Review: My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella's latest novel offers a fun--and frivolous--take on the difficulties that many women in their early twenties face when trying to start out in the corporate world. Katie Brenner feels a bit insecure about the way her life has worked out. Sure, she's living in London and has a job at a prestigious marketing firm, but the commute to work is hell every day and she makes very little money for the hard work that she puts in. Worse still, her boss, Demeter, is a total nightmare. Demeter is cool, selfish and rarely recognises anyone else's efforts. Katie is eventually sacked (through no fault of her own,) and finds herself returning to her family home in the UK, where her father and stepmother have turned the old family farm into a successful camping business. And when Demeter arrives at the farm as a guest and does not even recognise her former employee, Katie seizes the opportunity to get revenge. But not everything is as it seems ...

This one was a fun read, though it did not stack up to the high standard set by some of Kinsella's previous works (The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic, Finding Audrey.) The romance with Alex felt a little tacked on in a number of ways. The best part of the novel in my opinion was the authors portrayal of Demeter--slowly, we readers get to learn that yes she is someone with a heart, and a lot of depth, someone who makes mistakes and who perhaps does not speak up when she should. And Demeter certainly faces her own challenges in the workplace. Katie's revenge and eventual growth as a character was fun to read.

A fun read for fans of Sophie Kinsella.

PS Big shout out to my friend Kylie for gifting me with a copy of My Not So Perfect Life!

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