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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella


I've Got Your Number
"We're playing Scrabble. It's a nightmare."

"Scrabble?" He sounds surprised. "Scrabble's great."

"Not when you're playing with a family of geniuses, it's not. They all put words like 'iridiums'. And I put 'pig'."

Poppy Wyatt seems to have everything going in her favor - she is about to marry the ideal man - successful Magnus Tavish whose parents are even more successful university professors. But on the very day Magnus' parents are visiting, Poppy loses her engagement ring, which is also a family heirloom. On top of it, she also lost her phone and while she anxiously tries to ponder missing the one message saying her ring has been found, she finds another phone in the bin. Happy to find a functional discarded phone, she quickly tells everyone to text/call her at this number, only to get a call from someone named Sam Roxton asking for the phone back since it belongs to his company.

Sophie Kinsella has done it again. She made me laugh from the first page without making me roll my eyes or feel ridiculous or cry 'cheesy'. I stopped reading light women fiction years ago, but Kinsella is the only author that I still happily read, knowing she won't disappoint me.

I've Got My Number rolls along standard Kinsella lines - the plot is pretty much predictable, the protagonist has low self-esteem, there is a hot guy who we know she will end up with but she is totally clueless about the guy, the guy is some high flying corporate guy with plenty of influence and moolah, things go wrong and then wronger and then even wronger than possible from the first page, there are plenty of laughs and deja-vu moments, and most significantly, the central character knows how to stand on her feet when it matters.

That pretty much sums up any Sophie Kinsella book, and while I typically hate formulaic plots and predictability, there is just something about these books that make me enjoy them more than feel pulled away. As JoV says in her review, "Kinsella is a keen observer of contemporary popular culture." I thought this was very true, because I find her novels set well in environments that I can relate to, and not something that feels more of a historic before-my-days past.

I enjoyed the addition of technology in this book - it was fun reading all the texting that went on and on between Poppy and Sam. Poppy's overuse of X's and O's made me snort - I have a few friends who speak mostly in X's and O's and that annoys me, ha! True, some of the events that happen were a little too convenient, but I knew what I was getting into, so that was fine with me. I didn't really like where Magnus' character ended up - I thought that could have been done better, and the introduction of a corporate scandal towards the end kind of sprung up on me, but otherwise, I've Got Your Number was a truly delightful read.

I received this ebook for free for review from the publisher via NetGalley.


Comments

Colleen said…
great review - I loved this one too! 
Niranjana Iyer said…
I read this one a few days ago, and all I could think was that Poppy would irritate me madly, checking her phone all the time!
Helen Murdoch said…
Okay, I have got to read a Sophie Kinsella book. I hear such fun things about them
bermudaonion (Kathy) said…
Kinsella's books are somewhat predictable but it doesn't matter, because they're so much fun!  I need to get hold of this one!
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…
I love SK! So glad to hear this is another hit.
zibilee said…
Oh my gosh, that quote made me snort with glee! I haven't read a Kinsella book in ages, and really need to read this one. It seems like it would be a hit with me! I loved your enthusiastic review, and the fact that you loved the book so much! Off to see if I can find this one on audio!
Aarti said…
Oh, this sounds fun!  I admit I am not a Kinsella fan.  I don't really like the idea of a fairly ditzy but well-meaning girl always being "saved" by some billionaire, even as she continues on the same path of making mistake after mistake.  But I DEFINITELY love an author who can make me laugh, and it seems like Kinsella does that for you :-)
JoV said…
Thanks for the mention Aths. I don't read chick lit either, but Kinsella made me laugh, every time, without fail. and life is too short not to laugh from reading books! Great review Aths.
Great review.  I agree, its a bit "convenient" but like you, I as ok with where the story was going.  It was still fun.
Judith said…
I enjoyed reading this book (somehow) but I found it also pretty annoying. Why did Poppy have to be so numb-brained and do all these silly things? Would anyone really be allowed to keep a business phone? 

But when you turn your brain to "barely awake" it makes a fun read. :-)
Jenny said…
I agree with you that Kinsella is the one person who can get away with the formulaic plots. Her books are so hysterical!
Anna said…
I liked the Shopaholic series for awhile, but it's gotten a bit stale.  I do enjoy Kinsella's standalone books, so I'm going to have to read this one at some point.  Glad to see you enjoyed it.
Emily said…
I don't read a ton of "light" fiction, either, but every once in a while I just need some brain candy! This sounds perfect for that.
Young_1 said…
I got this in Hardback for r/v and finished it the other day! The XO's were snort worthy most definitely! But as you said an enjoyable read and even though predictable worth the time! Love Kinsella's books and always have so gotta keep up the tradition!!!
Great review Aths x
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you enjoy them! I've enjoyed the ones I've read.
Athira / Aths said…
Oh yeah - I cannot stand people who do that. A few times, alright. But throughout a lunch/dinner? Hmm!
Athira / Aths said…
I agree they are predictable but that they are still enjoyable! I hope you enjoy this one too.
Athira / Aths said…
I really hope you enjoy this! I had fun!
Athira / Aths said…
I don't like such books either, and some parts of Kinsella books do smack of that, but I feel that in the end, the heroine just stands on her own feet - though that's pretty much up to interpretation. But yeah, she makes me laugh. :)
Athira / Aths said…
You're welcome JoV! Although I'm not a fan of predictable books, I like any book that can make me laugh without feeling silly!
Athira / Aths said…
I found myself wondering all those things too. I know for sure that no high flying corporation would allow non-employees to keep a business phone or have so many liberties as Poppy did. Those definitely bugged me, but other than that, it was fun.
Athira / Aths said…
I think I stopped the Shopaholic series midway. They did get even more predictable than I could stand. I enjoy Kinsella's standalone books better.
Athira / Aths said…
It certainly is. I hope you enjoy it!
Athira / Aths said…
I can't wait for her next standalone book! I still have Can You Keep a Secret to Read, but other than that, only three of the shopaholic books.
I enjoyed this one, too. I suspect that Kinsella deliberately uses ditzy, bumbly characters as a way to parody the world around us.
Athira / Aths said…
I guess you're right. I haven't thought of it that. way.Some of the characters definitely felt like a joke.