#1 bestselling author
Sophie Kinsella's emotionally charged new standalone novel about
marriage and family, and how those we love and know best can sometimes
surprise us the most.
After being together for ten years,
Sylvie and Dan have all the trimmings of a happy life and marriage; they
have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls, and
communicate so seamlessly, they finish each other's sentences. However, a
trip to the doctor projects they will live another 68 years together
and panic sets in. They never expected "until death do us part" to mean
seven decades.
In the name of marriage survival, they quickly
concoct a plan to keep their relationship fresh and exciting: they will
create little surprises for each other so that their (extended) years
together will never become boring. But in their pursuit to execute
Project Surprises, mishaps arise and secrets are uncovered that start to
threaten the very foundation of their unshakable bond. When a scandal
from the past is revealed that question some important untold truths,
they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other after all.
With
a colorful, eccentric cast of characters, razor-sharp observations, and
her signature wit and charm, Sophie Kinsella crafts a humorous, yet
thoughtful portrait of a marriage and shines a light on the danger of
not looking past the many layers of the ones you love to discover how
infinitely fascinating--and surprising--they truly are.
Kindle Edition, 448 pages
Expected publication:
February 13th 2018
by The Dial Press
Genre: Womens Fiction/Chic Lit
Kristine's Thoughts:
** I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!**
After a visit to the doctor for insurance purposes Sylvie and Dan found out that they were both extremely healthy and that they should live very long lives. Another 68 years together according to the quirky and unusual doctor. This news would make most people happy but it put Sylvie and Dan into panic mode. How in the world would they keep things fresh and interesting for that many years? This was how Project Surprise came to be. It was a plan to execute a number of different surprises for each other to keep their relationship fresh and exciting. However, as all things in life, things didn't always go as planned and what started out as a series of surprises turned into secrets and discoveries.
This book started out in typical
Kinsella fashion with a bunch of quirky characters and a humorous and somewhat outrageous plot. I was hooked immediately and I was thoroughly enjoying the blunders and missteps that went along with each surprise. However, it didn't take long for the book to shift and the tone to change. It started becoming a little more serious and a lot more dramatic but not in a funny way. Although I was still enjoying it, I missed the style that I have come to know and love from
Kinsella. While I was craving some light hearted humour I was getting some pretty serious relationship drama with only a sprinkling of humour.
Fans of
Kinsella's usual style may not enjoy this book as much as her others because it had a different feel to it. That was the case for me. Although I still liked it, it was my least favourite of her books to date. The characters were still unique and quirky but the plot wasn't as quirky as I was hoping. The very beginning and the very end were fabulous but the middle lacked a little of that special something that she is known and loved for. It was still very much worth the read but different from what you might expect from her.
About the Author
Sophie Kinsella has sold over 40
million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, and she has been
translated into over 40 languages.
Sophie Kinsella first hit the
UK bestseller lists in September 2000 with her first novel in the
Shopaholic series – The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (also
published as Confessions of a Shopaholic). The book’s heroine, Becky
Bloomwood – a fun and feisty financial journalist who loves shopping but
is hopeless with money – captured the hearts of readers worldwide.
Becky has since featured in seven further bestselling books, Shopaholic
Abroad (also published as Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), Shopaholic Ties
the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby, Mini
Shopaholic, Shopaholic to the Stars and Shopaholic to the Rescue. Becky
Bloomwood came to the big screen in 2009 with the hit Disney movie
Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.
Sophie
has also written seven standalone novels which have all been
bestsellers in the UK, USA and other countries around the world: Can You
Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, Twenties Girl,
I’ve Got Your Number, Wedding Night, and My Not So Perfect Life, which
was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Best Fiction in 2017.
In
2014 she published a Young Adult novel Finding Audrey about a teenage
girl with social anxiety and her madcap family, and in January 2018,
Sophie published her first illustrated book for young readers about the
charming adventures of a mother-daughter fairy duo, Mummy Fairy and Me
(also published as Fairy Mom and Me).
Sophie’s next novel,
Surprise Me, 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,
and will be published in February 2018.
Sophie wrote her first
novel under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, at the tender age of 24,
whilst she was working as a financial journalist. The Tennis Party was
immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and
became a top ten bestseller. She went on to publish six more novels as
Madeleine Wickham: A Desirable Residence, Swimming Pool Sunday, The
Gatecrasher, The Wedding Girl, Cocktails for Three and Sleeping
Arrangements.
Sophie was born in London. She studied music at New
College, Oxford, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and
Economics. She now lives in London, UK, with her husband and family.
Connect with Sophie
