So here I sit this evening, enjoying one of my very favorite beers – Tilted Earth by Arbor Brewing Company. The beauty of Tilted Earth is that they make one for every season! I have worked my way through Winter, Spring, and Summer. I’m sure Fall is out – just haven’t made it there to taste it yet.
Along with drinking one of my very favorite beers, I just finished the soon to be released book of one of my very favorite authors – Sophie Kinsella’s Love Your Life!
Here’s a quick summary:
Meet Ava, a free spirit who may be a bit flighty, has a lot of ideas and plans – but never follows through on any of them. Currently she is writing a book, started certification to become an aromatherapist, and recently bought all the materials to make batik art (which are now shoved under her bed). She’s a vegetarian. She buys used books because no one else will. She has an untrained dog named Harold. And, Ava believes that love is magic and chemistry, that when you meet the right person, you just know they’re the one.
When we meet Ava, she is just leaving for Italy where she will spend a week immersing herself in a workshop writing her romance novel. It’s a week of relaxation, no distractions, writing exercises, wonderful food, and, of course, it’s Italy! But, even better, no one is allowed to give their real name or tell anything about themselves. It’s not about who you are, it’s about writing.
Well, it turns out there is more than one kind of workshop happening at this retreat. The Tai Chi workshop instructor had to cancel and some of the Tai Chi members joined the writing group. Enter Dutch (not his real name). Remember magic and chemistry? Ava thinks she has found the love of her life, especially after spending a romantic week with Dutch. A week where the baggage of their lives had no place.
But now it’s time to return home. Can their love survive getting to know each other, their lives, and their friends?
That’s the story in a nutshell.
I loved the character Ava. She was funny, loved people with all her heart, had empathy for the most bizarre things (used books) and she seemed like she would be a great friend. I liked the story, probably not my favorite Sophie Kinsella book (Surprise Me is), but it is true Sophie Kinsella. I felt the beginning and the end of the book were the strongest…the middle kind of bogged down with Ava and Matt (Dutch) trying to work out their compatibility. But, I loved their individual growth in the end.
If you like Sophie Kinsella, you will like this one. Give it a try. And if you like craft beer, try the Tilted Earth.
-Kelley