Review: "The Penny Pincher's Club" by Sarah Strohmeyer

After re-visiting Strohmeyer's The Sleeping Beauty Proposal a while ago, I was determined to read more books by her and put this one on hold at my library. It recently arrived, ready to be devoured by one such as myself, and I really can say that I wasn't disappointed.

Kat is a Jersey girl at heart. She shops, and shops, and then shops some more. When she gets home she hides how much her purchases cost from her husband, Griff, a professor at the local University. She loves her job as an interior designer, but she doesn't love her manipulative boss. When Kat begins to suspect that Griff is cheating on her she finds that he has both a secret bank account and a secret Mastercard. After a consultation with a lawyer she discovers that she does not even have close to enough to pay for divorce, not to mention the ensuing life on her own. Kat joins "The Penny Pincher's Club", a group that meets in the basement of the local library made up of people who are experts on money management. Kat hope that in time she will be able to not only pay for her divorce, but be able to live on her own in the future.

I'll admit that I didn't like Kat at the beginning of The Penny Pincher's Club- not even a little! She seemed selfish and obsessed with shopping, something that I'm not. For that reason alone I had a hard time relating to her in the beginning, but luckily she began changing shortly into the book and as she changed I started warming up to her.

Maybe now would be a good time to admit that I'm a "penny pincher" myself. While my husband is most definitely a spender, I'm a saver. Nothing gets me going like getting a good deal. For example, the other day my hubby and I were browsing our local Future Shop. He had mentioned in the past week that he wanted to buy a Blu-Ray player, specifically a Sony one (in the hopes of not wearing out out PS3). We found one for $99.99, because it was an "open box special". We had $50 in gift cards, left over from Christmas. We ended up spending $62.00 for a Blu-Ray payer, and it works perfectly. That kind of deal keeps me glowing for days! I love paying less than retail. That aspect of the book worked for me. I loved the eccentric members of "The Penny Pincher's Club". I loved as they stocked up on reasonably priced shampoo and tampons. Those characters really made me love this book, as I could see myself in them to an extent.

Actually, I ended up loving this book, despite the fact that Kat's shopping habits initially made me wary of the whole thing. Strohmeyer kept me guessing as to how the whole thing would end, and I liked that. I love chick-lit, but I don't always want to know how it ends right away. It's nice when an author can keep me guessing througout. Bravo to her! It really was a satisfying read with characters that I could relate to (and root for!) and an ending that kept me guessing. Highly recommended to both chick-lit fans and those looking for a light (yet satisfying) read!

Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Recommended to: Chick-lit lovers, Sarah Strohmeyer fans, those looking for a light yet satisfying read
Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge, 2010 Chick Lit Challenge, 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge