Madeline
I love genres of all sorts but my guilty pleasure will always be the Chick Lit genre. There is nothing like the easy read with a simple story that usually contains a love story of some sort. Chick lit is like eating rich chocolate cake. I can’t have it every night but when I do, it’s oh so good.
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
Bridget Jones’s Diary was probably the first Chick Lit book I’ve ever read and therefore has a special place in my heart. Jones is a klutz with bad luck, both in her love life as well as her career and family. Her poor luck and bad choices cause her to be lovable and cause the reader to cheer her on.
Bridget Jones’s Diary is the quint essential classic chick lit novel that will not go out of style no matter what. I personally think it’s relevant today and will be relevant tomorrow and relevant the next day.
American Royals by Katharine McGee
If you read my post on American Royals, you would already know that I thought this book tooth and did not care for it until it finally won me over. My biggest problem with this book was how they took such a great premise and threw up pink glitter all over it. But I pushed through and once I was done fighting my resistance to it, I loved it.
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
The Thorn Birds may be around longer than the word “Chick Lit” but given the decades long romance that sits between two of the main characters in the background of the story, it absolutely is chick lit.
This book takes place in The Outback in Australia and starts with the friendship of a very young girl and a priest. Their friendship grows and when she is of appropriate age, it crosses that line. You know what line I’m talking about. In retrospect, this story line would not hold up today; however, the relationship is somewhat not creepy. And actually quite lovable.
Night Road by Kristin Hannah
If you have read enough of this blog, you will know I am a die hard Kristin Hannah fan. But you would also know I prefer her newer stuff to her older stuff. In her early career, she was a straight up chit lit writer, but down the road she softened her touch and brought a lot more color to her stories.
I chose Night Road of all of Kristin Hannah’s books because, of all the books of her’s I love, this one has the strongest love story. It is a love story that follows this couple through tough times and on the other end, it looks different. This is a chick lit novel not only because of the love story but how real to reality the love story is. This is the modern women’s chick lit novel.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Crazy Rich Asians was took the chick lit community by storm a few years about. Let’s be real, one of the reasons chick lit is so popular is the fantasy. It is the dream that many of us have, find love and money. And this books is about just that and when we say money, it’s lots of money. Along with the class differences the story is also set against the Asian culture, brings the cultural differences between Asian Americans and Asians direct from Asia.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Fault in Our Stars had it all. A budding romance. A tragic story throughout and a sad ending. It left me blubbering like a little baby and screaming “whhhhyyyy!?” The basic premise is: girl has cancer. Girl meets boy. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl tries not to fall in love with boy but fails. Tragic ending. The End. It’s sweet. It’s sad. And it’s good.
Snowflower and the Secret Fan By Lisa See
Chick lit usually revolves around some love story. There is typically some reason why they cannot be together but alas, it either ends tragically or they live happily ever after. But not in Snowflower and the Secret Fan. Instead, this story revolves around two women and their life long friendship.
It starts as young girls, dreaming about their future husbands. Once they are married, they are separated but still remain connected. The book then goes into their older lives and the loss of their husbands until there is one, all along. Although the story follows the story of two sets of husbands and wives. The story is in no way ABOUT two sets of husbands and wives.
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
I cannot talk about Chick Lit without the mention of Nicholas Sparks. I’ve never read his most famous novel, The Notebook, so I can’t talk about that. But what I have read is just as Chick Litty, A Walk To Remember. It’s a story about the underdog getting the man. A story all of us underdogs can only dream about. But alas, it again ends in tragedy and the water works will be flowing.
Trading Up by Candace Bushnell
Just like Nicholas Sparks, there is no talking about Chick Lit without the mention of Sex and the City writer, Candace Bushnell. Although I have read Sex and the City, I chose Trading Up because I didn’t have preconceived notions of Trading Up that ruined it for me. To be completely honest, this book has been buried in my brain as a “not good enough to remember” kind of book. This has been verified not only by my lack of memory of this book but also by my one star review on Goodreads. Alas, SOMETHING from Bushnell had to make the list, and this is my pick.
The Last Mrs Parish by Liv Constantine
I loved this book. Yes, this is chick lit. But it’s it’s also a page turner. The big twist comes half way through the book that made my jaw drop and my eyes flutter back and forth, reading line by line. As soon as I was done with it, I needed more. As this is the first book of the duo who makes up Liv Constantine, you can expect to see more books appear here in the near future.
