My Not So Perfect Life: A Novel

Sophie Kinsella

Feb 2017 · Random House

About this ebook

THE HILARIOUS AND BRILLIANT BESTSELLER FROM THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR SOPHIE KINSELLA

'Sure to make you laugh out loud' Closer

'Hilarious . . . you'll laugh and gasp on every page' Jenny Colgan

****

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?

Until her not-so-perfect life comes crashing down when her mega-successful boss Demeter gives her the sack. All Katie's hopes are shattered. She has to move home to Somerset, where she helps her dad with his new glamping business.

Then Demeter and her family book in for a holiday, and Katie sees her chance. But should she get revenge on the woman who ruined her dreams - or try to get her job back? Does Demeter - the woman who has everything - actually have such an idyllic life herself? Maybe they have more in common than it seems.

And what's wrong with not-so-perfect, anyway?

Everybody loves Sophie Kinsella:

'I almost cried with laughter' Daily Mail

'Hilarious . . . you'll laugh and gasp on every page' Jenny Colgan

'Properly mood-altering . . . funny, fast and farcical. I loved it' Jojo Moyes

'A superb tale. Five stars!' Heat


PRE-ORDER the hilarious and joyful new romcom from Sophie Kinsella: THE BURNOUT

Ratings and reviews

Plain boring and predictable. Normally love SK but slow start to this and now wading through regretting my 7.99 pound or whatever.. Maybe the end will be OK.

4.5 Stars This was such a delicious story, I genuinely struggled to put it down to get on with real life. This surprised me as the settings and the character exploits all feel a little surreal and overly contrived, plus there are no real surprises contained in the story at all. The real joy comes from the wit and the warmth of the writing which pulls you in and simply refuses to let you go; no matter how peculiar Katie's life seems if you try and analyse it as a rational person you find that you really don't care. Katie is from deepest, darkest Somerset and has always wanted to live and work in London. Her chosen field is advertising and she ends up, via Birmingham, working for a branding agency that involves the boss from hades and an 80 minute commute. Trying to rebrand herself to fit in with the life she thinks she should be living she changes from Katie to Cat, gets a disastrous fringe and becomes a bit of a doormat (if we're being honest). Katie envies almost everyone in the office and thinks that every Instagram post is genuine, even though she lies in her own. When her father and stepmother decide to turn the dairy farm of her childhood in to a Glamping site Katie gets on board with the promotion and takes a sabbatical from London. Unfortunately, this is yet another book where a new business venture is an instant triumph (becoming a bit of a bone of contention with me is this one). Can Katie be lured back to London? Is Demeter (the demonic boss) really evil? Is Alex the man of Katie's dreams or, as she fears, just a ship passing in the night? Character development is generally good in the book. This is particularly true for Katie and Demeter. Unfortunately Alex is pretty much a cardboard cut out and the women in the office are every "Karen" the memes warned you about. The book also has some gentle reminders that online existence is very different to the reality of the poster's life and not to believe the hype. It's also a cautionary tale in people's perceptions of you. Enjoyable escapism of the highest order!

Good but not great. The characters are hard to gel with, even the main protagonist, and the minor characters have no substance. The story overall is good and people being slapped by karma is always nice to read but not one of my favourites however I got it at bargain price so worth the money I paid.

About the author

Sophie Kinsella is an internationally bestselling writer. She is the author of many number one bestsellers, including the hugely popular Shopaholic series. She has also written seven bestselling novels as Madeleine Wickham and several books for children. She lives in the UK with her husband and family.

Visit her website at www.sophiekinsella.co.uk and find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SophieKinsellaOfficial. You can also follow her on Twitter @KinsellaSophie and Instagram @sophiekinsellawriter.