Tag: Chick Lit

Buddy Review: Love, Chloe by Alessandra Torre

Posted May 28, 2019 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Buddy Review: Love, Chloe by Alessandra TorreReviewer: Ames & Rowena
Love, Chloe by Alessandra Torre
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: March 14, 2016
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: First
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Chick Lit
Pages: 417
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Rowena's 2019 A-Z Reading Challenge, Rowena's 2019 GoodReads Challenge, Rowena's 2019 TBR Challenge
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four-stars

From NYT Bestseller Alessandra Torre...

You know girls like me. You hate girls like me. The privileged blonde who skips her Ivy League classes when she's had too many Soho martinis. The one draped on the asshole's arm because he drives a Bugati and screws like a champ.

I was that girl. I loved being that girl.

Then, my door was broken in. Literally.

And in that moment? Everything changed.

WARNING: This sexy standalone has jaw-dropping moments, crazy sexual chemistry, and will make your cheeks hurt from smiling. Read at your own risk.

Love, Chloe by Alessandra Torre is a coming of age story with a protagonist that you won’t be able to help from rooting for. From beginning to end, Chloe goes through it. When her parents go down for committing all the crimes, the life Chloe Madison has goes up in flames. All of a sudden, she’s got bills to pay and money problems…and she’s on her own. Life is about to throw every curveball to Chloe and Chloe has to figure out what kind of person she is and wants to be.

Rowena: Man, I really liked this one. What did you think, Ames?

Ames: Good pick for our May buddy review! I enjoy Alessandra Torre’s writing so I knew I’d be in for a good read. I admit to having a few bits of anxiety over the crap that Chloe goes through. But she’s a trooper! I like how her change in circumstances really made her look at her life and realize she wanted to be better. And the whole book was interspersed with Instagram posts so I thought that was unique and cute dog pictures don’t hurt!

Rowena: This has been languishing on my TBR pile for years and I really wanted to finally read it so thanks for agreeing to read it with me.

Chloe is definitely someone I would want to follow on Instagram. She had such a positive attitude toward everything, and it wasn’t fake. I really dug that.

I loved that she wasn’t perfect and even when she made such stupid decisions, I didn’t hate her and I supported her through the good and the bad. I also really liked that her friends were an actual squad. They loved Chloe for Chloe and not because of money, fame, or who she was dating. She had an actual support system in her friends. That was dope.

Did you enjoy the romance in here? I did. I adored seeing them fumble their way toward that happy ending. They both were such great characters on their own but together, I loved them all the more. I also really enjoyed getting to know all of the other characters from Dante to Clarke, Hannah and Joey. Hahaha, oh Joey. What about you?

Ames: Chloe’s friends were the best! When her life completely changed due to her parents dropping her like a hot potato, they really stepped up. That also allowed Chloe some breathing room to figure out what she needed to do pronto (make money lol). Plus they were interesting characters too. They weren’t just props to the story, they added to it.

Chloe was an easy character to root for because although at the very beginning she was like a fish out of water and had to re-orient herself (she was part of the ‘help’ at her new job) she bounced back quickly and was a fast learner. She may have been spoiled in her previous life, but she comes around when she sees how the other side lives. And that world shift for her was done in a good way for the reader. Chloe was always a good person, she just didn’t live in the environment where it was obvious. And so we rooted for her.

The romance was very satisfactory as well. Chloe being torn between an ex and a guy she thinks isn’t right for her made for some good tension for her character. I liked her self-awareness when it came to her ex. She recognized her weakness. I like how her friends gave her shit about that too. LOL

What did you think of the romance?

Rowena: I agree about Chloe’s friends. I liked that they were an actual part of Chloe’s story because they were such a huge part of her life so kudos to Torre for letting us see and get to know the important people in Chloe’s life outside of her love interest and work people.

I really enjoyed Chloe’s romance with Carter. I thought they complimented each other well and I loved that he was all in once they decided to be together. There was no waffling back and forth. He knew the gem he had in Chloe and wanted her. I also thought Torre handled Chloe’s issues with her ex in a real way that didn’t take away from the blossoming romance she had going with Carter.

