"Celebrity Shopper" by Carmen Reid

Personal Shopper Annie Valentine is back and she is busier than ever! Her television series How Not To Shop is in its second season, her husband Ed is at home taking care of her two older children and their baby twins, their house is under renovation (there are holes in the walls and the ceiling), and her mom is living with them. Just as she thinks she has things under control a nosy tabloid reporter begins snooping around her life and Annie finds out she's in danger of being replaced as host of her own show. So what does Annie decide to do to save her job? Walk in the Scottish hillsides in three-inch heels of course!


Celebrity Shopper by Carmen Reid is the fourth book in the Annie Valentine series. Annie is a personal shopper determined to provide a good life for her children while enjoying the many perks of working in the fashion industry. Life isn't always easy for Annie and she certainly finds herself in a lot of trouble, but it's nothing she can't handle!


I've really enjoyed the Annie Valentine books so far. For me they are as fun as Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series and Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble books. There is nothing I enjoy more than a good chick lit series. While I enjoyed this offering by Carmen Reid I have to admit that I did get pretty annoyed with some of the characters throughout the book. First with Annie as I really felt like her priorities were out of whack. I get that she's the breadwinner for the family right now and I don't have anything against working mothers, I just felt like she didn't fully understand the magnitude her actions were having on her family, and that she didn't care much. The second character I was annoyed at was Ed. He needed to seriously man up and stop being so antsy when it came to raising the kids. Yes, I understand what being a first time parent is like and I can't imagine doing it with twins but seriously, he needed a kick in the pants!


Those annoyances aside, this was still a great read. The Paris fashion show scene is hilarious. Annie's friend Svetlana is a sidekick dream come true. And the Scottish hillwalking scene is an accident waiting to happen. Overall this is a fun read, a quick escape, and another enjoyable offering from Carmen Reid.

Comments

  1. HeatherDecember 2, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    thank for your review. while I like your review, I don't think this book is for me.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Guestbook" by Holly Martin

Image
Welcome to Willow Cottage - throw open the shutters, let in the sea breeze and make yourself completely at home.  Oh, and please do leave a comment in the Guestbook! Annie Butterworth is the landlady of Willow Cottage, a beautiful cottage in the English countryside with a colourful array of guests.  Every guest is encouraged to write their thoughts in the guestbook and do they ever!  Love, loss, happiness, sadness, guilt, affairs, births, and surprises, it’s all in there.  Even Annie’s life gets caught up in the book. As a young widow, Annie herself is going through some changes.  And the appearance of her brother-in-law, celebrity crime writer Oliver Black isn’t helping.  As the guests of Willow Cottage go about their seaside vacations, Annie and Oliver must figure out how to move on in their lives, and most importantly, if they will do so together. The Guestbook by Holly Martin is a lovely, sweet, and unique book.  Written in the form...
Read more

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

Image
I am so excited to be participating in the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop, hosted by Judith at Leeswammes' Blog . There are over 50 participants hosting giveaways on their blog between October 15 and October 19. Be sure to hop around and check out all the awesome giveaways! My Giveaway Award season is underway in the Canadian literary world and to celebrate I would like to send someone some fabulous Canadian literature. One lucky winner will be able to choose which book they would like me to send them. Here are the choices (click on title to find out more about the book): A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (bought at library sale) Life of Pi by Yann Martel The Last River Child by Lori Ann Bloomfield The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden (bought at library sale) Two of the books were bought at a library sale as mentioned. They are still in good condition but are obviously well-loved and do still have the library stickers on them. The other t...
Read more

"Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home" by Esi Edugyan

Image
“But where are you from, really?” This is a question that Canadians of all walks of life are often asked.  Part of our identity as Canadians is that we all come from somewhere else, and no matter how long ago, it is a defining part of who we are.   But for many people, this question is about more than where their family came to Canada from.  For many, it brings about a question of home and belonging.  These are the ideas that Esi Edugyan explored in her 2013 Henry Kreisel Memorial Lecture, Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home .  Born in Canada to parents from Ghana, Esi Edugyan has travelled to and lived in various countries, all the while searching for her identity and coming to understand the meaning of home. As an author, Edugyan also reflects on Canadian literature and the notion of the “Canadian story.”  Her wildly successful novel, Half-Blood Blues , was set outside of Canada, and something she often heard was that it was not a t...
Read more