If you have been following me as an author, then you might have discovered that I am a great fan of Sophie Kinsella, the British Chick lit writer, author of the iconic Shopaholic series. No doubt, this amazing writer has inspired me a lot, and those that have read my stories would have observed a Kinsella touch in them. I always love the way Sophie takes an ordinary character and changes it into an everyday hero, after the most funny, loving and, sometimes, messiest situations. I always root for her characters and have me turning pages of her books (Sophie, thank you for helping me increase my reading speed!).

In celebrating the release of her new novel I owe you one, slated for publication on February 7th, I would like to honour this wonderful writer with a list of my Top 10 favourite books by Sophie Kinsella. Without a doubt, I really do love all of her stories, but these ones have great inspiration on me and got me addicted to their author.

In the list I am not including the works previously published under her actual name, Madeleine Wickham, although they are also very good.

What is your thought on the list? Do you agree with my choices? Which other books of her would you have included? Let me know in the comments below and happy Kinsella release day!

The Secret Dreamworld Of A Shopaholic (Shopaholic Book 1)

The OG Kinsella book that began my attraction to this author. I was never a fan of romance or Chick lit novels at the time, but I was captivated by the title of the book when I saw it (no doubt, the description fascinated me: I myself I’m a quite shopaholic) and began reading it with dread. Later, I found myself rooting for Rebecca Bloomwood, the lovely, exciting, messy, and amusing protagonist in her struggle to overcome her addiction to spending money (perhaps this assisted me in making a connection with her because I was also in a serious mess at that time). I won’t ruin it further, however, if your desire is to spend a great time laughing, crying, and cheering for your characters, never miss this one that began the legend of Sophie Kinsella. BTW: though the movie is great, nevertheless, I will recommend that you begin with the book.

Can You Keep a Secret?

A classical piece by Kinsella; this standalone novel was published in-between two shopaholic books, after the third one, and I read it reluctantly (perhaps I needed more Becky, Yo!), but I was wrong because it’s just so comical! Unsurprisingly, this story will become a movie. It begins with a completely over the top situation, as I relish it: a scared to fly girl spills her profound (and most embarrassing) secrets to the good-looking executive sitting close to her. In essence, as you could have imagined, the stranger who hears all her dramatic play is her very successful boss. This is the best start for a story with a lot of comical situations, love, and misinterpretation, and is acted by Emma, indeed one of the favourite Kinsella heroines. In reality, (stalker alert) I made use of this name as the best friend of the protagonist of my short story “The Last Dateable Man in New York” included in my gay short stories collection Andropology. Can you imagine starting any type of relationship with someone, revealing your “worst hits” or “wall of shame” of stories? You should really read this book and discover if this kind of situation can be subdued.

Wedding Night

It is quite surprising to me that this novel is not better well-received by the public (as at the time of writing this article, it is rated 3.41 on Goodreads. Are you kidding me?) In the real sense, is there anything better than a character by Sophie Kinsella? Yeah, Two of them! Really, perhaps it’s the fact that the sisters in this story have almost the same tone that made the readers not show more love to this piece.  However, who really cares? For me, it depicts double fun. I really relish the relationship between hopeless romantic Lottie (who always gets involved in insane stuff while moving on after a break-up) and his older sister Fliss, the resentful divorced who attempts to prevent her younger sis from making a great mistake—Go, Fliss! In such situations, insane misunderstanding and a lot of drama make it one of the most OUTSTANDING books by this author.

Shopaholic Abroad (Shopaholic Book 2)

This is indeed a very respectable sequel to the first book in the Shopaholic series. Every book in this series has a huge vacuum to fill. However, this story takes the situations in the first book to a new level, in the most astonishing and exciting city in the world, New York! You will get to read more shopaholism, more Becky, and more comical situations: the stakes are higher. From this novel onward, my love for Becky and her creator became unshakeable.

