The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
olivereadingnook's review against another edition
1.0
Wow this barely deserves one star. I hated every minute of it. I just couldn't get into it at all, and I found it long and irritating. The characters were full of themselves, uptight and obnoxious, as were their friends. None of the plot was captivating and it just fell flat. I couldn't care less about Genevieve even though she took up way more of the book than was necessary.
I don't even want to waste another second talking about this god awful book.
I don't even want to waste another second talking about this god awful book.
brooke_review's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up Sophie Kinsella's Love Your Life because I am taking part in PopSugar's 2020 Reading Challenge, and one of the prompts requires you to read a novel by an author who has published more than 20 books. I had no idea that Kinsella had such an extensive backlist, having never read her novels aside from a few from the Shopaholic series in the early 2000s. I must say that I am pleased with my pick and found Love Your Life to be just the light-hearted and funny read that I needed at the end of this tumultuous year.
Ava's friends may be just fine with finding love on dating apps, but Ava prefers to make a connection the old-fashioned way - in person. So it is no surprise that she falls for a guy insta-love style at a writer's retreat that she attends in beautiful and romantic coastal Italy. To make her whirlwind love affair even more heady and mysterious, none of the retreat participants are allowed to use their real names or share any personal information with each other, so Ava and her new love interest only know each other by "Aria" and "Dutch."
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Ava is sad to eventually see the retreat (and her newfound romance) come to a close - can she and Dutch keep the spark alight long distance? So imagine her surprise when she learns that Dutch actually lives in London too ... and his real name is Matt! But love in the real world comes with its own entanglements. It turns out Ava and Matt are complete opposites and keep bumping heads over a myriad of issues, including flats, friends and family, pets, art, and hobbies. Should they try to make their new relationship work or is their love affair bound to be over as quickly as it started?
Love Your Life is a refreshing entry in the chick lit/romance genres. It was nice to read a story where the main character and love interest don't exactly click and have to realistically work through relationship problems that most of us face in the real world. I found Love Your Life to be a convincing portrayal of the complications that arise in new relationships between people "with baggage," and shows both the pros and cons of working through your differences vs. abandoning the relationship altogether. This book is entertaining and humorous, and will appeal to readers in their late 20s and 30s, as well as those who are on the dating scene.
Ava's friends may be just fine with finding love on dating apps, but Ava prefers to make a connection the old-fashioned way - in person. So it is no surprise that she falls for a guy insta-love style at a writer's retreat that she attends in beautiful and romantic coastal Italy. To make her whirlwind love affair even more heady and mysterious, none of the retreat participants are allowed to use their real names or share any personal information with each other, so Ava and her new love interest only know each other by "Aria" and "Dutch."
Alas, all good things must come to an end, and Ava is sad to eventually see the retreat (and her newfound romance) come to a close - can she and Dutch keep the spark alight long distance? So imagine her surprise when she learns that Dutch actually lives in London too ... and his real name is Matt! But love in the real world comes with its own entanglements. It turns out Ava and Matt are complete opposites and keep bumping heads over a myriad of issues, including flats, friends and family, pets, art, and hobbies. Should they try to make their new relationship work or is their love affair bound to be over as quickly as it started?
Love Your Life is a refreshing entry in the chick lit/romance genres. It was nice to read a story where the main character and love interest don't exactly click and have to realistically work through relationship problems that most of us face in the real world. I found Love Your Life to be a convincing portrayal of the complications that arise in new relationships between people "with baggage," and shows both the pros and cons of working through your differences vs. abandoning the relationship altogether. This book is entertaining and humorous, and will appeal to readers in their late 20s and 30s, as well as those who are on the dating scene.
gr33ntea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
miaetramontana's review against another edition
2.0
So I did not love this book. I thought the concept was amazing and by the ending I appreciated it more. The ending is absolutely wonderful, that I almost want to say it made up for the rest being meh. But, I really really did not like either of the main characters and even all the other characters in the book were pretty awful. While it all came to a great end, it’s hard to enjoy the rest of reading when you don’t like the characters at all.
michellekmartin's review against another edition
1.0
This was not the book for me. I've been on a bit of a romance/lighthearted reads streak and this one disappointed me! I mostly found the characters to be caricatures of real people and for 90% of the book you were convinced that they did not belong together, which made them ending up together even more confusing!
I did like the Italian setting at the start but that's about all that I really enjoyed about this one.
I did like the Italian setting at the start but that's about all that I really enjoyed about this one.
shelfcarewithshan's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it! Fun, upbeat, and a quick, gobble-it-up read. You’ll find parts and the characters endearing and a tad infuriating, and the best part about it is- isn’t life?
lozs_shelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
If you would have asked me to review this book at the 75% mark, my review would be completely different. From 25% - 75% I hated this book. I was telling me family and friends that I have never encounter a book where I hated ALL (and I mean ALL) the characters so much and WISHED the couple would just break up.
