My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel

This isn't my favorite of Sophie Kinsella's books, but it's the one that I found the most relatable, particuarly the first half. I too moved to a big city in my twenties to have an exciting, successful career. I too found myself in a cramped and crazy-high-priced awful apartment with awful roommates at the end of an awful commute. I too had a difficult boss. My story and Katie's diverged, of course, but the book was so accurate about how far our expectations and imaginings are from our actual lives that I found myself drawn in. Fun read.

I do like me a good chick lit, and this went beyond that. It's not your typical, light-hearted Sophie Kinsella, but actually delves into some serious topics. Unemployment, social media, peer pressure, leading a double life, fear of letting your family down and more. It still had that "feel-good" factor with the sweet love story. In fact, it made my heart skip a beat or two and I hadn't experienced that feeling in a long time! Yes, it still counts as a fluffy chick lit, predictable and cheesy with the usual variety of characters; the stubborn, independent protagonist, the hot and complicated love-interest, the cool and arrogant villain and a bunch of secondary characters who range between funny, quirky and cattish. However, all that aside, it also has a more serious and realistic tone to it than her usual books. I liked the protagonist, Katie, especially, because she had a good head on her shoulders. All her feelings, her struggles, her lies, her thoughts are things I've felt or experienced at one time in my life. And I like that. I like that I can somehow relate or connect to the characters, because it definitely keeps your interest piqued. Although I do think the part spent at her family's farm dragged a bit and could have been cut down. There were a few laugh out loud moments that took me by surprise as well. So, really, this is a very good book and a quick read. I wasn't disappointed. It was thoroughly enjoyable, and whet my appetite for more chick lits. Sure, everything ties up very neatly at the end, with your typical happy ending and things working out great for the protagonist, but I mean...shrug. What else can you expect?

Ok, first off, i don’t leave many reviews, because so few books really hook me nowadays. I’ve felt lackluster for ages, and really let down, about the majority of them - characters felt unreal, story didn’t flow the way i wanted, heroine was pathetic/hero overly divine. The way they go all lusty at each other, yet pretend they don’t like each other. I am just so over all of that. However i have always been fond of Ms Kinsella’s books. I got this one because it had 4 and a half stars, and sounded intriguing. And believe me - it is. I don’t want to do spoilers or anything. But i felt the characters were believable, the story had a good ending, And it’s a good solid piece of chick lit. Which i really like. It’s lost me some sleep, because i really wanted to know what came next, and I couldn’t put it down. And i got this book, because i just abandoned my last one in a bad temper. (Because the girl in it, just could not help herself kissing the hero, even though she doesn’t like him, and he kept pushing her away. God! I feel like it’s just page fillers. You know they’ll end up together at the end anyway) So, if you like Sophie, this is a good one

Katie Brenner has the perfect life: a flat in London, a glamorous job, and a super-cool Instagram feed. OK, so the truth is that she rents a tiny room with no space for a wardrobe, has a hideous commute to a lowly admin job, and the life she shares on Instagram isn’t really hers. But one day her dreams are bound to come true, aren’t they?” - goodreads synopsis Sophie’s #mynotsoperfectlife receives a respectable 3 out of 5 hashtags from me. My not so Perfect Life is very #thedevilwearsprada, goes to London. The first 2 chapters of the book is torture to get through (sorry, honesty and all that). It reads like a high school “what-I-did-this-weekend” essay; the author tries to explain and jam too much information down your throat (especially about Demetre) and Katie is very naïve and annoying to the point where you want to grab her by the shoulders, shake her a little and shout: “No man! Life doesn’t have to be this hard, if you are unhappy, make a change!!!”. And then something great happens – the story starts flowing, you start relating to the characters and appreciate them for who they are and what they contribute to the story. There are a few enjoyable ‘feel-good’ (almost magical) moments that draws you deeper into Katie’s world, followed by disastrous (albeit hilarious) unfortunate events that leaves you with a bit of a ‘wtf??’-feel. The story is very typical, but so enjoyable. There are lessons (and I really emphasize, true life lessons) about family, loyalty, honesty and protecting your heart. ‘Because it’s human nature to hope for impossible things.’ Haven’t we all been in a ‘self-doubt’ place at one time or another? Don’t we all go through moments of “I have so much more to offer, if someone would just notice me…”? Sophie illustrates this so well in her writing and you feel as if you are Katie and not just reading about Katie. My favourite quotes (in no particular order): "I could do anything, go anywhere, be anyone." “Keep up the charmed, life-is-perfect myth.” “Stuff that balances out the bright-and-shiny. Just like there is for all of us. Bright-and-shiny on the one side; the crappy truth on the other.” “No one’s life has to be perfect.“ Other #sophiekinsella books include: Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic #1) Can You Keep a Secret The Undomestic Godess Remember Me? I've Got Your Number **SPOILER ALERT** do not continue if you do not want to read a spoiler I do want to add that Katie’s story has a happy ending of course (in more ways than one). Even though I felt the story in the middle was very enjoyable and a fun read, the ending was unfortunately very predictable in a ‘chick-flick-the-boy-comes-back-for-the-girl’ kind of way.

