Our favourite shopaholic, Becky Bloomwood is pregnant and she’s more excited than ever! After all, having a baby would be a fun thing, right? This means that instead of shopping for just one person, Becky can now shop for two! It’s definitely utter bliss for her shopaholic soul.

Life seems perfect. A baby coming soon, her husband Luke is doing well with his public relations company, a beautiful new home awaiting them…what else could Becky want?

Well, she’s not really contented with her current obstetrician, which is boring Mr Braine who has delivered Luke before. She hopes to secure celebrity obstetrician, Venetia Carter who treats mostly famous people. Becky, with her fantasies of rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, eventually succeeds in getting Venetia to be her new doctor.

The thing is, long-legged, red-head and glamorous Venetia used to be Luke’s girlfriend when they were teenagers. Should Becky be worried? No, she shouldn’t be, of course. Luke loves her. He would never leave her. Hurting her would be the last thing in the world that he’d ever do. But she has that nagging feeling of distrust whenever she sees Venetia, or Luke.

Can’t say I loved the book though I liked it. However, the more I read about Becky’s extravagant spending and frivolous ideas, I began liking her less. Actually, I don’t really like her character but I just find her funny at times. Her mannerisms and ridiculous ideas can leave you speechless.

It is a fun book to read, there’s no doubt about it. I enjoy the other characters especially Luke and Becky’s best friend, Suze. I know that Suze comes from a wealthy family and she must have had the best education, so sometimes I find it hard to believe that she can be quite ditzy.

Shopaholic & Baby is a fun and cheerful book to pick up after a hard day’s work.

I’m also looking forward to the next book, Mini Shopaholic, which comes out in September.

Just when she thinks Luke is not interested in marriage, he proposes. Becky’s feeling joyful because there’ll be a Becky’s Big Day (inspired by (Princess) Diana’s Big Day) after all. Her mother is just as excited and has begun preparations for the wedding. However, when Becky returns to New York, Luke’s very frosty mother, Elinor, surprises her with her own plans for a grand wedding for Luke and Becky at the Plaza.

It’s hard to say no to Elinor. Becky plans to go along with Elinor’s plans for a while and then decline her offer later. But as Becky becomes more involved in the New York wedding, she is overwhelmed with the luxury and privilege of getting married like a princess. She then plans to let her mother know about her decision to marry in New York. The thing is, Becky’s parents have already put in a lot of effort and work for the England wedding that she didn’t have the heart to disappoint them. So, there are two weddings for Becky on the same day. Which one will she choose?

I can’t believe how much I looked down upon the Shopaholic series and thought it was the kind of chick lit book that I shouldn’t waste time reading. Well, reading my first Shopaholic book in 2007 proved me wrong. It turned out to be one of the most fun books I ever read!

This one was no exception. It’s light-hearted, a page turner and undeniably hilarious. I loved how many times I chuckled aloud while reading it. Becky’s such an imaginative person. Besides being an impulsive buyer, she also tends to jump to conclusions rather quickly.

The other characters definitely add more drama to the story. Luke is so devoted to Becky but he’s also a very loyal son to Elinor whom Becky detests. Then there’s Becky’s new best friend, Danny who aspires to be a fashion designer. I guess her life wouldn’t be complete if there’s no fashion designer for a friend.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I’m going to get started with the fifth one, Shopaholic & Baby! And FYI, the sixth book, Mini Shopaholic will be released on September 21 this year!

Nineteen-year-old Mina says goodbye to her Korean hometown and goes to Hawaii in search of a better future. She leaves behind an abusive husband and her young daughter who she has placed in the care of a trusted friend. Mina vows to earn enough money so that she and her daughter will have a brighter future.

Young, beautiful and delicate Mina makes an impressive debut as a bargirl at the bar called The Korean Palace. She is so good and hardworking at her work that the bar owner and Mina’s mentor, Cathy, felt that she has found the right girl. Cathy only wants the best for her bargirls but Mina shows great promise. Mina also feels grateful towards Cathy and Jana, Cathy’s niece. Cathy was the one to give her business card to Mina when they met in Korea while Jana helped and guided Mina before she made her debut.

We get a lot of detailed background on almost every character that appears in the story. Yes, I loved reading about them especially Mina, Cathy, and Jana but I felt that some really minor characters didn’t need too much specific background info.

I agree with a reviewer on Amazon who described the characters as colourful. We get to read about Cathy’s history and how she became a successful businesswoman. The bit on her fallout with her used to be best friend, Suzie provided some interesting insight on the story.

Cathy’s niece, Jana also had a strong though very sad past. Jana suffered from loneliness as a child because her parents rarely spent time with her. This motivated her to turn to her pedophile uncle who only stopped abusing her when she became a teenager. Instead of finally being free from his sexual advances, Jana got more depressed. Fortunately, Aunt Cathy rescued her from falling deeper into her own dark hole and Jana was led to become the strong, confident woman that she is today. However, she’s afraid to disappoint her aunt Cathy when she falls in love with a married man.

