Review: Shopaholic to the Stars

Everyone's favourite shopaholic is back! Yes, Sophie Kinsella has written a new Becky Bloomwood novel. Shopaholic to the Stars was released yesterday, October 21st. It's been a long few years since Kinsella's last Shopaholic book and I found myself wondering if I would still like these books after all of this time. Verdict? Wellllll...I didn't love this one. But I didn't hate it either.

Here's the synopsis:

Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) has stars in her eyes. She and her daughter, Minnie, have joined husband Luke in LA—city of herbal smoothies, multimillion-dollar yoga retreats, and the lure of celebrity. Luke is there to help manage the career of famous actress Sage Seymour—and Becky is convinced she is destined to be Sage’s personal stylist, and go from there to every A-list celebrity in Hollywood! But things become complicated when Becky joins the team of Sage’s archrival. How will charming and supportive Luke deal with this conflict? Is it possible that what Becky wants most will end up hurting those she loves most? Shopaholic fans old and new will devour Sophie Kinsella’s newest adventure!

I know it seems wrong for a self-professed chick lit lover to say that she didn't love a book by one of the great chick lit authors. But, there it is. My problem is Becky. She does the same (stupid) things over and over again and never seems to learn from her mistakes. I can handle Kinsella's standalone novels, where the characters are usually doing that same thing, because it's not a series. How has Becky not figured out that she shouldn't spend a ton of money on useless things in SEVEN books?!? I was worried with the last book, Mini Shopaholic, as I was getting more annoyed than usual with Becky and it seems that carried over to this book. Sigh. 

The other thing that bothered me about this book was the ending. I won't give any specific spoilers but be warned that this book ends with a cliffhanger. A CLIFFHANGER. In a chick lit book! I don't think I've ever really encountered that. The whole reason I put up with Becky's silliness is because, in the end, she figures out her mistakes and all is well. She does have that epiphany in this book but there's a secondary plot line that isn't concluded at the end. And, I admit, that frustrated the hell out of me. This could very well be a very personal thing but I think it's something readers need to be aware of.

Those who adore the Shopaholic series will still like this one. It is a fun book. I especially liked that Suze and her family went to LA to stay with Becky, Luke, and Minnie. I always enjoy reading about best friends and Becky and Suze are great chick lit besties. I also quite liked the storyline surrounding Sage and her archrival (I don't want to give a name because I don't want to give it away!). It was fun and dramatic (without being series) - and involved fashion! Always a good component of a Shopaholic book.

So, overall, I was kind of bummed with Shopaholic to the Stars. I wanted to love Sophie Kinsella's latest novel. I really did. I'm just not feeling the series anymore and I wonder why it really needs to continue. I'll probably keep reading Kinsella's standalone novels but I don't know if I'll really want to revisit Becky's world. Tell me...what do you think of the Shopaholic series? Will you read Becky's latest adventure?

*An ARC was provided by the publisher, Random House of Canada, in exchange for review consideration.*