The Books We Read » chick lit

An Offer You Can’t Refuse by Jill Mansell

Clarissa — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:46:10 +0000

I picked up my first Jill Mansell novel (Accidents happen when I’m Thinking of You) for two dollars at the U of L book store. I loved it, but for some reason have not managed to read another one until today. I loved it again. I think she is the queen of chick lit. Her novels are funny and sweet. These are always love stories with a full cast of colourful side characters. The pacing is great. Not many books I read actually have me laughing out loud, but Jill Mansell has managed it twice now. I found more of her books on barnesandnoble.com, this could be bad for my credit card.

An Offer You Can’t Refuse

Jill Mansell. Sourcebooks Landmark 2009, Paperback, 416 pages, $3.45

Comfort Food a novel by Kate Jacobs

Clarissa — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:27:38 +0000

Have you ever read a book and loved it while reading but became uncertain of it after? I had that experience after reading Kate Jacob’s first book (Friday Night Knitting Club). But I did enjoy reading it, so I decided to check this one out. Plus I love watching the Food Network which factors heavily in this book.

The novel’s main character is a woman named Gus of all things, who after the death of her husband, leaving her a widow with two children to raise, found a way to make money. Gus opened a sandwich shop, or was it a grocery store? Anyway, she eventually serves a Cooking Channel (or in other words, Food Network) executive who gives her a job on his fledgling cable channel. The novel starts after she has been on the Cooking Channel for 12 years and is well known. Gus is approaching a certain age and finds herself trying to up her ratings to keep her job.

My problems with the novel? All the “incidents” are contrived and convenient. The main character is basically Martha Stewart, even down to her outfit. Two daughters she raised alone, her love of gardening, her large house outside New York City, even down to an incident with money that has her investigated by the FBI. It was unreal. I kept wondering if Jacobs had read all about Martha Stewart and decided to write a fictional version of her or if she just accidentally did it. Anyway, it was painfully obvious that this was a story about Martha Stewart, intentionally or not.

I also found the writing a bit flowery. There were a lot of descriptions of clothing and other mainly non-essential details that didn’t move the plot forward and felt unnecessary. I’m afraid I’m giving this one 2 1/2 stars.

Comfort Food

Kate Jacobs. Berkley Trade 2009, Paperback, 384 pages, $3.97

The Cinderella Pact a novel by Sarah Strohmeyer

Clarissa — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:35:26 +0000

The main character of this novel (written in first person) is overweight and living a double life. The double life thing has been done and done, but I have honestly never read a book with a chubby main character. I liked that part. I’m really sick of reading books with skinny perfect women taking the lead. I think this book is a bit of Bridgette Jones Shopaholic hybrid. Not totally original.

I must admit that I have never really struggled with my weight, so I found it interesting and insightful to see through her eyes. This is making me feel ill equipped to review this book. I have never really been on a diet. I’ve heard of most of the diets she mentions but have never tried them. It makes me wonder if women who have and do struggle with weight issues have felt like she has felt. I don’t know but it was believable.

As for the romance part, of course its a romance, it was a bit weak on that end. She needed to spend maybe another chapter doing a bit of housecleaning. There were a few things left unsaid by the end. That really bugs me. I hate loose ends. Overall I’d give it 3 1/2 stars (out of 5).

The Cinderella Pact

Sarah Strohmeyer. NAL Trade 2007, Paperback, 352 pages, $3.99

Tell it to the Skies a novel by Erica James

Clarissa — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:39:54 +0000

I have been putting off posting this one for a while. I have to say, I fell in love with this novel. Which is part of the reason I didn’t want to post it. What if other people read it and thought it was a waste of time? That shouldn’t matter to me, it really shouldn’t. My sisters have all had me read books that I have loved. I have failed to deliver one to them, although I did get them to read Twilight. But I can’t count that one because it’s not like I discovered it, someone would have suggested it to them eventually.

This novel is about a girl and a boy who have horrible childhoods. They find each other and develop a friendship. Eventually something happens that parts them, something you’ll just have to read and find out about. The writing is funny and smart and of course there is a beautiful love story behind it. I’m a sucker for a love story and this one has an equal measure of pain making it perfectly bittersweet.

A note: as you may notice, it’s not posted in the clean romance section. There were a couple F words and a rather descriptive love scene.

Tell It to the Skies

Erica James. Orion Publishing 2010, Paperback, 528 pages, $7.64