Lawgirl Book Review

Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison

I picked this up as it was recommended by Jennifer Weiner.  And I’m running out of new authors for beachy reads.

This book had a strong start.  I think that the author has talent, but needed to flesh out the storyline a bit better.   I don’t have a shoe addiction (I’ll pause while you pull yourselves off of the floor), as my feet are little loaves of bread and need stability.  I can’t wear the Pradas, the Puccis, the Guccis, the Blahniks…but I do share a love of spending a lot on accesories, such as handbags.  Which reminds me, I haven’t bought a new purse in months!!  Gah!!

But I digest…anyway, there are some great moments in this book, but some of the plotlines are introduced and then dropped and others were introduced and resolved fast enough to make your head spin.  In any case, it’s a decent summer read – but not as good as anything by Jen Lancaster.

From Amazon:

Shopaholic Lorna Rafferty is nearly drowning in her debt, but for some reason she can’t seem to stop buying new shoes. With a job as a waitress that gives her enough for the need but not the greed, and barely enough money to buy food, let alone other necessities, Lorna finds herself in a quandary about what to do regarding her financial situation. When she realizes that her spendthrift ways might soon leave her both homeless and carless, Lorna decides to get a grip on her spending and buckle down on her finances… only what is she supposed to do about her shoe addiction? So begins the creation of Shoe Addicts Anonymous, Lorna’s brainchild wherein women in the D.C. area who are a size 7 1/2 can meet once a week and swap their designer shoes with one another… Lorna has no idea the sort of people her Gregslist ad will attract, but luckily meets some great women because of it.

Her compadres in shoe addiction are:

Helene Zaharis, the wife of a prominent politician who also takes her shoe addiction to extremes; though her marriage is no cake walk and her husband uses money to keep her in line, when Helene goes too far for a pair of Bruno Maglis, she turns to Shoe Addicts Anonymous for help.

Sandra Vanderslice, an agoraphobic phone sex operator who uses online shopping to feed her addiction. Sandra’s psychologist suggests that she get out of the house more and meeting women who share her interests seems to be the perfect solution.

And Jocelyn Bowen, a nanny for two young boys whose impossible mother makes unreasonable demands on Joss’s time. Though she could care less about shoes, Shoe Addicts Anonymous will get Joss out of her employers’ home one night a week–and that’s as good a reason as any, as far as Joss is concerned.

Through a love of shoes, these women form a bond of friendship that allows them to look past their social and economic differences and to just see each other as individuals. Shoe Addicts Anonymous becomes a place where they can vent their frustrations, confront their fears, and just be themselves without worrying about what people will think about them. This book was delightfully written, and full of anecdotes and one-liners. It’s definitely going to be one of the runaway chick lit books of the summer and I’d recommend it as a great beach read.