Julie's Review: Love Your Life

Author: Sophie Kinsella
Series: None
Publication Date:  October 27, 2020
Publisher: Dial Press
Pages: 432
Obtained: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: A quirky and yet endearing heroine who finds love with a non-quirky but endearing hero
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Summary: 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. 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. But then their real identities—Ava and Matt—must return to London. As their fantasy starts to fade, they discover just how different their personal worlds are. From food choices to annoying habits to sauna etiquette . . . are they compatible in anything? And then there’s the prickly situation with Matt’s ex-girlfriend, who isn’t too eager to let him go. As one mishap follows another, it seems while they love each other, they just can’t love each other’s lives. Can they reconcile their differences to find one life together? ~amazon.com 

Review: I read Sophie Kinsella' new book every time they publish, minus the Shopaholic becuase well I got tired of Becky's antics and lack of awareness. I have my favorites of her stand alones and I really wish someone would snap a few of them up and do a movie but I digress. Love Your Life features a Ava, who you could all a Jill of all Trades but yet to master one. She's off to the Italian Coast to write her Victorian novel but even though the focus should be the book, she's suddenly found herself distracted by "Dutch", a good looking fellow who she doesn't even truly know but hey they fall in love. Of course that's where the comedy comes in because while Ava's fictional name for herself is "Aria", Dutch is no where close to his real name, Matt. Plus on vacation aren't we the best version of ourselves or perhaps whom we want to be?

It doesn't take long for their romantic bubble to take a bit of a deflation but Ava, an ever optimistic person, believes that they can push through it by approaching their differences as cultural, like if moved to a different country. While that might work for smaller issues, it's not going to resolve the bigger ones that make or break a relationship. So, maybe some things are supposed to stay in the vacation bubble and not return to the real world. 

I will admit that Ava might even be a bit too quirky for me. There were a couple of times where I found myself going "Come on, Ava." I don't mind perpetually happy people or optimistic but you have to understand that not everyone has the same outlook. Also, while I appreciate someone trying to find what they are good at, Ava literally likes to try anything that comes into her thought pattern and that would be tiresome. It might be a bit different if the skills needed for them were somehow related but they weren't. 

I do think that Matt was the version he wanted to be when he was playing Dutch in Italy. Sometimes we all get caught up in our lives they way they are and the expectations we have of ourselves and the expectations by others, that it is hard to break free of that as well. This is what I think Matt was tied into; he didn't want to let his family down. 

I really liked the ending of this book and Ava ended up growing on me because she grew up and learned something about herself. If you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella's novels, you won't want to miss this one.