Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant, hilarious book.
Review: A brilliant, glittering dark comedy with a mostly happy ending. There's a darkness and realism in this one that might put off someone who doesn't like sarcasm. Because Katie Castle is all about sarcasm and is a modern-day Becky Sharp when it comes to social climbing. She almost gets it all, then loses it all, and then gets it all back again, and then some. I like her unflinching assessments of others; even if they are unkind, but I can't stand Pollyannas or phonies who want to pretend that all is beautiful and everybody is good, nice, and nice-looking. There are some charming digressions about pubs, and other aspects of life in London (and the U.K.) so if you don't like a non-U.S. cultural context, this book isn't for you. The puns and one-liners are liberally sprinkled throughout the text, making for much laughing out loud. Move over, Plum Sykes, Rebecca Campbell's got your number (or rather, your agent's number, your publisher's number, your editor's number, etc.) Who says comedy and `chick-lit' can't be intelligent and still be fun? Bravissima, Ms. Campbell.
Rating: 
Summary: You will slave to finish this book.
Review: Buyer beware, this is not the typical brit chick lit novel. I found it very hard to sympathize with the main character, Katie Castle, because she's so self-centered and materialistic. Although the reader is taken on a voyage where girl (Katie) has everything, makes a stupid mistake, loses everything including boy, and then starts the path to recovering everything, I just didn't find myself careing what happened to her. Reading the book from Katie's perspective was aggravating since I didn't agree with most of her thought processes and disliked her. For readers looking for a good book with fashion and wacky 20something girl antics, I would suggest reading something lighter with a stronger, more likeable heroine. For instance any of Sophie Kinsella's 'Shopaholic' novels.
Rating:
Summary: Not your typical brit-chick novel!
Review: I am getting a little weary of the brit-chick formula books these days and was a little hesitant to read this one. What a nice surprise! The main character, Katie, is a ruthless little snot who would run over all of the other brit book heroines in a limo! We get to follow her kamakaze nosedive from grace, in hilarious fashion of course. All of the people in her life turn on her (deserved) and she is left without a job, friends or a place to live. Throughout the whole ordeal, she faces problems with great humor and candor. Kind of like a modern day fairy-tale with a great ending.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad...not great
Review: I was hoping this book would follow along the lines of Sophie Kinsella's style of writing...while it wasn't exactly that...it wasn't a bad novel. Katie makes you want to pity her when she falls victim to Penny Moss...who was totally a witch and then some! I struggled at certain parts but did finish in less than a week.
Rating: 
Summary: Flaccid satire
Review: Rebecca Campbell seems to be aiming for a dark, witty satire of the fashion industry in "Slave to Fashion," with a manipulative anti-heroine and a so-there at the fashion moguls of the world. Don't stop working in the fashion industry, Rebecca -- because you're really not much of a writer.
Kate Castle is a snotty fashion designer, working for the legendary Penny Moss -- she designs clothes, hobnobs with the rich'n'famous, hangs out with gay publicists, and so forth. She basically slept her way to her current position -- not with Penny, but with Penny's son, Kate's sweet-natured fiancee Ludo. Basically, it's the life most women would kill for, but the self-absorbed Kate wants a few last bed romps before settling down.
Her seemingly perfect life changes when Kate has a side fling with hunka-hunka-burnin'-lust Liam Callaghan, and news leaks out. With the dissolvement of her engagement to Ludo, she also loses the job Penny gave her, and is tossed unceremoniously from Ludo's apartment. Suddenly she finds herself with the looming prospect of having to do actual work for her living, and finds that her personality is alienating everyone around her.
Chick lit has become something to satirize in recent years, with books like "Cassandra French's Finishing School for Boys." But satire is hard to write. And Rebecca Campbell, who works in the fashion industry herself, had better not give up her day job -- this irritating, blandly-written book is the proof of why.
The killing point of this book is that Campbell -- after making you despise Kate -- suddenly decides that her heroine is worth caring about anyway, and should be given a happy ending, despite being obnoxiously self-centerd and lacking in any redeeming characteristics. So she starts rigging up a ridiculous path back to Kate's former job, including a defunct fashion mogul (oh how very coincidental), inept coworkers, and finally blackmail over a porn video. Everything falls into place with no effort, which give the book the feel of an amateur who lost control of her plot, then quickly reshuffled it into a quickie ending.
Kate frankly is not interesting or intelligent enough to be the "anti Bridget Jones" -- while nasty people can be compelling protagonists, she's too much of a self-centered idiot to ever be compelling. She just comes across as a shallow, whiny child-woman who will shag any semi-attractive male, if she can avoid being caught. Most of the supporting characters come across as paper dolls, especially Penny. Honestly, isn't the bash-my-evil-boss-by-proxy thing getting a little old?
One of Kate Castle's friends says that no one would care if she died in the streets. Well, it's hard to imagine caring if this book died in the remainder bins. Shallow, obnoxious, and poorly written.
Rating: 
Summary: not a goofball, but a raging witch!
