It was crystal clear that Becky's going to be back, sooner or later, after the cliff - hanger ending of "Shopaholic to the Stars", and personally I couldn't wait for her return. Everything has been told about Becky already, you can love her or hate her, but there wouldn't be chick - lit without her. And this is why I don't understand this hate - campaign, so many people writing - even without reading the book - that Sophie Kinsella should stop writing the series, and I'm asking, why? Because there is a handful of malcontents? If you hate Becky and Shopaholic series, don't read them, simple as that! Becky's stories may be considered mindless, but for me it's enjoyable "mindless", and I have spent many brilliant hours in the company of Becky, her friends and their antics, and every new book is a special treat for me.
So don't panic and read the book. No matter what other say, I feel there is still potential in Becky and I personally would love to read more about her and the ever - patient Luke.
The book picks up right where the last one ended, and continues with the journey from LA to Las Vegas, with thousands of smaller and bigger adventures for the whole group. And it's not a plain sailing, oh no, it's - of course - a very rocky way to find Graham and Tarkie and reveal their secrets. There are going to be some betrayals on the way, some brief affairs and many, many unexpected events - especially the one with Elinor, Janice and Becky's mum - this was an EPIC scene! EPIC! But what is also great, even if the things complicate and seem to be going all wrong, you know that there is no way they are going to end like this - there is always going to be a happy end.
What's so comfortable for me is the fact that I can expect what Becky's going to do - I mean, not literally, because she has this talent and ability to put herself into different awkward and unexpected situations - but that's the feeling that Becky is going to stay her true, old self, that she's not going to change, and this must be the key to Becky being so successful. I know, we can say she's an adult, she's a woman, she's a wife and a mother and she should change and grow up, but it wouldn't be the same Becky then, right? So really, for me, no matter what Becky does, she's going to stay me hero for ever. Full stop. She's probably never going to grow up, but I can take it on my chin, and I'd be probably disappointed when one day I saw Becky as reasonable Rebecca.
There were many laugh - out - loud moments in the book, and the first that comes to my mind is almost at the beginning of the book, the interaction with the police - Janice was hilarious! Yes, I do realize that the situations were mostly too far - fetched and overdrawn, but oh my word, I didn't expect anything different from Shopaholic book. But this time our Becky has also had some truly sad, tender and disheartening moments and I've never thought that I'm going to experience them with Becky, the queen of optimism having a glass always half full.
Becky, even though she's a little calmer this time, and there is also a period that I couldn't believe my eyes that THIS is Becky (ha! Curious? I know :) - and believe me, it was a really nice change to see her like this, but later it made me feel really nervous and I was slowly starting to panic), she's still her old self - first saying and doing and only then thinking, digging deep holes for herself and putting herself into many troubles, but this is her charm, and you can say whatever you want, but she has one of the nicest personalities in women's literature. Yes, I sometimes feel desperate with Becky, but the way she perceives the world, her family and friends is just priceless and so genuine and innocent. I also adored to see all the characters that I feel so acquainted with in this book (was this a kind of closure? To see all of them for the last time? I hope not!) - Suze and Tarkie, Alicia (not that I was missing HER), Janice, Becky's mum and dad, Danny and Elinor, and of course Minnie and Luke. To be honest, I couldn't watch how bad Becky felt in this situation with Suze, and I couldn't believe that Suze could be like this, and add to this Alicia Bitch Long - Legs and my heart went to Becky. I really couldn't believe that it's a real Suze, I have never seen her like this, and as much as I wanted more from her in the last book, I was not sure if I wanted her like THIS. Because I also love Suze and her antics with Tarkie.
This book was full of a crazy chasing after Graham and his secret, full of mysterious Rebeccas and gambling in Vegas. It's colourful and there was not a single second flat, there was something happening all the time, and we even had Minnie riding on a sheep. As usual, the descriptions of the settings and places are brilliantly vivid and I could easily picture all the things in my mind. The way LA, then the road trip and all the places the gang stopped by, and finally Las Vegas are pictured is plausible, and it made for a perfect setting.
"Shopaholic to the Rescue" is a light, compulsive, funny read that I didn't want to put down. There are a lot of snorting moments that usually took me totally by surprise, and I was bursting out with laughing in very unexpected moments, which made my husband looking suspiciously at me - and this is the whole idea of a Shopaholic book, methinks, that they're genuinely funny, and can't be taken too seriously. Reading this book was like being back with best old friends, and it's a truly great feeling. Yes, the plot is crazy and far - fetched, and we kind of know where it's heading, but well, that's half the fun, right? Knowing that we can expect a happy end is one of the elements that makes me love Shopaholic series so much. It was a great read and I really recommend it to all fans of shopaholic series.
Copy received from publisher in exchange for a review.