Customer Reviews

Shopaholic & Baby

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those of you who enjoyed the first four books, rest assured: Shopaholic and Baby is no disappointment. Becky journeys through all of the trials and tribulations of pregnancy with humour and heart. Kinsella's heroine is as lovably ridiculous as ever with just the right amount of maturity for us to feel that she's grown since the last novel ... a little. While there are few fresh characters or themes in the story, it's a joy to see Becky's relationships with Luke, Suze, and sister, Jess, develop with the usual comic results. It's hardly groundbreaking, but it's great for its genre and is a good followup to her last novel, Shopaholic and Sister.

I absolutely LOVED all the other Shopaholic books and Becky does it again--this time with a baby on board! She goes from one mishap to another, barely skating by but coming across as lovable and hilarous! If you love shopping and humor, then get this book! I do believe it's one of the better shopaholic books. I recommend it without hesitancy, along with any other Sophie Kinsella book. I also liked, as far as chick lit goes, "Heartbreaker"--Kim Corum, and would recommend it too.

British writer Sophie Kinsella won a host of fans on both sides of the big pond with her rib tickling Shopaholic series. My first introduction to Sophie was with The Undomestic Goddess, which was a good fun read. Then, I began tracking the Shopaholic series. It is escapism, but what girl doesn't like to fantasize about having days upon days simply to shop? It's been a good two years since the last in this series but well worth the wait.

As many know, Becky Brandon (whom we first met as Becky Bloomwood) is a cute, gutsy, totally likable protagonist. She gets into scrapes but usually comes out on top, and she finally met and wed the great love of her life, Luke. Now, in the most natural of all courses of events Becky and Luke are expecting. The attendant discomforts of pregnancy which afflict most of us don't seem to daunt Becky - who else would find that shopping cures morning sickness?

And shop she does as everything has to be the perfect ultimate for their firstborn. The finest pram, nursery done by a topnotch designer, priceless togs for the young `un, and the most sought after obstetrician to care for Becky. She doesn't give a thought to deserting her friendly family doctor once she learns that Venetia Carter is the ob of choice for all celebs.

However, she begins to give her decision more than a few thoughts once she finds that Venetia is tall, slim, gorgeous, and Luke's former girlfriend. Aaargh! Venetia knew Luke long before Becky met him, plus she's tres intellectual - even speaks Latin. What's a mother to be to do?

Listen to this A-one reading by actress Katherine Kellgren who has a winning young voice with just the hint of a British accent. She has also narrated Shopaholic & Sister, and The Undomestic Goddess. Always highly pleasurable listening!

- Gail Cooke

I rank this book right up there with three other great reads I've recently, well . .. read. While I loved Palahniuk's FIGHT CLUB and adored the novel MIDDLESEX, I have to say that SHOPAHOLIC AND BABY was by far the most entertaining of the three. If you're not a Kinsella fan, you will be after reading this, her latest romp. This book, a follow up to SHOPAHOLIC AND SISTER findy the main character, Becky, expecting her first child. Of course, she's got to go shopping, ergo, the title. The book is filled with humor and insight. I loved it and you will also.

Just like all the Shopoholic books. I could read them over and over again.
By far my favorite series :) These books made me want to read again

This book is number five in the Shopaholic series. It's about a woman named Becky Bloomworth who has a serious addiction to shopping, and the wacky situations she gets herself into as a result. I loved the first two books of the series, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan and Shopaholic Ties the Knot. Loved them. TThey were side splittingly funny, fast paced, and had some sly satire in them, if you wanted to see it. Book four, despite a few strong points, wasn't up to the quality of the first three, so I was a bit leery when a friend gave me Shopaholic and Baby. Despite that, I dove in this past weekend.

In the end I fell back in love with the character of Becky Bloomworth Brandon. Yes, she's a ditz. Yes, she's shallow, insecure, frivolous, overdramatic, and, well, immature. But she genuinely has a caring side, and she's not a bad person. There's something madcap about her; I kept thinking of a modern day I Love Lucy type as I read the book. For a while, I wasn't quite sure I liked Becky's husband Luke - or at least I didn't buy them together. But this book truly shows that they 'get' each other and they're good for each other, in that they balance one another out.

The plot of the book is almost beside the point... the real focus here is Kinsella's little jabs at modern culture, and the way the characters relate to each other. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Becky takes her mom and her mom's friend with her to a prenatal class. The instructor is babbling all this New Age mumbo jumbo about labour not being painful, and she asks Becky's mom for her input. Needless to say, she doesn't like the answer she gets. It's hilarious. All the characters in this book 'fit' in a way that wasn't true of Shopaholic and Sister. Even Jess, the aforementioned sister, who many have wished was not invented, became more likeable in this book. And for those who have not read the other books in the series, Kinsella does a good job of recapping key points without getting bogged down with too much detail.

Now, the book is not perfect, of course. The villain, an ex-girlfriend of Luke's who wants him back (she's also Becky's obstetrician... Becky doesn't know about the doctor's connection to Luke when she makes the appointment, of course - she just wants to go to the new 'in' Doctor to the Stars') is a paper thin character. More could have been done here to create a legitimate triangle.The 'big secret' Luke is really keeping is pretty obvious. There were not as many laugh out loud funny moments in this book as in the first three of the series, and yet when Kinsella tries to have more 'serious' moments, they don't quite work as well as they should.

All in all, though, the things about that book that weren't great didnt' keep me from enjoying it. This novel is one you want to take with you to the beach or read on a rainy day. It's not taxing - it's a just a fun little quick adventure to help you while away an afternoon.

This author is always a good read. I love to laugh out loud at the escapades of her characters. Truly enjoyable.

Sophie does it again. Is there a book that she writes that isn't a hit?! Sooo funny, especially after having kids already. The OB she had was absolutely evil- the introduction of that character made the book even better. Can't wait for the next one!

First off, the book is not bad...but it is sadly the same old story with "and Baby" added to the title.

I have to say I'm happy this is the last in the series as I can't read another Shopaholic book thinking all the while "why doesn't this man divorce her already!" Try as I might I just can stop myself from sympathizing with this poor man...plus the realism in staying with someone who is rather quickly putting you into debt doesn't seem all that "real" to me. I understand this is a fictional novel but when you set a book in modern times I expect a little bit of normal human behaviour mixed in there.

This book also retches out the same fears Becky has had before (in previous books) that her husband likes someone better than her. Which is properly the only believable part of this book as if I were a selfish over spender I would more in likely worry my husband would run off as well.

My children are grown up so I wasn't sure if I'd be interested in reading all about the joys and whines of pregnancy and babyhood. But I am a Shopaholic fan so finally picked up the book. I have to say that this is one of the best and funniest books in the series! (Shopaholic and Sister was my other favourite.) The focus is on the pregnancy phase - the baby is born at the end of the book. Thankfully, however, it doesn't focus solely on the pregnancy itself (prenatal development and Becky's physical and hormonal ups and downs) but on the marriage, her wacky relationship with her OBS, her job and fashion, and her family and friends. And there isn't as much emphasis on shopping as in the other books. I loved this book and laughed out loud alot! This was a great read and I highly recommend it. I can hardly wait til the next book. Kinsella did a great job with the book's subject so that anyone (with or without children) would enjoy it. I'm sure she'll do the same with the next one...