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beckyyreadss's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This book was gifted to me by a family member, to try and get me in the festive mood. I thought this I would leave this book to last because I thought it would be an easy read and enjoyable read and damn, I was wrong. If you are expecting this to be a sweet and nice review, look away now because I’m about to sound like a Karen during this review/rant.
This book is based on Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) (That line will be said repetitively during this book) and she adores Christmas. It’s always the same – her mum and dad are hosting, carols playing, her mum pretends she made the Christmas pudding, and the next-door neighbours coming round for sherry in their terrible festive jumpers. And now Christmas is even easier with online bargain-shipping sites – if you spend enough you even get free delivery. But this year is looking to be different. She is unable to resist the draw of craft beer and smashed avocado, Becky’s parents are moving to ultra-trendy Shoreditch and have asked Becky if she’ll host Christmas this year. What could go wrong? Her sister, Jess is demanding a vegan turkey, Becky’s husband Luke is determined that he just wants aftershave again and her daughter is insisting on a very specific picnic hamper, surely Becky can manage all this as well as the surprise appearance of an old boyfriend and his pushy new girlfriend, whose motives are far from clear.
I never DNF a book, but I’ve been very freaking close to DNF’ing this book. I hate that the first book that I've read with a MC who has the same name as me is so annoying, and she was just completely oblivious to the people who are around her or anyone else’s feelings. It was just complete and utter bullshit. She was just a mess who kept repeating the same things and then getting pissy when things didn’t go right, like how can you be so stupid. If I had a husband and he said I want aftershave for Christmas, fine I'll be happy and that’s him sorted, why on earth did she go through the whole thing instead of just gifting him the sweatshirt and the aftershave and again changed a 200-year-old rule to not get her way. Yes the rule was bullshit, but it was still a rule and if she was generally interested in the club fine, but she wasn’t.
Luke was boring, and very two dimensional, Minnie was acting like a five-year-old instead of an eight-year-old. Becky’s mum was just shit-stirring and having a mid-life crisis so that’s fine because she’s “emotional”, Becky’s dad was like anyone’s dad – boring and doesn’t care. Suze was just flip flopping about – one minute she was agreeing and helping Becky and the next she was throwing her under the buss. Jess wasn’t being unreasonable with wanting a Vegan Turkey because she’s vegan, if she was doing it to be petty fine but she wasn’t.
The Brandon’s and Bloomwood’s didn’t deserve a good Christmas – the best bit of Becky getting locked in the store, it would have been funny if she stayed stuck in the store.
Sophie Kinsella got the first honour during my reading journey – she got my first one-star rating and review. This is the 501th book I've read since 2015 and yet never had a one-star until now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Addiction
Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
kirstym25's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Minor: Fatphobia
thefatpaperback's review against another edition
I DNF’d this book, and I think it’s partially my fault for not looking into it a bit more. I didn’t know this was the same writer of “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” which is silly to say. I don’t have any issues with the author, but I’ve never read any of her work before. I couldn’t get on board with the character of Becky. She’s flighty, entitled, and unfocused. Which, from watching the Confessions movie years ago, seems to be Kinsella’s “shopaholic” characters. Once dieting was mentioned, I knew I was done reading.Around 75 pages in, Becky decides she should diet to fit into a dress she bought for Christmas. As a fat reader, this was triggering, especially since Becky feels she’ll be “healthier” after losing weight. I said this about another holiday book I read this year: As a fat reader, the last thing I want to read about is dieting during the holidays when our culture promotes and celebrates anti-fatness non-stop from November to February. I also couldn’t imagine reading over 400 pages about exclusively shopping. This plot seems exhaustive since prepping to host Christmas is the main conflict.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
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