Review: "The Shoe Princess's Guide to the Galaxy" by Emma Bowd

I'm a lover of all kinds of women's fiction (provided that it is not of the "fluffy" or "cotton candy" variety) so of course I was thrilled when Emma Bowd, author of the new book The Shoe Princess's Guide to the Galaxy contacted me to see if I was interested in reviewing it. My answer "Does a chocoholic love chocolate? Of course!!". The review copy arrived a few days later and I couldn't wait to dig in.

I wasn't disappointed. Shoe Princess is about new motherhood, friendships, marriage, and of course, shoes! Jane has recently given birth to Millie, an adorable yet exhausting bundle of joy and is overwhelmed with it all. She's traded her new job for maternity leave, and her gorgeous shoes for socks that may or may not have been recently washed. Her group of friends don't truly understand since none of them have children of their own, and they are all wrapped up in their own problems. Liz and her husband are trying, and failing, to have a child of their own. Lovely Rachel is too busy scoping out unsuitable men and even more unsuitable shoes to worry too much about motherhood. Fi, Jane's best friend, has met a man who may just be "The One". To add to Jane's worries her jet-setting husband has been spending a LOT of time away from home lately- in fact his daughter thinks that he is just a face on the computer screen! Jane doesn't think much of it until she realizes that her husband's new boss is, in fact, a beautiful woman. Jane must figure out how she can resurrect her pre-motherhood self, win back her husband and singlehandedly parent her daughter, while not losing sight of all of the new things in her life that are so important to her.

Shoe Princess was an absolutely enjoyable read. Each of the characters had their own set of problems, yet somehow all of these problems came together to form a coherent plot. I especially loved the character of Jane's dad. He comes to stay with Jane and Millie when Jane's mother is away on a trip and he takes to caring for little Millie like a duck out of water. I could definitely use one of him at my house! The plot, while at times predictable in the way that good chick-lit is, was exciting and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The conclusion was absolutely satisfying and left me wanting more (a Shoe Princess sequel, perhaps??). Interesting tidbits from the Shoe Princess blog were interspersed throughout and included helpful shoe tips as well as a quiz- "What kind of Shoe Princess are you?". If you're the type of shoe fashionista who enjoys shoe trivia and other entertaining tidbits you'll have to check out Emma Bowd's addictive blog, http://www.shoeprincess.com/.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys chick-lit and/or shoes as much as I do! The Shoe Princess's Guide to the Galaxy would make an excellent Christmas gift for the new mom, chick-lit lover, or shoe princess in your life! Stay tuned: Tomorrow I will be posting an interview with the author, Emma Bowd! She was kind enough to take time out of her schedule to answer a few of my burning questions and I'm thrilled to have her visiting my blog!!