Review: Mini Shopaholic

Summary: Sophie Kinsella has dazzled readers with her irresistible Shopaholic novels—sensational international bestsellers that have garnered millions of devoted fans and catapulted her into the first rank of contemporary storytellers. Now her beloved heroine Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) returns in a hilarious tale of married life, toddlerhood, and the perils of trying to give a fabulous surprise party—on a budget!

Becky Brandon thought motherhood would be a breeze and that having a daughter was a dream come true: a shopping friend for life! But it’s trickier than she thought. Two-year-old Minnie has a quite different approach to shopping.

Minnie creates havoc everywhere she goes, from Harrods to her own christening. Her favorite word is “Mine!” and she’s even trying to get into eBay! On top of everything else, Becky and Luke are still living with her parents (the deal on house #4 has fallen through), when suddenly there’s a huge financial crisis.

With people having to “cut back,” Becky decides to throw a surprise party for Luke to cheer everyone up. But when costs start to spiral out of control, she must decide whether to accept help from an unexpected source—and therefore run the risk of hurting the person she loves.

Will Becky be able to pull off the celebration of the year? Will she and Luke ever find a home of their own? Will Minnie ever learn to behave? And . . . most important . . . will Becky’s secret wishes ever come true? -- The Dial Press

I have always looked forward to the latest installment of the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. I absolutely adored the first book in the series (and even related a bit to Becky's ability to justify her purchases.) While not all of the books have lived up to my enjoyment of the first few, I still manage to enjoy them. The latest book, MINI SHOPAHOLIC, was another cute book that kept me smiling -- and it was a perfect read for this hectic time of the year.

I'm not really sure that I can review MINI SHOPAHOLIC aside from saying that it was pretty much what I've come to expect from books in this series. MINI SHOPAHOLIC was a little longer than most chick lit books  -- it came in at a little over 400 pages, and I have to be honest when I say that it did drag for me in a few places.

I don't want to make it sound like this book wasn't enjoyable because it was. In fact, I really enjoyed the ending of the book. I felt as if the pace of the last few chapters was much faster than the rest of the novel, and there were even a few surprises for the reader. I especially appreciated the little twists and turns because I felt as if much of this book was predictable.

The more I think about it, I'm starting to believe that I might be getting a little tired of this series. On one hand, I love Becky and her quirky behavior. However, on the other hand, I'm getting tired of her shallowness and selfish actions. In my opinion, it might be time for her character to mature and evolve a little bit.

Overall, MINI SHOPAHOLIC was a fun read for me. I think if you are a fan of the Shopaholic series, then you'll definitely want to read this book. If you aren't familiar with the series, then I recommend starting with CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC rather than this one.