Review: Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Title: Mini Shopaholic

Author: Sophie Kinsella

Rating:

Who Should Read It? This is a great book for fans of Sophie Kinsella and the Shopaholic series. While I ADORED this book (enough to give it 5 stars!), I think it's best to already have a reading relationship with Becky before reading it as, well, she is SLIGHTLY neurotic. :-)

What I Have to Say:
I hate this book. Why?, you may wonder. Because I LOVED it so much. And now nothing seems to live up to it. I mean, I am enjoying the book I'm reading now, but I can't help but keep thinking "I WANT MORE BECKY BLOOMWOOD!" I love her! I love Sophie Kinsella, and it's possible that, aside some brief frustration in the beginning, this is THE best yet in the Shopaholic series.

In Mini Shopaholic, Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is BACK and more compulsively crazier and fabulous than ever. Her antics are everything readers of the Shopaholic series have come to expect - and more. Especially now that she has her two year old, Minnie, growing up under her influence. While Minnie and Minnie's relationship with her mother are sometimes slightly frustrating (you're just going to have to read the book if you want to know why), will immediately hook the reader in and entertain them nonstop right up until the end.

Whoever decided that Becky should/could have children (perhaps Sophie Kinsella of herself!) must have been crazy - and brilliant. It is hilariously entertaining, and the background of the financial crisis and the big CB (cut back) just make it all the more so. In Mini Shopaholic, Kinsella has masterfully constructed a hilarious, crazy story that will leave you wanting more and feeling like you maybe got a little bit too much at the same time.

And that's really the only problem with this book. With Becky's crazy antics and Becky's mother's crazy antics and Minnie's crazy antics and Janice's crazy antics, it can sometimes be a bit much, and for people that aren't already familiar and in love with the Shopaholic series, I can see how it could be a bit difficult. Unless, you're perhaps a little bit crazy. And then you'll relate. Like I do.

Seriously, though, this book is good. And if you love the Shopaholic series, the chances of you continuing to love it with this book are high. It's fabulous! And trust be, you'll be losing sleep waiting for Sophie Kinsella to write the next book in the series! I can't wait!

Summary:While motherhood has been everything Becky dreamed it would be—Baby Dior, Little Marc Jacobs, and Dolce & Gabbana for toddlers—adorable Minnie is wreaking havoc everywhere she goes, from Harrods to her own christening. Her favorite word is “MINE!” and her penchant for Balenciaga bags, Chanel sunglasses, and online purchases has no rival under age five.

Becky is at her wits end. On top of this, she and her husband Luke are still living with her parents. Thankfully it appears house buying attempt number four is a go! Until a huge financial crisis causes panic everywhere, and nobody wants to shop—not Becky’s personal shopping clientele, not her friends, nobody. And with Luke in the doldrums, it’s time for Becky to step in—with a party: A surprise birthday party for Luke (on a budget) is the perfect antidote to everyone’s woes. At first.

Will Becky manage to keep the party of the year a surprise? Can she hire jugglers, fire-eaters, and acrobats at a discount? Will enlisting the help of Luke’s unflappable assistant to convince him to have another baby realize her dream of matching pom-poms? Will Minnie find a new outlet for her energetic and spirited nature (perhaps one with sixty percent markdowns)? She is, after all, a chip off the old shopping block. And everyone knows a committed shopper always finds a way.

Cover Story: I think both the British and the American covers are adorable - exactly what a Shopaholic series book needs!

Disclosure: THanks so much to Elizabeth of Transworld Books for sending me a review copy of this book! It in no way affected my review of this book.