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Underlying Notes by Eva Pasco
Chick Lit Review

Underlying Notes by Eva Pasco

Underlying Notes, the debut album from Eva Pasco follows Carla Matteo as she tries to cope with all life has handed her. Carla is now middle-aged and struggling to find her path in life, whether that be following her ambitions on becoming a teacher, or giving up her career to work alongside her husband Joe at his waste management company. She is also dealing with troubles from her past- her father’s mysterious death and her never ending fantasies about another man- who happens to be her fiercely faithful husband’s friend. With all her troubles, a new neighbor added to the mix only adds more drama, after she realizes her husband is having an affair and plots her revenge. One of the only things to keep Carla calm are her perfumes- spending hours online rating and reviewing different scents with other perfume lovers.
I unfortunately cannot say that I thoroughly enjoyed Underlying Notes. There was too much jumping around in the plot for me to be able to keep up, and the style of writing was bit too poetic prose for my liking. I didn’t get a real sense of understanding with the supporting characters and how they all fit into the story, though I can say that I understood the heroine and why she was dealing with the difficulties in her life. Another aspect that I didn’t like was that the title, Underlying Notes, was worked into every chapter seemingly multiple times, which seemed slightly overbearing. All of that made me want to stop reading more than once throughout the novel, but I am glad I pushed on and kept reading, because there was a nice ending to it all. I’m not exactly sure who I would recommend this book too, but if you are looking for a different style of writing, I would say check it out and see what you think!

February 12, 2010
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Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Chick Lit Review

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Lara is having a problem: she is being haunted by her 105 year old great-aunt’s ghost. Sadie, who was a daring flapper back in her time of the Roaring 20’s, keeps appearing alongside Lara, but as a younger version of her deceased self. She has some unfinished business and needs Lara to help her find her necklace before she can pass on. At first Lara is frustrated and fed up with trying to help Sadie, who is making her wear ridiculous flapper clothes and makeup and go on dates with boring men just so Sadie can feel “alive” again through the only person that can see her. But as time goes on, Lara realizes how much she and Sadie have in common, and strangely, how Sadie can help with her floundering love life and equally dismal career as a headhunter.
Twenties Girl from Sophie Kinsella was a favorite of mine- which shocked me. Though I am a huge fan of Kinsella I was thinking this novel sounded too out there for me. A ghost haunting her great-niece? But I was proved wrong, and could not put it down! The novel was engaging, humorous, inspirational, and even had a few fun twists thrown in as well. I honestly think Kinsella is one of the few authors that could have pulled this plot off, and she did it with a comedic twist and a bit of mystery throw in. A must read!

February 10, 2010
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Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster
Chick Lit Review

Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster

Jen Lancaster keeps her humorous bit alive with her third novel, Pretty In Plaid. Lancaster takes readers on the ultimate flashback in time, traveling back through the ‘80s and ‘90s and revealing her journey to show just how she got to where she is now. I enjoyed reading about the disastrous birthday dinner when Lancaster was eight and realized how to eat a lobster, her Greek years in college and how she struggled to fit in, and how she came to meet her future husband, Fletch.
Pretty in Plaid was a fun read, mainly because I was learning even more about one of my favorite authors. I like how Lancaster lets readers into her life, and her humor and honesty through each saga keeps me laughing throughout the novel. I do have to be honest and say this wasn’t my favorite novel from Jen Lancaster; it just didn’t give me the same pull as the others I have read. I think maybe because there was not really a “true” plot, it was just basically story-telling and I wasn’t sure where the story would stop. Still an entertaining read and I would recommend to all chick lit fans, just not a personal favorite of mine.

