The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella

 

Effie's still not over her parents splitting up a year ago. Her dad and his new girlfriend are posting their PDAs all over Instagram - and no one should have to deal with photos of their dad with the hashtags #viagraworks and #sexinyoursixties. Now they're selling the beloved family home and holding a 'house-cooling' party. When Effie receives only a last-minute 'anti-invitation', she decides to give it a miss.

Until she remembers her precious Russian dolls, safely tucked away up a chimney. She'll have to go back for them - but not as a guest. She'll just creep in, grab the dolls and make a swift exit. No one will know she was ever there.

Of course, nothing goes to plan. Not only does Effie bump into her ex-boyfriend (who she's very much not over), she can't find the dolls. And as she secretly clambers around dusty attics, hides under tables and mournfully eyes up the dessert table, she discovers unexpected truths about her family - and even about herself.

With time (and hiding places) running out, Effie starts to wonder if she'd be better off simply crashing the party. Perhaps that's the only way to find out what's really going on with her family...

When Effie gets a half hearted last minute invitation to her father and new step mums house “cool down” party she is adamant she is not going, that is until she remembers her precious hidden Russian dolls tucked away in the house.

Effie decides to embark on an undercover mission to secretly gatecrash the party, retrieve her dolls and head home all without being noticed…….

Undercover missions don’t always quite go to plan!

I was thoroughly entertained watching Effie on her undercover mission to secretly gate crash her family party, I was so won over by this absolute bizarre decision of how she was going to get her dolls that I was hooked and had to watch the events unfold leaving few opportunities to put this addictive fast paced book down. There is a continual light hearted witty feel to the storyline wrapped around a little flicker of romance and a rollercoaster of issues surrounding family dynamics.

Effie certainly had a slight immaturity to her which becomes apparent because she has always been babied by her family and she hears some comments during her undercover mission that hit home.

I can always rely on Sophie Kinsella to provide a feel-good witty read to lose myself in and to introduce us to characters who you would love to be friends with and The Party Crasher is no exception.

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I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

Fixie Farr can’t help herself. Straightening a crooked object, removing a barely-there stain, helping out a friend . . . she just has to put things right. It’s how she got her nickname, after all.

So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees, she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank her, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, scribbles her an IOU – but of course Fixie never intends to call in the favour.

That is, until her teenage crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and needs her help – and Fixie turns to Seb. But things don’t go according to plan, and now Fixie owes Seb: big time.

Soon the pair are caught up in a series of IOUs – from small favours to life-changing debts – and Fixie is torn between the past she’s used to and the future she deserves.

Does she have the courage to fix things for herself and fight for the life, and love, she really wants? 

It has been a while since I have read a Sophie Kinsella book, I absolutely adored the Shopaholic series and Can You Keep a Secret has to be my favourite by this author. I did read Wedding Night when it was released but it didn’t quite have the charm and wit that I loved about the authors previous books so I was keen to read her new release I Owe You One to see if it would entertain me like her earlier novels.

The main character in I Owe You is Fixie who true to her name can not leave anything undone and she goes out of her way to fix and help everything and everyone around her. It was whilst carrying out one of her good deeds, looking after a random man’s laptop in a coffee shop that she finds her self in a terrible mess but she fulfils her duty much to the utter relief and gratitude to the gentleman Seb he insists on paying her back.

This had the light hearted feel and fast pace that I love about Sophie Kinsella’s novels. Fixie was a character who has been belittled for so long and feels intimidated by her family, she has such great ideas but she needs to find a boost of confidence to get her voice heard. She has allowed those around her to use her for their own gain and treat her unfairly and it was time for her to stand up for herself and be treated with respect and care. Fixie’s siblings were vile characters as was the romantic interest Ryan

I enjoyed the back and forth payback that rolled between Seb and Fixie. Although there is romance flowing through the storyline I found I was more interested in watching Fixie grow in confidence! I did enjoy this book as a light easy read although I still feel like it lacked the wit and craziness that I loved with the authors earlier novels. I would still recommend this book but would just say it is more of a cosy romance than a modern, witty storyline that I would usually expect.

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Shopaholic to the Rescue by Sophie Kinsella

To Las Vegas . . . and beyond! 

Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) is on a major rescue mission! Hollywood was full of surprises, and now she's on a road trip to Las Vegas to help her friends and family. She's determined to get to the bottom of why her dad has mysteriously disappeared, help her best friend Suze and even bond with long-time enemy Alicia Bitch Long-legs (maybe...). 

As Becky discovers just how much her friends and family need help, she comes up with her biggest, boldest, most brilliant plan yet! 

So can she save the day just when they need her most?

The books that got me reading again as an adult were The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella and to me it is like Christmas has come every time a new one is released as I can never get enough of Becky Brandon’s antics so when Shopaholic to the Rescue arrived I put my current read to one side and started on this one straight away.

Becky is determined to track down her missing father even if it means traipsing around Las Vegas with all her friends and family and not forgetting Alicia Bitch Long Legs! As ever Becky has dramatic plans to help her friends and family on this mission.

In this book we see the pressure on the friendship between Suze and Becky and I wasn’t sure if their friendship could survive or if they had just reached a point where they had grown apart and so the whole way through I was waiting with batted breath to see what the outcome would be.

As we have come to expect with the Shopaholic books there were laugh out loud moments my particular favourites involving Janice and her drug smuggling at the beginning of the book and my favourite part of the whole book the Mutton Bustin which had me laughing out loud around the side of the pool in Champneys Health Spa which was in silence apart from my snorts of laughter!

I never expected to say this but I actually thing the Shopaholic series has done all it can now, the storyline, although still enjoyable and entertaining it didn’t have the spark that the rest of the books have and Becky didn’t stand out in her crazy joyous way she usually does, I am so used to there being an upbeat lively feel surrounding Becky but this was lacking in this book. The storyline centered around characters who we are not familiar with and felt like our lovable characters were weaved around them rather than taking center stage.

I still found myself flying through this book and finishing it in a day because the author has such a enjoyable and easy writing style and I would still recommend this book as it is a great read but I do think here is where I will say goodbye to my favourite fictional heroine Becky. This is a hard book to rate as compared to the rest of the series I would say it is a 3 star book but trying not to compare to the other books and thinking of it as a standalone read I would still say it is worthy of a 4 star rating.

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Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie kinsella

Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is in Hollywood!
It's as if all her life has been leading to this moment. She's hanging out with the stars … or at least she will be, when she finally gets to meet movie superstar Sage Seymour, whom husband Luke is now managing.

There's so much to see and do! And getting Minnie through the hurdles for her A-list Hollywood pre-school will require some…er…help. Becky sets her heart on a new career - she's going to be a celebrity stylist. Red carpet, here she comes! 

But Becky soon finds it's tough in Tinseltown. Luckily her best friend Suze comes over to keep her company, and together they embark on the Hollywood insider trail. But somehow...things aren't quite working out as they’d hoped.
Then Becky's big chance comes, and it's an opportunity that money can't buy.
 But will it cost her too much?

What a long wait we have had for our Sophie Kinsella fix! I always enjoy the shopaholic series but each time I finish one I usually think surely there is no more the author can do with Becky and then bang out comes another book to entertain us.

This time Becky, Luke and Minnie have temporarily moved to LA for Luke's work and Becky is determined to well and truly live the LA life, Minnie is in a top swish play school and Becky is off to make her big dream come true ( ok current big dream!) she wants to be a celebrity stylist and she is willing to do anything to brush arms with these celebs!

I finished this book last night and I had to calm down over night before I wrote my review! SOPHIE KINSELLA what are you doing to us you can't just end it there! I was so into Becky's world then all of a sudden it just ended on an almighty cliff hanger I had to check that there were no pages missing from my copy! On a good note we know that there will be another shopaholic book so I might MIGHT let the author off!

Ok now I have got that off my chest and have stopped rocking in the corner I can now tell you how much I loved this book because it is one of my favourites in the series. Becky is still in Lala land but this is why we love her so much because she is still such a scatty loon, she is so unpredictable you never know what on earth she will try to pull off next but when she does it really isn't a shock because that is just Becky.

The humour is back in this book and on a couple of times I found myself laughing out loud the hamster part particularly got me because she just continues to dig herself into a hole. The lovely Luke is back and unbelievably still with Becky, this guy surely needs a medal to still be able to put up with her antics and still be so forgiving. I still can't take to Minnie she is the best form of conception for me!

