the read feed

Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton

Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton, 343 pages.

I first heard about Rosy Thornton's books on goodreads. And had imagined they would be a good introduction into British chick lit...but the latest by Jill Mansell moved to the front of the line. So when Ms. Thornton contacted me and offered to send me her latest, I was eager to get another chance at the genre.

While I don't know about the rest of her books, which I have on my TBR list, Crossed Wires is a mature version of chick lit. Let me explain, this is a good thing. The characters are not flaky or shallow - in this case single parents who meet when Peter has a minor accident, calls the insurance company and gets Mina. Their relationship develops over the phone through much of the story and the character development is richer than most of the fluff out there.  You get to know the separate families, their struggles,and they seem like real people - not the desperate one dimensional characters found in most of the genre. So if you're looking for a solid light read - I recommend Thornton's books. She seems to understand that you can still have a sweet story without being superficial.

3.5-4 stars

The End.

Rosy Thornton's other books include: More Than Love Letters  & Hearts and Minds. Her website is: www.rosythornton.com

If you'd like to win a copy of this book, leave a comment.  I'll pick a winner at the end of the month.

An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell

An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell, 408 pages.

I thought I'd try out some British chick lit since an accent makes everything better. Unfortunately, it wasn't an audio book.  Here's the story - Lola & Dougie are young and in love. Dougie's upper crust mum isn't a fan of Lola and offers her lotsa money to break up with Dougie. Lola is appalled, but when faced with a family emergency she is forced to accept the bribe and break up with Dougie.  Fast forward ten years later, Lola and Dougie meet again and she is still in love with him. But is he still in love with her and can he trust her?

This was actually a funny, likeable story with funky characters.  Lola was a feisty heroine and I wanted to like her, but she was a little bit too tarty and crass for my taste. (I am the mother of boys, after all). I thought the supporting players were amusing and liked the back story involving Lola's long lost father.  In this genre, there aren't going to be any surprises - if you're already a fan of chick lit this is a worthy addition. If you're looking for a light beach read go ahead and grab it.

2.5-3 stars

The End.

Thanks to Sourcebooks for the review copy. The book is available now.

Other reviews:

Bermuda Onion

Booking Mama

My Friend Amy

Pemberley by the Sea by Abigail Reynolds

Pemberley by the Sea by Abigail Reynolds

Many thanks, as always, to Danielle at Sourcebooks for sending along this copy. It was a wonderful jumpstart to returning to reading after vacation.

Listen, I'm not going to tell you this is a literary masterpiece. I mentioned at bookclub that when I rate books, I rate them for what they are.  Meaning it's impossible to compare chick lit with To Kill a Mockingbird. So this book, another in the inspired by Pride & Prejudice genre, is one of the better ones.  I liked it because it was a loose, modern interpretation and didn't attempt to take Jane Austen's characters and alter their future (a la, Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife).    

Cassie is a marine biologist who spends her summers studying the salt marshes on CapeCod. After her good friend and assistant begins to date Scott (Bingley), Cassie continues to have run ins with Scott's friend  Calder (Darcy). After the first third of the book, similarities with P&P fall away and the story comes into its own. So you can settle in, and follow along because you know deep down it will all work out. Although it is pretty racy (making a seasoned reader - me - blush in some places),  and there are a couple kinda cheesy parts - I think that comes with the territory.

This was a fun, light read that is a fitting tribute to P&P while making for a fast, compelling read. Staci's got dibs...but if you give me your addy, she'll send it to you next. :)

4 stars

The End.

www.austenfans.com

www.sourcebooks.com

The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt

The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt, 292 pages.

You probably already know I'm not a fan of Christian fiction, and chick-lit is okay in a pinch. However, for some reason, I find myself periodically enjoying Christian chick-lit. I know, strange but true. This book falls in that category.

Ana Dominguez moves to Half Moon Bay and is having a hard time adjusting, until she ends of in detention with Riley, Christine and Zoe. They are not instantly friends, but find some common ground. Ana & Zoe team up with the mission to befriend R & C, but it's high school so there's many issues in the way.

I thought it did a good job of portraying the pressures of high school and what it would look like to try to live out your faith in that environment. And it isn't preachy, with a "perfect" heroine like so many Christian novels, these are teenage girls after all. So we see some of their struggles, and they don't live in a world without consequences (another peeve of mine).  I don't know if this is intended for teens, but I would have no qualms about sharing it with my niece (13) and would recommend it for that set, or just for a smutless quick read.

3.75 stars (yes, i broke out the quarter star)

The End.

The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LeZebnik

The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LeZebnik

Thanks to Hatchette Book Group for the ARC. The cover was really speaking to me, so I thought I'd check out some chick lit.  Two sisters - Lauren a sweet, spendthrift fashionista and Ava a witty, yet plain lawyer - are reunited after their mom's cancer diagnosis. The banter between these two and their mom reads as a real conversation. As a result, it moves quickly as the sisters try to help one another through their rough patches - for Lauren it's debt management, for Ava it's style & confidence.

And oddly, I find that light reads like this provide me with space to think that deeper novels don't. For example, both girls struggle a bit with their roles - i.e. the pretty, irresponsible one vs the serious, smart one. And I started thinking about how I do that to my own children - they already have labels, one smart, one nice, one wild (hint: in that order). Not good, right?

And as an observation, I'm noticing a lot of breast cancer diagnoses in modern novels. This is the 4th book this week, and 8th this year (from my reading list) that contain a character with breast cancer. While I would never say "no more female characters with breast cancer please", I worry that it's becoming overused - there are other ailments that plague women. Saturation can be good and bad. But I don't know anyone that hasn't been touched in some way by it, so perhaps in this case (and others), it's merely an accurate reflection of society. Thoughts?

If you are looking for a fun, light, quick, end of summer book - here it is. I enjoyed it, with a couple reservations, but as you know I don't normally read chick lit. I need to take it lighter....it entertained and thus, served its purpose.

3 stars

The End.

Live a Little by Kim Green

Live a Little by Kim Green

Despite receiving a devastating terminal breast cancer diagnosis, Raquel Rose's life almost instantly changes for the better. Her family treats her differently, she becomes a fundraiser on a local talk show, and she begins to pursue her artistic dreams. When it turns out her biopsy results were involved in a mix up and she is told her health is intact, she decides she is in too deep and continues to play patient.

This had the potential to be a great story except for one thing - Raquel Rose is completely and totally unlikeable. I tried, I really did. But she finds out so early about the mixup, that it is hard to believe the "pressure" she felt about keeping up the story. And I get how she came to feel unappreciated and stuck - but I just didn't like her enough to care. And I found her selfishness to be bratty not sympathetic. I was intrigued by the idea, but couldn't root for the heroine, so it fell flat.

If you're still interested in reading this, I'm offering you my copy.(Leave me a comment and I'll send it to you) This book is available now in stores. Thanks to Hatchette Book Group for giving me the preview copy.

1.5 stars

The End.