I liked that we learned all about Chloe as she was learning about herself as well. I thought that Torre took us on an emotionally charged journey that had lighter moments that I really appreciated. I really adored everything in this book aside from Chloe’s selfish ass parents. I’m glad that Chloe really found herself and made a family for herself with the people that were important to her and loved and supported her. She built a really nice life for herself that was hers and hers alone. It took some time for her to get there and she definitely made some bad choices along the way but she didn’t let those bad choices define her and I just really dug that…and this story. I give this one 4 out of 5 stars, you?

Ames: I also like that Carter didn’t even consider listening to his mom about Chloe. sigh And you are so right, Chloe made herself a great little family. Her parents sucked so I’m glad she had people in her corner.

I’m giving Love, Chloe 4 out of 5 as well.

Final Grades

Ames: 4 out of 5
Rowena: 4 out of 5

four-stars

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Throwback Thursday Review: She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot

Posted January 18, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Throwback Thursday Review: She Went All the Way by Meg CabotReviewer: Rowena
She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot
Publisher: Harper Collins, Avon
Publication Date: March 17th 2009
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 368
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four-stars

There are a few places screenwriter Lou Calabrese would rather be than crammed into a helicopter with Jack Townsend, star of her claim to fame, Copkiller, and whose ex just ran off with Lou's ex. Talk about uncomfortable. But when, halfway out to the isolated arctic location where Copkiller IV is currently shooting, their pilot turns murderous and their helicopter crashes, Lou realizes her day has just gotten a lot worse.

Now, while family and friends back home fret over her disappearance, Lou is on the run in the arctic wilderness with America's sweetheart Jack Townsend and only the contents of her purse, his pockets, and their mutual knowledge of survival movie trivia to keep them alive. Can these two children of Hollywood put aside their differences and make it back home without killing each other? Or much, much worse, actually start to like one another?

***Every Thursday in 2018 we will be posting throwback reviews of our favorite and not-so-favorite books.

This review was originally posted on April 7, 2008.

Another winner for Meg Cabot. It wasn’t the best book, I still love a lot of MC’s other books more than this one but this was still fun, cute and had one hecka hunky hero.

Jack Townsende is the best action hero in Tinseltown. He may not be the most prettiest man in Hollywood but he most definitely is one of the sexiest. He’s left many a heart’s broken over the past few years and there isn’t a woman that’s been left unTownsendized (well except for Meryl Streep) and Hollywood hotshop screenwriter, Lou Calabrese hates his guts.

She hates his guts because her best friend is one of the heartbreakee’s of Jack Townsende. She hates the way he is with women and she just hates…him because he changed her lines and you don’t do that with a writer. Writers are very touchy about that kind of stuff.

The book starts off with Lou’s man eloping with Jack’s ex. The headlines in all of the papers reported on it. They did it because Lou’s man is an actor who Lou gave his start. Jack’s ex is an actress as well and they just filmed a movie together and now they’re together…and it broke Lou’s heart. It didn’t break Jack’s heart though, come on now…

So Jack Townsende is filming the latest movie in the Copkiller series (which is like one of those Bruce Willis Die Hard movies) and they’re filming in Alaska. The director, Tim Lord is planning on blowing up one of the mines over there and Lou is going to make sure that it doesn’t happen. So she’s flying out to the set (you have to take a plane to it from Anchorage) to try to get Tim to reconsider. It’s while she’s on that flight with Jack Townsende that they get held up and they find out that somebody is out to kill Jack.

Could it be one of his many jilted ex lovers? They don’t know, all they know is that they have to run for their lives in the woods (not the tundra) and they’re taken on this adventure that neither of them want to be apart of and just as Jack is deciding to quit the business, Lou decides that she’s given up on actors….only things don’t always go the way they should because in the midst of all the running away from the bad guys and trying to stay alive, something is happening between Jack and Lou and she might not have what it takes to walk away from something this big.

