Becky's still shopping, but it's for work!

You've gotta admire Becky Bloomwood, the heroine of the Shopaholic series.  No matter how badly her grandiose plans turn out (and they always fail spectacularly), she never stops dreaming and planning for her glittering future.  She's up to her old tricks in Shopaholic to the Stars.

The Brandon family (Becky, husband Luke and two year old Minnie) relocate to Los Angeles when Luke gets involved in a project related to the film industry.  Becky had hoped to continue her career as a personal shopper, but when that job falls through, she sets her sights on bigger and better things:  becoming a Hollywood stylist.  Certainly, her background in fashion and her close friendship with renowned fashion designer Danny Kovitz would seem to indicate that being a stylist is the ideal career for her.  But how does she get her foot in the door?

Naturally, Luke is no help.  Even though he's working closely with movie star Sage Seymour, will he help Becky with introductions and red carpet appearances?  Not likely.  He remains as unimpressed as ever.  Still, he does just happen to mention to Becky that Sage is looking for someone to join her "team" in running a charity marathon -- the next day.  Naturally, Becky immediately takes steps to participate.  She goes shopping for the perfect running outfit.  While in the store, she happens to see someone shoplifting and runs after the thief.  She's shocked when the culprit turns out to be another Hollywood star, Lois Kellerton.  Lois gives Becky the stolen merchandise and makes her promise to tell no one.

In the meantime, Becky enrolls Minnie into a pre-school that turns out to have a waiting list and very competitive parents vying for the few openings.  So how was Becky able to get Minnie in with no problems?  It turns out the school is run by none other than Becky's nemesis:  Alicia Billington (known non-affectionately as Alicia Bitch-Longlegs). Alicia seems to be all sweetness and light, but Becky is still suspicious.

Soon, Becky's best friend Suze and her family arrive for a visit, but Becky's laser focus on getting started with her styling career doesn't leave her much time to see them.  Before leaving England, she had promised to look up an old friend of her father's, and when that leads nowhere, her father also hops on a plane over to LA.

At the same time, Becky has finally managed to get acquainted with Sage Seymour and gets invited to a big event, but an embarrassing incident leads Becky to her "15 minutes of fame" -- Hollywood style.  She hires bodyguards and begins contemplating appearing on a plastic surgery reality show.  Meanwhile, Suze is facing her own problems, which Becky seems too self-absorbed to help with, and when Suze's husband and Becky's father head out on a mysterious road trip, Becky finally has to take note of what's going on under her own roof.

While I love the madcap antics that Becky always gets involved in, I didn't like the way this book seemed to be just a set-up for the next book.  We all know and love Becky and the other characters in the series, so I didn't like it that everything wasn't resolved in this book.  I'm sure it will be a while before the next book is released, and all of the events of this book will be long forgotten by then!  Still, it's good to spend some time in Becky's fashionable, high energy world again.

Final Verdict for Shopaholic to the Stars: Four Gherkins, for being an amusing look at  the life of a self-absorbed fashionista