Hall of Fame Review: Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella (5/5)

Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is in Hollywood! It's as if all her life has been leading to this moment. She's hanging out with the stars … or at least she will be, when she finally gets to meet movie superstar Sage Seymour, whom husband Luke is now managing.

There's so much to see and do! And getting Minnie through the hurdles for her A-list Hollywood pre-school will require some…er…help. 

Becky sets her heart on a new career - she's going to be a celebrity stylist. Red carpet, here she comes! But Becky soon finds it's tough in Tinseltown. Luckily her best friend Suze comes over to keep her company, and together they embark on the Hollywood insider trail. But somehow...things aren't quite working out as they’d hoped. 

Then Becky's big chance comes, and it's an opportunity that money can't buy. But will it cost her too much?

Confessions of a Shopaholic is the book that introduced me to this genre and I have loved every installment since. These books have been my pick me up for the longest time, you can just lose yourself in them (they also used to make me feel better about my spending habits!). The wait between Mini Shopaholic and this book has felt like forever so when a review copy of this book landed through my door it felt like Christmas had come early. I couldn't wait to get back into the crazy world of Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) and see what she would be getting up to in Hollywood. I love Hollywood and I love Becky, what could go wrong? The short answer to that is... a lot!

Very few books make me actually laugh out loud but this one did multiple times. Becky has big dreams whilst she's out in Los Angeles, it all starts off quite well before ultimately everything falls apart. Well, this is Becky after all... It's actually really hard to talk about the plot for fear of spoilers but it is fantastic. Becky wants to become a top Hollywood stylist, and as Luke is working with Sage Seymour what better person to style than her? A run in with Sage's rival Lois Kellerton however could throw a spanner in the works... Becky then bumps into a horribly familiar face when she enrolls Minnie at the local school. Getting caught up in the whirlwind of Hollywood also comes with its problems for Becky and Luke but surely they can overcome anything if the previous books are anything to go by? Read and find out!

Given that we are so far into the series you might wonder just what situations Becky could find herself in that could beat what's happened previously, but since LA is one of the craziest places in the world let's just say she does find herself in some outrageously hilarious situations. Some of them make you almost want to cringe and look away yet you can't because it's just so addictive to read. You can't help but feel sorry for her, she has rotten luck but doesn't have a single bad bone in her body. She wants the best for everybody but often makes the wrong choice in her quest to achieve that. Alongside the humour there are some touching moments in the book which help make it feel more real and enable you to feel more of a connection to the characters.

Before starting the book I saw a few comments on Goodreads saying the series is stale and should end yet I couldn't disagree more. I could never tire reading about Becky and hope Sophie writes more Shopaholic books for at least a couple of years. Becky has grown since the first book yet still does retain that loveable ditziness that made us fall in love with her all those years ago. My only little nitpick is she wore kitten heels in the book, they were Marc Jacobs but still. No. Other than that it was like reacquainting yourself with an old friend, one who hasn't changed a bit since you last saw them! About halfway through I was wondering where the drama was or where the shocks were, then they came and I could not put this book down! I was reading it that fast it was over before I knew it and on a cliffhanger! That can only mean a new Shopaholic book is coming after this and I hope the wait isn't too long! Long live Becky Bloomwood is what I say.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.