Becky Bloomwood, America’s favorite shopaholic, is back in a hilarious, heartwarming tale of married life, best friends, and long-lost sisters (and the perils of simply having to own an Angel handbag!).

What’s a round-the-world honeymoon if you can’t buy the odd souvenir to ship back home? Like the twenty silk dressing gowns Becky found in Hong Kong…the hand-carved dining table (and ten chairs) from Sri Lanka…the, um, huge wooden giraffes from Malawi (that her husband Luke expressly forbade her to buy)…

Only now Becky and Luke have returned home to London and Luke is furious. Two truckloads of those souvenirs have cluttered up their loft, and the bills for them are outrageous. Luke insists Becky go on a budget. And worse: her beloved best friend Suze has found a new best friend while Becky was away. Becky’s feeling rather blue—when her parents deliver some incredible news. She has a long-lost sister! Becky is thrilled! She’s convinced her sister will be a true soulmate. They’ll go shopping together, have manicures together.…Until she meets Jessica for the first time and gets the shock of her life. Surely Becky Bloomwood’s sister can’t…hate shopping?

England is a land of plentiful shopping opportunities and colorful regional accents, and actress Kellgren nails the latter in her charming rendition of Kinsella's newest Shopaholic novel. Just home from her honeymoon, Becky Bloomwood, now the wealthy wife of Luke Brandon, learns she has a long-lost half-sister. The news delights Becky, who fantasizes about late-night sisterly chats and shared cappuccinos. But Jess turns out to be not at all what Becky expected. In a dour Cumbrian accent that contrasts deliciously with Becky's posh inflections, Jess berates Becky for her irresponsibility and belittles her addiction to shopping. Their verbal battles leave little hope for reconciliation, until serious marital troubles brought on by Becky's shopping habit find her turning to Jess for guidance. Things get worse before they get better, and Kellgren's vivacious reading never fails to plumb the depths of Becky's despair. How will Luke forgive her for setting him up with a criminal client all in the name of a coveted Angel bag? Will Jess ever speak to Becky again after she expounds on her sister's faults in front of Jess's entire small village? Ultimately, the hilarious mayhem winds down to an inevitable happy ending, avoiding deep thought in favor of pure fun. Simultaneous release with the Dial hardcover (Forecasts, Aug. 30). (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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