The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella is a title sent to me by the wonderful people over at Penguin Random House.

The Party Crasher by Sophie Kinsella

I’ve only read the first book of the Shopaholic series, and I absolutely adore Sophie Kinsella’s standalone titles. I felt like The Party Crasher was unlike the rest of her titles. This was much more centred around self-empowerment than trying to fix a romantic relationship, although there is a romantic interest, of course.

I could relate to having parents divorced well into adulthood and saying goodbye to my childhood home. However, I was never not invited to an event important to my whole family. Well, there was that one time it almost happened, but that’s a story for another day.

So Effie kind of gatecrashes the farewell party. There are a lot of light-hearted cloak-and-dagger-esque situations with a few of the invited guests becoming aware of her presence. During all the chaos, Effie finds out what some of her friends and family members really feel about her.

Eventually, she reveals herself in a spectacularly dramatic way. And by the end of the book, the twist around the wicked, gold-digging new stepmom makes you think about your own confirmation bias. We can blame pop culture for that.

The Party Crasher was one of my last reads of 2021. I gave it a solid four stars, mostly because I’m becoming more stingy with that last star for truly remarkable books.

Have you read any of Sopie Kinsella’s books?

Share your favourite reads in the comments below 🙂