Book #17: Shopaholic & Baby

Title of Book: Shopaholic and Baby
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Pages: About 350
Grade: A-
Buyability: 6/10
Status: Bought & owned

Hmm so I'll probably have another book review by tonight the way I'm ploughing through. This is also probably my last bit of pleasure reading for awhile. And pleasurable it was indeed! This is the latest (and quite delayed imo) installment of the shopaholic series, starring the plucky Becky Bloomwood as she prepares for motherhood. For those of you not familiar with the series, I believe this is the 5th book, which features Becky, a woman with a bit of a shopping problem and a lot of imagination. Each book usually features a bit of financial mayhem, shopping glory, and relationship problems between her and her family, friends, and now husband, Luke Brandon.

The focus here is not as obvious as one might think - of course Becky goes haywire shopping for baby stuff here and there, but the bigger issue is Luke's suddenly mysterious behaviour once they go to a new celebrity obstetrician, Venetia Carter...who happens to be Luke's gorgeous ex! Of course many other issues swim about throughout the book, including Becky's failing career destination, Suze's war with her so-called friend Lulu, Jess' new love interests etc.

I liked this book because I had forgotten a fair bit about the shopaholic series. I mean I remembered the characters, the motifs, how the plot would break down, but I remembered Becky being out of control and insane, and after a discussion with friends about who was the more annoying character - Becky Bloomwood or Bridget Jones, I faithfully stood by Becky and was well rewarded. Perhaps she has been toned down a bit in this book but I found her behaviour to be slightly less flightly, although still quite humorous, ridiculous, and unfounded at times.

What I didn't like so much, was how much the book's formats have changed for this one and the previous one. Call me a fellow shopaholic but I wanted more drama with the shopping! Then again. I probably would have bitched had they included another book on Becky's overspending woes. I guess the twist in this book was just relatively predictable, so the big dramatic scenes were kind of like...it's about time. The ending was interesting though, if they were to create another shopaholic book, my money is on it being about moving into a new house and living on a budget. A binary opposition for most - the move in means a move out of cash from your pockets.

We'll see if I'm right! In the meantime, pick up a copy of S & Baby - you won't be disappointed (I wasn't) if you are looking for a breezy, fun read that isn't annoyingly flightly, and manages to keep you on the edge of your seat (well sort of) throughout. A fun read that I couldn't put down for school books! Shocker...haha.