Sorry to be late to the party but life has a way of messing with your plans, you know? Anyway, it's that time and I have a book I want to talk about!
This month's book is Sophie Kinsella's Mini Shopaholic. I'll give you fair warning and say there may be what some consider spoilers in this review. It's also possible that everything I'll say could be on the back cover because Sophie Kinsella is an auto-buy author for me and I have no idea what's on the back cover. :)
That said, I loved this book. It's part of a series and, with the exception of the Shopaholic and Sister, I've loved every installment.
As the title suggests, the title character (Becky Brandon - nee Bloomwood) has a bit of a shopping problem. She can be talked into buying anything (mind you, she's the one giving herself the sales pitch) and then justifies the purchase (again, to herself).
In this installment of the series, Becky is still married to Luke and they have a toddler, Minnie. Through a series of events, Becky decides she wants to have a surprise party for Luke. Her plan is to have a big blow out party, but she's determined to do it all on her own and to do it for minimal costs. Of course nothing goes as she plans and the ensuing mayhem is hysterical. I did some of the reading during lunch at work and I was thankful that my boss had gone out to lunch because I was laughing so hard and it would've been embarrassing to explain - and she would have heard and commented on my laughing!
There was only one issue I had with the story. Becky enlists the aid of Luke's secretary, Bonnie, to help her contact and invite the right people (and keep it all quiet). They meet for lunch and Becky tells Bonnie they should be friends and help each other out - and then proceeds to insist Bonnie address issues like what soap gel he uses with Luke. It just seemed a bit over the top (but then it was all worked together in a believable way later in the story).
Other than that, it was classic Kinsella. I give it two thumbs up and I think it was 4.8 stars (out of 5). Lots of fun and lots of laughing. :)
