Shopaholic and Baby (Sophie Kinsella)*****

I don’t have a shopping problem. My interest in clothes is limited to how warm they are and how pink they are – apart from that, I’m not interested.

So I should hate Becky. She and I have nothing in common. The nearest I get to shopaholism is when I go to Waterstones and the 3for2 offer is just too good to resist. I even get 3for2 at WHSmiths sometimes, which is really exciting because officially they only do Buy1Get1Half-Price. But that’s not the same as being a shopaholic. That’s just about budgeting and being sneaky and comparing which are the best deals.

Okay, you’re right, that’s exactly the sort of thing Becky says. The only difference between us is that Becky is better-dressed than me. But I’m probably better-read. I’ve read Penny Vincenzi’s An Absolute Scandal all the way through. And Ulysses twice. So obviously I never have time to go clothes shopping.

You don’t need to have a clue about clothes or fashion to enjoy this book. It doesn’t matter if a clothes shop is practically an alien world. It’s all about loving something so much, the desire to possess it sends your brain into overdrive and physically prevents you from making connections between the prices of your desired item and the state of your bank account. Most people can relate to that. Probably a lot of us have also had the experience of when something happens that makes you look horribly stupid in front of people you don’t want to look stupid in front of. So you tell a little lie to get yourself out of looking stupid, and the lie gets bigger and bigger and bigger…

Okay, maybe that doesn’t happen to everyone, but it seems to happen to Becky almost every day. Maybe she doesn’t always use her considerable imaginative powers in the best or most convincing way possible, but watching Becky talking herself out of one embarrassment, and, more often than not, into one ten times worse, is an eye-opening experience. And a hysterically funny one as well.

Shopaholic & Baby (not that the baby appears until nearly the end) was the first Shopaholic book I read. You can read the books in any order, but Shopaholic & Baby isn’t a bad one to read first. As Becky is pregnant and married to rich, sexy Luke (phwoar!!!!!), it doesn’t seem to matter that she can’t stop spending. She’s hormonal, and he’s loaded, so it doesn’t seem that serious. And that’s actually good because it’s funnier when it’s not serious.

But Luke’s riches do have their downside. It means Becky can afford to see the great Venetia Carter (there seem to be a lot of bitches called Venetia in Sophie Kinsella’s books), obstetrician to the stars, and this backfires rather when Becky discovers Venetia is Luke’s ex-girlfriend – beautiful, sexy, intelligent, and apparently still interested in Luke. Becky, on the other hand, doesn’t realise that she’s very intelligent herself (when she uses her brain), and no-one with her lovely personality could fail to look beautiful. And her very strong interest in clothes can only help her to look good. But, of course, she’s pregnant, which means she’s not as thin as Venetia. And her hormones aren’t doing anything for her self-esteem. But Becky’s fears are more than reasonable enough to keep the book going, providing not only some hysterically funny moments, but some really serious and gripping moments. Especially as Luke really does seem to be lying to her.

Shopaholic & Baby isn’t the most realistic book in the world, but it’s fun and funny and you seriously don’t know what Becky’s going to come out with next. She’s a liar and she’s shallow, but she’s very warm-hearted and absolutely adorable. Luke is adorable too. Even though I quite wanted him for myself (like a lot of fictional Lukes, he is a bit underemotional, but there’s something really sexy about guys with their own company – like Blue in An Absolute Scandal), they do have a lovely relationship, so you really, really want them to work their problems out. Becky’s suspicions might seem reasonable, but Luke is so lovely, you can’t help hoping he’s not the type to be unfaithful - even though this would dramatically reduces your own minuscule (why does he have to be fictional???) chances of stealing him.