Sophie Kinsella is an English author known for her romantic comedy genre. She got her fame from the Shopaholic series and after that, she has written a number of individual novels which were also quite good. Now, her style of writing is not very much appreciated by so-called literary intellectuals because her books are often classified as chick-lits. Now I don’t believe in tagging books like this and I do really enjoy her writing. Her writing somehow lifts my mood from the gloomiest of the situations.
This post is dedicated as a mini review of first 6 books of the Shopaholic series. In total there are 9 books in the series but I think I am not going to pick the next 3 books. I would rather pick the individual books written by her if I ever need a quick dose of laughter.
This whole series revolves around the shopaholic Becky and I find her character really amusing and funny. The way she converses with herself to convince herself to go on a shopping spree lets me giggling. The best thing is that even though she has this vice of being an over-indulgent shopaholic, she is a very nice person at heart and she tries her best to make people around her happy. I think because of this reason only I read this series even though the protagonist is so frivolous.
1. Confessions of a Shopaholic
I think this is the best book of the series. Becky works in a magazine called Successful Savings where she writes as a financial columnist. Becky giving advice on saving when she herself can’t do budgeting herself is so funny. She lives with her best friend Suze and is buried neck-deep with bills. In this book, she meets Luke who runs a PR company, who just couldn’t remain immune to the charm of Becky. I heard this book as an audiobook and it was the best experience. I remember that I would be wearing the headphone and used to suddenly start laughing and people around me used to give me looks as if I have gone mad or something
2. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
This book is again so hilarious. Here Becky leaves the job of the columnist in the magazine but rather takes the role of TV financial guru. She is having a beautiful romantic time with Luke who suddenly announces that he is moving to New York and asks Becky to move with her. Now, with a new city, comes new shops and a completely new possibility of shopping and even more bills to pay. I really started enjoying the character of Luke. His silent, mysterious character made me crush hard on him.
3. Shopaholic Ties the Knot
Becky is now finally settled in her dream job of being a personal shopper. And finally Luke proposes to Becky and they are getting married now. The problem is that both her and Luke’s mother are planning a wedding on the same day on different sides of the Atlantic and she somehow couldn’t say no to anyone. Somehow again, Becky saves the day with her wit and some good luck. Once again absolutely loved this book.
4. Shopaholic and Sister
I think from this book onwards this series started going a downfall. Suddenly Becky discovers that she has a half-sister. With her best Suze busy in her married life and with her child, Becky hopes that she will find a partner in her sister. But her sister is completely opposite to Becky. She is frugal while Becky is extravagant. But Becky being Becky end up winning her heart too in the end
5. Shopaholic & Baby
Becky discovers that she is pregnant and both she and Luke are delighted at the news of becoming a parent. But the trouble is that her gynecologist is an ex-girlfriend of Luke who is still interested in him. The book somehow starts losing the plot in this book and this is the book I enjoyed least in the series.
6. Mini Shopaholic
Becky enters motherhood and finds that her daughter is just like her. There is a recession in Europe and banks are collapsing but here Becky is planning a grand party for Luke. She faces a lot of challenges but ultimately like always she is able to blow everyone’s mind in the end.
[…] my crappiest mood. I have read quite a few books by her, but mostly all of them belong to the same Shopaholic series. I loved the character of Becky from that series. She is funny, witty and a lovely person. […]