Monthly Recommendations #1

shopaholic-recommendation

Dear readers, 

We have gathered on Bookoteca’s Blog for our monthly recommendations. 

Giving way into the winter season, we have thought it might be worth going back in time with a series that has conquered all of our womanly hearts when it was published. 

Have you guessed it?

It is Sophie Kingsela’s tenth book in the realm of adventures she has envisioned for her dear Rebecca Bloomwood.  Even though published last year, Christmas Shopaholic is the perfect winter reading. But before we dive into the last one of the series, we will have to take you through a recap of all the previous books in the list. 

Ready? 

Let’s go…

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2001 – Book 1)

A very impressive book that has been adapted to the big screen, Confessions of a Shopaholic deals with the very interesting rollercoaster of spending the main character brings forward on herself. Becky or Rebecca, a London fashionista, struggles with her credit card credit, as she is always impressed by designer homeware, clothes and beauty products that she cannot stop herself from buying. She works for a newspaper where she ironically covers the finance column, but as you can imagine she really doesn’t like her job. However, on her way to a press conference where she was invited to partake for her job, Becky sees her favourite Denny and George scarf at an incredible price, but she cannot purchase it as she has forgotten her credit card at work. Being engulfed in work errands, Beck manages to borrow 20 quid from Luke, the head of Brandon Communications. She excuses herself for asking for the loan by telling Luke she wants to buy a present for her aunt who is in hospital. The book follows closely her adventures into the dating world with both Tarquin, another magnate whom she soon gives up, and Luke, who seems to be in another relationship. Throughout all her adventures, and as long as the book continues, her bank manager, Derek Smeath, is trying to get hold of Becky, just to find out she never returns his calls nor emails and soon after it is clear to him that Becky cannot pay her overdue debts. As she hides from Derek in her parents house, invoking that he is a stalker, Becky finds out that one of her absent minded writing made some neighbours lose a great amount of money. In her attempt to save the situation, Becky writes an article that is highly valuable and she gets invited to a TV show. On the show she confronts Luke, who gives up their account of the bank which Becky dismantels. After the show, Becky gets a permanent slot on the Morning Coffee and her bank finances are looking better. At the end of the book she meets with Luke at the Ritz, where they have a fabulous dinner and spend the night together at the luxurious hotel. 

Shopaholic Abroad (2001 – Book 2)

Everything seems to be working fine for the main character. Her finances were improving as a result of her TV show, and her relationship with Luke is going great. However, a media storm soon finds a way in Becky’s life. She is soon called a fraud, by an article in Daily World which states her financial situation is meagre and that she cannot give advice to others on how to manage their finances when her own being a total disaster. This situation has a negative impact upon her relationship with Luke and her current job at Morning Coffee. 

As the action unfolds, Becky overhears Alicia and Brandon talking about their plans to embarrass Luke by stealing his most important client, namely, Bank of London. Instead of going to her best friend, she decides to play detective in order to understand better what those two plan. She is rewarded by Michael, with whom she shared the information. As Luke finds out the truth he plans to sue Alicia and Brandon C. for embezzlement. Turns out that Alicia was also behind the Daily World article that destabilised Becky. While trying to salvage her finances, Becky auctioned some of her fashion possessions, including the Denny and George scarf that marked the beginning of her relationship to Luke. At the airport, before she leaves London for New York, where she will become a personal shopper at Barneys, Luke meets her and returns the scarf he has auctioned off. After some time, she is really accomplished with her new job, and she becomes a regular on the TV presenting fashion items. As she was helping one of her clients accessorise an outfit, she realises she misses Luke and they get back together.

Shopaholic Ties the Knot (2002 – Book 3)

As the book opens, Becky is happily living with boyfriend Luke in West Village, Manhattan. She has finally found the career switch which makes her really happy. At her best friend’s wedding she catches Suze’s bouquet where she finds Luke’s marriage proposal. She will soon find herself in a pickle, as boths Luke’s mother and her own plan to give her a lavish wedding, one at home in England and one at the Plaza New York, with a small impediment, as both are on the same day. With the advancement of the wedding plans, Becky is incapable of deciding which of the weddings she needs to cancel. 

Luckily, Becky helps one of her favourite clients to recover some of her stolen jewelry and in return, Lauren offers her to help her with anything as a wedding present, which is the perfect escape for Becky to keep both weddings, the Plaza and the one back home in England, as Laurel offers to book one of her private jets for Becky to get to London. 

Shopaholic on Honeymoon (2004 – Book 4) 

The adventure tells the story of Luke and Becky’s honeymoon in Venice. Under the shopping influence again, Becky buys 12 expensive Murano glasses and when confronted by Luke, she merely explains that she was trying to match the new ones to the old ones they had at home. However, Luke is not impressed and tells Becky they need to keep a close eye on their spendings while in the honeymoon. The action takes us further to Luke and Becky visiting local museums, which Becky enjoys thoroughly as they do not look like Guggenheim she was accustomed to. 

Shopaholic and Sister (2004 – Book 5)

After returning home one month early from their honeymoon, Luke and Becky seem to be looking for trouble. Becky has made numerous purchases during the 10 month honeymoon around the world, and even if at first Luke was bemused, he soon finds himself annoyed at his wife. As she has not started her job on television, he urgents her to use the spare time in order to arrange the truck of souvenirs that she ordered. However, Beck has other plans, and she soon auctions everything, even a gift that Luke’s company purchased for one of their clients, 20K Tiffany’s watches. This leaves the newlyweds not speaking for days. 

