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3.15 AVERAGE
3.15 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was hanging in there for the first quarter of the book when they were at the retreat. Nice getaway romance build. After they came back to their actual lives, getting through the story was painful. I feel like I've been banged on the head with "they are polar opposites" with scene after scene to illustrate their lives are like two magnets bouncing off each other. By the time I hit halfway through, I realized I really didn't like either of these characters or the annoying friends they had in their lives. I genuinely wanted to slap Ava a few times for being dumb as a bag of hair. Teeth gnashing annoying character. Anyway, I survived. I won't be jumping for the next Kinsella book.
"Aria" and "Dutch" meet during a writer's retreat in Italy and fall in love. The only problem is they know nothing about each other due to the retreat's strict rules about anonymity and sharing personal details. Once they return to real life they find out that Ava and Matt don't have as much in common as they hoped.
I picked up this book since I have enjoyed a number of Sophie Kinsella books in the past and I was excited about living vicariously through the lives of the characters as they explored Italy together. Unfortunately it wasn't one of my favorites and the characters returned to gloomy England pretty quickly.
I did enjoy the female main character Ava. I really connected with her overabundance of hobbies and her difficulty staying focused on one particular thing. I also definitely could relate to her need to save rescue pets, books, furniture etc. I really liked the supporting characters who made up the friend group. They were all unique and fit together nicely.
I did not love the romance itself or Matt, the main male character. It went the opposite way of the typical romance in that they got together in the beginning and then learned about each other as the story progressed. For this reason there wasn't really an exciting build up and also it wasn't quite believable that they would be so infatuated without knowing anything about each other. Matt also just didn't seem that invested.
I will say that this book made me laugh out loud many times so if you're looking for a quick read that will make you giggle give it a go!
I picked up this book since I have enjoyed a number of Sophie Kinsella books in the past and I was excited about living vicariously through the lives of the characters as they explored Italy together. Unfortunately it wasn't one of my favorites and the characters returned to gloomy England pretty quickly.
I did enjoy the female main character Ava. I really connected with her overabundance of hobbies and her difficulty staying focused on one particular thing. I also definitely could relate to her need to save rescue pets, books, furniture etc. I really liked the supporting characters who made up the friend group. They were all unique and fit together nicely.
I did not love the romance itself or Matt, the main male character. It went the opposite way of the typical romance in that they got together in the beginning and then learned about each other as the story progressed. For this reason there wasn't really an exciting build up and also it wasn't quite believable that they would be so infatuated without knowing anything about each other. Matt also just didn't seem that invested.
I will say that this book made me laugh out loud many times so if you're looking for a quick read that will make you giggle give it a go!
Af en toe glipt er bij mij een chick-lit tussendoor, iets wat niet echt in het straatje ligt van wat ik normaal lees maar eens in de zoveel tijd leest het wel lekker. En over het algemeen zijn het dan de boeken van Sophie Kinsella.
Haar verhalen lezen makkelijk weg, plaatst haar hoofdpersonen in soms wat absurde situaties en je weet eigenlijk meteen al dat het luchtig blijft zonder echt zware onderwerpen aan te stippen.
Dat is ook allemaal het geval in dit boek, Ava gaat op schrijversretraite in Italië en ontmoet daar Matt, een man waar ze al snel verliefd op wordt. Ze willen hun relatie na de retraite in Londen doorzetten maar ontdekken daar dat ze toch wel heel erg verschillen. Het verhaal wordt vervolgens een zoektocht naar of ze deze verschillen kunnen overbruggen. Is het allemaal even realistisch? Nee. Is het best wel voorspelbaar? Ja. Had ik toch iedere keer zin om door te lezen in dit boek? Ja. En dat maakt het voor mij die 4 sterren wel waard.
Haar verhalen lezen makkelijk weg, plaatst haar hoofdpersonen in soms wat absurde situaties en je weet eigenlijk meteen al dat het luchtig blijft zonder echt zware onderwerpen aan te stippen.
Dat is ook allemaal het geval in dit boek, Ava gaat op schrijversretraite in Italië en ontmoet daar Matt, een man waar ze al snel verliefd op wordt. Ze willen hun relatie na de retraite in Londen doorzetten maar ontdekken daar dat ze toch wel heel erg verschillen. Het verhaal wordt vervolgens een zoektocht naar of ze deze verschillen kunnen overbruggen. Is het allemaal even realistisch? Nee. Is het best wel voorspelbaar? Ja. Had ik toch iedere keer zin om door te lezen in dit boek? Ja. En dat maakt het voor mij die 4 sterren wel waard.
Spoiler
Ava en Matt ontmoeten elkaar in Italië en zijn helemaal verliefd. Maar terug in Londen verschillen hun levens heel erg. Matt zit vast in zijn familiebedrijf waar hij niet gelukkig wordt, en Ava maakt niks af in haar leven en is dus ook niet helemaal gelukkig. Daarnaast is Ava vegetariër waar Matt een vleesliefhebber is. Ava botst met haar schoonfamilie en Matt is fan van absurde kunst waar Ava de rillingen van krijgt. Het kan eigenlijk helemaal niet goed aflopen, maar samen weten ze uiteindelijk een weg te vinden om bij elkaar te blijven. Matt stapt uit zijn familiebedrijf en Ava schrijft haar boek af en ze doen concessies waardoor het toch werkt.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love Your Life—PG13
Violence: no
Language: 106, about 1/3 of which were fbombs, and including deity
Sex: yes, no details
Oh, I really enjoyed this book! Our book club is reading this in a double feature with *Can You Keep a Secret?* and we are all enjoying ourselves. I will admit stressing quite a bit about getting my HEA with this one!
funny
lighthearted
reflective
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The second half was the best. I found Ava’s character slightly irritating and not very realistic. But the ending made me emotional.
A little too fluffy for me... even for a Sophie Kinsella. It started at a writing retreat in Italy, which could have been an interesting plot, but i did not enjoy the main character, Ava.
