First things first. If you are reading this and you are not a fan of the ‘chick lit’ genre – this book is not for you.
Personally, I am a devotee of chick lit and a huge fan of
Sophie Kinsella (or Madeleine Wickham). When The Secret
Dreamworld of a Shopaholic was released, I read it in the space of a few hours. Fast-forward 10 years and, while working as a journalist on my local paper, I had the opportunity to
interview Sophie. On the day of the interview, I remember picking up the phone
to call the number her agent had given me and being so nervous that I dialled
the wrong number twice. I had spent such a long time thinking of all the
questions I wanted to ask her and I had to constantly remind myself not to get
too overexcited and sound like a crazy superfan! But as expected, she was absolutely
lovely and even sent me a signed hardback copy of Mini Shopaholic which
made my day/week/month/year/life (read the interview here).
Anyway, I took I’ve Got Your Number away with me recently
as it seemed to tick all the boxes for an ideal holiday read. The book didn’t
let me down and was everything I wanted it to be. It was easy and enjoyable
reading. It made me laugh and it made me cry (due to too much laughter!)
Sophie once said in an interview that she likes to start her
books with a ‘what if?’ scenario and this book opens with a bloomin’ sticky one. The protagonist, Poppy Wyatt, has lost her engagement ring (a priceless ring that has
been in her beloved’s snobby, know-it-all family for three generations). Not
only that, she also goes on to lose her mobile phone, thanks to an opportunistic
thief. Now I don’t know about you, but just the thought of losing my phone
makes me shudder *shudder*. During Poppy’s nightmare situation, she finds a seemingly abandoned phone in a rubbish bin and begins chatting with the stranger at the end of it who
doesn’t appreciate her snooping into his private life.
I kind of suspected the ending (as you often do with many
chick-lit books) – who was going to end up with who and what-not. But it’s how it happens that makes it so
intriguing. The story took an interesting twist towards the end which left me
wondering whether my theory would be right after all.
Without giving too much away, my highlights were:
- The hilarious scene in the jewellers when Sam is organising a replacement ring for Poppy
- The Scrabble game
- Poppy’s ‘burnt’ hand being examined by the dermatologist
- The mix-up with Sam’s dad
- The subtle but special moment in the woods
- Poppy’s heart-to-heart with Wanda
- The ending – as I said, it took an unexpected turn, so I was kept guessing right until the end! The last scene is also pretty hilarious in general.
After finishing the book, I read a couple of online reviews in which readers were torn about
whether or not they liked the fact that Sophie used footnotes.
Personally, I liked them. I felt they added to the story as they were a nod to
Poppy’s academic in-laws and they made the book feel quirky and different.
I would definitely recommend I’ve Got Your Number to any
fans of fabulous chick lit. It’s the perfect light read and will definitely make you
smile and giggle!
If you’ve read a good book lately, please comment below with
any recommendations, I’m always on the lookout for my next read! x
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