With a colorful cast of eccentric characters, razor-sharp observations, and her signature wit and charm, Sophie Kinsella presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered. Mr Winter, a powerful man of 32…’ Dr Bamford begins on Dan’s medical form and I stifle a snort. Powerful. Dan will love that. But what are we going to do with it, Sylvie? How are we going to fill the endless, soulless years of mindless drone work? Where’s the joy in our lives?” He looks around the kitchen with a questing gaze, as though it might be in a jar labeled joy, next to turmeric.

I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. And I certainly won’t be giving up on Sophie Kinsella as a generally reliable palate cleanser. Anyway. Rewind to the point: our eyes met over the barbecue and that was the beginning. One of those kismet moments that influence your life forever. A moment to cherish. A moment to mark, a decade later, with lunch at The Bar. In the beginning it did start off a bit slow. It took a while for the story and the surprises to actually start, but once they did, they really took off. Many of the surprises were so hilarious, I found myself laughing out loud to myself. The scenarios were classic Sophie Kinsella.

After 10 years of marriage, Sylvie and Dan learn that they could potentially be married for another 68 years. Worried that they will grow bored with one another, Sylvie comes up with the not so brilliant idea that they need to add some surprises to their marriage and launches “Project Surprise Me.” Things don’t go as planned, and the surprises that Sylvie and Dan plan for one another go painfully wrong, causing Sylvie to question whether or not she really knows Dan. To sum it all up it was an engaging, fun, moving, fast-paced, and an enjoyable read that surprised me, made me laugh and had an ending that made me smile! Would recommend!

I had enough when Sylvie gets obsessed with creating "boudoir photos" of herself to give Dan. She's doing the same thing she did with the kitchen spruce up and the breakfast surprise where she has created a fantasy response in her head and isn't actually thinking about her husband at all. And I'm just tired of it. This is the third "surprise" where she's followed the exact same pattern and I'm bored and a little disgusted. All in all, a light, enjoyable, predictable book and a nice break from more serious heavy reads. I liked it but not as much as the only other book I've read by this author, My Not So Perfect Life. Well, just think what good news this is.’ Dr Bamford twinkles in delight. ‘You should have another sixty-eight more wonderful years of marriage!’

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AS Dr Seuss once said “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” The funny thing is, I’d never have thought ‘ability to flip burgers’ would have been on the list of attributes I was looking for in a man. But there you go. Surprise Me is, ultimately, a story about marriage, secrets, commitment, family, introspection, and enduring love. It's classic Kinsella with well-crafted characters, humour, heart, a surprising twist and a delightful ending that will definitely make you smile. This was a different story and somewhere around 3/4 of the way through, I realized I didn't know the direction that it would go. I hate to get cheesy with the title but there really were so many surprises! Some of the events that occurred near to the end, I really didn't predict or see coming yet I thought that it added to the story. They start off by surprising each other with exotic lingerie and sex in unlikely locales, but ultimately they surprise each other discovering that there is infinitely more to learn about each other—and themselves.

In his defence (he says now) he was getting over another relationship, and wasn’t really ‘out there’.

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Party Crasher and Love Your Life comes a witty and emotionally charged novel that delves into the heart of a marriage, and how those we love and think we know best can sometimes surprise us the most