Surprise Me: A Novel Kindle Edition

Whenever I pick up a Sophie Kinsella book, I know certain things. I know the heroine will be fun and interesting and a little chaotic. I know I will laugh. Then, before I know it, I am so caught up emotionally I can hardly breathe. In this book, I had to reassure myself that she wouldn’t take me too far over the edge.She surprised me with the ending. Though I had a suspicion about where it might go, I didn’t see it coming at all. But boy oh boy, was it ever satisfying!There’s a formula to Kinsella’s books, and yet they never feel formulaic. She has a way of keeping things fresh, even though her path is a familiar one. I absolutely loved it.I realize I have written nothing about the plot or the characters. I don’t need to. Read the book. You won’t be sorry.

I don't like to give bad book reviews, and Surprise Me wasn't bad... but it wasn't great. I had to really force myself to keep on reading because it just didn't hold my interest. I almost felt like Sophie Kinsella has regressed with her writing skill, or perhaps she had to force herself to keep on writing and her heart wasn't really in it. I even put it down and read another book in the middle of Surprise Me, which is unheard of for me with a Sophie Kinsella title.My main issue with this book is that it seemed like a lot of different bits glued together. It was disjointed. It dragged in parts. Certain points were given loads of coverage then disappeared so that I forgot about them, only to think later on 'Was that from another book, oh, it was from this book'. Then that long-forgotten part of the story would come back with full force. The premise was thin and drawn out and the main characters seemed immature.I persevered though, a) because I have enjoyed most of Sophie's others books, and b) because I'd paid for it. There's nothing like feeling like you have wasted your money to want to continue. And I am happy to say that the end of the book was satisfying. I'd still give it three stars even with the good ending and would only recommend you read it if you are a die-hard Sophie Kinsella fan.

Happily married husband and wife are told they are in peak physical condition and will probably live another 68 years together. Their reaction? What the hell are we going to do with each other for that long? So they try to surprise each other to keep the relationship fresh. This book was silly and lame. It was as light as a giant vat of cotton candy. In my world, if you have to come up with surprise moves for your spouse, then you aren’t really connected. How exhausting. PS: I’ve been married for 40 years. It’s not perfect but it’s perfectly okay and I adore him.IG: @bookbimbo

This book was boring and felt forced almost from the beginning. The essential themes: the issue of how to keep one's marriage interesting, the issue of dealing with grief, and the realities of learning one's human idol has feet of clay -- the last two being tied together. Well, none of them meshed well and the whole thing felt disjointed and I was pulled out of each story line awkwardly to then need to be reminded of the details of the other.The humor felt forced and wasn't really that amusing.And finally the heroine was annoyingly clueless and I soon began to just be irritated rather than amused or touched.This book felt as if the author was melding two draft stories that hadn't worked out individually.Though the themes could have been interesting, this book just fell flat on all fronts. I'd skip it.

I've read all of her books and I'm not quite sure why they are so many bad reviews. While it was not as funny to me as, for example, the Shopaholic series, I still found it to be an interesting book that I did not have to spend pages trying to get into and found it easy to maintain interest until the end. While not as funny, I found her writing in this novel to be a little more profound and down to earth, well, as much as a Sophie Kinsella book is able to be at this point. It's certainly different than many of her past works and I'm OK with watching her evolve as a writer. Well,as long as she throws out one of her hilarious books now and then.I felt that you can gain some insights into the amount of respect and understanding that you have to continually strive for in order to sustain a long term marriage. At over 30 years into it myself, it seemed to me that she was able to show Sylvie and Dan learning to grow and adapt to the constantly changing requirements and needs of both your marriage as well as your partner. It seemed to me that her lighthearted attempt to showcase this kept the novel interesting yet not too preachy as another author may have done.So while it is a humorous attempt, it still does make some valid points to take away with you after the last page.

This book is boring and I usually love Sophie Kinsella's books. This one just doesn't work for either and I can't even finish it.

Very disappointed with this book. I have read every Sophie Kinsella book and have always been hooked from the beginning and some have made me laugh out loud. I had to make myself finish this book and found I was skipping pages as it was so boring!!

How I wanted to like this book. A long standing reader of Sophie Kinsella, I wait with bated breath for a new release - for that guaranteed escapism, endearing characters and wonderful humour that her books usually bring. I'm so sorry to say that it just didn't happen with this one. From the off it was a dreary, one dimensional read and whilst I persevered and read to the end (having paid good money for the privilege!), it was a struggle. Whether I will read her latest release remains to be seen but it rather feels like the end of an era. So sorry to leave a negative review but I cannot recommend.

I had read the reviews about this book and saw they were.quite negative which surprised me so when I saw it on offer for 99p I bought it straight away. I honestly really enjoyed the book it is funny and thought provoking and personally I think it is as good as her other books. I didn't want to put the book down until it was finished. Well done Sophie, I can't wait to read her next book. Don't let negative reviews out you off, try it for yourself, you may be surprised.

I usually turn to this author for light relief and fun! I found the storyline laboured and in parts boring. Not her best !

Overview:After being together for ten years, Sylvie and Dan have a lovely home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls and are just perfect for each other. 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 quickly decide to create little surprises for each other, to keep their relationship fresh and fun. But their Project Surprise Me gradually turns into shocking discoveries.Review:This book was such a disappointment! There were parts of the story where I was gripped, but for a majority of the book, it was building up to this massive secret and when it finally came out, I was left feeling a little let down and before you knew it, the story was over! For the last chapter and a half I pretty much skimmed through the pages, because I was extremely bored. I felt myself feeling really agitated and just wanted the story to end. It’s like when you’re in a group of people and you just want to tell the one person, who keeps talking, to shut up.I’m not one to write all bad reviews. I normally write what I enjoyed and what I didn’t enjoy, but I am finding it hard to pinpoint the parts I liked! (Oh wait.. no I enjoyed the photo shoot.. that was quite funny) I’m sorry Sophie, but you seriously lost your sparkle in this one for me I’m afraid.I have 2 more books of Sophie’s stand alone books and then I’m moving on to her Shopaholic Series, which I have heard really promising things about!