This book was well worth the wait, I was hooked all the way through and was highly amused. I do wonder what on earth will happen in the next book, I just can't believe we have got to wait! I could sulk and give this 4 star just for because the ending made me feel like someone took my sweets away ....... But I can't because it really is worthy of a 5 star!

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Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

Lottie is tired of long-term boyfriends who don't want to commit to marriage. When her old boyfriend Ben reappears and reminds her of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance. There will be no dates and no engagement-just a straight wedding march to the altar! Next comes the honeymoon on the Greek island where they first met.

But not everyone is thrilled with Lottie and Ben's rushed marriage, and family and friends are determined to intervene. Will Lottie and Ben have a wedding night to remember . or one to forget?

Sophie Kinsella has always been a favourite author of mine and I have enjoyed all of her books with Can you Keep a Secret and of course the Shopaholic series being my favourites. My partner brought me a copy of Wedding Night this week as a treat so it didn’t take me long to finish up my book and make a start on this one.

Lottie is expecting partner Richard to propose at their “special” dinner. So when the whole thing goes terribly wrong not only does Richard not propose but they split up! In a heartbroken and irrational state when her old flame Ben from her teenage years comes back in to her life and asks her to marry him she jumps at the chance and before you know it they are married and off on honeymoon in a matter of days!

Sister Fliss is coming out of a less than perfect marriage and when she hears Lottie’s news she does all she can to try and stop the happy couple from making the mistake she made.

I was a little worried when I started to read Wedding Night as it was a very slow start. What I have always loved about Sophie’s books are her loveable crazy characters. They are always so far from down to earth but they are always easy to warm to and they are very entertaining. Unfortunately I didn’t find that with the characters this time and I do think it could be because this is the first time the author has used dual narrative so each time we begin to get to know one of our lead characters it then swaps over to the other narrator and we start again. I usually like books with dual narrative but personally I feel this authors writing is at its best with one main character.

As the book progressed I found myself beginning to enjoy the storyline and Sophie Kinsella’s humorous situations began to make an appearance. The things Fliss tried to do to sabotage her sisters honeymoon were unthinkable and hilarious! Only a sister could get away with giving her sister an allergy attack. It was great to have some surprises as to what on earth Fliss was going to come up with next as the rest of the book was predictable.

The book is set in both London and a Greek Island  and both settings are described well. The whole Honeymoon suite sounded to die for, who wouldn’t want to be waited on hand and foot and pampered to an inch of their lives!

I did enjoy this book but it wasn’t one of my favourites by Sophie Kinsella but yet I will still be in line waiting for next years release! I would give this book 3 and a half stars.

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I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Plot
I've lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn't supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It's been in Magnus's family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I've lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive!! :)

A couple of glasses of bubbly with the girls at a charity do and Poppy's life has gone into meltdown. Not only has she lost her engagement ring, but in the panic that followed, she's lost her phone too. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number with the hotel staff. It was meant to be!

Except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn't agree. He wants his phone back, and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, phone messages and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents, can things get any more tangled?

My Opinion
I am a huge Sophie Kinsella fan and I have read all of her previous books ( as I am sure many of you who follow this blog have to!), so you can imagine how excited I was when I came home from work last week to a copy of I've Got Your Number which my partner had brought me.

Our main character in this book is the lovely Poppy who I loved from the first chapter as she had a very soft and loving feel to her character but also had a great sense of humour which I found similar to Kinsella's previous character Becky. Poppy's relationship with our leading man Sam was great to red as they slowly get to know each other under an unusual circumstance.
The book was a real page turner and was such an entertaining light read. I have always found myself chuckling away whilst reading all of Sophie Kinsella's books but I found the humour slightly different in this book, as funny scenarios came from nowhere and so were unexpected and it was also very down to earth humour, with some of the things I could see myself doing including the whole scrabble chapter!

There was one thing I was a little unsure of when I first started reading this book and that was the use of footnotes. I found at the beginning having to keep leaving the story to go down to read the footnote was a little of putting and I was worried that this was going to effect the flow of the book but after a couple of chapters the footnotes become less frequent and actually some of them did add to the natural humour of the book it just to a while to get used to them as I have never read a book with so many footnotes in!

This has to be one of my favourite Sophie Kinsella books. It really is going to be a big seller among chick lit fans. With two great main characters, an easy reading yet unlikely storyline and a bucket full of humour, not forgetting that little splash of romance what more can you ask for? Pure Perfection!