Title: My Not So Perfect Life
Author: Sophie Kinsella (Author Website) (FB Page)
Genre: Chick Lit
Publisher: Dial Press (February 7, 2017)
Length: 448 pages
Source: Netgalley.com
About Book:
Everywhere Katie Brenner looks, someone else is living the life she longs for, particularly her boss, Demeter Farlowe. Demeter is brilliant and creative, lives with her perfect family in a posh townhouse, and wears the coolest clothes. Katie’s life, meanwhile, is a daily struggle—from her dismal rental to her oddball flatmates to the tense office politics she’s trying to negotiate. No wonder Katie takes refuge in not-quite-true Instagram posts, especially as she’s desperate to make her dad proud.
Then, just as she’s finding her feet—not to mention a possible new romance—the worst happens. Demeter fires Katie. Shattered but determined to stay positive, Katie retreats to her family’s farm in Somerset to help them set up a vacation business. London has never seemed so far away—until Demeter unexpectedly turns up as a guest. Secrets are spilled and relationships rejiggered, and as the stakes for Katie’s future get higher, she must question her own assumptions about what makes for a truly meaningful life.
Sophie Kinsella is celebrated for her vibrant, relatable characters and her great storytelling gifts. Now she returns with all of the wit, warmth, and wisdom that are the hallmarks of her bestsellers to spin this fresh, modern story about presenting the perfect life when the reality is far from the truth.
About Author: Sophie Kinsella has sold over 36 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 six 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 and Wedding Night. In 2014 she published a Young Adult novel Finding Audrey about a teenage girl with social anxiety and her madcap family.
Sophie’s next novel My Not So Perfect Life, about a girl struggling to make her way in London and struggling to make her real life match her ‘perfect’ social media life, will be published in February this year.
My Review/Rating: We have all seen it, the “perfect life” on Instagram or Facebook. Katie/Cat Brenner is going to great lengths to make her life in London look great. Even resorting to taking pictures of stranger’s food, which she can’t afford, to post to her Instagram. Katie is trying so hard to be Cat, her London persona. She even might find romance. A turn of events has Katie back at home with her father and stepmum. Katie uses her PR/Branding skills to help them to set up a Glamping resort, which really takes off.
The predicaments Katie/Cat gets herself into will make you giggle. She is very endearing and you only hope for her to find happiness. The Glampers at the resort are characters. A couple of unexpected guests also arrive at the resort and the fun begins. Katie doesn’t want them to recognize her, which leads to some strange encounters.
All the characters are relatable. There is Demeter, Cat’s previous employer and of course a love interest. Sophie Kinsella has way of telling a story and getting you to really care about the characters, but still laugh at them. I enjoyed the Shopahlic books when they came. I only read a few as Chick Lit is not my preferred genre. I am glad I return to Sophie Kinsella’s work and read My not So Perfect Life. It is light, fun read with very relatable characters…just what I was looking for. This was a 3 star read for me.
My Not So Perfect Life is available in book stores on February 7, 2017.
My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella was also reviewed by Rott-I-Tude, The Gilmore Guide to Books, and Blank Stance
My Rating Scale: 1 – didn’t like it; 2 – it was ok; 3 – liked it; 4 – really liked it; 5 – it was amazing
Happy Reading!
**Disclosure – My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella was received from NetGalley.com reviewer program and Dial Press in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.
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