Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

4 Stars

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Press

Date of publication: February 13th, 2018

Genre: General Fiction, Romance

Where you can find Surprise Me: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

After being together for ten years, Sylvie and Dan have all the trimmings of a happy life and marriage; they have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls, and communicate so seamlessly, they finish each other’s sentences. However, a trip to the doctor projects they will live another 68 years together and panic sets in. They never expected “until death do us part” to mean seven decades.

In the name of marriage survival, they quickly concoct a plan to keep their relationship fresh and exciting: they will create little surprises for each other so that their (extended) years together will never become boring. But in their pursuit to execute Project Surprise Me, mishaps arise and secrets are uncovered that start to threaten the very foundation of their unshakable bond. When a scandal from the past is revealed that question some important untold truths, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other after all.

Trigger Warning: None

My review:

Reading Surprise Me I thought that it was a book about a couple rediscovering themselves after drifting apart in their marriage. While it was that, I was not expecting it to be deeper. The blurb did hint at it but that hint barely scratches the surface of this book. Barely scratches it. Put it this way, I was surprised at what came out in this book.

Surprise Me starts off with Sylvie and Dan coming out of a Dr’s appointment stunned. They had been told that they had 68 more years together. Shortly after that, Sylvie notices that Dan is very stressed out. That he is hiding things. He starts to come home late and is acting sneaky. After witnessing a moment between Dan and his ex-girlfriend at a dinner party and finding a secret cell phone, Sylvie comes to one conclusion. Dan is cheating on her. While Sylvie is dealing with her personal issues, she is also dealing with issues at work. Her boss’s nephew has come and is making changes to the museum she works at. Sylvie’s personal and work issues catch up with her. But, everything is not what they seem. The truth behind why Dan is acting the way he is and the nephew’s changes will come out. Will Sylvie be able to handle the truth once it comes out? Or will she lose everything?

I liked Sylvie and thought she was hilarious. Her reaction to living with Dan for another 68 years would have been the same reaction I had. I was dying laughing when I read those scenes. I also felt bad for Sylvie. She had a breakdown when her father died. She hero-worshipped her father. The growth of her character during this book was amazing. She came into her own in all areas of her life. She went from this sheltered spoiled princess to a confident woman who could handle everything that was thrown at her. I loved it!! What I also liked is that she was willing to do anything to keep the spark in her marriage. Her “Surprise Me” take on that was very good. Except Dan kept one-upping her….lol.

I was with Sylvie with Dan cheating on her until she got to the lawyer’s office. Then I had the same reaction that she did when confronted with the truth. I wanted to hug her. I also wanted to smack her mother upside the head. I thought she was a selfish person.

I mentioned above that I liked Sylvie’s transformation. It was not only physical (cutting her hair) but mental too. When she discovered the truth about things, it was like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. I loved reading that.

The end of Surprise Me was wonderful. I loved seeing Sylvie’s complete transformation. Her acceptance of everything was wonderful (she did have help).

Surprise Me is written in 1st person and is told only from Sylvie’s perspective. While I liked it, I do wish that the book flashed to Dan so we could get a hint at what was going on. Other than that, I loved the book. I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 16. While there is a couple of sex scenes, they aren’t graphic. There is language, but it is mild. I would reread this book too.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group, The Dial Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Surprise Me.

All opinions stated in this review of Surprise Me are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**