Yesterday, although clear and sunny, came with a chilly biting August wind that the south-eastern part of Australia is known for. I have in my new house, a designated ‘reading room’ which is a little family room off the kitchen/dining room that has big windows. It has no TV access point so we put our second couch in there, along the windows and I made it my quiet room. The sun pours in there in the afternoon and it’s perfect for curling up and enjoying a book.I finished this book in one afternoon, they’re just that easy to read. As I said in my Library post, this is the first time I’ve read one of these novels as previously I’ve listened to the audiobooks and the woman who reads it is very good. I was happy to discover that my like for them transferred over just as much and I really enjoyed this book. So much so that my fiance, upon wandering into the room totally unnoticed by me, commented several times on the fact that I was laying on the couch giggling to myself.I do love Becky Bloomwood. This novel picks up with Becky and Luke still living in Manhattan, Becky is still working as a personal shopper at Barney’s, although that hasn’t stemmed her passion in shopping for herself. Luke spends some time wondering how their household account keeps getting overdrawn and where their joint statement is – Becky has hidden it, and then in a last ditch attempt to prevent Luke from finding out she’s been buying shoes and clothes from their household account- spills white out onto it.This could be portrayed as an unhealthy relationship, in that Becky hides her purchases from Luke and attempts to deceive him about the statement, but this book addresses more than once Luke’s tolerance and even his joyful amusement in Becky and it’s pretty obvious he has every idea what she’s doing. Luke, up until this book, is a workaholic – driven and dedicated to his company, Brandon Communications and it’s clear in this book that he regards Becky as his antithesis and someone who keeps him from taking life too seriously. She reminds him to have fun, and he finds her take on life refreshing and funny.Becky’s former flatmate Suze is marrying her cousin Tarquin (in something I found a fraction icky, but apparently legal) and Becky is the bridesmaid. A misunderstanding leads to her proclaiming that she never wants to get married, well not at at least for 10 years! She’s lying of course, which is just as well, as Luke is quite obviously planning to propose. Becky joyfully accepts and Becky’s mother starts planning the ultimate wedding in Becky’s hometown.The problems begin when they go back to New York and meet with Luke’s mother, the repressed and icy Elinor and hear of her plans. She intends to give them a huge, extravagant wedding, booking the Plaza Hotel and hiring a wedding planner with no expense spared. Becky of course, is totally seduced by the idea of a big and lavish wedding with four hundred guests, a thousand dollar cake, the Philharmonic orchestra, a stunning designer dress instead of her mother’s wedding dress and she finds herself agreeing to both weddings, one on each side of the world which are due to be held on the same day in less than five months. She’s soon in so deep that she can’t bear to back out of the Plaza wedding and risk not only Elinor’s wrath but also being sued, nor can she break her mothers heart. Her mother has been working diligently on the other side of the Atlantic, and when Becky visits home, she finds that the whole house is being done up for the wedding, which just makes her guilt and misery even worse.Luke undergoes an interesting character growth this book. In the first book he’s kind of distant and amused by Becky and although it’s obvious he’s attracted to her, he’s always exactly the same: in control, composed, capable, dynamic. In this book, his drive to impress Elinor, the mother who left him, desert’s him when he realises that she didn’t leave him by force, but by choice. This coupled by a friend of his who has a medical issue, leads to him completely falling apart, questioning life, what it means, why he bothers to work so hard. He is going through a semi mid-life crisis: he stops shaving, stops going to work and starts giving away his money and shoes to random people on the street. This only adds to Becky’s stress level, as not only does she have to figure out how to cancel one of the weddings without being sued or destroying her parents, she also has to ‘fix’ Luke and get him out of this slump that he’s in.Although the book is a tad over the top, as someone who is planning a wedding (albeit a very relaxed and casual one), it’s easy to see how things can just completely snowball. Everyone wants to take over a wedding, and sometimes it’s very hard to get your voice heard on what you want. Becky is bullied into the Plaza and the wedding at home because she never once sits down (with or without Luke) to think about what she wants her wedding to be and she ends up being swayed on everything because she’s just indecisive and eager to please everyone. Elinor is very concerned about public image and the lavish wedding she’s throwing isn’t so much about Luke and Becky’s wants or happiness, but more about the publicity for her charity.This book was a lovely 2hrs or so of escapism. I really need to own them all as I enjoy them so much. I do love Becky’s voice. Even though she’s completely frivolous and obsessed by shopping, she’s warm and so easily likable. I think I’d love to have a friend just like her.
