Surprise Me - Sophie Kinsella

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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I have enjoyed many of Sophie Kinsella's books every the years. Every now and then, though, she writes one that just doesn't work for me. Unfortunately, this book falls in the latter category.

Sylvie & Dan have been together for ten years. They feel they know all there is to know about each other. It's comfortable. Easy. Until their doctor predicts they are in such good health they will have another 68 years of life together. Then comfortable starts seeming a bit stodgy. And easy is no longer a good thing. Operation Surprise Me commences.

This book was just ho-hum for me. I generally love Kinsella's quirky main characters, but Sylvie just didn't inspire any sort of interest or investment from me. I wasn't itching to get back to her story when real life interfered. I can't pinpoint exactly why this was. Maybe I found her a bit whiny with mentality that kept her from really taking control of her life until later in the book.

I probably like Dan slightly better but still not enough to keep me engaged.

There was a lot of language and mention of sex in this book. And one pretty described scene. All of that turned me off a bit too.

For me, it was a disappointing read. But I'll still anxiously await her next book. Another gem is coming.

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The Austen Escape - Katherine Reay

The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I do so hate to write a less than stellar review for a book authored by someone I’m a fan of. But that is where I find myself now, and why I’ve been putting off writing this review since I finished the book about a month ago.

I love Jane Austen. I’ve been a fan of Katherine Reay’s previous books (with the exception of The Bronte Plot). So when I saw she was writing another book with a Jane Austen tie-in, I started stalking NetGalley to request a copy as soon as it was available.

This book just didn’t do anything for me. The romance aspect and its issues were clear from pretty much the beginning. The entire story line was predictable. I can deal with a predictable story line as long as the characters are brilliantly written and engaging. They weren’t.

While the idea of going staying at a Regency area living history “hotel” could be infinitely fascinating, in this story it wasn’t. That part was just confusing as sometimes the characters involved were “living history” and other times they were just normal, modern-day people. Which I think defeats the purpose of paying that kind of money for that specific experience.

I just had issues with the story and the story telling on many levels. And that makes me sad.

I received a free advanced reader copy from Net Galley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you would like to read more of my reviews, please visit www.mommyreadsbooks.blogspot.com

View all my reviews