For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...

Continuing to re-read the series before I finish the year with the latest, Christmas-themed book, I am still enjoying the story of Becky Bloomwood. This time, we have progressed to Becky’s pending motherhood. Kinsella keeps to the same formula as the previous books, so there are no surprises, but I think this adds to the appeal of the story.

For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...

The Reader’s Advisory class I’m taking necessitates that I assign Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series to a genre; by measuring it against the criteria presented in Joyce Saricks The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction, I can confidently declare it part of the “Women’s Lives and Relationships” genre. It is told from a women’s perspective (protagonist and titular shopaholic, Rebecca Bloomwood), set in contemporary times (modern day London), and generally optimistic and upbeat (Becky’s happy ending is never truly in doubt). But as Saricks herself points out, the problem with describing “women’s fiction” as a genre is that is the wide variety of work that can be found within. There are books written in every tone, crossed with every other genre. There are books by Serious Writers tackling Serious Issues in thought-provoking, literary ways…

…and then there is the Shopaholic series.

To be fair, someone picking up a book with “shopaholic” in the title is probably not looking for the next Great Novel of our Time. The title, the brightly colored cover art, the playful typeface: everything about the book promises a light, easy “beach read,” and Shopaholic joyfully delivers. As is befitting a book in the “Women’s Lives” genre, Becky struggles with themes that are of special concern to women: family, friendships, and careers—but her particular struggles come with many comic misunderstandings and a sort of literary slapstick humor. In this particular novel of Becky’s misadventures, she finds herself gainfully employed as a personal shopper in a department store, happily married to her dream man, Luke Brandon, and expecting her first child. But when she insists on getting OB-GYN to the stars, Venetia Carter, she doesn’t realize that she’s inviting Luke’s ex-girlfriend back into his life. Becky deals with her glamorous competitor while engaging in her usual shopping shenanigans, surrounded by a supporting cast of recurring characters from the previous three books. There is no real suspense here; it’s hardly a spoiler to say that Becky triumphs in all endeavors while saving her employer, finding her dream home, and stumbling into a small fortune. And if Becky’s ratio of actual talent incredible luck seems a bit skewed toward the unbelievable… well, it’s still nice to see the good guys win. The very things that some critics will hate about the book—the predictability, the stock characters, the increasingly ridiculous plot twists—are the things that fans of the series will love. Shopaholic & Baby is a playful and humorous confection of a story that makes no attempts to deviate from the formula that has suited Kinsella so well.

Quem conhece a saga de Becky Bloom (agora Brandon) sabe que a cada novo livro que sai, é uma série de gargalhadas garantidas.
Neste mais recente lançamento, podemos acompanhar Becky numa nova etapa da sua vida, a gravidez!
E quem pensa que este seu estado de graça iria diminuir o seu gosto compulsivo por compras, desengane-se.
Achei este livro bastante cómico. É uma optima opção para quem quer descontrair ou simplesmente dar umas valentes gargalhadas.

Ich habe das Buch als gekürztess Hörbuch gelesen und somit war es überraschenderweise ganz gut zu lesen.

Die Bücher der Reihe habe ich schon ewig in meinem Regal stehen, da mir die Bücher mit jedem Teil immer mehr auf die Nerven gingen, insbesondere mit Becky als Protagonistin.

Beim Hörbuch habe ich mich jedoch ganz gut unterhalten gefühlt, musste sogar öfter mal schmunzeln. Allerdings musste ich auch immer wieder über Becky die Augen verdrehen. Ich finde sie einfach unglaublich anstrengend und immer weniger sympathisch mit ihrer Oberflächlichkeit und Naivität, mit der sie dann auch immer wieder durchkommt.

Wie gesagt war die Geschichte als Hörbuch erträglich, insbesondere weil es gekürzt, obwohl die Brüche manchmal schon ein wenig sehr extrem war. Das wäre mir bei einem anderen Buch vermutlich negativer aufgefallen.

Die Stimme der Sprecherin war angenehm, aber ich fand, dass sie oft sehr schnell gesprochen hat, obwohl ich die normale Geschwindkeit eingestellt hatte.

Got to 50%, just not my thing. Luckily, I borrowed.

Becky is pregnant and that means she gets to shop for her baby. She shops the things that the baby would need and also the things that the baby wouldn't need. She is back to her spending streak again but this time her excuse is justified since all the shopping is for the baby.

I was okay with the plot but I just couldn't like Becky in this. She really really annoyed me in this again. I know she is pregnant but she was just over the top. I felt bad for Luke in this one and I don't even like him all that much.

I really wanted to love this but I just couldn't.

2 stars

This book starts of by telling us about Becky Bloomwood-Brandon who is just a regular mid-20’s year old shopaholic. She got married to her boyfriend, Luke Brandon. As soon as she came back from her wonderful honeymoon, she found out some astonishing news. She’s pregnant. At first when she found out, she was really anxious and nervous about it. Though this would be one of her biggest adventures. As the days went by and her ‘baby bump’ was developing, she discovered that shopping cures morning sickness. She truly wants her baby to have the best of everything. To her, everything has to be perfect, from the baby pram, changing diapers, clothes, down to the baby powder. She also needs the best obstetrician in town. She thought that she had met the perfect one, Venetia Carter. Venetia is a celebrity obstetrician to the stars and Becky thought she really wanted to have her as a doctor. What she didn’t know was that her husband, Luke, used to date Venetia. She finds out when they meet at their first appointment. Becky really doesn’t like Luke’s behavior, since Luke and Venetia have been hanging out and reminiscing old days. She thinks Venetia is a really good doctor and wants to stick to her, but isn’t really sure about it because of her history. She is really stressed with work and trying to find a new apartment. It’s really emotional for Becky, since she’s also pregnant. Becky is afraid that her marriage is falling apart, but she turns out to be really close to her husband by the end of the book. She talks to him and tells him everything. At the end, Becky is blessed with a baby girl, Minnie. Becky can relate everything to this new baby. She admires her, thinking she’ll turn out to be exactly like her. In my opinion, I really liked Sophie’s writing. I’ve read some of her other books and this has got to be my favorite one.

awesome book

Cute additon to series. Becky and Luke have a baby. Annoying "other woman" subplot. Are men really that dense?

If this series wasn't a part of my soul I would have had it with Becky by now lol but what can I say, the nostalgia still does it for me

I love Becky and Suze and Danny...really I just loves the whole shopaholic series.

I still really like these but I find it annoying that Luke is a bit mean in this one, especially after how they had the same problem of not communicating in the last one. And in general I feel like it’s just the same problems over and over again. But mostly I like it.