Welcome to Romancing the Stacks. This is a series of reviews featuring one of my favorite genres: Romance Novels! Nothing is better than curling up with a good romance. This review will explore I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella.

I have been reading Sophie Kinsella since her book Confessions of a Shopaholic. I did lose interest in that series as the main character can only regress to her shopaholic nature for so long before it gets redundant. It seemed like she kept repeating the same mistakes. I might have issues with the Shopaholic series, but Kinsella’s stand alone books are amazing.
They make for a great romantic read. When I saw she had released this one and read the summary I put it on hold immediately only to realize I was in for a long wait. Turns out I am not the only one who loves Sophie Kinsella. However, I did find the audiobook was currently available and I took a chance. I am very particular about audiobooks. I can’t just listen to any old audiobook, I need a good narrator. I love narrators who go through the effort of creating voices for each character. My favorite audiobooks are those that have a cast, but unfortunately those are few and far between.

Summary:

Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” But since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It’s simply not in her nature to say no to people.

So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. Turns out the computer’s owner is an investment manager. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, Sebastian scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. But Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she?

Then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. She wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. And Seb agrees, until the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?

Book Review:

I adore this book as well as the narrator, Fiona Hardingham. She is such a dynamic reader. I can honestly saw that I enjoyed this book more than if I just read it. If you can get a hold of the audiobook I recommend it. Each character not only has their own voice, but their own way of talking. Fixie tends to talk very fast sometimes, her sister Nicole, talks very slow, and their brother Jacob talks with a snotty air. Hardingham makes this book come alive. I normally just listen to audiobooks in the car but I was so interested in what was happening I listened to it anywhere I could. It turns out Hardingham narrates a lot of Kinsella’s books. I will be checking a few of those out in the future. I enjoy Fixie’s character. I will say that her infatuation with Ryan went on for a bit long, but once she got over it that made the book better. I liked Seb, he was a interesting romantic lead. I liked the baggage he had and how it was handled. He wasn’t the perfect guy, he seemed like an actual real person. My least favorite thing about the book was Seb had a girlfriend, Binky. I hate this trope of a great guy is dating this awful girl. If he is such a great guy, he would not tolerate such a girl. An explanation is attempted at saying he was with her for so long he became kind of blind to her obvious flaws. I guess it was to give him a connection with Fixie in they both have terrible taste in people, but I think this book would have been better if that trope wasn’t added. I also enjoy how the romance wasn’t the main focus. This book is definitely a romantic comedy, but it also focused on Fixie and her family. Fixie learned to stand up to her family as well as create closer connections with each member.

Warning: This narrator does have a wonderful accent. This might be just me but when I listen to audiobooks where the narrator has an accent, I tend to pick up the accent for about a week after I finish it. It might just be my quirk, but several times my mom has stopped me to wonder why am I talking with a British accent.

Check Out More Sophie Kinsella Books:

• I’ve Got Your Number
• Twenties Girl
• My Not-So-Perfect Life
• Wedding Night
• Surprise Me

Rating:

Out of