February 9, 2010
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In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
Chick Lit Review

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner

Sisters Rose and Maggie Feller couldn’t be more different. Rose is the “Plain Jane” responsible sister, working as a successful lawyer with a lackluster love life, while Maggie is the wild child, using her good looks and sexuality to get whatever she wants. When Maggie is evicted from her apartment and loses another job, Rose feels she has no choice but to take her little sister in- a choice she highly regrets after Maggie starts “borrowing” money and credit cards, ruining Rose’s expensive designer shoes, and sleeping with her boyfriend. Rose has had enough of Maggie’s inconsideration for other people, and kicks her out after the boyfriend incident, but after weeks of not hearing from her, begins to worry what exactly could have happened to her baby sister.
Maggie goes on the run, first finding refuge at Princeton while posing as a student, stealing money and credit cards from the other students to get by. She learns about her long-lost grandmother that is living in Miami and decides to take a trip to visit the woman she never had a relationship with. After Maggie and Rose’s mother died when they were young in what they believed to be an innocent car crash, all ties with their mother’s mother was cut off by their father and his new demanding wife. While Maggie is learning that she actually has a brain though she has been plagued with dyslexia all her life, Rose is going through her own struggles with her career. She had been dating her boss that slept with her sister, and decides to take an indefinite leave of absence from her high paying career and become- a dog sitter.
In Her Shoes, the best seller turned feature film by Jennifer Weiner takes on more than sister rivalry. I found this novel to be a wave of emotions, especially with Maggie’s case. I was furious with her because of the way she carelessly lived life, but then felt incredibly sad for her because of the curveballs that was throw her way. Some of the plot twists- Rose’s giving up her law career for a dog sitter- seemed a little unbelievable, but with Weiner’s gifted way with words, made me understand why someone would make that choice. I enjoyed following each girls’ path and being able to somewhat relate to their struggles, but In Her Shoes wasn’t a favorite for me. Still a fun read and I enjoyed the movie as well.

February 5, 2010
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Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews
Chick Lit Review

Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews

Fern Kendal certainly doesn’t have it easy. Living in a completely unglamorous flat above and Indian restaurant, Fern must take on multiple jobs just to afford her rent. She desperately hopes to make it as a singer, but performing at a small pub with an unappreciative audience is not helping her case. Her best friend and accompanist Carl convinces Fern that they should try out for Fame Game, a reality TV competition for singers. To Fern’s surprise, she makes the callbacks- but has to go ahead without Carl.
Meanwhile, Fern is struggling to make ends meet while trying to help support her brother and his extremely asthmatic son who needs constant care and dealing with her new housemate- her father. Fern’s parents are on the verge of divorce and her father is quickly becoming more than a nuisance for Fern. She takes on the job of assistant to Evan David, popular opera singer- even though she knows nothing about opera and keeps having to run out on her professional duties to deal with her personal life events. To make matters more confusing, Evan David takes an unexplainable liking to Fern, all while Carl is desperately hoping that Fern will one day love him as much as he loves her.
Welcome to the Real World by Carole Matthews brings likable characters and a scenario that is very real. It was fun to read about the struggles that the heroine is dealing with, and was refreshing to see a character that isn’t just hoping to fall in love- she is pursing big dreams and fantasies. With a supporting cast of hilarious characters (Fern’s father pretending to have Tourette’s to try to win back his wife) readers will enjoy the humor and snappy dialogue that Matthew’s brings to all her novels.

January 31, 2010
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Society Girls by Sarah Mason
Chick Lit Review

Society Girls by Sarah Mason

Clemmie Colshannon is running out of luck. After finding out her boyfriend is a complete slum (him being the main reason of losing her job as a London art appraiser) and having a disastrous trip around the world, Clemmie finds herself living back at home. Her family is eclectic at best, with a drama queen actress as a mother with a passion for wild animals, (including a recuperating seagull), a brother with a secret crush that he is changing all his ways for, and a reporter for a sister that gets Clemmie wrapped up in what turns out to be a dangerous story.
Holly Colshannon, whom readers first met in Playing James, has found a juicy story involving another writer at the newspaper, Emma the society writer. Emma has mysteriously disappeared, and the girls learn she was secretly planning to get married to a man her father did not approve of. While trying to help Emma get her fiancé back, the sisters inadvertently put Emma (and their whole family) in danger.
Society Girls by Sarah Mason delivers a humorous story, with the supporting cast really giving the story line something extra. It was a little slow in the beginning, but the humor kept me going until the real drama started happening. Chick lit readers will also enjoy the love story that is fairly obvious to all but the heroine, and overall Society Girls makes for an entertaining read.

