A huge fan of Sophie Kinsella, I was over the moon when I received an advance copy of her latest book, ‘The Party Crasher’, via NetGalley. I was so excited that I finished her book in one go, staying up beyond the wee hours of the morning and currently nursing an enormous book hangover. 

The Party Crashers (Review)

This book is everything you expect from a Sophie Kinsella novel! It was uproariously hilarious and entertaining, replete with a cast of flawed and endearing characters who would melt your heart. The plot is so fast-paced, with all the events taking place in the span of a day, that you are completely glued to the reading. 

Family – Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them! 

The last thing Effie expected to hear on an enchanting Christmassy day was the news of her parents splitting up. 18 months later, she finds herself stuck in the same spot, mulling over her parent’s divorce while having to deal with the more devastating news of the sale of her family home. Her father’s girlfriend, Krista, is rather a pain, with whom she has been engaged in a long-running feud.

With the house now all set to be handed over to the new owners, Krista is throwing a ‘house-cooling party’ to which practically the whole town has been invited except for, well, you guessed it, Effie. Effie retaliates by deciding not to go to this fancy event until she realizes that she has a valuable childhood artifact back at home that she is not ready to part with yet. So she decides to sneak into the party and retrieve her hidden treasure at any cost!

Creeping into the house, dodging bouncers, and moving secretly between cupboards and trapdoors, Effie learns two things that day, the hard way. One, party-crashing and trying to stay hidden is a sinister and inconvenient business, and two, her family is not what she made it out to be! Throw in a hot ex-boyfriend, a few crazy guests, and some earth-shattering truth bombs to this mix, and the party is all set to rock!

Make Way For Some Drama! 

By god, imagine sneaking into your own home like a robber, that too on such a day when the house is brimming with people! I had my heart in my mouth watching Effie trying her best not to get caught, swiftly managing to avoid running into any of the guests and moving from room to room in search of her dolls. What stood out the most for me about this book was its plot, which I found to be fresh and original. Sophie Kinsella has put a lot of thought into each element of her story, right from naming her characters.

Why Effie is called so is rather a cute story, and I felt it made the characters a lot more relatable. The story is narrated through Effie’s point of view, which is only fair, I guess, considering how the poor thing had to perform more than her fair share of gymnastics, even hiding under tables, for her rather important cause! 😛 While the book moves quickly, with the events unfolding one after the other through unpredictable shifts, the narrations, descriptions, and inner musings are just the right amount, not boring the reader with too many details while relaying important aspects that is vital to the story. 

Although the book treats us to a swoon-worthy romance involving Effie and her ex-boyfriend Joe, much of the focus is kept on her family’s histrionics, which is both hilarious and heart-wrenching at the same time. The shift in the dynamics in the family amidst the disintegration and decline of relationships following divorce have been handled quite sensitively, a feat that only Sophie Kinsella can do!

While the whole story has been conveyed on a lighter note, there are plenty of thought-provoking bits that make you think about life in general. I particularly enjoyed the bonding between the sibling trio – Bean, Effie, and Gus, and the way each of them finds themselves, through startling revelations, towards the end of the story. Needless to say, this was a five-star read for me, one I was sorry to put away when it finished!

With Fall just around the corner, The Party Crasher would be a perfect addition to your autumn reads – warm and cozy, with the right blend of drama and emotions that is sure to keep you entertained till the end. You can get the book here! 📖

The Party Crashers – The Perfect Witty and Rib-Tickling Guide to the Dos & Don’ts of Gate-Crashing a Party. A Must-Read for All Rom-Com Lovers! 

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