Chick Lit Challenge 2010 - fail

I had planned, or challenged myself, to read 8 books for the Chick Lit Challenge.  I read 6.  However, one thing I've realized is that I'm not a huge fan of chick lit anymore. I used to love it, now I don't seem to like it that much.  It appears, the reason I haven't been reading a lot of chick lit the last couple of years is because my reading habits have changed.  And I'm ok with that.   In fact, knowing this, I plan to weed out some of my books and get rid of some chick lit that I don't think I'll ever get to.     I'm not saying I won't read chick lit anymore, I know I will, but I think I'll be more selective in what I do read.

Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham

#1 Holly's Inbox
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Source books
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 672
Challenges: Chick Lit
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description: 
This book is told in email format, so don't let the size turn you away, it's actually a rather quick read.  Holly begins work as a receptionist for a big Banking firm in London.  She had 2 years of reception experience on her resume, but finds it hard to get the hang of things at first.

Sheila, often called the Viper or Cruella, appears to have it out for Holly.  If that wasn't bad, one of her old school mates also works there.  Soon Holly is getting close to one of the guys who works there, could this be the guy of her dreams?  Then an old boyfriend shows up and puts Holly on edge.

As if she didn't have enough problems with her life, she has a friend who seems to be out of control and a family that makes the rest of our families seem normal.

Mixed in with all of this is that you soon realize there is more to Holly than you first realize.  She is hiding something or possibly several somethings.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
Here's the thing, I've had this book on my radar since it was published in 2009 and I started to see  positive reviews.  I've read some email format books in the past and really liked them and I've also enjoyed a lot of chick lit in the past.  So of course I had to read this one.

The problem is, this book fell a little flat for me.  It wasn't nearly as good as I expected it to be.  It was still good, don't get me wrong. I did rate it 3/5 which means "good" for me.  I think part of the problem is that while it's said to be email format, it really reads and acts like IM format.  The emails are incredibly short and you don't always get a lot of info.  I found myself not even reading the subject lines because it read like an IM and not an email where there should be subject lines. This in turn means I sometimes missed some info, although it was easy to ready the subject line when I realized this.  I found that I much preferred the emails that were a bit longer and contained more info.

Another problem is that I don't think I like chick lit as much as I used to. I just found this a bit silly and at times it didn't really do it for me.  I was thinking about this and realized that I've barely read any chick lit this year. That made me realize that I think I've moved on.  While I've loved chick lit in the past, I think it's just not for me anymore.

There is a sequel to this book (or possibly this will be a series and there are just two of them for mow).  Part of me is tempted to read it, because by the end I really did want to know what happened to Holly.  However, I kinda doubt I will.

If you enjoy chick lit, I think you'll like this one.  For me, maybe I just expected too much from it.


This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.

The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Harper Audio
Genre: fiction
Pages: audio
Challenges: Chick Lit
Author's Website
My rating: 3/5

Simple Description: 
Dempsey Killebrew is a lobbyist in DC. Or, rather, she was.  Her boss is accused of bribing a congress man, and her boss is putting all the blame on Dempsey.  She soon realizes that while she did hire the prostitutes, she didn't realize that's what she was doing at the time.  Unfortunately, the damage is done.  She is out of a job and has no hopes of getting another one in DC.

Her father, Mitch Killebrew, recently became the owner if a family home in a small town in Georgia.  He sends Dempsey there to clean up the house and make some necessary repairs so the house can be sold.  He thinks this sounds like a win-win situation, he doesn't have to do the work or pay somebody to do it and Dempsey will have a place to stay while the fiasco in DC is cleared up.

When Dempsey arrives at the house she realizes that it's going to need a lot more than just some elbow grease to make the house in selling condition.  She also finds that while she can run, she can't hide.   She soon finds that her past is coming after her and she doesn't know what to do.

Luckily she meets some great residents of this small town and they  help her with her troubles.  Not to be left out is Ella Kate and her dog, Shorty. She might not like Dempsey and she might be living in the house, but you can't help liking her.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts: 
I liked the book, but I didn't love it. I  had a really hard time connecting with Dempsey.  She went to Georgetown and graduated at the top of her class, but there were so many times I wanted to shake her.  I suppose she's what you would call book smart but not street smart.   She finally came around towards the end of the book and seemed to wise up and take action with her life.  That's when I started to like her more.

I thought most of the other characters were fun, I adored her lawyer and his son.  I didn't like her father, but then I don't think I was supposed to.

This was only my second book by this author and while I didn't like it as much as I liked the other I read, I still liked it enough to plan on reading more by this author.

Isabel Keating is the narrator for this audio book.  I think she did a great job with it.  She changed her voice enough to separate the different characters but not to the point where it was annoying.

This audio book was rented from my local library.

Happy Hour by Michele Scott

Copyright: 2009
Publisher: DVine Press
Genre: fiction
Pages: 306
Challenges: Chick Lit
Author's Website

Simple Description:
This book is about 4 women and how they get through the good and not-so-good things that life throws their way.   The book starts out with us getting insight into each woman, each has just learned something that changes their life forever.  This ranges from divorce, new love, illness, and a mystery.   Then the book skips ahead 3 years in the future.  Each woman is now in a new chapter of their life.  Don't think it's all great and wonderful though, each woman has problems she is now facing and must deal with.  The good thing is that they have found each other and are able to get some support, laughter, and help when it's needed.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought this was a wonderful book. I really like each of the 4 woman, even though they each have their faults.  I liked that while two of them were dealing with divorce at the beginning, they are each doing something different 3 years later.  I just loved how the woman got together at least once a month and shared the things going on in their lives and how sometimes they bickered over how one of them was reacting to something.  That made it seem more real to me.

