Luke gives an incredulous laugh. “I don’t know how you do it. Every other sector is dead, but you’re still managing to sell expensive designer clothes…” His face suddenly blanches. “Becky, please tell me you’re not selling them all to yourself.”
I gasp with affront. Number one, I made a promise, which I am keeping. Number two, if I was doing that, then why would I be standing here in a skirt which I bought five years ago from Barneys?
“If you really want to know, ” I say haughtily, “we at The Look have a unique approach to fashion selling, which is seeing us through the difficult times.”
I won’t explain that “unique” means “we hide the clothes in computer-paper boxes.” Luke doesn’t need to hear every tedious little detail of my job, does he?
(from Mini Shopaholic, page 217)
Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series is back, and this time Becky Bloomwood Brandon has a two-year-old daughter, Minnie, who takes after her. When Minnie sees something she wants, she grabs it with her arms and/or legs and hangs on for dear life, which is pretty funny when it’s a store mannequin.
In Mini Shopaholic, Becky must learn to manage her strong-willed child, and at the same time plan a surprise birthday bash for her husband, Luke, while the Bank of London deals with a financial crisis that prompts people to tighten their purse strings. Luke is a big shot in the public relations world, so Becky has to go to extremes to keep the party a secret…and she’s trying to plan the party on a budget. When she pushes her friends and family away, upset that they don’t have faith in her ability to pull it off, you’ll never guess who steps in to help.
Meanwhile, Becky is anxious to move out of her parents’ house, comes up with a unique strategy to keep her job as a personal shopper amid the economic downturn, and believe it or not, promises Luke she won’t do any shopping until she’s worn everything in her wardrobe at least once.
Kinsella has brought back the Becky we know and love, and she’s up to her usual hilarious antics in Mini Shopaholic. At times — and I think this has a lot to do with the mood I was in when I read the book — I began to wonder whether the series has gone on long enough. Becky finds herself in debt or in a lie of some sort (usually to protect the feelings of someone she loves) in every single book, and I kept thinking that she should know by now that maxing out her credit cards is wrong and telling the truth would make things easier. But then I realized that Becky wouldn’t be Becky if she wasn’t shopping or getting herself in trouble, and she’s got such a good heart that you can’t help but root for her to succeed where everyone expects her to fail.
Mini Shopaholic is a fun and fast read for fans of the Shopaholic series. Kinsella takes a light-hearted approach to a shopping addiction and throws in some mother-daughter arguments, parenting issues, and in-law tension without going overboard with the heavy stuff. Just enough to give it some substance. And I even turned the last page hoping Kinsella brings Becky back for another round.
Disclosure: I received a copy of Mini Shopaholic from Random House for review purposes. I am an Amazon associate.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I have to agree with you regarding Becky and the books..sometimes I just want to strangle her and make her grow up a bit. But then..i keep reading the books because they are a lot of fun.
Glad to see you enjoyed this one, I wasn’t sure if I would continue with the series or not but I’m more likely to now.
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I think these a great fun, but I also wonder when the series will need to end…how many times can you shop beyond your budget without being bankrupt.
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After finishing this one, I’m sure they’ll be another.
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I’m glad to see you enjoyed this book! I’m going to buy it for my mother – she loves the Shopaholic series.
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These do sound like fun books, with just a bit of bite. Great* review, Anna.
*Clear, well-written
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I read the first book and kind of liked it, but I must say I loved Kinsella’s Twenties Girl!
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I can’t wait for this one! I love all the Shopaholic books so far! Great review….
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I am reading it for sure, when the library gets it, and I sure hope they hurry 😀
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Somewhere along the line this series died down for me. It’s kind of weird, because I could not get enough of these books at first. I am not sure if I’ll read this one or not.
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I get frustrated with the girl not learning her lessons! I know, I just need to lighten up and go with it. Like you said, it wouldn’t be the series without her nuttiness. Still I am a financial puritan until death!!!
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Sometimes, we just need to have a fun read!
To escape our daily lives.
I bet that the weather in London in the novels is always great. No fog, no grey days….
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I have not read this series, but I have seen the 1st movie that came out. It is fun, but I can totally understand your feelings about Becky!
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I’ve read some of the books. These are fun reads.
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I adored this series when it first came out, by the last book I was done. I much prefer Kinsella’s non-shopaholic books more. Can You Keep A Secret, The UnDomestic Goddess and Twenties Girl but you do make me want to check this out. Maybe when it’s out in paperback.
Thanks for the review!
Julie
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Kinsella is another author I have yet to try. I have one of her books but a friend told me I shouldn’t start with that one, so I haven’t gotten to it yet. 🙂
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I love this series – even though Becky’s antics always seem over the top! I think Kinsella has a talent in being able to make Becky appeal to the reader despite her craziness!
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Yay! Glad to hear that Kinsella doesn’t disappoint. 🙂
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Thank you all for taking time to read my review! It definitely was a fun, escapist sort of read.
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[…] I disliked: I felt that the series started losing steam with the last book, Mini Shopaholic, and this newest installment did little to change that feeling. Even while I laughed at Becky, I […]
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