Surprise Me
Author: Sophie Kinsella
To Be Published: Tomorrow, February 13, 2018
432 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 25, 2018- February 5, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
After ten years together, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, and beautiful twin girls, and they communicate so seamlessly they finish each other’s sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it’s casually mentioned to them that they could be together for another sixty-eight years . . . and panic sets in.
They decide to bring surprises into their marriage to keep it fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me—from unexpected gifts to restaurant dates to sexy photo shoots—mishaps arise, with disastrous and comical results. Gradually, surprises turn to shocking truths. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other at all.
With a colorful cast of eccentric characters, razor-sharp observations, and her signature wit and charm, Sophie Kinsella presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered.
Jessica’s Review:
Sophie Kinsella is one of my ‘go to’ authors. In fact, her novel Can You Keep a Secret is the book that got me reading again. It was laugh out loud funny. So much so a coworker asked if she could borrow it. Many thanks to my aunt for giving it to me all those years ago!
I have enjoyed most of Kinsella’s books that I have read. If you want an entertaining chick lit read, she is an author I recommend. Sadly, Surprise Me will not be a favorite. Surprise Me starts out promising, but failed the mark with me. It starts out with our couple Sylvie and Dan(who have been married 10 years and have twin girls) finding out that they could live another 68 years together. Instead of joy and excitement that would be expected they have the opposite reaction: Panic.
They work on surprising each other in order to spice up the marriage. It becomes like a Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood type of novel with some hilarious results. Then here come secrets and the novel takes on a more serious unexpected direction. When I read a Kinsella novel I expect lighthearted fun, but this was not. In the end everything is fine and the message about marriage is clear. There is also light hearted humor again at the end, but the middle just doesn’t come across as a Kinsella novel. It is not her worst novel, but it is far from the best. I will keep reading Kinsella and hope her next one is better for me.
Thank you to the publisher for sending an e-arc via NetGalley for me to review.