You'll always be here in my heart to stay: I OWE YOU ONE.

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

My rating: 3+ of 5 stars


Fixie Farr's family runs Farrs, a hardwares store. Technically, it's more like Fixie and her mom run the store, while Fixie's older brother, Jake, and sister, Nicole, flit in and out, doing their own thing. Fixie has always been intimidated by her siblings. Jake is pursuing his MBA and prefers the posh side of life; he's always after one business deal or another. Nicole, recently married, lives at home while her husband works abroad. Fixie lives by the motto of "Family First," ingrained in her by her late father since forever. This means running the store and looking after family, even at the expense of her own dreams. She's lusted after the same boy since grade school, Ryan Chalker, and still lives at home, dutifully tending to her family's needs. One day a stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop. When Fixie saves it from being destroyed, he gives her an IOU. Meanwhile, Ryan returns to London from Los Angeles. At the same time, Fixie's family dynamic faces a radical change. Will all of these moments force Fixie--who earned her nickname for her desire to always fix things--to face up to her fears, to become more forceful? Or will she let her family and the people in her life still walk all over her? And will she cash in on that IOU?


"Some people hear the Lord Jesus guiding them; I hear my dad, before he died, saying in his East End accent: Family is it, Fixie. Family is what drives us. Family is everything. Family loyalty is basically our religion."


This book had to grow on me. In the beginning, Fixie drove me a little crazy. I was less irritated with her devotion to her family (perhaps I could relate there), but I was annoyed at how clueless she was in her adoration to Ryan Chalker, who was just terrible. And truly, Fixie's siblings were pretty awful to her, too. There were very few side characters in this one who were easy to like. Even Sebastian, whose laptop Fixie rescues (and who, obviously, becomes her love interest), goes back to his girlfriend a little often for my taste. Which is sad, because otherwise the Fixie/Seb dynamic is quite enjoyable and really quite funny. Still, the poor girl was clearly under a lot of pressure with her family and the store, so I get some of her behavior there. As for Ryan, I'm not so sure what her excuse was!

Still, this book wins you over with time. Fixie is an engaging character and really, rather endearing. She can't help but be who she is and she really can't help whom she is surrounded by (except Ryan--let's just all agree he's awful). When Seb enters the scene, things become more funny, and things pick up as Fixie starts to grow into her own skin. This growth is a Kinsella staple, and she does it well. There's moments of her trademark humor, as well.

Overall, this one is predictable but sweet, and once I got past some of Fixie's issues, I enjoyed it. It's a light, quick read. 3+ stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).

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