Review: That alone is what made this book worth reading. Katie Castle is NASTY, and after so much "oh ha ha hee hee!" garbage of the Bridget Jones ilk, it was a welcome change. Granted, it was the same old "chick loses glamorous life, then rebuilds it while learning a lesson" formula, but with a twist. A gangster and his associates who quote Nietszche in their book club are who see Katie to her spiritual rebirth. Katie is a sneering snot who works for Penny Moss, the name of both a fashion empire and her soon-to-be mother-in-law. She is engaged to sweet bumbling Ludo, Penny's only son, and decides she should have one last fling before settling down with him. Of course, this is where it all starts to unravel. But exactly how it unravels is like watching a horrifying train wreck. In the background is Katie's childhood best friend Veronica, whom katie does not like very much. But Katie is detremined to use her -- till Veronica finally opens her eyes to Katie's true nature. The Katie roller coaster takes another downward spiral. It's entertaining, though this genre is really worn out.
Rating:
Summary: I was a slave to this book!
Review: This book was so much fun to read. I couldn't put it down! The main character, Katie Castle, was a very REAL character. So realistic that sometimes you loved her, and sometimes you wanted to smack her upside the head! Not many narratives are that realistic. Most main characters are like guys on a first date: they only show you the good stuff. The bad aspects of Katie Castle are the same bad characteristics in all of us -- selfishness, conceit, vanity -- but the main character owns it all! This is a refeshing change, which left me scouring the bookshelves for other books Rebecca Campbell has written. The plot is fun for anyone who has an interest in fashion or shopping. A very entertaining, smart, and stylish book.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: This is a really good satire, both of the fashion world and of the whole 'Brit chick lit' genre. It's a simple story of the rise and fall of Katie Castle. I loved the interaction between Katie and Peggy Moss in the first section of the book. I admit that I found the first chapter or two slow, but by the time Katie and Peggy were in Paris, I was hooked. I thought Katie was actually a well rounded character. She wasn't a nice person, by any means, but I liked that about her - she appealed to my dark side. Katie could say and do things that I'd never dream of, so the book provided a good escape in that sense. I also liked that she did have something of a conscience (albeit not a well developed one), she did learn from her mistakes, and she had a degree of self awareness. I found myself wanting to see her succeed. The first part of the book developed the relationships well enough that I genuinely felt bad for her mistake, and I wanted to see her win back the boyfriend. Campbell manages to take a woman who is very different from most of the people who read the book, and yet make her someone we could relate to. Who hasn't messed up royally in their lives? She is able to find the insights and morals in the story. There are no profoundly original truths written here - it's all stuff we already know, on some level, but the reminders work. It's got just enough depth to be interesting, but it's not so serious that it comes across as pretentious. The book wasn't absolutely perfect, of course. I thought some things happened too quickly and too easily, like the exposure of what Katie did, and even her ability to get back what she lost. I didn't like the ending - it was all just too easy. Some of the characters - particularly the men - were poorly developed. But those things are just minor complaints that keep the book from gaining full-fledged classic status. It's still better, funnier, and smarter than a lot of books available today. Worth a read!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: This is a really good satire, both of the fashion world and of the whole `Brit chick lit' genre. It's a simple story of the rise and fall of Katie Castle. I loved the interaction between Katie and Peggy Moss in the first section of the book. I admit that I found the first chapter or two slow, but by the time Katie and Peggy were in Paris, I was hooked. I thought Katie was actually a well rounded character. She wasn't a nice person, by any means, but I liked that about her - she appealed to my dark side. Katie could say and do things that I'd never dream of, so the book provided a good escape in that sense. I also liked that she did have something of a conscience (albeit not a well developed one), she did learn from her mistakes, and she had a degree of self awareness. I found myself wanting to see her succeed. The first part of the book developed the relationships well enough that I genuinely felt bad for her mistake, and I wanted to see her win back the boyfriend. Campbell manages to take a woman who is very different from most of the people who read the book, and yet make her someone we could relate to. Who hasn't messed up royally in their lives? She is able to find the insights and morals in the story. There are no profoundly original truths written here - it's all stuff we already know, on some level, but the reminders work. It's got just enough depth to be interesting, but it's not so serious that it comes across as pretentious. The book wasn't absolutely perfect, of course. I thought some things happened too quickly and too easily, like the exposure of what Katie did, and even her ability to get back what she lost. I didn't like the ending - it was all just too easy. Some of the characters - particularly the men - were poorly developed. But those things are just minor complaints that keep the book from gaining full-fledged classic status. It's still better, funnier, and smarter than a lot of books available today. Worth a read!
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible start, picks up a little towards the end
Review: This is a typical chick-lit book with an untypical heroine. In "Slave to Fashion," Katie Castle worked as the production manager for Penny Moss, a succesful businesswoman and designer. She was also engaged to Penny's son, Ludo, whom she took for granted. Knowing that she was going to be tied down forever to one man, Katie yearned for a one-night stand. Soon, she was in bed with Liam, Penny's van driver. After her affair was out, Katie lost everything. It is very difficult to get into this book. After about 100 pages, the book improves a little. First of all, Katie is an extremely unlikeable character. She is arrogant, materialistic, taking advantage of people and sneer at others constantly. (Calling people "lepers" and at laughing at their clothes) It is difficult to be sympathetic to her and her plight. Secondly, the beginning of the book is quite confusing. There are too many characters and soon I begin to lose track of who is who. Lastly, I also agree with one reviewer who had difficulties with the fashion lingo. There are definitely better chick lits out there.
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