I only read the first seven chapters. Perhaps in the future I might try reading it again but not with the same copy that I have now. Mine is the semi-edited, 8.5 x 11 version with 434 pages. I also just found out that the novel has been split into two books: Book I The Korean Palace of Honolulu – Mina and Book II The Korean Palace of Honolulu – Jana. I just read the excerpt of Book I – Mina on Amazon and noticed that there have been changes in the writing. It’s good to know that readers wouldn’t have to suffer from the grammar and punctuation errors like those in my copy. Another thing that put me off was the thickness of the book but then, it was before it was split.

Nonetheless, The Korean Palace of Honolulu is an inspiring story which encourages women to stay strong, independent and to work hard to reach for their goals in life. Readers will be entertained and they’ll learn a thing or two from the courageous women characters in the book.

***Thanks to the author, Ms Linda for sending me a review copy of the book.

Since she has never read Runway or any other fashion magazine, Andy has to rapidly learn the ropes in order to survive as Miranda’s assistant. She’s also not the sort of girl to swoon over the latest Prada bag or Jimmy Choo shoes or starve herself to stay skinny.

She’s also being reminded constantly that she’s lucky to be working for Miranda Priestly, and that millions of girls would die for the job. But it’s tough attempting to carry out various tasks in a short amount of time for the ever-demanding Miranda. To stay motivated, Andy assures herself that she’d stick it out as Miranda’s slave assistant for a year and she’d be able to be a writer for The New Yorker. It seems that working for Miranda can get you places!

I’ve watched the movie starring Anna Hathaway and Meryl Streep many, many times and I love it! The clothes are superb and to-die-for. Meryl’s performance as the boss-from-hell Miranda is perfect. Although most scenes from the novel have been adapted into the movie, their storyline weren’t the same. Compared to the book, the movie is considered a feel-good version.

Not that the book isn’t all that chirpy and light-hearted but Andy has had to deal with serious issues. For example, her best friend Lily is an alcoholic but Andy couldn’t bring herself to talk to Lily about it. In the movie, Andy’s boyfriend, Nate is a chef while in the book, the boyfriend, Alex teaches in a school in South Bronx where the students come from troubled homes.

I kind of breezed through the 391-page book. Some parts were dragging, for instance when Andy keeps complaining about Miranda. Also, I cringed a few times just from reading about all the wasted food that Miranda never ate. Andy doesn’t know when Miranda arrives at the office in the morning and she orders her breakfast every ten minutes so that when Miranda arrives, the meal will be steaming hot. All the previously ordered and now cold, meals will be dumped into the trash. Just like that. Isn’t that wasteful???

Miranda does have a lot of responsibility in her hands and she needs to overcome the challenge of balancing work with personal life. Therefore, being her assistant is not easy! I wonder how a typical day goes by for Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue magazine.

Well, what do you think of the book? Is it really that difficult to be assistant to a fashion editor and do these editors have fussy demands?

But underneath all that perfection and glory, Elena feels empty inside. Her parents had been killed in a road accident and she’s living with her aunt and aunt’s boyfriend. When the mysterious Stefan Salvatore arrives on the first day of school, Elena becomes captivated by him. Just like every other girl in school who has fallen for the handsome, brooding guy.

The shocking thing for Elena was that Stefan completely ignores her. Which guy in their right mind would not look at the beautiful Elena? Or even die for the chance to talk to her? She tries to strike up conversations with Stefan but is only left hurt and disappointed. The question burning in her mind is why doesn’t he like her???

The Awakening is the first book in the Vampire Diaries series. As I read it, it was similar to that of the Twilight books. Elena writes things in her diary. It’s a story of romance between a human girl and a vampire guy. There’s a love triangle involved. I expected it to be as intriguing as Twilight where the story will hold my attention to the end. However, I found it slightly boring although it was a quick and easy read. This book was also published in 1991 so we cannot assume it copied Twilight.

Elena is not a likeable character. She thinks only of herself and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. On a positive note, she’s a determined sort of girl. She’s strong, defiant and won’t take no for an answer.

On the other hand, the Stefan character is quite dull. He doesn’t do much except try to avoid Elena. She describes his eyes as containing the deepest kind of sadness, the most painful kind of sadness a person can ever have. Stefan’s older brother, Damon is more exciting. Damon’s described as “sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him.” When Elena meets Damon, she is surprised to find herself drawn to him. Well, who wouldn’t if he’s such a hot guy?

Do you watch the The Vampire Diaries TV series which is based on these books? I’ve watched a few episodes and noticed differences between book and TV. For instance, Elena on TV is a brunette and she’s not queen bee like the Elena in the book. TV Elena seems much nicer too. Stefan’s the same and Damon would be someone to look out for.

I’ll be looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Struggle.

Charlie Sinclair is 24 years old and holds two jobs. He works on an assembly line in a factory by day and thrills rock music fans by night. He plays the guitar in the band who calls themselves Pistonhead. Even though they have only released two CDs and keep a small following of fans, the band members remain optimistic by doing what they love to do, that is to make and play music together.

