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Chick Lit Classics: Asking For Trouble by Liz Young

Posted By Leah on August 5th, 2010

Chick Lit Classics is a regular feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

This week I’ve chosen Asking For Trouble by Liz Young (or Elizabeth Young) as our Classic pick. I read this absolutely ages ago but I really loved it. It has a hilarious plot (hiring an escort for a wedding because you lied to your family about a boyfriend?), it was made into a movie (The Wedding Date, although I didn’t like it at all), and it was such a fun read. It’s kind of sad that Liz appears to not be writing books any more as I’ve read two of them and both were fab. If you haven’t read Asking For Trouble, I recommend you do as it’s so good and deserves it’s place in our Chick Lit Classics posts!

Sophy’s single and happy about it. She does, however, have an imaginary boyfriend, Dominic, a little white lie designed to keep Sophy’s mother off her back. Which is fine, until his presence is demanded at a family wedding. So does Sophy admit Dominic is a fantasy? Oh no. Sophy hires an escort. But when the distinctly delicious Josh Carmichael arrives on her doorstep, Sophy can tell things are going to get tricky. And the wedding is only the beginning…

Chick Lit Classics: The Sweetest Taboo by Carole Matthews

Posted By Leah on July 29th, 2010

Chick Lit Classics is a regular feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

I am a huge fan of Carole Matthews and have read the majority of her books. In fact I only have one or two still left to read so it was inevitable one of her books would, eventually, be deemed a Chick Lit Classic and there’s many to choose from because all chick lit fans should read Carole Matthews! However the one that stands out the most to me is The Sweetest Taboo. Essentially the book is one big love triangle set in the backdrop of LA, but it’s so much more than that and I truly never knew where it was going to end. It’s a total must-read and I can’t wait until I get the chance to re-read it again!

Falling in love isn’t easy. Sadie Nelson ought to know – she’s got two men to choose from and neither one is hassle-free. First there’s Gill McGann, a Hollywood producer who’s flown her from a grey day in London to sun-soaked LA in order to win her heart. He has more to offer Sadie than she could ever have imagined… Then there’s gorgeous actor Tavis Jones, whose sense of fun makes Sadie feel immediately at home. But can they ever be more than just good friends? The longer she leaves it, the harder it gets, and Sadie’s about to discover that in LA anything can happen…

Chick Lit Classic: Wedded Blitz by Tina Reilly

Posted By Chloe on July 22nd, 2010

Chick Lit Classics is a regular feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

This week I have chosen one of Tina Reilly’s early releases, Wedded Blitz. Tina now writes under her full name of Martina Reilly, and the books under that name are a bit more serious and have a much more serious looking cover too, but I really enjoyed some of Martina’s early books, and Wedded Blitz is one of them. It’s a funny, heart warming and enjoyable read about a woman who is determined to make it on her own in business after the demise of her marriage, and I loved every page. It originally came out in 2005, and has already been released with an updated cover, but I think it’s a fantastic read and it’s one I’d definitely recommend!

“Warring spouses, embarrassing parents and the battle of the hairdressing salons …When Dublin girl Jane married local boy Jim, she thought it was for ever. But now there are cracks in their marriage that they just can’t seem to fix. When Jim announces he’s moving out, Jane is left to pick up the pieces of their family life. And then her mother decides to visit…Determined to remain upbeat, Jane plans to make a real success of her work, only to discover that Cutting Edge, the hairdressing empire, is opening a shop yards away from her own humble salon. With her staff in uproar and customers deserting them in droves, Jane decides to play Cutting Edge at their own game. Then life deals Jane and Jim one dreadful blow, past hurts rush to the surface, and they are forced to confront what drove them apart in the first place.”

Chick Lit Classic: Three In A Bed by Carmen Reid

Posted By Chloe on July 8th, 2010

Chick Lit Classics is a regular feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

This week I have chosen Carmen Reid’s 2002 book Three In a Bed. I actually only read this for the first time last year I think but I thought it was a fantastic book and it’s stuck with me since then. Carmen’s writing style is very easy to read, and I found myself ploughing through the book in around a day because it was really good. Carmen’s books have been given a makeover so the purple cover I’ve put on here is the new version, the old one is pink. If you enjoy a well written story about the adjustment into motherhood for a city slicker, then pick up a copy of Three In A Bed, it’s a fabulous read!

“Bella is a high-achieving, go-getting management consultant who seems to have it all. She’s brilliant at her job, plays just as hard as she works and has a fantastic, sexy relationship with her husband Don. Then, she realizes that something’s missing from her life and decides to have a child (even though her husband isn’t at all keen on the idea), and her ordered world is turned upside-down. Bella’s city slicker lifestyle doesn’t go too well with morning sickness, swelling body and raging hormones. Suddenly it’s all change - she’s a sleep-deprived, emotionally-ravaged wreck, close to embarking on an affair with her former boss.”