This book was another great one from Meg Cabot, it’s not my new favorite or anything but I was happy while reading this book. I was happy that Jack was just so extremely hot and Lou wasn’t this dense, argue all the time, it’s my way or the highway attitude lady who I wanted to strangle all the time. She was normal. She was cool and she could shoot to kill when she needed to.

Jack Townsende was one of those actor heroes that you just fell in love with even though he’s a heartbreaker. He’s one of those guys that you know is sexy without even having a picture to look at. He’s cool, sexy, confident and just everything you want in a hero…he’s older too because he had hints of grey in his hair and that was a-okay with me. I want to marry Jack, that’s how fine he is!

Lou was a great heroine, she was loyal to her friends even though it was hard for her to stay loyal and once Jack proved to her that he was in this for the long haul and not just as long as he could find the next best piece of ass, Lou loved with all that she was. It was nice. She was funny, sassy, smart and extremely brave and I enjoyed getting to know her.

There were great secondary characters in this book from Jack’s Mom to Lou’s Dad and her brothers. I would have liked to get to know Lou’s brothers more but it’s okay that they didn’t make a bigger appearance in here, they might have overwhelmed the storyline so I was okay with that. One thing that I thought was lame was the way the story all came together, the bad guys….I totally saw it coming in the middle of the book, it was too easy for me but aside from that little thing, I really enjoyed this read. I think all of you guys should read it when you’re in the mood for something light, funny and cute.

That’s what this book is all about.

Grade: 4 out of 5

four-stars

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Retro Review: Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot.

Posted August 23, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 4 Comments

Retro Review: Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot.Reviewer: Rowena
Queen of Babble in the Big City (Queen of Babble #2) by Meg Cabot
Series: Queen of Babble #2
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: June 26th 2007
Genres: New Adult
Pages: 320
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four-half-stars
Series Rating: five-stars

Lizzie Nichols is back, pounding the New York City pavement and looking for a job, a place to live, and her proper place in the universe (not necessarily in that order).

When "Summer Fling" Luke uses the L word (Living Together), Lizzie is only too happy to give up her plan of being postgrad roomies with best friend, Shari, in a one-room walk-up in exchange for cohabitation with the love of her life in his mother's Fifth Avenue pied-à-terre, complete with doorman and resident Renoir.

But Lizzie's not as lucky in her employment search. As Shari finds the perfect job, Lizzie struggles through one humiliating interview after another, being judged overqualified for the jobs in her chosen field—vintage-gown rehab—and underqualified for everything else. It's Shari's boyfriend Chaz to the rescue when he recommends Lizzie for a receptionist's position at his father's posh law firm. The nonpaying gig at a local wedding-gown shop Lizzie manages to land all on her own.

But Lizzie's notoriously big mouth begins to get her into trouble at work and at home almost at once—first at the law firm, where she becomes too chummy with Jill Higgins, a New York society bride with a troublesome future mother-in-law, and then back on Fifth Avenue, when she makes the mistake of bringing up the M word (Marriage) with commitment-shy Luke.

Soon Lizzie finds herself jobless as well as homeless all over again. Can Lizzie save herself—and the hapless Jill—and find career security (not to mention a mutually satisfying committed relationship) at last?

****As part of our 10 year anniversary celebration, we’ll be re-posting old reviews that make us cringe, laugh or sigh all over again.****

Rowena: Oh man, this series. I have fond memories of the first time that I read this series. It was at the recommendation of my friend Lexi (a friend that I haven’t spoken to in such a long time) and she was head over heels in love with Luke but me? I was Team Chaz. Hahahaha, I totally won that one because Chaz was awesome and so was this book.

This review was originally posted on March 12, 2008

Alright, this is the second book in the Queen of Babble series and I was not disappointed in the least.

Lizzie is back and she’s living in New York, almost going to really graduate from college and she’s living with her boyfriend from the first book, Luke Di Villiers, the very hot and very rich Luke Di Villiers. She’s jobless but determined to pay her part of the rent (and it doesn’t even matter that they don’t have to pay rent because it’s Luke’s Mom’s apartment.) She wants to work in the dress refurbishing business but she can’t get hired to save her life but then she does get a job at Monsieur Henri’s shop but she’s not getting paid to work there so she needs to find a paying job so that she can keep this non paying job that she really really wants.

