Surprise Me

November 13, 2017
Kinsella’s heartfelt latest, after My Not So Perfect Life, concerns the secrets that are unearthed after daddy’s girl Sylvie Winter and her husband, Dan, agree to continually surprise one another in an effort to make the most of their lives. Thirty-two-year-old Sylvie idolizes her dead father Marcus Lowe, a larger-than-life charmer whose charisma hijacked even Dan and Sylvie’s wedding video. Despite their simpatico relationship, Sylvie suspects that Dan envies her father and resents her family’s wealth. The couple agree to give each other treats, and they tend to go comically wrong (a boudoir shoot, a reunion with the wrong person), until a visit to a garden that Dan helped design appears to awaken his interest in Mary, an old girlfriend Sylvie never knew about. Sylvie notices Dan’s sudden spaciness and irritability as well as his surreptitious conversations with others; she also uncovers a secret phone that throws her marriage into question. At the same time, she attempts to deal with trouble at the quirky museum where she works; her boss’s nephew Robert Kendrick is threatening to turn the place into condos if they can’t monetize their business successfully, and soon. Sylvie matures along with her narrative: what at first seems like a light novel book about familiar woes turns into a deeper story about trust, family, and perception.

November 15, 2017
A woman attempts to spice up her marriage...and uncovers some secrets in the process.Sylvie has always thought she and Dan had a blissfully perfect marriage. They've been together for 10 years, have twin girls, and know each other so well that they can complete each other's sentences. Other than the small fact that Dan resents her recently deceased but beloved father, they're happy. But then, on the 10th anniversary of the day they met, a doctor tells them that they're in such good health, they could live to be married for another 68 years. This seemingly good news throws Sylvie and Dan into a panic, and they start to worry that the next 68 years could be filled with nothing but crossword puzzles, TV, and tedium. So Sylvie starts Project Surprise Me--she and Dan will arrange little surprises for each other in hopes of keeping the next 68 years "sparky." But as her neighbor Tilda warns her, "Surprises have a bad habit of going wrong." Although their surprises just seem laughably bad at first (Dan picks out an ugly sweater for Sylvie, and Sylvie orders a breakfast Dan doesn't like), soon things start to go so awry that Sylvie must ask herself some questions. Who is Dan texting all the time? Why is he so irritable? Why, exactly, does he resent her father? And then there's her biggest question: Dan couldn't possibly be having an affair...could he? Sylvie is a warm and lovably quirky heroine, and reading about her escapades is pure fun. Kinsella creates a complete world around Sylvie--her funny neighbors, her cozy job, her adorable twins. There's unexpected depth here, too, not just in the exploration of a long-term marriage, but in Sylvie's reckoning with grief after the death of her father. Overall, this is a fast-moving and entertaining story with well-rounded and endearing characters.A hilariously moving look at marriage and the power of mixing things up.

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November 15, 2017
Kinsella (My (Not So) Perfect Life, 2017) offers up another charming rom com. Sylvie and Dan Winter, a young couple, suddenly realize that they have signed up for almost seven decades of wedded bliss when their physician tells them that people's life expectancy has increased to 100 years. Though they're happily married and doting parents to five-year-old twin girls, this statistic throws both Sylvie and Dan into a spin. They decide the answer to the long haul is to keep their marriage fresh by coming up with surprises for each other. Of course, nothing goes as planned, with Sylvie meddling with Dan's first surprise for her and Dan hating Sylvie's initial offering. But then Sylvie starts to suspect Dan is keeping things from her: he has a secret cell phone, he's gotten back in touch with a former flame, and he's discussing large sums of money with her mother. All of this leads Sylvie to fear that the biggest surprise of all might be that her marriage is actually in trouble. Winsome and zesty, Kinsella's latest delivers all the hallmarks her many fans have come to expect. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Lots of bubbly promotion will alert Kinsella's many fans to her next delightful romantic comedy of errors.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2017

Sylvie and Dan have been married for ten years. They can finish each other's sentences and anticipate their spouse's moves and responses with ease. At their annual checkup, their doctor notes that they are in impeccable health, leading them to conclude that they could be married for another 68 years. Determined to keep things fresh and feisty, Sylvie enacts Project Surprise Me. But what starts off as flirty and fun takes a downward turn as a shocking scandal is revealed, creating a chasm in their marriage. In her signature fashion, Kinsella brings a cast of quirky, funny characters to this new work (after My Not So Perfect Life). From overlapping surprise lunch dates to botched boudoir photos, Kinsella keeps the laughs coming. However, this tale takes on a more serious tone as the truth behind the scandal is revealed. 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. VERDICT Perfect for Kinsella fans and those looking for a work with more depth than the average chick-lit novel. [See Prepub Alert, 8/28/17.]--Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2017

In blockbuster Shopaholic author Kinsella's latest stand-alone, married couple Dan and Sylvie have been happy together for ten years. They're both also really healthy; a doctor predicts that they'll have another 68 years together. How can they keep their marriage exciting? (Check out the title for their plan.) And can they survive a secret from the past?

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 25, 2018
Hardingham turns in a charming performance in this light confection, capturing the winsome humor of Kinsella’s novel. When young Londoners Dan and Sophie are informed by their doctor that they might both live to be 100, they begin to question whether their marriage is built to last that long. Thus is born “Project Surprise Me,” in which each attempts to invigorate the marriage by surprising the other, often to disastrous and comic effect. Hardingham is at her best when handling the over-the-top humor of these situations, which range from an inedible breakfast in bed to sexy lingerie that’s inadvertently revealed to the wrong person. Hardingham magnificently captures the bright demeanor of Sophie, whose people-pleasing tendencies mask long buried sadness and insecurity, as well as the working-class pragmatism of Dan and the cheerful tenacity of their five-year-old twins. The host of quirky neighbors and coworkers are rendered with affectionate individuality. Hardingham’s entertaining performance subtly reveals the novel’s more serious themes even as it revels in the many droll moments. A Dial hardcover.