I'm continuously surprised at how much I enjoy these books. For one, they're chick-lit, which I don't read much of and generally find insipid and insulting. They're about a woman who is obsessed with shopping, something we really don't have in common. Whenever she buys something (which is often, and usually something she really doesn't need), I cringe. Her debts make me anxious. Her silly lies and cover-ups give me acid burn. The situations she gets herself into, the many times she lets people steamroll her, frustrate me. And yet, and yet...Becky Bloomwood is an engaging character, perhaps because of her flaws. She's oddly vulnerable, and genuinely nice. She's way more polite than I am, the way she always finds something nice to say to people so as not to hurt their feelings instead of being brutally honest - I admire her for that, since it's a skill I've never been good at. The downside is that it puts her in situations she can't politely get out of. In this case, it's two weddings. Now engaged to Luke, both her mother and Luke's mother are planning weddings - for the same day, in different countries. Becky can't seem to say no to either woman; one because it would break her heart, the other because she'd just be ignored.The wedding Luke's mother, Elinor, is planning is a huge, hugely expensive and over-the-top affair at the Plaza in New York. Everyone's talking about it. The wedding planner, Robyn, is an unstoppable force, and even though Elinor is paying, Becky learns that to pull out she'd have to pay Robyn $100,000.On top of that, when she finally summons the courage to tell Luke her problem, he has a mid-life crisis over his mother and career and Becky is left to figure out a miracle. How to make Luke better, and go through two weddings without anyone realising another wedding ever existed?I didn't think Becky would be able to solve this one, I really didn't. Well, I learnt to have more faith in her. She does that, you know. Makes things an even bigger mess than they ever needed to be, and then at the last minute, finds a way to fix it all. These books power along with barely a moment to catch your breath; along the way there's laughter and some subtle digs - in this case, at the wedding industry. It also pokes fun at the daggy home wedding, and it's this irreverent British humour that appeals to me. I'm much more comfortable with it than the American kind, to be honest. I understood it. The Becky Bloomwood novels are similar to Bridget Jones' Diary, which I loved - book and movie. They both have the same flaw though: the male love interest is too much a side-dish. I believe Becky and Luke love each other, and in this book especially we get to understand Luke better. But it seems sometimes like he doesn't really know Becky. At times he clearly knows her very well and reads behind her silly assertions, and I like that he gets more amused than pissed off by her frivolous spending habits. But it bothered me that he was so absent. I don't care for men who leave the planning of their own wedding entirely in the hands of the bride - it's inconsiderate, and a man who takes no interest in the wedding, no matter how small, seems like a man disinterested in being married. BUT, I believe Luke wanted to marry Becky, and I understood that he has issues with his mother that took over. So I'm willing to forgive. I just don't like that Becky couldn't talk to him, didn't want to burden him with her own problems, and had no one to turn to. Communication is so important in a relationship, and I hated all her cover-ups and denials. Sometimes I just want to shake her!
What do You think about Shopaholic Ties The Knot (2004)?
One of the best chick-lit series I've read! Becky Bloomwood is a delight and adorable! She has her issues, of course, but somehow you can't help loving her! Part of what makes these books so funny and cute is the ability Becky has to justify every purchase she makes. And her shopaholic problems aside, she's a sweet, kind and big-hearted person.My sister and I were actually able to go to an author talk with Sophie Kinsella, and she's just as adorable as Becky! So far there are 5 books in the series (Confessions of a Shopaholic is the first), and all are worth the read. My favorites are books 1, 4 and 5, but 2 and 3 are really important and also really good!Again, without giving lots away I can tell you little more about this book than the title already does. But, just imagine the delights of a shopaholic with an excuse to purchase all things wedding-related.:)Happy reading!Winner of Annie's Awards 2005:"Favorite Comedy" - 2nd place
—Ann
I'm not a big chick lit fan, but find Sophie Kinsella's work to be a real guilty pleasure-- slight but fun. However, Shopaholic Ties the Knot is definitely not her best. In the other Shopaholic books, protagonist Becky Bloomwood, is ditzy and self-indulgent, but basically a fun and sweet girl that you can sort of identify with. In this book, that mostly goes out the window. Here, Becky gets engaged and is torn between having the simple English wedding her mother is planning and the big society wedding at The Plaza that her future stepmother desires. Becky's inability to make a decision and be a grown up reaches new heights and gets pretty darn annoying. In the end, Kinsella never does force Becky to get herself together and make a choice. She gets the best of both worlds, guilt free. That's sloppy writing, in my opinion. Becky doesn't really learn anything or become a better person in any way. So why did I need to take this journey with her, then? This book was definitely subpar, even for chick lit.
—Erin
fun book, but not my favorite in the Shopaholic series, July 1, 2008 I really have found the Shopaholic series to be quite fun and enjoyable. The character Becky Bloomwood is fabulous, witty, quite sweet, but a bit insecure with herself. As with all of the Sophie Kinsella books, it's fun and I found myself laughing out loud in some parts. I must confess that I found this book a little less enjoyable than the first two, but still quite fun. I know Becky is quirky and loves to shop, and that's what I love about her, but you think she would have learned something by now. I am amazed with how many lies she tells and is unable to tell the truth. I found myself saying to myself, "Come on, how could anyone let it get this far", and frustrated as a result. Becky breezes through seemingly without consequences. I don't like the message that sends.While some of my comments seems a bit negative/constructive, I still really enjoyed this book. I haven't found anything by Sophie Kinsella that I haven't enjoyed.
—Kath