And in true Lizzie fashion, she makes things happen.

Her and Luke are getting along and she’s loving her life..only not everyone in their life feels the same way. Chaz and Shari (Luke’s best friend and Lizzie’s best friend) are fighting all the time and on the verge of breaking up and then they do break up and things get crazy after all of that. I can’t say why everything gets crazy because you have to read for yourself but I will say that Meg Cabot delivers another winner for me to read through because I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I loved the storyline, I loved seeing what happened to Luke and Lizzie after they left France, I loved seeing Lizzie make things happen for herself in the Big Apple and I loved seeing my new crush…Chaz.

My friend Lexi is madly in love with Luke Di Villiers and I love him too but I won’t fight her for him because my heart belongs to Charles Pendergrast who cleans up nicely in a monkey suit. Chaz has such a big heart and he’s got so much love to give that he just gives and gives and gives. He’s the perfect boyfriend and I want to see him with the lead in his own series, so Meg Cabot if by chance you’re reading this review, please make that happen…please let Chaz find his happy ending with …a brunette from the islands named Rowena, she’s got a sparkling personality and a love of reading and I’ll read and discuss any hot damn thing Chaz would like to discuss because I heart him…for real. =)

This book was well-written, at the end of the book, loose ends were tied and everything ended really neatly…well if you don’t count the way the book ends, but that just leaves questions for the next and sigh final book to answer.

I can’t wait to see what happens with Chaz, with Luke and Lizzie and with just about every hot damn body….this book was really good and I can’t wait to read the next one!

Must read next book NOW!

four-half-stars

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Review: Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel (+ Giveaway)

Posted January 10, 2017 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel (+ Giveaway)Reviewer: Rowena
Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Atria Books, Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: December 27th 2016
Genres: Chick Lit
Pages: 368
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four-stars

For fans of The Nanny Diaries and Sophie Kinsella comes a whip-smart and deliciously funny debut novel about Kate, a young woman unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat world of New York City private school admissions as she attempts to understand city life, human nature, and falling in love.

Despite her innate ambition and Summa Cum Laude smarts, Kate Pearson has turned into a major slacker. After being unceremoniously dumped by her handsome, French “almost fiancé,” she abandons her grad school plans and instead spends her days lolling on the couch, watching reruns of Sex and the City, and leaving her apartment only when a dog-walking gig demands it. Her friends don’t know what to do other than pass tissues and hope for a comeback, while her practical sister, Angela, pushes every remedy she can think of, from trapeze class to therapy to job interviews.

Miraculously, and for reasons no one (least of all Kate) understands, she manages to land a job in the admissions department at the prestigious Hudson Day School. In her new position, Kate learns there’s no time for self-pity or nonsense during the height of the admissions season, or what her colleagues refer to as “the dark time.” As the process revs up, Kate meets smart kids who are unlikable, likeable kids who aren’t very smart, and Park Avenue parents who refuse to take no for an answer.

Meanwhile, Kate’s sister and her closest friends find themselves keeping secrets, hiding boyfriends, dropping bombshells, and fighting each other on how to keep Kate on her feet. On top of it all, her cranky, oddly charming, and irritatingly handsome downstairs neighbor is more than he seems. Through every dishy, page-turning twist, it seems that one person’s happiness leads to another’s misfortune, and suddenly everyone, including Kate, is looking for a way to turn rejection on its head, using any means necessary—including the truly unexpected.

This book made it onto my radar when it came through in my email and I immediately added it to my review pile. I took my time getting around to reading it but then Grace over at Rebel Mommy Book Blog reviewed the book and I was super excited to start the book and I’m happy to report that I enjoyed it.

Kate Pearson is our main character and the story follows her and the people in her life from her family, her friends and the people she comes across every day at her new job as an admissions director for Hudson, a private school in New York City. After a disastrous relationship, Kate falls into a deep depression that takes her out of commission for a while and when her sister sets up a job interview for her to kick her out of her funk, Kate goes along with it and is surprised when she finds so much more than a new job. She finds a purpose. She finds a new circle of people that come to mean the world to her.

