Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic Series)
by Sophie Kinsella
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Book Reviews of Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic Series)
Book Review: Give it a try...
Summary: 3 Stars
Initially I didn't want to read Confessions of a Shopaholic, but as it was a gift and highly recommended from a friend of mine I felt obligated to read it. After sitting on my shelf for about a year, and by chance running into the movie on television it sparked my interest in finally reading it. I'm glad I did.
At first Rebecca Bloomwood in theory would seem like the most annoying person in the world, but oddly enough she came across as a likable rascal and just ridiculously outlandish. Sort of like a Lucille Ball kind of character, you can't help but like her. You see, Rebecca Bloomwood has a problem with shopping and in the realization that she must cut back, she ends up spending even more.
What really stuck out to me was not her ability to spend so much money on useless things, but her ability to just up and lie about anything. It's a horrible trait for a character.
Twenty-five year old Miss Bloomwood is a really flawed woman, but what I loved was that she was able to redeem herself and figure out that she is a strong person. She realizes she has people and issues she feels strongly about, and when given the chance to solve her problems easily, she turns it down knowing that it would be wrong to accept someone's money based on the lies she told them. She's flawed, but not evil.
The romance was simple, and I would have liked to see more character development with Luke, but I suppose that will happen in the next book, Shopaholic Take Manhattan. Overall it was a fluffy book that still taught a financial message in a fun way. Don't let it sit on your shelf for a year like I did. Read it.
Book Review: Pick this up if you're shopping for fun chick lit
Summary: 3 Stars
"Confessions of a Shopaholic" is a funny, mindless book about Rebecca Bloomwood, a rather silly girl who works for a finance magazine in London and spends about five times as much as she makes. Becky just can't say no to piles of magazines, heaps of designer clothes, and dozens of frothy cappuccinos. It doesn't take long for Becky to run up some pretty huge debts, but instead of dealing with her financial problems head-on, she opts to use the avoidance tactic by telling creditors that her dog died, tossing her monthly statements into the trash bin, etc. Eventually Becky decides to cut back on her spending, but somehow her "responsible financial plan" ends up costing her even more money. Unfortunately for Becky, she can't hide from her problems forever, and eventually the unhappy creditors literally drive her into hiding. But of course, books like these almost always have happy endings, and things miraculously come together for Becky in the end.
I enjoyed reading this book: it's light, humorous, and fun. Becky's crazy rationalizations are pretty hilarious, but after a while I got a bit tired of how completely dense she could be about everything. It was also very obvious how the book would end pretty much from the start. Still, Becky made me laugh, and her outlandish situations and slightly over-the-top love interests were very entertaining. Overall, if you're looking for fluffy chick lit, this book is definitely up your alley, but it really doesn't amount to much more than that.
Book Review: Light read. Just a bit of Fluff.
Summary: 3 Stars
I have been hearing reviews of this book, saying it is absolutely brilliant. I was really looking forward to reading it, but I have to say it wasn't as "great" as many people think.The book introduces a fun character who has a huge shopping problem. First of all, I thought it wasn't realistic. If your in such heavy debt and you keep on spending, I mean who would do that? Rebbecca does. She has a major problem that I personally couldn't really relate to. But she was certainly a loveable character who I ended up appreciating during the end of the book. Moving forward, at the beginning of the book I found it sort of dragged on. There wasn't really a plot, it was just showing what sort of a problem Becky has. Once you start to get around the middle/end of the book your very captivated.
The plot grabs hold of you, and you can't put the book down. But the problem with the book is, that this only happens around the end of the book. The entire thing isn't realistic, or in my case relateable. Its just a bit of light fluff that you might read to cheer yourself up, or have some fun.
Not a serious book, but something fun. I own this book just for kicks. It wasn't laugh out loud hilarious but something you will appreciate in your head.
I'm not sure if I will read the sequel, because if its similiar to this one, I don't think its worth much of my time. But I would reccomend reading the first one, form your own opinion, and just have fun.
Book Review: I didn't love Becky...
Summary: 3 Stars
I love, love, love Bridget Jones. I'll pick up either of those books and reread favorite parts when I need a laugh, I've bought them as gifts, etc. So I thought that I'd love this, too. I know I'm in late in the game on this author/series, but I just had never picked it up.
In some ways I should love this, because it is SO like Bridget - too much so, in my opinion. I know Bridget's based on Pride & Prejudice, and any story can be, but it seems like there are an awful lot of similarities in these two books. The rich, aloof man who might be nice, the publishing heroine who's a little daft, the money issues... Part of me felt like saying, "Hey, get your own ideas." And no, they are not exactly the same, but...
At any rate, I can't quite figure out why I DIDN'T love this book. I think the problem is that I felt Becky to be a little more mean-spirited with her daftness, or a little more just plain dumb than dizzy, or something. At any rate, I just didn't love Becky, the heroine, making it fairly difficult, then, to love the book.
Maybe I'm just too fond of Bridget and my view of this as a knock-off has colored my opinion - if I'd not read Helen Fielding's novels I might have liked this more. I really don't know. I know there are more installments, and I can't decide if I'm going to try another one or not.
Book Review: I hated this book. I cannot admire, respect or like Rebecca in any way.
Summary: 1 Stars
She is superficial, flighty, has no self control, no self restraint, and no discipline. She lies constantly. She has no work ethic. She cheats her employer. When she brings a sandwich to work for lunch and eats it in 5 minutes, she looks for other things to do rather than get back to work. Since she does other personal things on other company time, I felt it would be honorable of her to give back a little time to the company when she took a short lunch, but no, that would never occur to her. It is hard to enjoy reading about someone I dislike so much. I couldn't believe Luke could find anything about her to like.
The main character, Emma, in another book by this author ("Can You Keep a Secret") was very similar to Rebecca. I didn't like Emma either, but I did like "Can You Keep a Secret" because of the guy, Jack, and the hilarious interaction between him and Emma. Jack asked Emma questions in front of other people and as she answered the questions with lies, she knew that he knew she was lying. Unfortunately I didn't find similar or any humor in "Confessions of a Shopaholic.".
Sexual content: none. Setting: 1997 to 2000 London. Copyright: 2001. Genre: chick lit.
For a list of my reviews of other Sophie Kinsella books, see my 5 star review of "Can You Keep a Secret" posted 2/21/07.