Love Your Life: The joyful and romantic new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author

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Call Ava romantic, but she thinks love should be found in the real world, not on apps that filter men by height, job, or astrological sign. She believes in feelings, not algorithms. So after a recent breakup and dating app debacle, she decides to put love on hold and escapes to a remote writers’ retreat in coastal Italy. She’s determined to finish writing the novel she’s been fantasizing about, even though it means leaving her close-knit group of friends and her precious dog, Harold, behind. Love Your Life is as warm as the Italian sunshine and full of fun: a fabulous Italian appetizer, like a platter of antipasti;a stunning, satisfying mix of romance and real life, with characters whom you will fall in love with and who will leave you smiling with joy. Like a glorious dinner party with friends,it kept me happy, warm, and staying up far later than I should so as not to miss a thing. I loved it! It left me wanting more.” —Jo Thomas, author of The Oyster Catcher I really wanted to like this book. The premise is fun - a woman meets a man on an anonymous writing retreat, they fall in love without knowing the personal baggage they bring to the table, and then they try to make it work outside of the writing retreat. Fun, right? But no. Not fun. At the retreat, she's not allowed to use her real name or reveal any personal information. When the neighboring martial arts retreat is canceled and a few of its attendees join their small writing community, Ava, now going by "Aria," meets "Dutch," a man who seems too good to be true. The two embark on a baggage-free, whirlwind love affair, cliff-jumping into gem-colored Mediterranean waters and exploring the splendor of the Italian coast. Things seem to be perfect for Aria and Dutch.

Nell’s hair colour has changed about 106 times since we were at uni together, whereas mine hasn’t changed once. It’s still the same dark auburn, straight down to my shoulders, easy to swish into a ponytail. I’m still giving 4.25 stars! Don’t throw anything on my face! I still find crushed tomato pieces on my scalp when I get shower after writing a mediocre review for Shadows! Shopaholic to the Rescue" was released on 22 October 2015; "Christmas Shopaholic" was released in October 2019. Her most recent standalone novels are "Love Your Life", "I Owe You One" (Feb 2019), My Not So Perfect Life and Surprise Me. In 2015, she branched into Young Adult writing with her first YA book, Finding Audrey, published in June 2015. [ citation needed] [7] I am a big Sophie Kinsella fan and have read the majority of her books. I actually prefer her standalone novels over the Shopaholic series. So of course I was excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. Unfortunately I wouldn't place this one among my favorites but everything came together quite nicely by the end so at least I finished it on a positive note. Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors, and Love Your Lifemight just be her best book yet. It’sa joyful, hilarious, and heartwarming taleof the challenges we face when we sign up to be part of someone else’s life.It made me laugh out loud and cry happy tears. I adored it.” —Beth O’Leary, author of The Flatshareand The SwitchSophie Kinsella is one of my favourite authors, and Love Your Life might just be her best book yet. It's a joyful, hilarious and heart-warming tale of the challenges we face when we sign up to be part of someone else's life. It made me laugh out loud and it made me cry happy tears - I adored it. Beth O'Leary

I’m not saying it was plain sailing. I’d never had a dog before. I’d longed for one as a child, but my parents were the type who keep vaguely promising, then it never happens. So I was a beginner at looking after a dog. And Harold was a beginner at being looked after. Because, believe me, he was not looked after by the people who abandoned him on the side of the A414. That was not looking after him. Just thinking about it makes me feel hot and bothered. I liked the plot. Matt and Ava meet in Italy at a writers retreat, but since the retreat has everyone using pseudonyms, they don’t know each other’s real names until after they fall in love. Aria (Ava) and Dutch (Matt) are positively delightful as they meet and fall in love in Italy at the retreat. Love comes to them fast, but that’s the way it is when you’re on vacation and having the time of your life. And when they return to London, that’s when we see the really fun interactions with all the friends and family of Ava and Matt.

Where the problem lies, however, is in the unlikability (I'm coining a new word here—call me Shakespearina) of the female protagonist and MC, Ava. If you looked up the definition of likable heroine in the dictionary, Ava would be pictured as an antonym, to be sure. Ava is the archetype of your everyday astrology ho. She's all perky and wannabe hipster and "I know Matt because I feel his energy," which at first was super funny but didn't take long to really get under my skin. She's just not someone I really liked or could connect with as a character, which made liking and being able to get through the book kind of difficult for me. But to each her own. I'm sure others will enjoy Love Your Life much more than I did simply because they find Ava amusing and endearing instead of annoying af and/or they are just overall less tetchy with MCs than I am.

I laughed out loud at so many parts and I also got teary and warmhearted at others (I am sappy though..) and I loved it!!! 4.5⭐ rounded up to 5 just because I needed this fun, couldn't put down read and it made me feel all the things I wanted it to💖 Without giving away the plot I have to say there were several unique heartwarming aspects I loved most. One is Ava’s dog, Harold, who is a character unto himself. Another is Ava’s close friend Nell. Nell has a serious illness and all her friends rally around her. Her disability is presented always in a realistic, kind and well-considered way. As someone who has had my own health challenges in the past, I love to see disabled characters thriving in books, particularly romantic books like this one. And my final two favorite things were the two main characters. As always, Kinsella creates a magical and vibrant world in which you can totally lose yourself. I always emerge happier after reading one of her colorful novels, which are always a little deeper than they first seem. What does he have to say? Does he want another date? Yikes. My stomach cringes at the very thought, which is a sign. One of my major rules of life is: You should listen to your body. Your body is wise. Your body knows.Here’s all his stuff.” I dump my massive bag on the floor. “Bed, water bowl, blanket, food . . . Oh, his essential oils!” I suddenly remember, taking the bottle from my bag. “I’ve made him a new blend, lavender and cedarwood. You just have to spritz his—” The ending is the best part of the book (minus the spoiler scene I mentioned). I still think that Ava and Matt are too incompatible to have a healthy, long lasting relationship, but whatever floats your goat I guess. I’ve sworn I won’t cry, but tears are brimming in my eyes as I gaze at his bright, intelligent face. My Harold. Best beagle in the world. Best dog in the world. Best person in the world. I can’t take you to Italy, Harold,” I say, swallowing hard. “I’ve told you that. But it won’t be long. I promise. A week. That’s all.” I still had lots of fun while reading it, and laughed at some scenes, but I really disliked the characters, specially our protagonist, and overall, I am not a fan of the mess this story turned into.

Yet, the beginning of the book didn’t do it for me. I thought "oh no, this is an insta-love story" which is my least favorite. How wrong was I? Very. I ended up liking it quite a bit more than I thought. When the main characters returned from Italy, they were much different characters than the people they started out as, especially Ava who we read about briefly before the trip. These changes were not due to a difference of vacation versus real life. I feel Ava's personality and her character as a whole was drastically altered from the character we read about in the beginning of the book. Kinsella is] on her usual sparkling form in this typically compulsive standalone...Fabulous escapism. Daily Mail Harold can’t wait to stay with me,” says Nell firmly, ushering us both into the living room. “Can you, Harold?” I love anything and everything by Sophie Kinsella, I am a big fan of her Shopaholic series and in my opinion, her books just get better and better, and her newest book, Love Your Life, does not disappoint.The premise ended up being preposterous and unbelievable. How could anyone fall in love in less than a week, plus do it without knowing not one thing about the other? Not even their real name? That dog should go on the stage,” says Sarika, glancing up at him from her laptop with an amused look. Sarika isn’t really a dog person—she admits as much—but she’s a Harold person. You can’t meet Harold and not be a Harold person.