The book follows quite a few different people. There is Kate, of course, but there is also her sister, her friends, her boss and some of the parents that are trying to get their kids into Hudson. This book was fun and it was interesting but I have to note that in the beginning, it was confusing as hell. At least it was for me. I couldn’t figure out why Chloe’s bit was in first person, while everyone else was in third person, including Kate’s bit since Kate is the main character. It was hard to keep everyone sorted in my head but I continued on and was glad for it because everything was sorted and the story really was a good time.

This book has a bit of everything to make it an enjoyable read. Crazy parents, bratty kids, bad friends, well meaning friends, supportive family members and a sister that thought she knew everything but made me want to smack her upside her head from time to time. Every time Victoria thought something bad about Kate, I wanted Kate to come out on top of something else that would drive Vicky crazy. Every time Silvia Blake came onto the scene, my eyes got bigger and bigger waiting to see what shenanigans she’d get herself into. Angela made me roll my eyes all over the place and Chloe frustrated me but I ended up really liking her. There was much to enjoy about this book. It made me laugh, it hurt my heart but in the end, everything worked out and I was entertained.

This was a good book and I definitely recommend it if you’re in the mood for a fun chick lit book.

Giveaway Alert!

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About the Author

Amy Poeppel

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

Amy Poeppel is a graduate of Wellesley College. Originally from Dallas, Texas, she lives with her husband and three sons in New York City, where she worked in the admissions department of an independent school. She workshopped a theatrical version of SMALL ADMISSIONS at the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit. She later expanded it into a novel.

four-stars

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Review: Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell

Posted October 4, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Three Amazing Things About You by Jill MansellReviewer: Rowena
Three Amazing Things about You by Jill Mansell
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: October 1st 2016
Genres: Chick Lit
Pages: 384
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three-half-stars

Jill Mansell's enchanting new novel will drive readers to seize life with both hands and make the most of every minute...Hallie has a secret. She's in love. He's perfect for her in every way, but he's seriously out of bounds. And her friends aren't going to help her because what they do know is that Hallie doesn't have long to live. Time is running out...Flo has a dilemma. She really likes Zander. But his scary sister won't be even faintly amused if she thinks Zander and Flo are becoming friends - let alone anything more. Tasha has a problem. Her new boyfriend is the adventurous type. And she's afraid one of his adventures will go badly wrong. THREE AMAZING THINGS ABOUT YOU begins as Hallie goes on a journey. A donor has been found and she's about to be given new lungs. But whose?

Jill Mansell writes great contemporary stories that promote strong female characters and Three Amazing Things about You is no different. She also writes stories that will break your heart but mend it right back up by the end of the book.

Three Amazing Things about You follows Hallie, a young woman suffering from cystic fibrosis and Flo, a young woman who inherits a cat after her boss dies and who has to move into her boss’ house since the cat inherited a house and last but not least, Tasha, the serially single Tasha who falls in love with a man while she’s digging into a trash can looking for her credit card.

Each woman was as different as can be but over the course of the book, you see their lives come together through a shared connection and the book ends with all loose ends tied together and a great big smile on your face.

Each woman falls in love, gets their heart broken and then put back together again and each story wiggled its way right into my heart and stayed there. I think of the three women, Hallie’s story was the one that broke my heart the most. She’s in love with her doctor and he doesn’t seem to reciprocate her feelings she’s bogged down with this disease and just wants to live a normal life. Flo’s story also hurt my heart but I was thrilled to see her grow and count her blessings with each passing day. Tasha was probably my least favorite of the three women as I was a bit frustrated with fear of adventure. I was mostly frustrated with it because I didn’t understand it and I can’t even remember where those fears stemmed from but alls well that ends well. I was really happy with the way that this story came together and then the way that it ended was just great.

This is a heartwarming story of three women and the directions their lives take toward each other. It was another hit from Mansell for me and I’m looking forward to more from her.

Grade: 3.75 out of 5

three-half-stars

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