Publisher: Random House Publishing Group (February 14, 2012)
Hardcover: 433 pages
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry the ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her ‘happy ever after’ begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring but in the panic that followed, she has now lost her phone. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!
Well, perfect except the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life.
What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents… she soon realises that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.
Review:
Sophie Kinsella’s books can be a hit or a miss for me and this one was definitely a hit! It was such a fun read with very lovable characters and the tone and humour was pitch perfect for me with just enough bickering, sarcasm, and hilarious (and somewhat improbable) hi-jinks.
The premise of the story is interesting and possible even more relatable in the now electronic/technology savvy society with Poppy losing her cell phone and ending up with Sam’s PA’s phone. Both desperately need it, so the only compromise is to share it right!?
I’ve never shared an in-box with anyone in my life. I didn’t expect it to feel so…intimate. It’s as if we’re suddenly sharing an underwear drawer or something.
It’s funny to think but who knew sharing a cell phone with someone could build such a connection and you could learn so much about them. And basically that’s what happens with Poppy and Sam. Kinsella keeps it entertaining with great (phone)text dialogue between Poppy and Sam, and with fun footnotes throughout the book (which was a joke/play on Magnus and his overachieving article publishing family and their love for footnotes).1
As mentioned, the real seller of the book is the humour, specifically revolving around Poppy and Sam (as it should be since they are the main characters right?) They have such an odd but wonderful relationship that makes me really want to get behind them. Their conversations and interaction ranges from serious, to funny or outright silly and I love every moment of it. Poppy is a tad ridiculous but such a sweetheart that it keeps me from finding her excessively annoying and downright foolish. Sam at first fits perfectly into the mold of a typical “male lead” almost bordering on boring, but than he began to win me over with the Scrabble game where he helps Poppy cheat to that very last chapter that just won me straight over. [Seriously, I love the last chapter so much, and could spend paragraphs on the many reasons why I love it but I don’t want spoil anything for anyone haha]
Overall the book was hilarious and a page-turner. I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants a little cute romance in their life. It’s a text-me now 4 out of 5 stars.
1Though the first time I read this, it was eBook format and and the footnotes were a tad on the annoying side since they were not at the bottom of the page but at the end of the chapter (paper version footnotes was definitely an easier read), otherwise it was still quite entertaining.
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Purchase the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indigo (I’m Canadian haha)