Retail Therapy

Rating:
Summary: When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping
Review: I admit that every since hearing about the book "Retail Therapy" by Roz Bailey, I've eagerly been anticipating its release. Unfortunately since I first heard about it in June of this year, I've had quite a wait. However, the wait has paid off. Roz Bailey, author of two other hip and fun chick lit novels ("Girls' Night OUt" and "Party Girls") didn't disappoint with Retail Therapy. It's definitely a fun, satisfying novel that is not to be missed.

Alana and Hailey are young, beautiful and absolutely love to shop. The two girls are roommates with very different upbringings, but get along great. Alana is from an upstanding family, whose father is a well-known judge that will probably make it into the Supreme court one day. Alana doesn't have a job in the beginning of the story, and spends most of her days doing some serious damage to her father's credit cards. Lately however, he has begun to balk at the amount of money she is throwing away on various designer clothing, furniture and accessories. Hailey, a wholesome girl from Wisconsin with a clean, good-girl image, is an actress on a soap opera who is hoping her contract will be renewed one day soon before she runs out of money. She spends her days on the set trying to stay out of the way of the Soap Opera Diva from hell, and the rest of her time hitting the designer shops with Alana.

However, all good things must come to an end, right? When Alana's father puts his foot down and declares that all of Alana's credit cards will be stopped the following morning, she is thrown into a panic. She enlists the help of Hailey and goes on a major spending spree that night. Hailey meanwhile discovers she's been "laid off" from her soap opera for a while. Just when things can't get more desperate, a woman named Marcella comes along to save the day. She knows how to bargain shop and budget. The problem is, will the two major spenders be able to stop? Will Marcella help them before they end up in bankruptcy? Since both women use shopping as therapy, will the underlying issues causing the excessive behavior be discovered and dealt with?

Roz Bailey has brought us another fun and hard-to-put-down novel with "Retail Therapy". Chock full of innocent yet flawed characters, outrageous shopping trips and career woes, this book is sure to please. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. There are some reality-defying moments along the way and a slightly unbelievable story line, but it somehow works.

Overall I highly recommend "Retail Therapy". Shopaholics will grin with knowing, and bargain-hunters will raise their eyebrows, but most will probably enjoy this fun gem of a novel. Don't miss it! This book is a September release from Strapless Kensington.