Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella - Book Review

Shopaholic & Baby is the fifth installment in Sophie Kinsella's popular Shopaholic series. Fans of the series will be delighted by Becky Brandon's adventures in pregnancy, but if you didn't like the first books, you'll probably be frustrated by Shopaholic & Baby as well. (Note: I don't think you need to have read any previous Shopaholic books to pick up Shopaholic & Baby. The plot stands alone).

Confession: I am not a fan of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series. It is stressful for me to read about someone running up credit card bills and spending money without worrying about the consequences. When I read the first book in the series, Confessions of a Shopaholic, I could picture friends who truly try to fill voids in their lives with endless buying, and I felt like Kinsella missed an opportunity to deal with the deeper issues that lead to this type of behavior. I wanted Becky Bloomwood to work through her materialism and experience real growth. Instead, everything worked out neatly and all her problems went away.

So, why did I read Shopaholic and Baby? Well, it was released when I was pregnant, and I decided it might be a fun summer read.

Shopaholic and Baby has the same sort of plot as Confessions of a Shopaholic; however, I approached this reading in full acknowledgment of the fact that Kinsella's books are chick lit, and I shouldn't expect them to be anything more. There were parts of the plot that were still absurd and frustrating to me, but overall I enjoyed this book better than the first. The ending also seemed more redemptive than in Confessions of a Shopaholic.

The Verdict: If you are a Sophie Kinsella fan, you will probably enjoy this book. If not, I'd skip it. Even if you're pregnant, you probably won't find a kindred spirit in Becky unless you have felt a connection with her before.