I started off really hating the protagonist and being very frustrated with her behavior. I couldn't relate to her because I don't like to shop and am very careful with my money. However, the book was engaging and I did enjoy the ending, even if it wasn't very realistic. ( )

Becky Bloomwood is in serious trouble. A savvy consumer with a flair for fashion, she can’t seem to stop buying the fabulous clothes she sees in the shops. It’s not just clothes, either: she’ll also hand over her dough for shoes, makeup, groceries, books, cooking utensils, and just about anything else, especially if it’s on sale. In short, Becky is a shopaholic. Ironically, she’s also a reporter at a financial magazine called “Successful Savings,” where the utter boredom of her going-nowhere career is only alleviated by her shopping sprees. Her credit card bills are piling up, and she’s even starting to get ominous, hostile letters from her creditors and the bank. But the only way Becky can deal with her rising panic is to hit the stores once again. Will she ever be able to jump-start her career, change her behavior, and face reality?

Having read a few other books by Kinsella, I knew she wrote good chick lit, but Confessions of a Shopaholic is definitely at the top of her game. Becky’s breezy voice was both hilarious and endearing – I especially liked the elaborate fantasies she’d concoct in her head about how to make her debt magically disappear. Initially I was annoyed by her as well, though, because she didn’t realize how utterly frivolous and deluded she was. Fortunately, she grows and matures throughout the novel – and in the meantime, it’s just fun to laugh with (and at) her. I also liked the fact that the love story was actually secondary to Becky’s own character development. With most chick lit novels, the romance is the focus, and it often becomes overly dramatic or saccharine. Here, I think it was extremely well done: there were just enough details to let me know that something was brewing, but it’s also quite restrained (which just adds to the tension and excitement, in my opinion). Anyway, for chick lit fans, I would definitely recommend this – it’s more substantial than many other offerings in the genre.

I enjoyed this book. Yes.. you can easily figure out how the book will end, but the senseless and quirky behaviors of Rebecca Bloomwood couldn't help but make me laugh. Sometimes it's good for the soul to read "easy reads." :) ( )

I hated this book! Rather than a light and amusing read as I was expecting, this story really wound me up. It's basically the story of a selfish young woman who can't grow up and runs up massive debts and then it doesn't really matter anyway because, guess what, a millionaire falls in love with her! An unlikeable character in a story with no real plot - you're never in any doubt how it will end. A very disappointing read. ( )

Another book where I had heard may great things and was let down as I read it. I read for a book club, but it is the reason I don't tend to pick up chick lit books when I head to the store. The lead character is flighty and self-centered, but somehow people still like her. I thought the ending was good and redeemed the book for me in some ways, but I am not likely to finish the series. ( )