As the last few weeks of summer arrive, there is still time to seize some trendy literature. The following two books were light, easy, and enjoyable stories. Both books have a young, fun, girlish character and an idiosyncratic ending which keeps the reader interested and flipping the pages. Together, the paperbacks are visible in bookstores and at Amazon.com. So, if you feel like spending a couple bucks and feel like taking pleasure in the last warm rays of the New England summer sun, take one of these with your lounge chair and start reading.
Shopaholic Ties the KnotBy Sophie Kinsella
I grabbed this book off a rack at the News &Gift store in the airport. It is a perfect summer read, great for the plane or the beach. This is the third book I have read in Kinsella’s Shopaholic series. Each one has a memorable story line. The main character Rebecca Bloomwood, has a way of digging herself in a hole yet comes up smelling like a rose. The appealing characters carry over from the previous volumes but even if you haven’t met the personalities, you too can enjoy this book.
This chronicle begins when Becky’s very rich and successful, work driven, emotionally unbalanced, but kind-hearted fiancé Luke proposes. Confused Becky can’t decide on which details count most in a wedding. All the gowns are gorgeous; all the stores have great registries. Becky’s engagement is quickly overcome by wedding planning. She could perhaps avoid her penchant to over spend since her mother-in-law wants to impress New York socialites and can afford to shell out any amount of money needed for an extravagant affair. On the other hand, weddings are traditional and home is where the heart is so maybe she should wear her mother’s gown and get married in the English garden where she grew up. Both weddings would be wonderful, yet who will win? With the Big Day soon approaching, Bex still has to survive a finance fiasco as well as resolve her mounting white lies.
This novel was a little less lighthearted than those in the past, as the couple deals with family differences, children, friendships, as well as funds. But with Becky’s ludicrous ideas, unimaginable circumstances and fortunate results, you cannot stop laughing out loud. And, as the escalating stress is about to overtake the Bride-to-Be, it is a relief when Becky realizes that registries can fill their home with gifts beyond imagination but also begins to perceive life beyond materialist things. This is a cunning tale of a gal getting hitched.
FashionistasBy Lynn Messina
Working for, Fashionista, a high fashion glossy isn’t the glamour and buzz that one may think. Vig Morgan has been at the magazine publisher for five years. And she has moved up the editorial rank very slowly while operating under Jane McNeill. So, when fellow fashionistas make Vig the latchkey in their attempt to overthrow the tyrant boss Jane, the idea is more appealing than uncovering the new trend of the month. Vig is witty and smart so, as she and the other fashionistas conspire in the bathroom, Vig also broadens her network of conspirators. The coup d'état is centered on an art exhibition of decked out Jesus statues in Chanel and Dior. The fashionistas think that this cover story will be the demise of Jane since it is hugely controversial. Celebrities and Advertisers will pull all their connections with the shallow publication; no one will recognize real art and love it, will they? Unseeingly, during Vig’s alliance with the over throwers, her professional work begins to flourish so she is enjoying work for the first time.
Though the story dawdles at times, this book has supporting characters that are fun to meet and an interesting plot that weaves through the career and social life of the star. The book is pure chic lit but Vig has brains and sass and it works out to her advantage in the strange twist of events. Fashionistas is an enjoyable read.