Overall, this was a great book and I highly recommend it.  On a star rating, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.



 Thanks to the author for providing this book for review (especially since I couldn't find it at any of the local stores).

The Cougar Club by Susan McBride

Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Avon
Genre: fiction
Pages: 309
Challenges: Buy 1 Book and read it, Chick Lit
Author's Website



Simple Description:
This book revolves around three woman in their forties.  Each woman is going through a different crisis and relies on her friends for help.

Kat left St. Louis and never turned back. Well, that is until she was laid of from her job in New York City and went home early to find her boyfriend enjoying some live porn on his pc.  Her boyfriend, who is in his 20's and has cheated on her in the past.   He's not very concerned about her current work situation or how he was found and Kat realizes the relationship is over.  She hops a plane to her hometown of St. Louis and tries to figure out what to do with her life now.

Carla is an anchor at a local tv station in St. Louis.  She is loved by the audience but it appears her boss (and ex-husband) wants to replace her with somebody who is much younger and has bigger boobs.  She isn't ready to be pushed out of her seat just because of her age.  She is happy with her current (and much younger) boyfriend.

Elise is the only one of the three who settled down with marriage and a kid.  Her son is off to college though and she realizes that her marriage isn't going so well.  She rarely see's her husband, a plastic surgeon.  She is a Dr. herself, and busy with her practice, but she doesn't work as much as he does.  She feels that maybe he is cheating on her.  It's been ages since there was any intimacy between them.  In fact, she doesn't realize how long until a very cute (and younger!) local hockey player comes to visit her, somebody that she knew several years ago and finds very attractive.  Elise might not have issues with work like her two best friends, but her marriage doesn't seem to be going very well.


Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
I thought this was a good book about cougars.  It makes cougars out to be real women, not the type of woman you hear about or see portrayed on tv (most of the time).  These are three very real women who happen to be attractive to younger guys.  While this might be intention for some of them, that's not the case for all of them.  You have seen women tv anchors being let go because of their age/appearance, you can see marriages breaking up because one or both of the partners doesn't feel the same way about their spouse, you can see somebody losing their job and having to make a clean start.  That's what I liked about this one, that you can imagine these characters as real women. Of course, because this book takes place in my home town I also found it fun to see where they went and lived.  I don't live in any of the area's they talked about, but that's not because I don't like them.  In fact, I don't live too far from where Elise calls home. I happen to live in a suburb with decent priced houses, low crime, and a good public school district.  Oh, and I live about 5 min from my Mom, 5 min from 1 sister, about 15 min from the other sister, and about 15 min from my in-laws.  lol!  Kat and Carla both live in cool parts of town and while I would love to live where they do, it just wasn't right for what Husband and I wanted/needed.

I definitely think several of you will like this book and recommend it. It's a good, light, fun chick lit book.  It was a perfect choice having reading something heavy like The Things They Carried.




This book is part of my collection and was bought by me (and signed the author!)

Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

Copyright: 2005
Publisher: Pocket Books
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 435
Challenges: Chick Lit
Author's Website



Simple Description:
Bette works for USB bank in NewYork City. She doesn't like her job, doesn't like her boss. The only good thing is that her best friend, Penelope, works with her. Then one day she's had enough and she quits. She doesn't tell anybody at first and sits at home for about a month before anybody finds out. When her Uncle Will finds out, he gets her a job working for Kelly & Company, a PR company. Soon Bette has to learn who all the famous people are in New York and other places, and how to plan the best parties. Her job is to plan by day and party by night. One night when she has a bit too much to drink she ends up connecting with Philip Weston. She wakes up in his apartment the next day, but luckily he informs her that nothing happened.

Soon her name is all over the tabloids and connecting her to Philip, the most sought after Bachelor in New York. The only problem, Bette doesn't like him. She puts on a good face and pretends they are dating so that it helps her career.

Then Bette meets Sammy, and Bette likes Sammy, but Sammy thinks she's dating Philip. Plus, things are rough between Bette and her best friend. Bette doesn't really like her career choice, but doesn't really know how to get out or what she would even do instead.

Now what you really want to know....my thoughts:
What a fun book! I loved this one. I haven't read a chick lit book in awhile and this was perfect for me right now. I actually started out listening to this one, and, well, let's just say a butt load of audio books became available for me at the same time (over 10 actually) and so I decided I would listen to this one in the car and then read it at the same time. Either this book was good enough to keep me up till all hours of the night or I had insomnia. Needless to say, I ended up actually reading most of it (and haven't been sleeping much).

You can guess the ending, it's not hard. But you can't help to want Bette to take the actions she does. You want Bette and Sammy to hook up. You want the bad guys to get in trouble.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book. It's a fun, light read. I actually have owned this one for years and put it off because I read people were disappointed with it after The Devil Wears Prada. I wasn't disappointed though. In fact, I've now read all books by this author and enjoyed all of them. The author has a new book coming out in May, I'm sure I'll end up with a copy.

Thanks to ????? for providing this book for review.
This book is part of my collection and was either bought or given to me.
This audio book was rented from my local library.

Chick Lit Challenge 2010

This is a new challenge for me. I believe I have a lot of chick lit at home that I haven't read yet, so I'm hoping this will help me read some of them. If nothing else, there are several chick lit books I've been wanting to purchase and read but haven't.

The Chick Lit Challenge is hosted at Twiga Blog. Here's the challenge sign-up post. The goal is to read 8 chick lit books next year. The challenge runs January - December. I don't have to create a list ahead of time, yeah! But..I do plan to go through my list of unread books and make a possible list.