Becky Bloomwood Brandon is back in the 5th installment of the Shopaholic series, Shopaholic And Baby. Becky and Luke are back from their extended holiday/honeymoon and Becky is pregnant with their first child. Since discovering that ‘shopping cures morning sickness’ she’s been determined that their baby will have the best of everything, in true Becky Bloomwood style. And that includes the best OB-GYN.The best OB-GYN is Venetia Carter, who looks after pregnant models, stars, etc and Becky is determined to get an appointment. Luke, her husband, isn’t so sure and thinks they should stick with his family OB-GYN but eventually agrees to go along with Becky to a preliminary appointment. Venetia Carter turns out to be an old friend of Luke’s from Cambridge who he even dated for a little while. Becky is suddenly apprehensive about having Venetia as her OB-GYN but Luke, delighted to catch up with an old friend, now decides that they should stay with Venetia.Before long, Luke and Venetia are catching up, re-living their University days, meeting up with all their old Cambridge friends and exchanging texts in Latin. Becky starts to wonder if this, coupled with Luke’s suddenly jumpy, secretive behaviour, means he’s having an affair. Life is a bit stressful at the moment, with the baby coming, as they’re currently homeless. They’ve sold Luke’s flat where they have been living and are looking for the perfect house but there is nothing around to their specifications. Becky has a new job with London fashion store The Look, which tanked spectacularly and is losing money hand over fist. They need to come up with something to get the buyers in fast or they’ll all be out of a job. Becky has the idea to call in her former Manhattan-neighbour-turned-famous designer Danny Kovitz to design an exclusive piece for The Look that will have fashionistas pouring through the door. Danny turns up demanding an absolutely outrageous rider and the full star treatment, costing The Look more money than ever, making Becky’s gamble an even bigger one.I’ve enjoyed the Shopaholic books I’ve previously read/listened to immensely but this one did fall a fraction flat for me, and I think that was primarily about how utterly stupid and frustrating Luke was. He’s supposed to be a very intelligent man and he didn’t get that his wife was a bit insecure about his ex-gf being her OB-GYN, even if she was the one that was all the rage. He went out catching up with her, spending time with her alone, and took Venetia’s advice even when it was blatantly obvious that she was trying to make Becky uncomfortable. You always, always, always back your wife over any previous gf, even if she is a doctor. Did he not consider that Becky’s blood pressure was slightly elevated because of Venetia? Apparently not. And he keeps something from her in this book that I’m sure he does for all the right reasons (trying to save her stress, because of aforementioned slightly high blood pressure) but all it does is make him look ragingly guilty of having an affair, which actually makes her even more stressed out and upset. If he’d actually told her what was worrying him in the beginning, then a whole lot of mess could’ve been avoided. But keeping huge secrets is part of this series (like Becky does in Shopaholic Ties The Knot) and although it often makes for humorous situations, this one made for more frustrating situations than humorous ones for me. What did make up for it was how utterly awesome Luke was at the end when the penny finally dropped that Becky was insecure and that Venetia was deliberately contributing to that. That was definitely the Luke Brandon of Confessions of a Shopaholic. That was definitely how a husband should act when encountering a woman like Venetia! So there were big points for that, it’s just a shame he was a bit stupid throughout the rest of the book.Still though, this book was a fun and light-hearted read. These books are great for picking up when you just want something to chill on the couch with and not have to think about. They’d be perfect for the beach in summer and they’re perfect for me on a cold winter’s day when I’m snuggled up on the couch with a blanket and it’s like, 4 degrees outside and bucketing with rain.