However, Charlie feels as if his life isn’t going anywhere. He only holds a temporary day job. His band gets booed at certain shows. His childhood friend and lead singer of Pistonhead, Rip is hooked on drugs. He has no girlfriend. His apartment is filled with mice. His mother has a new boyfriend he doesn’t know about. Charlie wished he could tell all that to people who think he leads a glamorous rock star life.

Then suddenly something happens that ultimately changes everything. The band’s future becomes uncertain. Charlie’s future looks even bleaker.

This novel of only 174 pages has the plot going smoothly. It only revolves around one very important week in Charlie’s life. Told from the third person limited point of view, we readers see life and music though Charlie’s eyes.

Despite the rocker musician’s spectacular performances on stage, Charlie becomes just as ordinary as everyone else once he gets off stage. People think he leads a promiscuous life with groupies but all Charlie wants is a girlfriend who loves him as he is. This is where I wonder if his co-worker Lisa has feelings for him though there are hints of it. There is also an eccentric love scene with Lisa’s friend, Tamaya.

I really enjoyed reading the concert scenes and Charlie’s feelings when on stage. The most exciting part for me is where one of their performances got a lukewarm response from a very hostile audience. I was on the edge of my seat and tried to guess whether the band would stop playing or just go on with the show.

The author of this novel, Thomas A. Hauck was a rock musician and songwriter for 15 years. He had played with Boston-based bands such as the Atlantics and Ball and Pivot. You can read more about the bands here.

Check out Thomas Hauck’s guest post on my other book blog, Books Love Me!

***Thanks to Mr Hauck for sending me a copy of his novel to review.

The story is narrated through journal writing by 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain. She intends to capture everything and everyone around her by writing about them in her journal. Her family is poor and they live in an old, rented but fascinating castle called Godsend in the county of Suffolk. Cassandra hopes to improve her writing by jotting down her thoughts and observations religiously in her journal.

Her family is an interesting mix of characters. Cassandra’s father, James Mortmain had a one hit wonder of a book but has ceased writing ever since. Now his family can only wonder if he’s trying to write anything else. Topaz, their stepmother, is described as a stunning woman who loves to play the lute and indulges in nudism to commune with nature. Cassandra has a beautiful older sister, Rose and a younger brother, Thomas. Stephen, the handsome, sensible servant-boy also lives with them and is utterly devoted to Cassandra. He takes extra care of her and showers her with small gifts every now and then.

Cassandra also compares her family’s situation with the Bennet family from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. She wonders if their luck would be as fortunate as the Bennet sisters whose marriage to men from rich families had helped them rise to a better social status.

When two American brothers arrived unexpectedly at the castle one night, the Mortmain family had hopes that it could bring a good change for them. The Americans who are the Cottons also owned Godsend Castle and thus are the Mortmains’ landlords. Desperate to capture the hearts of the wealthy brothers, Rose behaves in a silly way during their first few encounters. But after a turn of events, they learnt more of one another and became friends.

It was the ultimate good news when Simon Cotton made a marriage proposal to Rose. She accepted it readily as she thought she was in love with him. Cassandra and almost everyone were happy for the newly-engaged couple. But she was puzzled when the other brother, Neil Cotton did not share their joyful sentiments. He pointed out that Rose was only marrying Simon for the money.

However, Simon kisses Cassandra when he visited for a Midsummer Eve family ritual. With it being her first kiss and because she enjoyed being in Simon’s company, she believes to be in love with him. Knowing that the man she loves would be married to her sister, Cassandra carries around with her the heavy weight of her love struck and shattered heart.

The first person point of view is used to narrate the story and by that, the reader sees everything that’s happening from Cassandra’s eyes and can only understand from what she can mentally absorb. She ought to get credit because she has an eye for detail and manages to describe almost everything in the most creative manner. She tends to ramble at times but that’s part of the point of having a journal.

I admit that the book was a slow start for me. It was alright in Chapter One but the pace went slightly downhill after that. It got better with the appearance of the Cotton brothers. They were “fresh” characters who brought life to the story. Meanwhile, Stephen is just so sweet that you couldn’t help but want to knock some sense into Cassandra and tell her that he’s the one for her.

Cassandra’s father is a mystery in the beginning. You would think that it’s sheer laziness as he hasn’t made the effort to do anything to improve the living conditions of his family who are already stuck in poverty. I thought it was ironic that the servant (Stephen) had to take up a second job elsewhere to bring money in. But then he’s already considered as part of the family so that can be overlooked.

All in all, this coming of age novel is beautifully-written and you’ll just bask in the vividness of the descriptions. Follow Cassandra’s journey as she learns about love, life, the people around her and herself. There is also a 2003 movie of the same name, which is based on the book and stars Romola Garai, Rose Byrne and Henry Cavill.

Pssst…..did you know that Dodie Smith also wrote The Hundred and One Dalmatians? I loved that cartoon!

Other reviews: Bending Bookshelf, Things Mean a Lot, ImpishIdea, The Roof is on Phire, The Literary Pursuit