I found the beginning bit interesting and cute, but once they leave Italy it all goes down hill until the third act break up (I don't think this isn't a spoiler, it's pretty damn obvious they need to throughout the whole book) and then after that I found it really interesting and cute again. I don't know why after the break up I found it so cute again, but I guess I liked the way the characters worked out their problems with each other and grew overall.
I also found all the characters (main couple and their friends) to be a little weird, sometimes in a quirky way and sometimes in a dislikable way but I liked the diverse characters (diverse races and chronic illness rep).Â
Even though I liked the beginning and end, the middle made me so mad that I just can't give this a 3/5 stars, so it gets a 2.75/5 stars instead.
I found the beginning bit interesting and cute, but once they leave Italy it all goes down hill until the third act break up (I don't think this isn't a spoiler, it's pretty damn obvious they need to throughout the whole book) and then after that I found it really interesting and cute again. I don't know why after the break up I found it so cute again, but I guess I liked the way the characters worked out their problems with each other and grew overall.
I also found all the characters (main couple and their friends) to be a little weird, sometimes in a quirky way and sometimes in a dislikable way but I liked the diverse characters (diverse races and chronic illness rep).Â
Even though I liked the beginning and end, the middle made me so mad that I just can't give this a 3/5 stars, so it gets a 2.75/5 stars instead.
heather425's review against another edition
3.0
Sophie Kinsella's books have been a part of my life for a long time now. I was excited when Netgalley approved me for an ARC of this title. The story opens with Ava embarking on a week long writing retreat in Italy. Of course, being a Kinsella story, Ava meets a guy there and romantic antics ensue.
I will say, unlike other reviewers, I could get on board with a couple in their 30s meeting and getting serious after a week of knowing each other. My husband and I met and were married within nine months. We've been married for 16 years now and still going strong. However, of course things weren't going to go smoothly for Ava and Matt because then there wouldn't be a story. Reading about a happy couple isn't that exciting ;)
Anyway, there were things I really liked about the story and other things that have been overdone (almost killing a pet, I'm looking at you). I thought Kinsella did a nice job of having Ava change before the end of the book. I do wish the other characters had been more fleshed out. They were not fully developed and that was unfortunate. It did seem some things were repeated more than needed - Topher was not conventionally attractive, but calling him ugly every time he was mentioned was not needed. And though I didn't like Genevieve the ending she was given was not in line with who she was or fair to her character.
In the end it was a decent book, but not my favorite of Kinsella's works.
I will say, unlike other reviewers, I could get on board with a couple in their 30s meeting and getting serious after a week of knowing each other. My husband and I met and were married within nine months. We've been married for 16 years now and still going strong. However, of course things weren't going to go smoothly for Ava and Matt because then there wouldn't be a story. Reading about a happy couple isn't that exciting ;)
Anyway, there were things I really liked about the story and other things that have been overdone (almost killing a pet, I'm looking at you). I thought Kinsella did a nice job of having Ava change before the end of the book. I do wish the other characters had been more fleshed out. They were not fully developed and that was unfortunate. It did seem some things were repeated more than needed - Topher was not conventionally attractive, but calling him ugly every time he was mentioned was not needed. And though I didn't like Genevieve the ending she was given was not in line with who she was or fair to her character.
In the end it was a decent book, but not my favorite of Kinsella's works.
bexbooksandstuff's review against another edition
3.0
This was a cute romantic story. I loved the premise of the two meeting on a writing retreat and being versions of their best selves. That they knew nothing about each other and were in a little bubble.
However the story rang a bit too untrue once they got back to their real lives. I mean they had so little in common and the frustrations they had with each others lives was extreme. They wouldn't have survived as a couple in normal circumstances and I felt the constant trying to bring them together just seemed a bit contrived. I found Matt difficult to fathom, he was completely different to his alter ego 'dutch' and Ava seemed overly immature for a 30 something year old.
However there were some laugh out loud moments (and I did spot a tear towards the end although not about the couple!) Some of the side characters I found entertaining especially Topher and his directness. It had a lot of fun qualities. I neither loved nor hated it. It ticked along and was a good read in my current tired state!
However the story rang a bit too untrue once they got back to their real lives. I mean they had so little in common and the frustrations they had with each others lives was extreme. They wouldn't have survived as a couple in normal circumstances and I felt the constant trying to bring them together just seemed a bit contrived. I found Matt difficult to fathom, he was completely different to his alter ego 'dutch' and Ava seemed overly immature for a 30 something year old.
However there were some laugh out loud moments (and I did spot a tear towards the end although not about the couple!) Some of the side characters I found entertaining especially Topher and his directness. It had a lot of fun qualities. I neither loved nor hated it. It ticked along and was a good read in my current tired state!
bookcasey's review against another edition
Instant infatuation with a guy who has so far been a snooze. I know there has to be a catch (right?) but I just don’t care enough about the MC to see her through it.