Book synopsis:
The Brandon family move to LA because Luke is doing PR for Sage Seymour (one of the hottest stars in Hollywood). Becky wants to get a job as a stylist to the stars because she wants fame (she already has fortune).
My review (post contains spoilers!):
I would rate this book 3.0 stars out of 5.0. Like all of the previous books, it was a super easy read, but Becky Bloomwood has definitely fizzled.
I first got into the Shopaholics series about ten years ago (the first book came out even before then - 2001 to be exact), so in a sense, Becky was a character young women can relate to. She was young, a little ditzy but she had good intentions. She's also very obsessed with shopping, and she ends up putting herself into debt due to her shopping addiction. Even in the first books, Becky was a bit annoying. I mean, when you don't have money you don't just walk into a store and then buy a whole bunch of crap you don't need (eg: Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, she bought a whole bunch of greeting cards for specific situations/events she didn't need). But, again, because I was younger, it was very easy to relate with Becky. I think in the first book, Becky was in her early-mid twenties.
Now in the 6th book, Becky is married and she has a two year old daughter.... so it's really annoying to see her still acting like a vapid bonehead.
So Becky, Luke and Minnie move to LA because Luke has taken on a new client. This time though, instead of representing a financial customer, Luke is representing super famous actress Sage Seymour. Becky is obsessed with becoming Sage's new bff, while simultaneously trying to become a stylist... and needless to say, Becky is dying to become Sage's new stylist/bff because if she becomes Sage's stylist, then everyone else would want her as their stylist as well. However, Sage is a complete bitch ("typical" Hollywood star) and she has zero interest in Becky until Becky lets out a secret about Sage's nemesis Lois (Becky saw Lois shoplifting and she tells Sage). However, it turns out that Sage and Lois aren't enemies - they've staged their entire fight as one gigantic ongoing publicity stunt. Becky finds this out one day when she sneaks into Lois' house after Lois apparently attempts suicide - she is surprised to find Sage and Lois just chilling out, planning their next move in this ongoing drama.
In the meantime, Becky's best friend Suze, and her husband/first cousin (will never get over this fact, EVER), Tarquin, and their three kids also visit LA because Tarquin has been having a rough few days/weeks/months/years (whatever the length of time was). It turns out that Suze and Tarquin have a friend who invested in a movie, so they end up making connections/friends in LA and Suze gets herself and Becky small background acting roles (which of course Becky fucks up) in a movie. Suze and Becky of course get into a fight, not because Becky messes up the acting role, but because Becky is completely self-involved and does not care that/does not want to help Suze when Tarquin befriends this guy named Bryce who Suze thinks is brainwashing Tarquin. Becky is too busy with her morning show interviews/buying clothes for clients she doesn't have/preparing for red carpet events... so Suze turns to Alicia Bitch-Long-Legs... Yep, Alicia is back (I swear, this book had ALL the characters from all previous books in it... it was like the reunion no one wanted). Turns out that Alicia moved to LA and married some old man who owned this place called "Golden Peace", which is a place for meditating/yoga/retreats/rehab/cold pressed juice/coconut water, etc. So anyway, Bryce was previously employed by Golden Peace, and he and Tarquin become fast friends. Eventually, Bryce gets fired because Alicia and her husband suspect that he is brainwashing people (Suze was right) but Tarquin runs off with him (and Becky's dad - more later) and no one knows where they went. Okay, weird plot twist, right?!
Aaand, all in this mix, Becky's dad also takes off for LA because he has to "make something right" because some guy named Brent who he knew from the 70s, who he made Becky look up while she was in LA, was living in a trailer park, and that could not be right, so he had to fix everything. But then he ends up running off with Tarquin and Bryce. I mean, seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.
One last plot twist, Elinor, Luke's estranged mother, also shows up (what did I say about all previous characters being present in this book?!?!) because Becky gets in touch with her (after finding out that Elinor needed surgery or something, and Becky started worrying that Luke and his mom should make amends before it was too late - the one sensible thought Becky had in this entire book) for an "intervention". Oddly enough, the intervention works - both Luke and Elinor are forgiving and want to start over... until Becky fucks it up:
- by telling Luke that Elinor planned/funded the party for him in Mini Shopaholic, so Elinor gets pissed off and leaves (Elinor made Becky promise that she would never tell Luke this because Elinor did not want Luke to think she was buying his love)
- when Luke realizes that Minnie already knows her grandma (Becky had secretly been bringing Minnie to see Elinor behind Luke's back in Mini Shopaholic) and he feels betrayed that Becky would do that behind his back.
But alas, in the end, Luke (the most, forgiving guy on the planet) forgives Becky, and he and Becky (and Alicia) work together to help Suze find her husband (and Becky's dad). The book ends in a cliffhanger - the gang are headed for Vegas, y'all!!
Side note: Danny Kovitz was also in this book - he was doing some weird intense outdoor expedition because he had a crush on a guy who was also going... He ended up giving up because it was too much for him.
In all, I think the story line was okay, but it just dragged on for so long.. and Becky was just unbearably self centred. Like I said earlier, had she not been a married mother of a toddler, who was a working professional, I think the story line would have made more sense. I dunno, this is just my opinion... but even if Becky's character has only aged five years, the readers (had they started reading these books when it first came out) have aged at least ten years, so Becky just seems so childish. Another random thing that bothered me: in the entire book, she would be out, and Luke would be working, and Suze would be looking for the ever missing Tarquin and I would just be thinking, um, who is watching all of their children?! (Apparently a babysitter, because you know, once you move across the Atlantic, and have lived in a new country for two whole days, you always trust strangers to watch your two year old). And cliffhanger ending? Now I have to buy ANOTHER book!!
Anyway, interested to know how others felt about this book. I've read some reviews online and peoples' opinions are mixed!
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