This is the book for you if you are looking for a light frothy bit of entertainment. It is set in London and Somerset which for me is a plus. Katie is our heroine and she is trying very hard to succeed in London. Her Instagram account looks like a fairy tale, but in reality, she has a brutal commute, a tiny apartment shared with inconsiderate strangers, and a challenging job with a challenging boss. She is barely hanging on with her tiny salary hoping that she will manage to move up at the advertising agency from her menial position. Things change for Katie when she meets Alex, our almost perfect dreamboat. She thinks she is finally making progress at work, and then she is suddenly laid off. With no money, and the job search going poorly, she heads home to work with her dad and step-mother as they establish a glamping business with yurts and play farm activities. The story is predictable, romantic, humorous, and light. Sometimes you want to read something that feeds your soul, that educates you, or that makes you a better person and sometimes you just want a bit of escape where you don’t have to think too hard. Don’t read this book if you are looking for a literary read or a book group book. This book is reasonably well written, and it does what it sets out to do. It’s cotton candy, not brussels sprouts, but sometimes you just can’t handle brussels sprouts.

I have found my new favorite author, Sophia Kinsella! My Not So Perfect Life is the second of her books i have read. And i am ready to start the next one! She writes great plots with wonderful full characters then adds funny twists to said characters. And i LOVE her books!

This is the 3rd book I’ve read by Sophie. I’ve also read I’ve Got Your Number and Can You Keep A Secret. I really enjoyed those as well and gave them 5 stars, but I wish I could give this book more than 5 Stars. Katie (the protagonist formally known as Cat) is similar to Sophie’s other work in that she is lovable and relatable; but she, to me, is much more complex than the other characters I’ve read from Sophie. You get a complete sense about Katie’s motivations for what she’s doing. You learn about who she is, who she wants to be..and you get a front row seat as those two concepts blend into one another. More than being a girl who falls in love, she also learns to love herself. She learns how to fit in this world. She learns how to evolve in her familial relationships while staying true to the underlying bond. And the dynamic between she and Alex is truly enjoyable. Well done, Sophie Kinsella. For me, all the bases were covered and I felt really whole about the story when it was done (as sad as I was that it was over). I normally don’t re-read books, but I think I will with this one.

Why i picked this book I'm on a binge reading and I really want something light and easy to read in the depressing day of a global pandemic. Tbh I was sceptical, the premise isn't that appealing but I'm glad I read it. It was the best of my chic lit selection this round. The last few books were such an effort to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed this one that I actually read it twice. It's fun and witty. The reason i didn't give 5 stars because for me 5 stars are reserved for classic life-inspiring masterpieces. What I like about 1. Fun: I really appreciate the sarcastic tone of the book and the witty banter between Katie and Alex. I had a number of giggles throughout the book. 2. Real: the internal dialogue and the casual writing makes it feel like I'm reading Katie's diary or something like that, very real. Even though it's predictable, to some extent it's logical and believable too. The first half of the book may feel whiny and shallow but I put it down to sarcasm, plus it's about young people trying to make their marks in the world so I can totally see from their view. 3. The characters: I'm so glad and relieved to read a chic lit where the heroine is not completely helpless and just waiting around for a prince charming to rescue. In contrast Katie is competent. She is ambitious and determined. She makes a name by herself. I also really like her upbeat attitude. That's what makes it real. Reality is nowadays most women (or at least every woman around me) work , struggle to strive for the better and not just wait around for a rich guy to save them. Both Katie and Demeter are very likeable. They are flawed but I love how they readily own it and face it with no ego no fuss no grudge. Alex, the guy, on the other hand is very bland and appears to me as a spoiled brat. But I just cast him as a supporting character and disregard him. What I didn't like 1.Too many redundant details even redundant characters that are repeated again and again and their only purpose is to fill the pages. I felt like there are quite a number of events that are not resolved making them like annoying noise in the background. 2. The author seems to have limited vocabulary with the same few words appear over and over again. Do I recommend this book Good for light reading

Muy bueno y entretenido,como siempre está autora no defrauda

Sophie Kinsella has always been one of my fav authors. She never fails to awe her readers. Same with this book - Simply beautiful, engaging, twists, turns and a perfect, cute ending ❤️.

Katie (or Cat as she is known around her trendy London workplace) thinks her boss has the perfect life. With her designer clothes, enormous house and gorgeous family, how could she have any worries? While Katie struggles to get noticed in her job, she is retrenched and is forced to go home to help her father and stepmother start a 'glamping' business. Pretending she is on sabbatical, Katie helps them build the business and, before long, has an unexpected guest - her ex boss. Planning revenge, Katie soon realises seemingly perfect lives are not always so perfect. A fun read.

I read it in 2 days 😁 The main character is funny and easy to relate to, and I liked both parts of the story. The social media reflection is a nice touch, and her way to cope with her boss in the 2nd part is really funny. Demeter is both very annoying and lovable and I felt for Cat while she tried to make it in London.

Nice book. Light and great short read.