Reseña: http://tasty-candy.blogspot.com.es/20...Si hay unos libros con los que yo disfrute, sin duda alguna son con los de Sophie Kinsella y la saga de Loca por las compras. De hecho, mi primera reseña para el blog fue la de su primera parte. Ya os digo que no hace falta que le echéis un vistazo porque seguramente esté fatal.Como bien dice el título de esta quinta parte, Becky tiene que hacer frente a un embarazo que, aunque no fue buscado, la verdad es que es bastante deseado. A partir del momento en que sabe que está esperando un bebé, se le abre un nuevo mundo de posibilidades en las que gastar dinero: la ropa y accesorios de bebé. Y como ya son muchos libros con Becky, todos sabemos lo que supone para ella el necesitar algo. Este libro me costó muchísimo encontrarlo ya que no lo tenían en ninguna tienda (MAL, SEÑORES, MAL). Así que finalmente recurrí a Amazon y en nada lo tenía entre mis manos. No obstante, aunque me moría de ganas por leerlo, fui dejándolo hasta que por fin llegó el momento.Las primeras páginas se me hicieron algo raras. No sé exactamente por qué y la verdad es que tenía miedo de que este libro no me gustase tanto como los otros. Aunque cuando me quise dar cuenta, llevaba más de medio libro leído. Becky Brandon – de soltera Rebecca Bloomwood - sigue siendo tan impulsiva como siempre. Por lo que al enterarse de la existencia de la ginecóloga de las famosas, Venetia Carter, no dudará ni un segundo en hacer todo lo posible para ser su paciente. Lo que ella no sabe es que Venetia fue una persona muy importante en la vida de Luke. Cuando se entera, empiezan a saltar todas las alarmas de peligro en el matrimonio.Como siempre, es Becky la que narra la historia. Éste es el único punto de vista que encontramos en toda la novela, por lo que lo que sabemos de Venetia Carter es lo mismo que sabe la protagonista. Y ya os digo que creo que la he odiado incluso más que Becky. Venetia es la ginecóloga de las famosas y, la verdad es que deja de lado la profesionalidad cuando conoce a Becky.A lo largo de los libros, Becky ha madurado bastante, aunque no lo suficiente. Sigue comprando cosas porque sí, sin ningún motivo en concreto. Cuando algo se le mete entre ceja y ceja, no para hasta conseguirlo. En esta quinta entrega hay momentos de lo más surrealistas y desternillantes. La actitud de Luke no me ha gustado demasiado. Está pasando por un mal momento en la empresa y está tan agobiado que apenas tiene tiempo para estar con su esposa. Pero parece que ha encontrado otra manera de relajarse después de la faena. Como se suele decir “los hombres no se enteran de nada” y Luke parecía ciego en muchos momentos.
What do You think about Shopaholic & Baby (2007)?
I read the Shopaholic books as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. Sophie Kinsella is a really funny writer. She has sustained the Shopaholic idea through more sequels than most writers can. However, this book (and the previous one, Shopaholic and Sister) isn't as spot-on as the first two. I mean, isn't Becky ever going to learn to stop overspending? Every book involves her getting in a financial hole, then reforming at book's end, only to start over again in the next book. And of course, now that she's married to a rich guy, it's not quite so nervewracking when she maxes out her credit card. It IS true that when you have your first baby, you buy all kinds of things you didn't know you "needed," and the part of the book when Becky learns about "baby couture" and decides she needs multiple strollers is fun. Die hard fans like me will probably keep reading--but it's not the best in the series for sure.
—Alison
Having read 'Remember Me' by the same author I decided to give this book a go. Despite not being the biggest fan of babies I wanted to read the book to see what makes the author so popular. I liked the subjects raised in the book - some of the issues are potentially very real but I was largely disappointed, not by the story or plot lines, but how the book was written overall. Kinsella repeats a LOT of words -I swear I read the word 'Incredulous' over a thousand times. Her descriptions are vague as well. She also uses certain phrases that she repeats endlessly. In the end it got very annoying. I thought the last couple of chapters were very poor indeed. Kinsella writes good stories but I don't see why she has to make the character's antics so utterly unbelievable at the end. I also noticed lack of depth in certain characters and I realised the author had used the same names here as in her previous books. To me that just shows lack of imagination, and for an author so hugely successful and popular I thought she could have done a whole lot better.
—L.K. Watts
Well I for one am still completely in love with Becky Bloomwood. I read this one on holiday in Venice (lately it's become something of a tradition to get the Shopaholic series out on holiday) and had to force myself to put the book down to go out and explore the city. I felt the whole Luke-Venetia affair and private detective episode was wonderfully done, it built up so much curiosity and suspense and I absolitely loathed Venetia along with Becky. Great that the characters of Danny are back and Suze without her horrible friend Lulu. I just really wanted Becky to be happy and have her baby and lots of Diane Von Furstenberg.
—James Watt