January 29, 2010
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Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster
Chick Lit Review

Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster

Such a Pretty Fat from hilarious author Jen Lancaster will keep you laughing throughout. Lancaster pens her journey to try to lose those extra fifty pounds, get healthier, and maybe stop getting called a “fat bitch.” Bitch she can handle, but maybe it wouldn’t kill her to hit the gym, work up a sweat….
Or maybe it will. She joins Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, starts using her gym membership and hires a personal trainer. So while eating tiny portions of cardboard food and being worked to her workout death, Lancaster gets the idea to track her journey and turn her experiences into her next novel. The money from getting published is the best motivation to keep her going back to Barbie, her perky personal trainer that pushes her to the extreme each time she steps foot in the gym.
After realizing that paying attention to her diet and exercising is actually helping her lose weight, Lancaster becomes more motivated to keep it up, and Such a Pretty Fat turns out not to be only a hilarious memoir of one’s struggles with body image, health, and weight loss, but an inspiration as well. A must read on the chick lit lists.

January 24, 2010
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The Chocolate Lovers’ Club by Carole Matthews
Chick Lit Review

The Chocolate Lovers’ Club by Carole Matthews

Lucy Lombard and her three friends are addicted. To chocolate. The foursome often meet up at their safe place, Chocolate Heaven, to divulge in chocolate and digest each other’s problems. Lucy has found her boyfriend cheating on her yet again, and has to decide if she can give him a second chance- for the fifth time. Nadia, who gave up her career to be a stay at home mom, is struggling with her husband’s own addiction- the much more dangerous addiction to gambling. She is watching their money dwindle down to nothing, and has to make the decision to stay with her husband or take their son and leave. Chantal is struggling through her marriage; even though the money that came with her husband is fabulous and keeps her bejeweled can’t make up for the complete lack of any sex life. She often enters into extramarital affairs, until one man steals $30,000 worth of her jewelry and an escort she was hiring turns out to be otherwise involved- with another friend. And do-gooder Autumn is having her peaceful life broken up by her drug abusing brother moving in with her.
The Chocolate Lovers’ Club by Carole Matthews focuses on these four friends and the challenges they are facing in their lives. The usual Matthews humor is there, but I could also find a serious tone underneath all the chocolate talk. The plot centers around the friends and their addiction to chocolate, but if you look deeper, each friend is struggling through other addictions- Lucy’s addiction to a cheating boyfriend, Nadia’s husband’s gambling addiction, Chantal’s addiction to sex, and Autumn’s brother with a drug addiction. The Chocolate Lovers’ Club is a favorite of mine simply because of a well designed plot, enough humor to keep me laughing, yet enough real life drama’s to let me really take something away from the women’s stories.

January 19, 2010
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Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
Chick Lit Review

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

Certain Girls, the sequel from Jennifer Weiner’s Good In Bed, gives readers another glance at the complicated life of Cannie Shapiro. Cannie is struggling with her daughter Joy, who is about to turn 13 and become a women with her bat mitzvah. Joy has other ideas about how her bat mitzvah should go, including a mature dress and more exciting theme than The Sound of Music, but Cannie can’t get past her over-protection. Joy was born prematurely, and that caused her to have to wear hearing aids in both ears. Because of this and her own hard childhood, Cannie becomes an overbearing mother and causes Joy to rebel.
Matters only get worse when Joy suddenly becomes fascinated with building a deeper relationship with her biological father, the elusive Bruce, and her maternal grandfather, the man that Cannie despises. On top of everything else, her physician husband, Peter, has decided he wants to try to have baby, which would require a surrogate mother, and her writing career could be on the verge of ending.
Certain Girls is written from two different perspectives- both Cannie’s and Joy’s. It was hilarious to see the different viewpoints from mother and daughter, and made my connection to the book so much more. This was a heartfelt story that took me on a verge of emotions- from laughing out loud to shedding a few tears. Weiner’s writing style is unique and beautiful, and her novels are a must for all chick lit fans.

January 16, 2010
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