Shopaholic & Baby: 08/14/17

Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella is the fifth of the Shopaholic books. I had meant to read the series in order but somehow I got confused and thought Baby came before Sister. Weirder yet, midway through reading Baby, GoodReads suddenly told me that I was tracking my reading on Sister, even though I was reading Baby. My best guess is that GoodReads had the series listed out of order and I was following the incorrect order and midway through my book, they fixed the mistake and in the process swapped what book I was reading. The other possibility is I was having a reader's brain fart.

Becky and Luke are back in London, in a flat they've sold, and she's midway through her pregnancy. It's Becky's goal to stay fashionable, get the house of her dreams, and have the most posh baby ever. Part of that goal involves switching OB-GYNs, to one who works with pregnant celebrities. The big downside, though, is the new OB-GYN is one of Luke's ex girlfriends.

Dr. Edith Montgomery, as portrayed by Lia Williams from series 4 of Doc Martin (2009) The way the OB-GYN is described from her red hair to her relationship with Luke to the way she tries to sabotage Becky's relationship, reminds me of series four of Doc Martin, where during Louisa's pregnancy, Martin's ex-girl friend is suddenly working near by and is actively trying to get him to move back to London with her. I could help but recast Becky's doctor as Dr. Edith Montgomery, as portrayed by Lia Williams. Now as Kinsella's novel came first, I can't help but wonder if one of the show's writers was a fan.

As with The Shopaholic Ties the Knot, much of the tension comes from the lack of communication between Luke and Becky. A big part of that gap is because Luke is either always working on NDAed business deals or he's trying to avoid stressing out Becky. This time, of course, that well meaning on his part is compounded by a jealous ex-girlfriend trying to break up their marriage.

I've now gone back and read Shopaholic and Sister. I might also be reading the short story that covers their honeymoon.

Five stars

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