Chick Lit Classics: PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

Posted By Leah on July 1st, 2010

Chick Lit Classics is a regular feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

I can’t believe it’s taken us so long to pick this book for our Chick Lit Classic, I’m actually stunned as it’s one of my favourite ever and should definitely be read by all Chick Lit fans. I am, of course, talking about Cecelia Ahern’s stunning debut novel PS, I Love You. I’ve read it quite a few times now and it gets me every single time. If you haven’t read it, then I implore you to seek it out, you will not regret it. I’d also love to mention the film; I’m not a fan of books-turned-films and I usually find they’re not as good but PS, I Love You the film was just as stunning as the book and I cried my eyes out watching it. Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler were perfect as Holly and Gerry and I just loved it. So what I suggest you do is, buy and read the book and then go and see the film! You’re totally welcome!

Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mates. But not Holly and Gerry. Childhood sweethearts, they could finish each other’s sentences. No one could imagine Holly and Gerry without each other. Gerry’s death devastates Holly. But as her 30th birthday looms, Gerry comes back to her. He’s left her a bundle of notes, one for each of the months after his death, guiding Holly into her new life without him, each note signed ‘PS, I Love You’. As the notes are opened, the man who knows Holly better than anyone teaches her that life goes on. With some help from her friends and her family, Holly finds herself laughing, crying — and being braver than ever before. Life is for living, she realises — but it always helps if there’s an angel watching over you.

Chick Lit Classic: Mums@Home by Sophie King

Posted By Chloe on June 24th, 2010

Chick Lit Classics is a new feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

This week I’ve chosen a “modern classic” from chick lit author Sophie King. Sophie has written 5 books, all of which I’ve read and enjoyed but this one sticks in my mind as being a particularly good read. Mums@Home is based on a load of mums and dads coming together in an online community to chat about their problems and woes, and it makes for fascinating reading.

What I loved about this book is that we know the secrets that the characters are hiding, but they are slowly revealed through the forum which is displayed in the book, and I was so eager to get to the end and find out if everyone works out who everyone is! If you haven’t read any of Sophie King’s books, I’d definitely recommend Mums@Home but any of Sophie’s read are all brilliant!

“Calling all mums!

What would you do if your husband had a fling?

Have you ever had to keep a terrible secret from your kids?

Do you sometimes wish you had a life outside being a mum?

Are you pregnant and alone?

Caroline, Mark, Susan and Lisa are as different as the parenting problems they face and each has their own reasons for logging on to the Mums@Home website for the very first time. At first they are cynical about the site – how can faceless people possibly help or understand what they are going through? But as the weeks pass and their family problems escalate, each of them begins to realise that Mums@Home has become a lifeline – somewhere to go for advice, to be heard, to escape, or to belong…”

Chick Lit Classic: The Nanny by Melissa Nathan

Posted By Leah on June 17th, 2010

Chick Lit Classics is a new feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

This week I’ve chosen Melissa Nathan’s book The Nanny as our Chick Lit Classic. It was actually the Melissa Nathan Awards for Comedy & Romance this week which helped inspire my pick and remember just how fantastic The Nanny is. And it truly is a fantastic read which I absolutely loved. When I read it, I’d read none of Melissa’s other books but after reading it, I eagerly went looking for her other books. There’s an incredibly sad tale to Melissa’s books; all were written whilst she fought breast cancer and Melissa unfortunately lost her battle in 2006. Melissa was a fab writer and I think the award they set up in her name is a fantastic way to honour her life. If you have yet to read any of Melissa’s books then I urge you to do so. Picking The Nanny is not a bad way to start!

When Jo Green takes a nannying job in London to escape her small-town routine, complicated family, and perfect-on-paper boyfriend Shaun, culture shock doesn’t even begin to describe it. Dick and Vanessa Fitzgerald are the most incompatible pair since Tom and Jerry, and their children - glittery warrior pixie Cassandra, bloodthirsty Zak and shy little Tallulah - are downright mystifying. Suddenly, village life seems terribly appealing. Then, just as Jo’s getting the hang of their designer lifestyle, the Fitzgeralds acquire a new lodger and suddenly she’s sharing her nanny flat with the distractingly good-looking but inexplicably moody Josh. So when Shaun turns up, things get even trickier…

Chick Lit Classics: Miranda’s Big Mistake by Jill Mansell

Posted By Leah on June 10th, 2010

Chick Lit Classics is a new feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

This week I’ve chosen one of Jill Mansell’s many novels as our Classic pick. I’ve read the majority of Jill’s books and I enjoy them time and time again. One that I still remember even now, even though I haven’t read it in a few years is Miranda’s Big Mistake. I thought it was a fab read and if you haven’t read it, you really must. It may be a decade old (it was originally released in 2000) but it definitely stands the test of time. It’s funny and it’s even sad but, above all, it’s romantic!

Miranda is thrilled when she meets Greg at a cocktail party. He’s gorgeous, he’s funny - and he’s very keen. Just what a girl needs to put some sparkle in her life. Heavens, he’s practically perfect! Greg likes Miranda a lot. She’s young, she’s pretty, and she never talks about babies. Of course he hasn’t told her everything about himself - even the sweetest girls can be a bit funny about a man who’s just left his newly pregnant wife. But there’s no way she’s going to find out - or is there? Luckily for Miranda men are like buses - you don’t see any for ages then three come along at once. She just needs to catch the right one...