Reviewed by Jillian
Armed with a stunning Instagram feed, wonderful flatmates and a brilliant workplace, Katie Brenner is truly leading the perfect London lifestyle. Or, well, maybe not all of those things are true. Scratch that, her life is practically the opposite. As she tries to work her way through her shoddy love life, put up with her increasingly difficult flatmates, struggle through her horrific commute and put up with the absolute terror that is her boss, Katie begins to see through the rosy tinge she glazed over her not so perfect life. Her Instagram feed is chalk full of pictures that may not necessarily represent everything accurately, but her dream is that one day, that feed truly will portray her life honestly, because it will be filled with glamour and perfection. A girl can dream, right?
That dream all comes crashing down when her boss, Demeter, shows her the door and Katie is left with no job, no money and practically no options. She ends up moving back home to Somerset, where she helps launch her Dad's glamping business. Yet, when Katie discovers that Demeter and her family are coming to stay for a holiday, she has to decide whether she should get her revenge on her boss, or try to get her job back. One thing's for sure, it's going to be a crazy week.
Honest, poignant and jam-packed full of humour, My Not So Perfect Life is an absolute must-read. Sophie Kinsella creates one of the most accurate, flawed and empowered female characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. Katie is strong, independent and laughably aware of her many flaws, but as we all should she proudly owns and embraces every last one of them. Finally, we have an author who demonstrates the beauty of life through the not so perfect moments, and how you don't need to be perfect to be happy. I implore you to go and invest some of your time into reading this novel, as it will surely make you laugh, smile and shine a spotlight on being grateful for the little things in your life.
Personally, I suggest looking into all of Sophie Kinsella's novels, as there is certainly something for everyone. Other authors with similar writing styles and stories include Marian Keyes, Kevin Kwan and Lauren Graham.