They decide to bring surprises into their marriage to keep it fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me—from unexpected gifts to restaurant dates to sexy photo shoots—mishaps arise, with disastrous and comical results. Gradually, surprises turn to shocking truths. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other at all.
With a colorful cast of eccentric characters, razor-sharp observations, and her signature wit and charm, Sophie Kinsella presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered. (Pub Date: Feb 13, 2018)
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
I'll give it a 3+ stars, this was unnecessarily and dramatic, but Kinsella still has a very funny way of telling stories. Thanks to it, I had a good time from beginning to end.
The things is that this book is actually about a young couple together for ten years when they realize they still have more than sixty until death finally takes them apart. Even though Kinsella is as funny as she can be, it still didn't make me want to strangle the two main characters the entire read. How can that be The Conflict? I wonder if even in a parody that would work, but we're talking about a serious book, as humorous as it can be, it's still a down-to-earth story.
But the plot, luckily, doesn't end there. The thing is that when Sylvie decides their marriages needed more surprises, the plan turns against her and she notices there were things about her husband she had no idea about. What with a college ex-girlfriend he's forgotten to mention, his long lost hobby with botany and veiled conversations with her mother about something she mustn't know.
I have to say this mystery was what I loved the most in this book. I don't remember feeling this curious about any of Kinsella's endings as I was for this one, and this was my forth time reading her. Now that I mentioned it, I also noticed some elements in this book different from what I've come to understand as her usual, for example, this being about a married couple trying to find happiness together, and not some girl with a worthless boyfriend.
Unfortunately, the reactions here were too much for me to relate. Sylvie is indeed a little too sheltered but she seems quite in control of her life to be seen as a proper adult. And yet, her train of thoughts reminded me of a YA's main character's. A lot of the characters would act like it's the end of the world when something bad happened.
Another problem was that the book could have benefited from some editing. There are so many pages, and so many scenes didn't even have to be there. Even the ending felt a little long.
So this isn't a book I recommend. I'll say that, if you have low expectations as I had, then you could enjoy it. And a Kinsella bad book is still better than an average book by Who Was It. But we all know she can do better.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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