I’ve Got Your Number

One of the features that I treasure most about Sophie’s stories is her way of putting her characters in proper contact (the “meet cute” instant of every romance). Just picture this: finding the mobile phone of an adorable executive in a bin and then become his personal assistant only to end up falling in love. Not happening, right? Or for sure, not in 2019… These days, the only way of meeting someone with a phone is through a dating app (which is never a bad option; I used it in a few of my stories as a starting point). No doubt, it is interesting dreaming of the world where the type of insouciant encounters can translate into a love story, with many intermediate funny situations naturally. Lastly, Oh, I really really love the heroine’s name: Poppy!

Remember Me

Occasionally, life can get so tough that you would wish to fall asleep and wake up to have a better and more successful version of yourself. Wouldn’t it be fantastic? Within the twinkle of an eye, the problems are no more. Really, how can I sign up? Lexi Smart (what a nice surname) experiences such: she wakes up three years after an accident, only for her to discover that she is no longer the simple girl struggling for her survival in life. Instead, she discovers that she has been able to build herself during these years that are now behind her, maybe her life or dreams or perhaps one of her nightmares? No doubt, the discovery journey of the character is awesome, however, what impressed me the most is the love story, which is quite more complex than what Kinsella is known for. It’s very well written, and highly recommended for lovers of detailed works.

Shopaholic & Baby (Shopaholic Book 5)

It was mentioned earlier that every book in the series has a tough task to contend with because it is very difficult to top the first shopaholic book. In reality, Shopaholic & Baby is quite as good as the first book. It begins with Becky being excited about her pregnancy (cliff-hanger disclosed in the previous book of this series) which didn’t fascinate me much (for conspicuous reasons, pregnancy problem is a topic I don’t individually relate to too much). Later, the sexy Luke’s ex-girlfriend takes the centre stage (I really love this antagonist) and the story becomes more complex, addressing topics like the issues of trust in a relationship, and how to subdue the past. The stakes in the story are quite high and, from the other half of the novel, I couldn’t help it but I was addicted to turning the pages!

Twenties Girl

Every Kinsella heroine has something in common: their careers are always very crucial and they are required to find out a situation in their job and, while in the process, fall in love. In this story, on top of trying to save her career, Lara has another assignment: to assist the ghost of her aunt, Sadie, in uncovering a mystery from the past. The story is embedded in everything ranging from romance to adventure, friendship, mystery and one of the most perfect endings in this list, where every end is tied together flawlessly.

My Not So Perfect Life

This is one of the best-rated books by Sophie Kinsella in her later years. How I wish I could have read this book ten years ago when I was still in my mid-20s, while in London, working as an intern, I was attracted to showing off an exciting life, which as Cat, the protagonist, I didn’t have. I could still remember how rigorous it was going through life at that stage. You would look up to the people who were more popular, more prosperous, and better at everything than you. Now, if I could hold Cat in my arms, my advice for her will be: just love yourself and everybody will take after it. Every other thing is not important, or perhaps, what do I really know? In any case, you will find this story lovely, exciting, captivating, and heart-touching.

The Undomestic Goddess

This is another Kinsella classic. It is peculiar due to the fact that the protagonist, from my point of view, is the most different version of Kinsella: Samantha, the high-flying lawyer who, after messing it up with a major client, experiences a personal meltdown and goes into hiding in a small town. I can easily relate to this story because I have experienced working for large corporations. However, you will never discover how nerve-wracking and challenging it is until you are able to break away from it. In this adventure, Samantha is surrounded by a simple and small-town hunk that helps her in recovering her faith in men again. In essence, this is one of the most interesting arch characters that I have read from this author. Despite the fact that I love life in the city, I felt like relocating to town to write and fall in love with a gardener after reading this novel. The book satisfies everything a reader could need, a great rounded-off story with amazing ideals, which really makes you want to be the character.

And that caps off my top 10 favourite books by Sophie Kinsella, an all-around great writer of engaging and humorous stories. I’m really excited to see if  I owe you one can get up there and make it onto this list. I’m sure it really has the potential to with a writer who always seems to out-do her great works.

Find out more about Shopie Kinsella on her official website: https://www.sophiekinsella.co.uk