Book Review: My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella

"My Not So Perfect Life" by Sophie Kinsella
First published in 2017
434 pages
My rating: 4 out of 5 (3.5 + .5 for being the right book at the right time!)

The Short Of It:
Cute, fun, easy read -- and definitely current.

The Long Of It:
It's been years since I read a Sophie Kinsella novel, but her fluffy British book candy saved me from the horrifying precipice of a reading slump! I had started and put down three separate books before diving into "My Not So Perfect Life," which I blew through in two days.

Cat Brenner's not-so-perfect life is the subject of this story. She's a junior employee at a branding company in London. She can't get her boss-from-hell to notice her or call her by the right name, she makes a pittance, her commute is ridiculous, she hasn't really made any friends in London, she shares a tiny flat with two kinda-weird roommates, and she feels guilty for moving so far away from her dad and their farm in the country. She's just a little bit miserable, and she lusts after everyone else's seemingly perfect lives, especially that of horrible boss, Demeter. You'd never know that from her fabulous Instagram feed, though.

Things are about to change for our endearing protagonist in several ways, and her adventures are funny, sweet, relatable, and a bit romantic. Kinsella's book is also a much-needed reminder that no one's life is perfect -- those edited, filtered, lovely photos our friends and enemies post on social media only show one small slice of a life. And, too, while you may be pining after someone else's "perfect life," it's quite likely that someone else is looking jealously at yours.

The whole "grass is greener" thing is something I struggle with a lot as a military spouse, and it always does me good to be reminded that, while I'm envious of my friends who have "real" jobs, tons of friends and get to see their families whenever they want, there are surely friends of mine who have all that and wish they could work part-time and live in Hawaii like me. It's all a matter of perspective.

Back to the book, next time you need a little chick-lit pick-me-up, "My Not So Perfect Life" is a perfect (tee hee) choice! It's utterly predictable and a little silly, but it was also a fun, lighthearted page-turner and sometimes that's just what's needed.