Chick Literate » 4 hearts award

Nerd in Shining Armor

lklawless — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:30:43 +0000

It’s fun to imagine that incredibly smart guys, called “nerds” in high school, will grow up to be rich and successful while the jocks and other popular kids will end working at a gas station. Vicki Lewis Thompson’s Nerd in Shining Armor takes this fantasy a few steps further. The nerd in question is not only brilliant, but also extremely good looking and a great lover to boot. When he and Genevieve end up on a deserted island, it doesn’t take her long to succumb. This is the chickiest of chick lit, but if you’re after escapism, you’ll enjoy being marooned with beauty and the geek.

Bridget Jones’s Diary Returns

lklawless — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:00:16 +0000

If The Edge of Reason, the sequel to Bridget Jones’s Diary, left you wanting more, then you’re in luck: Helen Fielding did another series of columns which are available online. (Or maybe you’re not as lame as I am and already read them when they were published 3 years ago.) Anyway, it’s a little bit of a drag to have to read Bridget’s third and almost certainly final volume on the computer, but I couldn’t bring myself to print out all those pages. Regardless, the year of weekly diary entries brings things to a much more satisfactory conclusion: Bridget Jones’s Diary Returns. (Note that the site also includes links to articles about the columns – the actual diary entries have bolded dates.)

Bet Me

lklawless — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:00:30 +0000

A misunderstanding over an offensive bet leads to good food and great sex in Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me. The characters are well-defined and the story is fast-paced, making for a fun and sexy novel.

Animal Husbandry

lklawless — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:00:16 +0000

Animal Husbandry, by Laura Zigman, is one of the wackier books I’ve ever read – chick lit or otherwise. When Jane Goodall (no relation) gets dumped, she turns to the animal kingdom to try to make sense of her boyfriend’s behavior, and draws a number of startling and interesting parallels between animals and humans. It’s a weird but worthwhile read.

The Edge of Reason

lklawless — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:56:27 +0000

The second (and final) Bridget Jones book, Helen Fielding’s The Edge of Reason, isn’t as good as the first, but it’s definitely worth a read or five. The timing is off in places (e.g., Magda’s pregnancy/new baby in the two books) and some of the situations are a little too outrageous, but all in all it’s fun and funny, and there are couple of truly touching moments, which surprised me a little (in a good way).

The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing

lklawless — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:00:34 +0000

More a collection of short stories than a novel, The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank, is on the smarter and more serious end of the chick lit spectrum. I’m not normally a fan of short stories, preferring to spend the length of a novel getting to know a few characters and stories, rather than a few pages on this character and the next few on someone completely different. But these stories all center on a single character, and the changing points of view and switching between first, third, and even second person keep things interesting.

Good Grief

lklawless — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:33:28 +0000

For a long time I hesitated to read Lolly Winston’s Good Grief because, given the title and plot (young widow starts over), I thought it would be too sad. And it is sad, in parts, but it is also beautifully written and I really liked it. The grief is palpable at times, but the tender humor and real-life situations are totally believable. It’s not a novel that I’ll be able to enjoy a dozen more times, but it’s definitely worth reading. I just wish the author had included recipes!

Getting Over It

lklawless — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:00:25 +0000

If you like books with a mix of comedy and tragedy, then Anna Maxted’s Getting Over It is just the ticket. Helen has a terrible track record with men, and at first the death of her father barely fazes her. But as the story unfolds, she develops closer relationships with a few different people and learns a lot about them and herself in the process.

SPOILERS I was particularly touched by the scene where Helen gives Tom the paint set. It was such a thoughtful, special thing to do.

The domestic abuse situation was horrifying and so realistic that it actually made me feel sick.

Mail

lklawless — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 06:00:48 +0000

Mameve Medwed’s first novel, Mail, is a great example of intelligent chick wit. The heroine spends her days writing short stories, sending them off in the hopes of publication, and dreaming about the mail man. It’s well-written and fairly funny, but I was a bit bothered by the class conflict – I just couldn’t relate to it. And at one point the word “classy” is used (or at least interpreted by the person being addressed) to mean “upper class” (i.e., rich), when what classy actually means is stylish or elegant. So Mail has some flaws, but overall it’s a fun read.

Welcome to Temptation

lklawless — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 06:00:44 +0000

Though it’s not Jennifer Crusie’s first book, Welcome to Temptation is the first one I read. It’s a little bit more Harlequin-romancy than most chick lit, but it has some likeable characters and some unlikeable ones that are fairly believable, and the story was fun – there are a couple of love stories, some good friendship moments, and several dramatic subplots. I liked it enough that I went ahead and bought all of Ms. Crusie’s other books, including Faking It, which is not a sequel but does have some of the same characters.