#BookReview: LOVE YOUR LIFE by Sophie Kinsella @KinsellaSophie @TransworldBooks @BeckyShort1

Publication: 29th October 2020 – Transworld

I love you . . . but what if I can’t love your life?

Ava is sick of online dating. She’s always trusted her own instincts over an algorithm, anyway, and she wants a break from it all. So when she signs up to a semi-silent, anonymous writing retreat in glorious Italy, love is the last thing on her mind.

Until she meets a handsome stranger. . . All she knows is that he’s funny, he’s kind and – she soon learns – he’s great in bed. He’s equally smitten, and after a whirlwind, intoxicating affair, they pledge their love without even knowing each other’s real names.

But when they return home, reality hits. They’re both driven mad by each other’s weird quirks and annoying habits, from his eccentric, naked-sauna-loving family to her terribly behaved, shirt-shredding dog. As disaster follows disaster, it seems that while they love each other, they just can’t love each other’s lives. Can they overcome their differences to find one life, together?

AMAZON

WATERSTONES

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Sophie Kinsella is one of my favourite authors. I have been reading her books for almost 20 years now (WOW! That makes me feel old) and I am always excited when a new novel comes out, whether it is a stand alone with new characters or a new Becky Bloomwood adventure, because they make me laugh, they cheer me up, and I always fall in love with the characters.

Love Your Life is her new stand alone (actually, it is out today, so happy publication day!) and I adored the protagonist Ava. How can you not love a character whose mind is an endless surprise? She is very unique: funny, romantic, and loyal. She is so enthusiastic about everything, she has many many interests, and she is optimistic about love despite many bad dates. And I enjoyed how she doesn’t do silences:

“One of my theories of life is: it’s unhealthy not to let words out of your brain. Otherwise they curdle. Plus, you know, someone has to speak.”

Love Your Life is a story about love, about two people who couldn’t be more different and yet they love each other and want to make it work. Ava’s romance with the man she met during a writing retreat in Italy was unexpected, fast, romantic, exciting… it was just perfect! But then they leave Italy behind and return home where reality hits. Are they really meant to be together?

Love Your Life is also a story of friendship. Ava’s family is her three best friends. I loved how different they are, how close they are, how well they know each other, how they are always there for each other.

“I love them all, and you have to, as well. They are part of the deal.”

Love Your Life is a story about delicious food: ice-cream, pasta, pizza… your mouth will be watering.

If this is not enough to convince you to pick up the new novel by Sophie Kinsella, then I should mention my favourite character: Harold, the adorable dog who steals food without you noticing and who disagrees with handbags, shirts, stuffed animals… the list is long.

Love Your Life is an entertaining, addictive, fabulous novel that will make you laugh so much, it will warm your heart, and you don’t want it to end.

A huge thank you to Becky and Transworld for sending me a proof of this beautiful novel.