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Two Years, No Rain by Shawn Klomparens
Chick Lit Review

Two Years, No Rain by Shawn Klomparens

Andy Dunne is feeling the drought. The San Diego weatherman has been reporting no rain for the past two years, and been feeling increasingly irrelevant in his personal life. His wife left him, the death of his twin brother still haunts him, and he is in love with a married woman. Hillary Hsing, the object of Andy’s affection, urges Andy to try out for a job working on a children entertainment TV show, and before Andy can blink he is upgraded to the host and entering the realm of a media darling. As Andy’s life changes from being a nobody to a somebody, he is faced with many difficult decisions on his life, his family, and his relationships.
Two Years, No Rain by Shawn Klomparens is a refreshing change from my usual chick lit books. It was interesting to get a males perspective about so many issues I normally read about women: love, relationships, careers, and families. The humor was there in patches, but it wasn’t so much laugh out loud funny but more of a dark humor. The supporting cast really added to the story, especially the relationship between Andy and his young niece. Klomparens writing is stylish and fresh, and I would recommend Two Years, No Rain to chick lit fans that enjoy the males take on common adult issues.

July 19, 2010
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Fabulously Fashionable by Holly McQueen
Chick Lit Review

Fabulously Fashionable by Holly McQueen

I once again stumbled upon a book whose main character mirrored closely to Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic. Isabel Bookbinder has decided that she wants to be a fashion designer. The only trouble is, she has absolutely no talent for designing and creating clothes. Not letting that little fact keep her from her goals, Isabel gives her all to the fashion world. After lying her way into a job interview, Isabel manages to dupe her future boss into hiring her as a PA.
Fabulously Fashionable by Holly McQueen was a funny story, but at times a bit too farfetched for me. Fans of the Shopaholic series will appreciate the humorous situations the heroine constantly finds herself in, but it just wasn’t enough to pull me along. I thought the story between Isabel and her possibly cheating boyfriend and then the following relationship with an odd character that I couldn’t quite figure out until the end interested me more than Isabel trying to be a fashion designer. I thought this was a mediocre novel at best.

July 15, 2010
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GIVEAWAY: Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
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GIVEAWAY: Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

Sometimes all you can do is fly away home . . .
When Sylvie Serfer met Richard Woodruff in law school, she had wild curls, wide hips, and lots of opinions. Decades later, Sylvie has remade herself as the ideal politician’s wife—her hair dyed and straightened, her hippie-chick wardrobe replaced by tailored knit suits. At fifty-seven, she ruefully acknowledges that her job is staying twenty pounds thinner than she was in her twenties and tending to her husband, the senator.
Lizzie, the Woodruffs’ younger daughter, is at twenty-four a recovering addict, whose mantra HALT (Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired?) helps her keep her life under control. Still, trouble always seems to find her. Her older sister, Diana, an emergency room physician, has everything Lizzie failed to achieve—a husband, a young son, the perfect home—and yet she’s trapped in a loveless marriage. With temptation waiting in one of the ER’s exam rooms, she finds herself craving more.
After Richard’s extramarital affair makes headlines, the three women are drawn into the painful glare of the national spotlight. Once the press conference is over, each is forced to reconsider her life, who she is and who she is meant to be.
Written with an irresistible blend of heartbreak and hilarity, Fly Away Home is an unforgettable story of a mother and two daughters who after a lifetime of distance finally learn to find refuge in one another.

I have one copy of this excellent Jennifer Weiner novel to give away! Comment on this post, RT on Twitter, or comment on Facebook to win your copy! The winner will be chosen Tuesday July 20th.

July 14, 2010
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The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch
Chick Lit Review

The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch

Tilly Farmer believes she has a great life. At 32 years old, she is still living in her hometown of Westlake, is employed as the guidance counselor at the high school, and married to her high school sweetheart. Her mother may have passed away at a young age, and her father is a recovering alcoholic, but Tilly still firmly believes she possess a fantastic life. The only thing she needs now is a baby. Her and her husband, Tyler, have been having trouble conceiving a child of their own, and now their marriage seems a bit rocky. But Tilly is convinced if they could just have a child, everything would be better.
When Tilly runs into an old childhood friend at a fair, things begin to change. Ashley, now a psychic, gives Tilly the gift of “clarity” regarding her future. Tilly begins having flashes of the future, showing her father having a relapse, her husband leaving her for a better job, and her little sister trying to take her own life. These visions frighten her at first, but after some time, Tilly begins to appreciate her new gift, and realizes the major life changes she is now facing.
The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch is a beautifully written story about woman whose perfect life begins to unravel faster than she can control. I thought the visions the heroine started receiving actually heightened the story instead of hindering the plot. The “hocus pocus” part makes the story a little less relatable to a real life story, but I enjoy the way the author went about it. As I was reading, I found myself asking a lot of the same questions Tilly was asking herself, and in that sense I think I took away a lot from this story, making The One That I Want be added to my Favorites list.
Rating: 4/5

