Tag Archives: Chick Lit

Improper Relations by Janet Mullany

American Literature March 1, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Forced to marry after an indiscretion at a ball, Charlotte and Shad resign themselves to a marriage of convenience that may not be as unlively as they had assumed. Review: Improper Relations has a cute premise, and I enjoyed the little hints of decadence that author Janet Mullany threw into her Regency setting. She does a good job creating the tension between Charlotte and Shad, and throws in just enough originality in her plotting to mask the requisite predictable complications arising from assumptions and…

Best Bet by Laura Pederson

American Literature February 8, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Faced with a marriage proposal on the one side and the chance to travel around the world on the other, Hallie Palmer chooses the unfamiliar, hoping to find herself in the process. Review: While I admired Laura Pederson’s strong prose skills, I was not drawn in by the story at the center of Best Bet. I lost interest after about 100 pages. Many thanks to iUniverse for the review copy.

Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattillo

American Literature February 1, 2010 Superfast Reader 5 Comments

Synopsis: Sent to Oxford to present at a Jane Austen conference on behalf of her sister, an unemployed young woman pretends to be a pediatrician to impress a handsome bachelor and makes the acquaintance of a dotty old woman claiming to have the manuscript of Austen’s first draft of Pride and Prejudice. Review: Before I get into my review of Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart, I need to make a confession. The book’s editor–who also receives a heartfelt dedication from the author–is a good friend…

Cute New Chick Lit Imprint

British Literature December 5, 2009 Superfast Reader

I don’t ordinarily do promotion-only books–I pretty much only post book reviews. But recently I got an unsolicited package in the mail from the publishers of Little Black Dress Books, and the books just looked so cute that I wanted to let people know about them in case I don’t have time to read every single one of them. If you like British chick lit, then I think you would like these–they’re contemporary and just a bit sassy. I will post reviews when I get…

College Girl by Patricia Weitz

American Literature December 5, 2009 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: UConn transfer student Natalie finds that her lack of worldly experience can’t stand up to the pressures of a hot frat brother. Review: College Girl is really just a poor woman’s I Am Charlotte Simmons. I didn’t get sucked into Natalie’s story the way I had hoped to, because I usually love these kinds of tales, and I found myself frustrated with her relentless passivity (which she shares with Charlotte, but Wolfe made this almost an heroic quality in his heroine). Believe it or…

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

American Literature October 29, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A quartet of unlikely best friends deal with a post-feminist, post-grad life out of Smith College. Review: The appeal of Commencement is in its depiction of Smith College, caught between poles of conservative femininity and radical lesbianism. Each of the four protagonists deals with life issues that have something to do with the plight of the modern women. Their struggles are portrayed with nuance and pathos, but I wondered if the story would have resonated had it been set in a less idiosyncratic place.…

Stretch Marks by Kimberly Stuart

American Literature October 15, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: When a yoga-loving vegetarian gets knocked up by her deadbeat boyfriend, her cruise ship hostess mother moves on in, and hilarity ensues. Review: Stretch Marks was cute enough, but it wasn’t the most original take on the subject I’ve ever read. I liked Mia well enough, but at many points I felt like her struggles were genuine enough. It also bugged me how blind she was to her ex-boyfriend Lars’s shenanigans. It’s not like my expectations were that high, but I was hoping for…

Hollywood is Like High School with Money by Zoey Dean

American Literature July 23, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Taylor’s lucky break landing a job as an assistant at a major film studio turns into a disaster, until she enlists the help of her boss’s alpha girl high school daughter to help her navigate the social landscape. Review: Hollywood is Like High School With Money is not the most original book to come down the pike, but it’s a quick and relaxing read. There’s some good insider-y stuff, which I found amusing because I was a “creative associate” for a film producer once…

Easy on the Eyes by Jane Porter

American Literature July 22, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: At 38, TV personality Tiona Tomlinson is starting to be considered over-the-hill, and she’s not going to give in and get plastic surgery. Review: Jane Porter writes chick lit for women on the cusp of middle age, and her stuff tends to have some substance to it. Easy on the Eyes is an easy read, and I appreciated its message about how our culture is so awful to women as they age. I also liked that her backstory included a Daniel/Marianne Pearl-type marriage and…

Ms. Taken Identity by Dan Begley

American Literature June 22, 2009 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A guy decides to write a chick lit novel, and finds love and loses himself along the way. Review: Ms. Taken Identity could’ve been a big huge miss. It’s a great concept that the author could’ve coasted on. Happily, Ms. Taken Identity has humor, heart, and a whole lot of smarts. Mitch is a PhD candidate with a 750-page magnum opus that nobody wants to buy. On a lark, he decides to write chick lit because in his mind, any idiot can do it.…

reading is my superpower

i read all the books