Surprise Me: The Sunday Times Number One bestseller

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Surprise Me is a bit different from other books by Sophie Kinsella's girl meets boy storyline and in this one, she explores a marriage. We meet our very likable main characters Sylvie and Dan at a Doctors appointment and the doctor predicted that they will live long enough to be married 68 years more. This sends some fear of routine and boredom to them and they decided to spice things up by doing a few surprises for each other. This brought on some laugh out loud moments that could be heard from us within the coulee and we really enjoyed discussing this and some of our own stories of surprises with each other. Along with the fun, there is some seriousness to this story and it has some layers to it and we see a deeper side to this story. We start to see Sylvie and Dan grow apart and come together as a couple. After ten years together, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, and beautiful twin girls, and they communicate so seamlessly they finish each other’s sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it’s casually mentioned to them that they could be together for another sixty-eight years . . . and panic sets in. Sophie was born in London. She studied music at New College, Oxford, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She now lives in London, UK, with her husband and family.

Number-one best-selling author Sophie Kinsella's emotionally charged new stand-alone novel about marriage and family and how those we love and know best can sometimes surprise us the most. For this novel, I feel like it can have such a broad audience that can be impacted. Younger adults, older adults, single, married, divorced, etc. I think the story and these characters cover such a large network that many could relate with different things that the characters are going through. In this review, Natasha Godbold is finding out the true meaning of the word “surprise” through Sophie Kinsella’s latest novel, Surprise Me. One of the funniest scenes in Surprise Me would probably also appear very familiar to many. In this day and age, we often rely on technology for answers to everything. Many of us tend to think that by Googling something or watching a few videos on YouTube we can become experts on any subject, even the ones that take years to master. You have to read the book to find out what happened when Tilda – a Google-taught brand new photography whizz – decided to help out Sylvie with a free professional photo-shoot. Thought provoking

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While Sylvie and Dan’s marriage plays a central role, Surprise Me is more about Sylvie’s relationship with her deceased father. A musical adaptation of Kinsella's novel 'Sleeping Arrangements' by Chris Burgess was premiered on 17 April 2013 in London at the Landor Theatre. In the beginning it did start off a bit slow. It took a while for the story and the surprises to actually start, but once they did, they really took off. Many of the surprises were so hilarious, I found myself laughing out loud to myself. The scenarios were classic Sophie Kinsella.

They start off by surprising each other with exotic lingerie and sex in unlikely locales, but ultimately they surprise each other discovering that there is infinitely more to learn about each other—and themselves. This was an entertaining and enjoyable book about marriage and making the journey exciting and fun. Love is finding one person infinitely fascinating. And so... not an achievement, my dear. Rather, a privilege. This was a different story and somewhere around 3/4 of the way through, I realized I didn't know the direction that it would go. I hate to get cheesy with the title but there really were so many surprises! Some of the events that occurred near to the end, I really didn't predict or see coming yet I thought that it added to the story. I know you nearly put turbot.’ I can’t help showing off, proving how well I know him. ‘It was between that and the bream, but you wanted the saffron fennel that came with the bream.’

To sum it all up it was an engaging, fun, moving, fast-paced, and an enjoyable read that surprised me, made me laugh and had an ending that made me smile! Would recommend! AS Dr Seuss once said “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” In her signature fashion, Sophie Kinsella brings a cast of quirky, funny characters to this new work. [She] keeps the laughs coming. . . . Readers will follow the story with bated breath as the couple struggle to make their marriage right after everything they thought they knew about each other proves wrong.” — Library Journal Didn't get any sense that Dan loved Sylvie, it was like he was with her out of familiarity, there weren't really any strong feelings towards Sylvie, he just acted bored and like he was simply going through the motions. One of the most relatable books I've read in a long time, I couldn't put it down' LOUISE PENTLAND (SprinkleofGlitter)

The main characters of the book are a delightful young couple – Sylvie and Dan –who, complete with adorable twin little daughters, seem to have a kind of a “Hallmark family”, perfect in every way. They have been together for 10 years and know each other so well, they can read each other’s thoughts and finish each other’s sentences with ease, or so they thought… She is “the best kind of friend … who can’t be brushed off and never gets offended.” And she is there when Sylvie really needs her. In truth, we could all do with one of those. Women’s logic From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Party Crasher and Love Your Life comes a witty and emotionally charged novel that delves into the heart of a marriage, and how those we love and think we know best can sometimes surprise us the most Sylvie’s character wasn’t my favorite. In the first half of the book she is super whiny, which I just couldn’t move past. However her whiny tone lessens as the book progresses, which helped a lot. I have yet to read a book written by Sophie Kinsella that hasn’t made me laugh out loud. Surprise Me begins with a bit of a serious discovery made by Dan and Sylvie. After finding out that their life expectancies and marriage will be 68 more years, they struggle to grasp what the future will hold. What becomes a fun and interesting exploration of how to spice things up through various surprises leads the couple on a path that is both revealing and at times quite funny. ❀ Eclectic and Off-Beat CharactersI really like the premise of Surprise Me--rather than the typical Kinsella premise of a single girl trying to get her life together and in doing so ultimately finds love, we have a married couple worried that their marriage has gone stale. While the premise was fun, Surprise Me didn’t quite have the magic of some of Kinsella’s other books. How well do we really know somebody? Even people closest to us. Can we really know a person “inside out”? Just when familiarity sets in, we start to get bored and take our guard down, that’s when they might catch us out or… surprise us. At the end of the day, we can even surprise ourselves at times and do or say things we could never imagine we would. Stormy lives I was so excited when I found out that I won this book because I absolutely love Sophie Kinsella’s books. They are always so hilarious and so much fun. This book was no exception. This book is touching and funny and fun. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to review this novel. This RELEASES IN U.S. FEB. 13. One of the best parts of Sophie Kinsella's writing that also occurred in this novel is the ability to relate. I think many people will be able to relate to many of the characters but especially to different aspects of the main character Sylvie. Her internal dialogue and struggles were real alone with her outwardly concerns. Along with this, the humour! Oh boy, there were times that this novel had me either hiding a laugh or literally laughing out loud. Sophie Kinsella does humour amazingly well and I'm happy to see that she included it so appropriately in this novel.