Surprise Me

Lighthearted and serious. Recommended reading. Dan and Sylvie have been married 10 years and can read each other's thoughts. They were meant for each other. Then, struck by the idea that they could be together another 60+ years, both of them slightly freak out. I like Kinsella's writing style and the wittiness and portrayal of the main characters. But always looming is Sylvie's idealized version of her dead father and her realization that her husband feels less a man because he can't live up to the father's standards. Turns out as the book progresses, Sylvie and Dan are keeping thoughts and worries and secrets from each other and we see a relationship going through a troubling phase. Of course it comes to a head, the marriage is saved and love conquers all. But there is a message here and I enjoyed the story.

I love Sophie Kinsella's writing because she always makes me smile. She is my go to when I am looking for a light and fun read and there were many parts of this book that had me laughing. However, this wasn't one of my favourites of her books, I would definitely recommend Can You Keep A Secret, Finding Audrey, My Not So Perfect Life, and many of her other books before handing this book over to someone because if this was your first Sophia Kinsella it might not encourage you to seek out her other books (but you should).

I think my main issue with this book is that the conflict could have been resolved if the characters had been honest with each other, and whenever that is the case it's just frustrating watching the characters struggle as I shout “ASK HIM!” “TELL HER” “BE HONEST”.

The twist was unexpectedly more serious than I expected it to be, but if it hadn't been that serious of a secret then I would have thought Sylvie's husband and mother were going over the top, granted I do agree they should have been honest with her from the beginning.