July 14, 2010
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Handbags and Homicide by Dorothy Howell
Chick Lit Review

Handbags and Homicide by Dorothy Howell

I was looking forward to reading back to back chick lit mysteries. After finishing up the Lacy Fields novels from Janice Kaplan, I moved on to the Haley Randolph series from Dorothy Howell. The first, Handbags and Homicide, sounded like it could provide enough entertainment, but it definitely fell flat with me. The heroine Haley reminded me of Sophie Kinsella’s shopaholic, Rebecca Bloomwood, but without the likeability. She’s in massive debt, has an addiction to designer handbags, and working at a minimum wage position in a low scale retail store. Instead of finding some sort of work ethic and paying off debts, she continues to slouch through life, racking up extreme credit card purchases and showing no sign of changing. That alone put me off, but then comes the mystery part. When Haley finds the retail store’s assistant manager dead in the stockroom, she becomes a suspect in the crime. She sets off her own half-assed investigation, which I found to be pointless and overly long-winded, and eventually the real killer was uncovered and I could finally stop reading this book. I knew right away I wasn’t going to like this story when Haley finds her deceased boss, then walks away from him and decides she needs to buy another purse. What?? The supporting characters were not well written, most times I couldn’t decipher between characters or couldn’t remember who they were and why they were being talked about. I couldn’t finish this novel fast enough, and have zero interest looking into any of the other Haley Randolph books.

July 12, 2010
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Author Profile: Allison Winn Scotch
Chick Lit Authors

Author Profile: Allison Winn Scotch

Author Name: Allison Winn Scotch
Website: http://www.allisonwinn.com/
Bio: Allison Winn Scotch graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Honors History and Concentration in Marketing from the Wharton School of Business. After working in the PR, marketing and internet worlds, she discovered that there’s nothing finer than working for yourself, working from home and getting paid to write full-time. She worked as a freelance magazine scribe for magazines such as Glamour, Self, Shape, Redbook, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Family Circle, InStyle Weddings, Bride’s, Cooking Light, Parents, American Baby. More currently, Allison primarily focuses on celebrity interviews and profiles.
Titles: The Department of Lost and Found, Time of My Life, The One That I Want.

July 11, 2010
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A Job to Kill For by Janice Kaplan
Chick Lit Review

A Job to Kill For by Janice Kaplan

Lacy Fields is back in Janice Kaplan’s follow-up, A Job to Kill For. Lacy finds herself thrust in the middle of a murder once again when she is with trophy wife Cassie Crawford as she mysteriously dies. When police begin their investigation, Lacy is devastated to learn that her own best friend, Molly Archer, has been cast as the lead suspect. Molly’s prints are all over the bottle of tea that contained the poison killing Cassie, and Molly has been recently canoodling with Cassie’s uber-rich husband. Lacy knows that Molly couldn’t have possibly committed the crime, and sets out to clear her friend’s name. But while trying to track down the real killer, Lacy finds herself suddenly being the prime suspect. Now it’s not just about clearing Molly’s name- but also her own.
A Job to Kill For was as excellent as the first Lacy Fields mystery, Looks to Die For. The mystery tied in with the glamorous lives the heroine and her friends lead makes this a fun read for chick lit fans. Kaplan, a veteran in the entertainment industry, enjoys name dropping and showcasing designer brands along the way. Her writing is fast and witty, and each supporting character has a well constructed back story that makes them as memorable as the heroine. Once I hit just over the halfway mark and the mystery started to intensify, I had to keep reading to find out just who committed the crime.

July 10, 2010
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Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Chick Lit Review

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

Best selling author Jennifer Weiner showcases her talents with her latest page turner Fly Away Home. Tackling infidelity goes a step further with her newest characters, Sylvie and Richard Woodruff. Both in their late fifties, Sylvie and Richard seem to have a fantastic marriage- he is the senator of New York and she is his lovingly doting wife. Sylvie has gotten accustomed to standing beside her husband, attending workouts with her personal trainer, and always wearing the right outfits to public events. But when Sylvie learns that her husband has been cheating- with his much younger intern- her world starts spinning out of control.
Sylvie and Richard’s daughters are also struggling to cope with the news of their father’s infidelity. Diana, an emergency room physician, finds herself in a similar position. Though it appears she has everything- a career, a husband, son- she has strayed outside her marriage with a medical student. Lizzie, the younger sister, is a recovering addict trying desperately to stay clean. When yet another pollical scandal hits the national media, all three women are thrust into the unwanted spotlight.
Fly Away Home is written from three different perspectives- Sylvie, Diana, and Lizzie. I loved that Weiner took on a topic that has been so popular as of lately- the cheating politicians and the wives that do or don’t stay with them. Getting inside the head of the wife and trying to work through her dissolving marriage made me unable to put this book down. An added bonus was hearing from the daughters, and I enjoyed that both girls were struggling with even bigger problems in their personal lives. I think all women will enjoy this book that revolves around empowering the female, love, and above all, family.
Rating: 4/5

July 9, 2010
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