Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Must Read for Shoppers and Brides-To-Be
SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT is the third installment in Sophie Kinsella's SHOPAHOLIC series about Becky Bloomwood, following CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC and SHOPAHOLIC TAKES MANHATTAN. But SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT is my first exposure to Kinsella's bestselling books. For those of you who are also new to Shopaholic's world, here are the main characters of the story: a self-obsessed, often whiny woman whose credit card bills are usually multiple pages in length; an overbearing, solipsistic mother-in-law whose opinion is the only one that counts; and a momma's boy husband-to-be whose life revolves around the family's (read: mother's) charitable foundation. An unattractive bunch, right? Wrong. Their foibles and faults are incredibly humorous.In the hands of a lesser writer, SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT could have been a disaster. But Kinsella's characters are over-the-top tongue-in-cheek and hilariously funny. Living in New York and working at the perfect job --- personal shopper for fashionable Barney's --- Becky has the good life. She buys expensive furniture, antiques and clothing; hides the bills from her doting and forgiving lover; and writes scads of letters (all included in the book for your enjoyment) to banks, creditors and the like trying to explain away her expenditures, while cleverly delaying payment at the same time. When her gorgeous, wealthy boyfriend (yes, the momma's boy) proposes marriage in one of the most romantic and unexpected manners I have ever read, witnessed or experienced, it can't get any better for Becky. "OK. Now, I may be engaged, but I'm not going to get carried away. No Way. I know some girls go mad planning the biggest wedding in the universe and thinking about nothing else...but that's not going to be me." By the end of the next page, Becky is already planning to try on diamond-encrusted tiaras for the ceremony. Weddings are, after all, a shopper's license to go all out, spare no expense and spend, spend, spend. A dilemma verging on narrative slapstick arises quickly. Becky's mom, who has been waiting for this day since Becky's birth, begins to plan an outdoor ceremony in their backyard in England, while the control freak mother-in-law offers to splurge for a posh stateside wedding in New York City's Plaza Hotel. What's a girl to do? Well, according to "The Realistic Bride," a resource Becky consults for help, "No matter how insurmountable the problem seems, there will always be a solution! So don't worry." And that advice would work just fine if the problem were something small, like a shortage on Jordan almonds for the bridal shower favors. But Becky has to attend two weddings, on the same day, in two different countries! Wait until you read the resolution! SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT is hilarious, a must read for shoppers and brides-to-be. --- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
Rating: - Our favorite shopaholic gets hitched!
The Shopaholic series is one of my favorites. Sophie Kinsella has created a hilarious and neurotic character in Rebecca Bloomwood. I couldn't wait to read Shopaholic Ties the Knot, hoping to read more shopping misadventures from Ms. Bloomwood.When Luke proposes, Becky couldn't believe her luck. After all, getting married is the perfect opportunity to go shopping and, more to the point, sign up for various wedding registries. However, things take a rapid spin toward potential disaster. Becky's mother wants the wedding to take place in England, whereas Luke's mother wants the wedding to be held in New York. Should Becky have a traditional English wedding or an upscale extravaganza in New York City's Plaza Hotel? With Becky's signature self-deprecating humor, she tries to disentangle herself from quite a dilemma. There are some fun twists in the novel. As previously mentioned, the Shopaholic books are all memorable. Even though the third installment is more focused on the wedding dilemma than on Becky's uncontrollable shopping addiction, the novel is hilarious nevertheless. I hope Ms. Kinsella writes another one. I'll read each and every Bloomwood adventure that's published!
Rating: - Becky rides off into the sunset
SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT is the third, and apparently last, in author Sophie Kinsella's "shop till you drop" series starring Becky Bloomwood. The preview at the end of this book introduces a new character, Emma Corrigan, first appearing in 2004 in CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET. In CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC and SHOPAHOLIC TAKES MANHATTAN, Bloomwood is continuously rendered incapable of rational thought by the euphoria of material acquisition, usually clothes and other trinkets, using credit she doesn't have. In SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT, Becky's penchant for denial and disaster ascends to a higher plane after Luke Brandon, her carried-over boyfriend from the previous book, proposes marriage. Should she be joined with her Prince back home in Oxshott, England in a garden ceremony being lovingly organized by her dear Mum and Dad for their only daughter? Or married in a posh, extremely expensive affair at New York's Plaza Hotel, paid for by her despised mother-in-law-to-be, Elinor. If you know Becky, you'll realize there's no simple answer. Choosing one and saying "no" to the other just isn't an option. Becky's ditziness has always been one of her most endearing (and exasperating) qualities (along with generosity and a basic good-heartedness), providing the reader with an unending stream of hilarious scenarios. Perhaps the single most side-splitting episode in this novel occurs when Becky's best friend Suze goes into premature labor while the two are on an afternoon outing in London. Not in possession of her going-to-the-hospital bag, Suze dispatches Becky into a department store to put one together - one that eventually includes an inflatable canoe! Because SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT is apparently Becky's swan song, the last three chapters come across as a somewhat forced attempt to tidily end the saga of a rampantly untidy personality. Because of this, I almost gave less than the usual 5 stars to a Bloomwood adventure. But, I relented in the end because this series has been so consistently entertaining. I'm grieved at Becky's departure, but am excited about Kinsella's new burst of creativity with a differently dysfunctional heroine. I guess Becky finally grew up.
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