Upon their return, even her parents find the need to confess something. Her father has another daughter from a relationship he has had previously. Becky is at first relieved by the news, but she soon discovers that her sister is not the shopaholic that she has envisioned. What’s more, her sister is the complete opposite of her, and she soon finds herself in tears when Luke argues that her sister is better than her. 

After behaving inadequately to Jess, her newly found sister, Becky decides to make a mence with her, but she soon discovers they might not even be related. By this time, her marriage to Luke is in shambles, and she is determined to leave England’s countryside to make things work. However, she decides to pursue her relationship with Jess one last time, when she gets injured as she was not wearing the right clothes or pumps for hiking.

At the hospital, she finally reconciles with Luke, who admits she was right about him meeting Temple, and they decide to work on their marriage together. By the end of the book, Becky found herself a new passion, thrifting but also learned that she is pregnant. 

Shopaholic and Baby (2007 – Book 6)

During the time that she expects her fist baby with Luke, Becky goes through the thrills and joys of her first pregnancy. But things get complicated when Becky wants to change Dr. Braine, her obstetrician with another famous one, who seems to have been Luke’s ex girlfriend from university days. Having had an encounter with Venetia, the famous obstetrician, she is suspecting Luke of having a relationship with her, after what she has actually confessed. When confronting Luke with those rumors, she learns the truth about their university relationship and decides to continue to see Dr. Braine. 

Furthermore, the action of the book revolves around a personal investigator, who uncovers the truth about Suze’s new best friend, Lulu and other information about one of Luke’s clients. Apparently the CEO of Arcodas Group and Venetia were conspiring against Brandon Communications, in Venetia’s attempt to get Luke to leave his wife. When Luke confronts Venetia, he comes out as assertive, and says that he loves his wife for her genuine and intuitive nature, rather than Venetia’s manipulative and lying side. 

Becky and Luke lose the house that they were willing to buy, and thus find themselves homeless. When in an argument, Becky’s water breaks and she soon finds herself a mother of a darling girl, whom they name Minnie. By the end of the book, the three of them move to Surrey, to Becky’s parents while Luke is looking to save his company. 

Mini Shopaholic (2010 – Book 7)

This book deals with the financial recession that hit both Luke and Becky, who still live with her parents. However, more drama is added to the plate, when her now two years old daughter, Minni proves to be ill tempered. Upon a thorough assessment, Becky’s mother said that is Becky’s fault for Minni’s tantrums, which in turn upsets Becky and makes her have a fight with her parents. During this whole time, the main character is trying to organise a surprise party for Luke’s birthday. Things get off the rails when Luke, decides at his own accord to hire Nanny Sue, a nanny with her proprietary TV show in order to deal with his daughter’s bad behaviour. Becky is rather upset when she discovers this, but she soon admits she herself has consulted with Elianor, Luke’s mother, for bettering their daughter. After Becky learns from Nanny Sue that she is the one responsible for her daughter being spoiled, she returns to her parents for a reconciliation. By the end of the book, the entire family is looking forward to three months in Hollywood, as Luke takes on board a Julia Robert type of movie star. 

Shopaholic to the Stars (2015 – Book 8)

In her attempt to get a job with Sage Seymour, the Julia Robers movie star alike, Becky is upset with Luke for keeping her at a distance under the pretext that the holiday will soon be over. Luke’s idea of Becky overseeing the preschool efforts for their daughter, makes Becky resee her arch enemy, Alicia, who is trying to get into Becky’s good graces by helping Minnie get into a prestigious school. Becky succeeds to get a job for Sage’s rival, Lois, who starts picking up on Becky and her reckless appearance, suggesting she should get plastic surgery. On top, Alicia seems to be thinking the same as Lois, and this gives Becky a hard time with her priorities between marriage, family and friends.  

In a different plan, Tarquin joins a wellness center, and Suze does not want him to go. Being torn between her friends and family, Becky advises Tarquin against the wellness center, and much to his later regret he doesn’t listen to her. 

The story ends with a cliffhanger, but more to follow in Book 9.

Shopaholic to the Rescue (2016 – Book 9)

While her father disappeared, Becky seems to have the urge to find him and return him to his mother. With her friends in town, she goes on a look for clues. When Alicia wants to join, Luke and Suze convince Becky she is up for good. 

The story unfolds in a different direction, as Becky and Jess reunite and discover their father was never kidnapped, but rather was away to another daughter they knew nothing about. 

Apparently his adventurous past has made him father multiple children, of whom he knows nothing, but whom he is trying to find without Jane’s knowledge. Becky and Jess decide to help him in his endeavours. 

Christmas Shopaholic (2019 – Book 10)

We finally have arrived at the latest addition to the shopaholic series, namely the Christmas book released last year. 

The book finds Becky’s parents moving to the new upbeat Shoreditch shire in London, while Becky is trying to host Christmas. With all the online temptations she is faced with, in terms of shopping, will manage not to crack under the pressure of the holiday season?

The book is delightfully constructed on her entanglement with her extended family and her past addiction, shopping. 

Hopefully you have enjoyed reading this extensive piece on the Shopaholic series!

We are happy to find similar selections if you decide to write in the comment section of this article your next interest.