Book Review : I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

Title : I’ve Got Your Number

Author : Sophie Kinsella

Release Date : 16th February 2012 (UK)

Publisher : Bantam Press (Transworld)

Source : Purchased

Rating : 5/5

I’ve lost it. :( The only thing in the world I wasn’t supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It’s been in Magnus’s family for three generations. And now the very same day his parents are coming, I’ve lost it. The very same day! Do not hyperventilate, Poppy. Stay positive :) !!

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life. What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents… she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

When I found out that Sophie Kinsella will be releasing a standalone after Mini Shopaholic, I was over the moon. I jumped and fist pumped in front of my computer! After reading the last instalment of the Shopaholic series, I became hungrier for Sophie’s books. Seriously, whatever the woman writes is magic! You will just love it! I am a massive fan of Sophie’s books, I have every one of them! From The Secret Dreamworld of A Shopaholic to I’ve Got Your Number. What’s not to love about her books? They are delectably fabulous! Seeing that I only have Remember Me? as the only hardback by the queen, I decided that I’ll get IGYN in hardback. Too bad my country doesn’t sell hardbacks, terribly silly of them not to, I had my sister to order it on Book Depository for me as I was on national service. On March 17th, my parents picked me up from camp and surprised me with a book parcel waiting for me on the passenger seat! I was thrilled! Although I was devastated to leave camp and all my wonderful memories, I had something to cheer me up on the way home! As soon as I started, I was hooked!

First of all, I loved it. It’s that vibe or gist when you read a Kinsella novel that makes you want to love it and turn page after page. It’s completely addictive and sucks you in immediately! I was wrapped up in Poppy’s ring dilemma and couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. The way Sophie’s words flow is as if it has its naturally flow, carrying you with it as the story progresses. Like every Kinsella novel, the story is written from Poppy’s point of view, which I was very pleased about. I warmed up to Poppy almost immediately as she felt very real, how she had reacted after losing the ring, just like how most people would. She’s very clever, Poppy as she has loads of ways to wriggle herself out of trouble and the footnotes in the novel, which I find very amusing and funny, are like Poppy’s personal thoughts and opinions on things. Besides Poppy, the cast of characters were really interesting to read about, Poppy’s best friends, Ruby and Annalise, both really supportive mates but I didn’t really appreciate Annalise being a total cow about how Poppy “stole” Magnus from her. Blah. Magnus, Poppy’s fiance sounded really charming, the perfect husband to-be. Well, almost too perfect. I got really fed up with him towards the end, read it to find out why. What I would like to focus on is Sam Roxton, yes the hero of the book. Some may say he’s better than Luke Brandon, maybe in some ways but to me, Luke is the ultimate chick lit hero. However you want to compare, Luke is the best. Well, in my opinion, that is. Sam was really a cool, businessman-type of guy, serious in what he does and all that, similar to Luke, but to me, what Sam lacked was the charm, the dominance Luke has. But I stopped comparing, and carried on reading.

The flow of the story was really smooth, every page had a story of Poppy’s life to tell. I constantly flipped its pages and soon, I was already on the page! I devoured Kinsella’s latest treat to all her readers in 3 days (Sorry! I’m not a speed-reader, I’m slow). I tried reading it slowly because I like to savour every bit of the book, as much as I could. It was soooo good. I didn’t want it to end. At first I thought the story was about the missing emerald ring, but no, it isn’t. It has its sub-plots, which were somehow linked to the main plot, I wonder how Kinsella does it; crafting little bits of the story together to form a beautifully written novel. I enjoyed it really much. I’ve Got Your Number has to be Sophie Kinsella’s best standalone to date, although I enjoyed Twenties Girl very much, but I’ve Got Your Number wins, hands down. Hands down, I’ve Got Your Number wins by a landslide. I loved everything about the story; the characters, the settings and of course, Poppy! I dare say, I’ve Got Your Number has to be the best book for me in 2012! Let’s see if there are any fab books out there that can compete!