I had a really hard time getting into this book. Nothing against Flora Fraser- I'd recently read her book about the 6 daughters of George III and she is a superb biographer. I just think that the life of Queen Caroline was hugely marred by the politics of her time. Her sham of a marriage to the Prince of Wales (later George IV) forced government intervention and instead of getting into and understanding the circumstances of the days, my eyes glazed over with the mentions of Dukes, servants, politicians and lovers. I get the same reaction from reading about military strategy. I'm glad I read it but it took me forever.

I don't expect a lot from chick lit anymore-its enough that they are light entertaining reads for when you really need to escape your daily grind. Sophie Kinsella's Becky Bloomwood definitely delivers on that front. Sure she still gets my heart racing (doesn't she ever tell Luke what's going on? Doesn't Luke ever tell Becky what's going on??) but she will always be one of my very favourite characters even if she does spend half her life in a fantasy. I loved Becky and Luke's daughter Minne- of course Becky's daughter would be attracted to anything shiny and have an iron will and a grip of steel when it comes to things she wants! This book seemed to have a healthy dose of reality that previous Shopaholic books didn't seem to have (its set right after the big financial crisis and everyone around Becky starts to feel the pinch) and it brought this read back on board the Shopaholic train-something I wasn't sure was possible after I finished Shopaholic & Sister!