Shopaholic and Baby - Sophie Kinsella

Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) is pregnant!! She and Luke couldn't be more ecstatic. When Becky hears that a famous celebrity obstetrician named Venetia Carter has opened a practice in Becky's neighborhood, Becky does everything she can think of to get an appointment with Venetia. She drags Luke along to the appointment, only to find that Venetia is Luke's ex-girlfriend. And Venetia's beautiful and glamorous and smart, to boot!

As Luke and Venetia reconnect and start spending more time together, Becky's jealousy secretly rages out of control. She hires a private detective to follow Luke, and the information the PI gathers is shocking.

Not only is Becky's relationship with Luke getting worse, but Venetia admits to Becky's face that she's after Luke -- and that Luke is planning on leaving Becky after the baby is born. Becky is devastated. How could Luke do this to her?

Shopaholic and Baby is the best of the series! It's very, very funny, but it also deals with personal issues such as impending motherhood and spousal infidelity. I loved every minute spent reading it.

And now that it's done, I'm going through Becky withdrawal. Seriously. I finished the book last night, looked at Dave and said, "I don't know what I'm going to do with myself now that the Shopaholic series is done." I'll really miss reading about Becky, Luke, Suze, and all the rest. These books have been such great fun to read!

4.5/5

Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella

After a 10-month dream honeymoon around the world, Luke and Becky Brandon are finally back in London. Becky thinks it will be wonderful to surprise everyone -- her honeymoon was supposed to last a full year -- and therefore doesn't tell anyone that she and Luke are coming home early. Imagine her own surprise when her parents act strangely upon her arrival, as does her best friend Suze. Seems Suze found a new best friend while Becky was traipsing around the world. And Becky's parents have recently discovered that Becky has a half sister no one knew about.

Since Suze is happy with her new friend Lulu, Becky decides to turn her newfound sister Jess into her new best friend. Only problem is, Jess hates everything Becky loves. Especially -- gasp! -- shopping. And the two of them aren't getting along very well, either. Not so for Luke and Jess, who have a discussion one evening (which Becky overhears) about how difficult Becky is to live with, what with her frivolous spending and all.

Even worse, Luke tells Becky that she should try to be more like Jess.

When Luke leaves on a business trip without even kissing Becky goodbye, Becky assumes her marriage is in tatters and shows up unannounced at Jess' house so that Jess can teach her how to be frugal. Jess, who'd had a major row with Becky while in London, slams the door in Becky's face. Becky doesn't know what to do. Her husband must not love her or miss her, and her sister hates her guts. Plus, Suze doesn't need her anymore now that she's got Lulu. What's a girl to do?

Things all work out in the end, of course, but the journey there is good fun to read about.

4/5

Shopaholic Ties the Knot - Sophie Kinsella

Oh my goodness, Becky Bloomwood's getting married!! And not only is Luke's mother, Elinor, planning a fairy-tale wedding at the Plaza Hotel in NYC, but Becky's mum is planning a backyard wedding in England -- both for the same day!

I'd had my own idea throughout the book of how Becky might pull everything off, which wedding she'd choose, etc., and I have to say that I was spot on! I guess it's not too difficult to guess, after reading about Becky for three books and knowing how her mind works. It was fun to read about the preparations for both weddings.

Luke was featured more prominently in Shopaholic Ties the Knot, which I liked. The way he proposed to Becky was so sweet. I can't say I really enjoyed the whole storyline with Luke's mother, though. Becky's right: she's a cow.

I'm growing to love Suze, Becky's best friend, more and more with every book. Suze got married and had a baby in this installment, which was great fun. Now Becky and Luke need to have a baby!

This was a cute read. Best of the series so far.

4/5

Shopaholic Takes Manhattan - Sophie Kinsella

Becky Bloomwood is back in this humorous sequel to Confessions of a Shopaholic. She's now host of a financial segment on a popular TV show. She's dating wealthy entrepreneur Luke Brandon. And she's running up her credit cards again, the same cards she'd previously paid off.

Luke decides to start a branch of Brandon Communications in New York City, and asks Becky to go with him. Of course, Becky's in heaven! There are so many trendy shops in the city! And even though Becky's set a budget for herself, it doesn't take much to convince her to buy the latest hot items.

Everything's going swimmingly, until a very unflattering article (with pictures!) about Becky surfaces in one of the newspapers. Becky's secret is out: she's awful at keeping within a budget and dreadfully in debt. What the heck is she doing dispensing financial advice when her own finances are such a disaster?

The article angers Luke; not only has Becky been lying to him about her spending habits, but the prospective financial backers for Brandon Communications' NYC division are getting cold feet. Becky and Luke have a major "row" (a big fight; I really"fancy" the words Brits use, by the way!) and Becky flies back to London, leaving Luke behind in New York.

Is this the end for Luke and Becky? Will Becky ever be able to curb her excessive shopping habits? Will her job still be waiting for her back home? There's only one way to find out -- read the book. Well, I guess two ways, since you could also ask someone who's read it.

Another amusing read from Sophie Kinsella! Don't overthink things too much; just laugh about the scrapes Becky gets into and enjoy the book for what it is.

3.25/5