Remember Me?

The last thing Lexi Smart remembers was being a frizzy-haired, snaggle-toothed, badly paid young professional with a loser boyfriend. But one day she wakes up to a completely different life: a great job, capped teeth, an amazing house and…a handsome husband?

Courtesy of a nasty bump on the head, Lexi has amnesia. She’s completely forgotten the last three years of her life and has woken up in the hospital with straight, glossy hair, a platinum American Express card, and a Louis Vuitton purse. Her lips also seem to be plumper than she remembers… but she has more important things to deal with. Like trying to remember her husband. Or comprehend how her little sister went from being a sweet little girl to a law-breaking smart ass. Or why all her friends hate her.

Lexi soon realizes that she’s become a no-carb-eating-bitch-boss-from-hell who may or may not be having an affair with one of her husband’s business partners and has managed to alienate all her old friends. Her new life is filled with beige suits, perfect chignons and a computerized pet (less mess). Lexi’s just trying to figure out what the hell happened in the last three years.

Remember Me? is the latest book from Sophie Kinsella, the author of the Shopaholic books. I am a HUGE fan of the Shopoholic books and picked up Remember Me? the first day it was out. It’s an entertaining book packed with awkward moments, a lot of wit, and the expected slice of romance. There’s not as much verve as there is in the Shopaholic books, but it’s a great story with interesting characters…and a little bit of a mystery that explains Lexie’s great transformation.

Shopaholic & Baby

Shopaholic and Baby is the fourth book in the Shopaholic series. And I’m happy to report that Becky Brandon, nee Bloomwood, is as entertaining and addicted to shopping as ever. Pregnancy can’t slow down this committed consumer- it just gives her more ground to cover.

Sophie Kinsella, nee Madeleine Wickham, keeps the fourth book in this series fresh and witty. Becky Brandon is pregnant (it’s a honeymoon baby) and is excited about adventuring into motherhood, expanding her family, and…shopping! Rattles, vintage-hobbyhorses, and prams, oh my! And of course, she must get an appointment with the must-have celebrity obstetrician, Venetia Carter. But when Venetia Carter turns out to be an ex-girlfriend of Becky’s husband Luke, Becky’s baby-bliss begins to crumble. There’s always a little bit of drama in each Shopaholic book, but Kinsella is a pro at keeping the twists and turns balanced between humorous and heartfelt.

While Becky shops her way through the maternity retail in England and investigates her celebrity obstetrician, she uses her fabulous wardrobe to bribe her way to her dream-house, discovers the joys of carrying a pram around pre-baby (for the days when you have too many shopping bags) and the consequences of pretending to have a sleeping baby just to get to the front of the line. Becky Brandon hasn’t necessarily matured since Confessions of a Shopaholic…but she is genuine and determined.

I have certain expectations each time I’ve started reading one of the books in this series, and I’m always satisfied. Kinsella has kept a consistent comic voice in each book and writes with humor, honesty and a dash of irrational paranoia (which is so Becky). And if Kinsella allowed Becky to be too mature, Shopaholic and Baby would not be half as good as it is. Becky’s love for shopping and unbalanced sense of curiosity keeps her in trouble…and the reader in hysterics.