Review: I've Got Your Number

I've Got Your Number

By Sophie Kinsella

February 14, 2012

My review:

Poppy Wyatt thinks things can't get any worse after she misplaces her engagement ring on the very day she'll be seeing her in-laws (the ring is an antique passed down in their family). Then her cell phone is stolen and she won't have any way for someone to contact her if the ring is found. When Poppy finds a cell phone someone has discarded and it works, she decides to keep it for herself. Unfortunately the phone's owner Sam Roxton is not happy with this arrangement as it is a business phone his former personal assistant threw away. Poppy persuades Sam to allow her to "borrow" the phone as long as she forwards him all of his messages. Of course Poppy can't resist reading the messages and before long she is offering him unsolicited advice and causing all kinds of complications as a grudging friendship develops between them. Meanwhile, her wedding draws ever closer, the ring hasn't been found, and Magnus's family might not approve of the marriage. 

When you read a Sophie Kinsella novel, you go into it knowing that the story will be hilarious and a little over the top and totally unbelievable. That is part of the fun! Her heroines usually get into embarrassing scrapes and ridiculously humorous situations and while the plot at times stretches plausibility, it makes for enjoyable reading. With I've Got Your Number, I found myself laughing out loud or smiling much of the time. 

There were a couple of things that I didn't like that detracted slightly from my enjoyment of the book. Poppy is supposed to be a physiotherapist but she doesn't spend much time at work. She sometimes comes across as a little flaky (typical for Kinsella's heroines) but you'd think Poppy would be written as a more intelligent character. Perhaps the reason she appears this way is in part due to the inferiority she feels next to her fiance Magnus or his family. The other thing that bothered me were the footnotes which got to be annoying after awhile. Some readers could probably just ignore them but I found I couldn't. Still, these are just minor things and some of the footnotes are quite funny.

I liked Poppy as a character. She is caring and creative and even though she has that inferiority complex, I think that makes her easier to relate to. Sam annoyed me a little bit at times because he could be cold and aloof with his employees but I think Poppy was a good influence on him. Sam makes quite a positive contrast compared to Magnus. I enjoyed the development of their relationship and the funny texts back and forth between them.

Overall, I thought this was a great book for a cold winter day. The short chapters and humor made it a quick read. After her Becky Bloomwood books, this is my favorite and I certainly liked it more than Mini Shopaholic. I'd suggest this to fans of Kinsella's other books and readers of chick lit in general. Pick it up when you are in the mood for something light that will make you laugh out loud.

Readalikes: Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham (Sophie Kinsella's real name), The Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Sarah Strohmeyer, Forget Me Knot by Sue Margolis

Note: I received an ARC of this book for review through the Amazon Vine program