interest.

Excellent story! Lighthearted, funny and charming. All the characters are real and complex. I think this is one of her best stories in a long time.

I'm not going to lie I ended up DNFing this one. I made it about halfway through before I threw in the towel. I've been to notice that KInsella's books are either hit or miss for me. But here lately her books have been misses for me and this one was no different. But fans of her other books will enjoy this book. It just wasn't for me.

Love Your Life was a fun read as all Sophie Kinsella books are. If you have enjoyed any of her previous books, you should definitely check out Love Your Life.

Thank you @randomhouse and @netgalley for the gifted e-copy of ‘Love Your Life’ by Sophie Kinsella.
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I’ve always been a big fan of Sophie Kinsella - stand-alone books and the Shopaholic series. Sophie’s characters can always make me laugh out loud. They are so full of spunk and the humor just flows well.

‘𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦’ 𝘈𝘷𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘐𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘺. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘈𝘷𝘢 (𝘈𝘳𝘪𝘢) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵 (𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩) 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥” 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴.

The first part of the book was enjoyable and I was excited to see how they would take their relationship to the “real world.” I like to think I am a hopeless romantic so I needed their meet cute and instant attraction to stick. Once they got back to London, all HELL broke loose. I loved this chaos though LOL, I couldn’t stop laughing out loud. This is what I love about Kinsella’s writing and characters - I was actually entertained reading about a bad relationship. Ava and Matt’s relationship was doomed from the start.

Ava, although very likable - was very annoying at times and Matt was just too passive aggressive for me. I really enjoyed the secondary characters - they definitely complimented the story and plot. Kinsella can always deliver a great cast of characters though, so I wasn’t concerned about that. Overall, not my favorite Kinsella but worth reading if you’re a fan of the authors previous books.

A wonderful book! I really liked Ava and Matt and the evolution of their friendship. Ava was such a fun character and her personality really shone throughout this book. I loved the idea of approaching a relationship like you would a new country! So cute! Ava-land and Matt-land was an extremely cool idea and so cool that it actually helped develop their relationship. I can't wait to read the next book Sophie Kinsella releases!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Sophie Kinsella's novels are always hit or miss for me, and this one was unfortunately a miss. The characters and writing style just don't fit as well in today's world as they did when Kinsella's initial books came out and they've started to feel a bit dated compared to some of the newer romantic comedy offerings.

This book drew me in right from the start, but then dragged a bit in the middle. Took a while to finish but in the end I liked it,

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I appreciated how so much of this book involved the theme of effort and how relationships take work. While NA/YA generally are fraught with their own shares of drama and ups-and-downs, Love Your Life took a step back and went with the after.

Still, I really didn't think that the main couple were right for each other. The beginning with the book retreat was fun, though there were weird vibes coming from all angles, and the rest of the book when they were dealing with the pains of trying to compromise between their lifestyles for the sake of their love was interesting.

There were plenty of more light-hearted moments, but I have to say that I was mostly just in pain from the secondhand embarrassment. Quite a bit of wishing that different levels of awkwardness would just exit sooner rather than later—part of the charm for some people maybe?

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House / The Dial Press for the ARC opportunity!

This is one of those reads that has to be completed for you to really appreciate the book. At least it was for me. I don’t want to include any spoilers so, it’s a unique trope that is worth a read!

ophie Kinsella is not afraid to tackle the big questions in life, and she does it again with her latest book, “Love your Life.”

You may ask, “Who am I? Where did I come from? What happens after I die?” Close. It’s more like, “Can a vacation fling ever really work out?” and “Can opposites really stay together?” If we’re honest, we’ve probably spent more time thinking about the second group of questions than the first.

Our main character is Ava, who despite being a vegetarian with eclectic tastes in furnishings and an endearing penchant for used items (she “rescues” books), still bears a resemblance to Becky Bloomwood of Shopaholic fame. Impulsive, perhaps slightly ditzy, and prone to mishaps. But that’s OK; we like that character.

In one of her many pursuits-of-the-moment, Ava embarks upon a writer’s retreat at a monastery in Italy, where she meets Matt, who joins the group when his martial arts retreat is canceled. After a week complete with cliff diving, adrenaline and lots of chemistry, the two discover that they both live in London and attempt to take the relationship into the real world.

Matt fulfills the chick-lit requirement of being rich, and works in the family business. Back in London, Ava discovers that the carefree guy she met on vacation is stressed out and unhappy in his work and family environment. Meanwhile, Ava’s indulged beagle Harold and meat-free existence present some problems for Matt. The two must navigate one of the most divisive issues in a relationship: What happens when one person likes to sleep on a hard mattress in a cold room and the other prefers a softer mattress in a warmer room? It’s a legitimate question—how many trivial differences can you have before the sum total is no longer trivial?


The many supporting characters in the book add to the charm, including Ava’s quirky friends and Matt’s mother and ex-girlfriend, who take on the role of the antagonists. Kinsella’s best job of characterization probably comes with Matt’s roommates—she captures well that strange world that is created when a bunch of guys, each one of whom is bit odd and very into his own thing, live together.

Certain aspects of the end, where characters who were missing something find it in each other, or self-actualize, reminded me of what I like about Maeve Binchy novels. In the end, Kinsella makes you laugh, and that’s always worth a read.

Wendy Migdal is a freelance writer in Fredericksburg.

I tried my best to finish this book but I could not. She is one of the worst characters I have ever read in my life and she frustrated me so much that I did not want to continue it. 1/5

DNF at 37%. I found the story to be slow and the characters to be insufferable. Every single person was obnoxious and I didn’t care at all about the outcome.

This book was pretty slow for me at first, but once Matt and Ava leave Italy, the pace and the humor really pick up, and I wound up loving the story because of that. Kinsella never disappoints in terms of the humor, and I definitely laughed out loud at several points. Such an enjoyable read!

I am always excited for another Sophie Kinsella book, but this one was a bit of a disappointment. At about 20% done, I wanted to give up. By 50%, still nothing had happened. The book has a lot of eye rolling moments but there didn't seem to be a big story line other than these two were the worst match. Some of her other books are better. Skip this one.

Another hilarious adventure by Sophie Kinsella! Ava has so much spunk and Matt has so much.... intrigue! I laughed my way through this one and the crazy hijinks these two go through together as they get to know each other.