Confessions Of A Reluctant Recessionista by Amy Silver

Whether it's because I have been through the redundancy thing I don't know but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Cassie's life is a world away from mine but that didn't stop me cheering her on from the sidelines.  Being sidelined by work and then your boyfriend is no fun but when they both happen within days of each other Cassie does the only thing she knows how - she spends, and spends and shops some more until her flatmate and her best friend stage an intervention.

There were some genuinely funny moments in the book and Cassie herself is completely relatable.  Okay, not completely, but there is enough normality to her for you to feel complete empathy towards her and to be on her side even when she is being rather deluded and selfish.  The only thing that really spoilt the book for me was the tales of her new job at the Wine Start Up company, from singlehandedly remodelling the office to a mad dash across France to save a business deal it was a little forced and unbelievable.  Fortunately, the characters save the book and you can forgive the more fantastical aspects.

I am happy to admit that I bought this book because it was on sale and it reminded me of the Sophie Kinsella Shop-a-holic series.  I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the writing within it's covers as I think I was mentally expecting some sort of cash-in homage to that series but it really isn't that.  Instead you have a very relatable central character with a strong narrator's voice in Cassie and a cast of secondary characters that provide a great foil for our erstwhile heroine.  I particularly liked her flatmate Jude and am really crossing my fingers for a spin off about her.

This is a fun read that I did find hard to put down between chapters and as my first experience of the author I am looking forward to trying some of her other books.