Review: Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

Summary from Goodreads:

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 Surprise Me, 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.

My Review:


What I Liked:

Characters. I've had a record of liking all of the characters that Kinsella creates (expect for the Shopaholic series, a series that I could not finish). And here is was not any different. I liked the main character, Sylvie and it was amazing to watch as her character transforms throughout the novel. The side characters were well crafted as well but I would have liked to see more of them or at least more of Dan. I felt like we focused mainly on Sylvie and not on other characters. 

Humor. I tend to like Kinsella's style of humor.  It is interesting how she always manages to put her characters in embarrassing situations that tend to be humorous. I did not laugh out loud but found myself grinning at parts. 

What I Disliked:

Plot Structure. I enjoyed the majority of the novel expect for how the plot unraveled. I was also not a huge fan of the start of the novel. It got better as it went on but I don't think the 'Surprise Me' or the 68 years together aspect were needed, they seemed a bit cheesy. 

I recommend checking out this quick and interesting read from Kinsella. Yet another well written contemporary from a great author. 

My Rating:

4 Stars Out of 5 Stars