Editorial Note – I was given a copy of Sophie Kinsella’s I Owe You One in return for a review.
I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella is a charming novel about a woman finding her inner confidence. An easy read for a lazy Saturday or when you’re on vacation!
Sophia Kinsella is one of the best in women’s fiction. She’s a bestselling author perhaps most known for her Shopaholic novels. I’ve read a majority of her books and they’re always enjoyable—very similar to old-school romantic comedy movies. She has a formula and she tends to stay within those lines and it’s no different with I Owe You One.
The story follows a woman named Fixie who earned her name by always “fixing” problems. After her father passes away, he leaves a home goods store to the family and it’s mainly Fixie and her mother keeping it afloat. Her other two siblings, Nicole and Jake, don’t have much interest in helping out. So, Fixie has grown accustom to not saying no and when a stranger asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, she not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, an investment manager, scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card.
But then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life, and he’ without a job. As always, she wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. No sooner has Seb agreed than 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?
Love story
No rom-com is complete without the romance! And the reader can tell pretty early on that Fixie’s childhood crush is a dud and that Seb is a much more quality guy. But of course, he has a girlfriend and Fixie is still in lust with Ryan, despite his obvious horrible qualities. It’s one of those stories where the reader wants to yell at the protagonist that she’s done the wrong thing but of course, she has to figure it out on her own.
I did very much enjoy the dynamic between her and Seb.
Fixie is likable but her family…
As much as I liked Seb, I did not like her siblings at all. Very selfish and rude, especially her brother Jake. It was almost too much honestly. With these kinds of reads, people get redeemed or there’s misunderstanding and I just didn’t buy that with Jake. He’s a jerk. Point blank. And worse of all, Fixie is unable for most of the novel to stand up to him. You really just want Fixie to tell him and her sister off. So that’s kind of an odd feeling for this kind of read. Usually you don’t end up disliking a character that much. While I appreciate that the author tried to showcase a different kind of sibling dynamic, Jake was too much for me.
Fixie does grow quite a bit from the beginning of the book to the end and she does gain more confidence. I think perhaps she’s a little too forgiving though.
Overall, this is a cute story that is easy to read with plenty of humor and romance. If you’ve read any of her work in the past, you know what you’ll get with this and that’s not a bad thing at all. Sometimes you need a palate cleanser between intense thrillers and literary fiction and this will do the trick!
