I Owe You One

Book Review

I Owe You One is Sophie Kinsella’s most recent standalone novel. Sophie is a British author who has sold over 40 million copies of her bestselling books. I promptly fell in love with Sophie’s Shopaholic Series when I read Confessions of a Shopaholic and later the standalone novel – Can You Keep A Secret? Subsequently, I found that she had authored other books under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, before she started using the pen name, Sophie Kinsella.

I Owe You One is a charming romance featuring Fixie Farr, who has acquired this most appropriate nickname as she cannot help but fix everything around her. Any time Fixie perceives anything that is slightly amiss, she must fix it – be it a person or a wedding reception with missing flower arrangements.

Fixie is intensely loyal to her family, fully living according to her deceased father’s guiding motto of ‘Family First.’ Although all the family is supposed to be running the family shop, Farrs, she typically picks up tasks that her two siblings are meant to be carrying out. Ergo she invariably ends up doing the bulk of the work, leaving her with an immense burden when her mother goes out of town.

One day, a stranger requests Fixie to watch over his laptop in a coffee shop as he takes a call outside. When the cracked ceiling collapses under the crushing weight of leaking water, she swiftly reacts, saving the man’s laptop. Sebastian is so grateful that he steadfastly insists on repaying her for the awesome save. When Fixie gently refuses any payment and fails to name her reward, he presents her with a note that states ‘ I Owe You One _ Redeemable in perpetuity.’ He subsequently tells her to get in touch with him if she ever needs a favor.

Initially, and in line with her generous nature, Fixie has no intention of cashing in the IOU. This undoubtedly changes when Ryan, her brother’s best friend whom she has had a crush on since she was ten years old, returns from abroad. Ryan is in need of a decent job and Fixie cannot help but remedy the situation. She thus reaches out to Sebastian to cash in her IOU. Somehow, this ends up defining their relationship as they continuously trade favors.

This is the familiar story of a young woman’s unwavering endeavors to resolve problems for everyone in her life without devoting enough attention to her own needs. Fixie continually allows her family to push her around. She is unable to stand up to them, even when their reckless and clearly destructive behavior threatens the continued success of the family business.

Having eagerly read the other Sophie Kinsella books, I am familiar with this sort of flighty character. She starts out as completely flawed and fumbles her way through life, humorously getting into all manner of odd scraps along the way. Fortunately, she overcomes her shortcomings and invariably ends up doing the right thing thus saving the day.

Like the other Sophie Kinsella books, this is a fun light read, ideal for a delightful day by the pool or on the beach. That said, I found parts of this book somewhat irritating. Fixie seems to me to be too much of a pushover. Her brother and sister were quite irritating and I felt like the conclusions to their story arcs were incomplete. There were also not as many laugh-aloud moments as I found in the earlier Shopaholic Books, which I thought were totally hilarious!

Nevertheless, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves Chick lit romantic comedies. It is ideal for that relaxed easy day when all you desire is to get lost in a light-hearted romance!