If you’re anything like me when you’re on the market for a new book, you’re probably wondering to yourself as you adjust your lovelyladylumps and scratch your head in confusion, “How can I tell it’s chick lit?”

There’s nothing more depressing than taking the time to read a few chapters of a new book, only to find that it’s flat, boring, and incredibly sad. Where’s chick lit when you need it?

You can use the following three tips as a surefire test to guarantee you’re reading chick lit every time. No more boring, true-life World War I memoirs for me, thank you very much…

1. It’s all about the fashion. While not every chick lit book will focus on frivolous fashion, most chick lit novels across the board will make a few glittering references to style and designer labels just for the fun of it. If the title of the book has a designer’s name in it (think The Devil Wears Prada), all the better.
2. The heroine is sarcastic. The best chick lit books are written in a fearlessly funny voice with a self-deprecating, witty leading lady. If the main character is depressing, sad, or weak, then you’re probably not reading chick lit. Chick lit books create a heroine that makes you want to root for her in every predicament she gets herself into, while she keeps you laughing along the way.
3. It’s rife with pop culture references. Any well-written chick lit book will take a moment or two or three to poke fun at society in general. If the book you’re reading doesn’t describe an orange spray tan as a Snooki-ish glow, then you may not be reading chick lit.

E-Book Giveaway

If you want to take advantage of my e-book giveaway for 5 Stages of Grief, please leave a comment with your name and email address to enter to win!! I will announce the winner on May 25, so stay tuned…

Chick Lit Blog Hop Rules

• Each of the 34 participating authors has written a special Chick Lit-centric piece and these posts will go live on Monday, May 14th.  At each blog hop stop, you will have the opportunity to enter to win a FREE Chick Lit e-book from that particular blog’s owner/author. All you have to do is leave a comment on the blog post, including your name and e-mail address, and you’re automatically entered to win.  If you visit each blog hop stop, that means you have the chance to win 34 different e-books!
• The blog hop will start at Natalie Aaron & Marla Schwartz and end at Jen Tucker.  You will find a list of all the stops on the blog hop at each auther’s blog.  Authors’ blogs will be listed in alphabetical order according to last name.
• In each of the author’s blog posts, there will be a “secret word.”  This word will be italicized, so it will be easy to find.  All you have to do is make note of this secret word at each blog hop stop.  Collect all 34 secret words and submit your list to CLABlogHop@aol.com before midnight on Sunday, May 20th and you will be entered into the Grand Prize Drawing!  The winner of this drawing will receive a $150 Sephora gift card!  $150 to spend on make-up, fragrance, bath and body goodies, skin care, and hair products!  How fun is that?  This gift card can be redeemed online, or at any Sephora store in the US.
• Winners of each of the participating author’s e-books, as well as the Grand Prize winner of the $150 Sephora gift card will be announced on Monday, May 21st.
• Contests are open to citizens of the United States only.

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Graduate student Mel Prescott happens to have a weakness for couture shoes and complex codes, but she never knew that it would hold the key to keeping her alive.

One day, Mel receives a coded message from a mysterious stranger. Of course, she thinks that it’s a friend playing a joke on her, especially after she takes the time to decode the message, which reads: “Play or die.”

Soon enough, Mel discovers that the message is definitely not a joke. She’s suddenly involved in a real-life version of a game on the Internet called Play.Survive.Win. Now all of Mel’s code-cracking skills are going to be put to the test. She has to stay one step ahead of an assassin who won’t quit playing the game until Mel turns up dead.

Mel continues to try to solve the mysteries with the help of a handsome new friend to not only save her life but to potentially win a million-dollar reward guaranteed at the end of the game. (Just think how many shoes that would buy!)

If the title alone of the book doesn’t get you, you’ll be a fan of Mel – a fun and fabulous heroine who puts a whole new meaning into “geek chic”.

****~ (4/5)

In Tanned, Toned and Totally Faking It, we get a glimpse into the life of a pop princess as we meet Mikayla Rivers, a college student who has become a superstar overnight.

Here is the character lineup of the book:

• Mikayla: An attractive college girl from Canada that turned into a pop star overnight. The only problem is that Mikayla still has to figure out if she belongs in the celebrity world.
• Jordan: An attractive LA law student and all-around genuine guy who just happens to hate the celebrity scene in Hollywood.
• Matt: The greedy, deceitful, and stupid ex-boyfriend who is trying to get back into Mikayla’s life and ruin her chances with Jordan.
• Kurt: A personal trainer who also happens to be Mikayla’s only real friend.
• Cheryl: Mikayla’s certifiably insane manager.

Over the next three months, will Mikayla pursue happily ever after with Jordan? Or will she go after her new career as a celebrity and ruin any hopes of ever finding true love?

One reader gushed that this is the funniest book that they have read in a long time. If you’re looking for chick lit mixed with the guilty pleasure of the celebrity world, this book will make a great read on your Kindle.

***** (5/5)

Mommy Tracked tells a warm, witty story of four women who are coping with major changes in their lives: motherhood, relationships, and their friendships with one another.

Grace, Anna, Juliet, and Chloe live in the beautiful town of Orange Cove, Florida. But in the midst of this paradise, the women have to learn how to balance the unexpected challenges that come with motherhood, which are never easy…

Anna, a divorced restaurant critic, has too much on her plate already with a son in the midst of the Terrible Twos to even think about dating. Grace is a mother to three beautiful daughters with the perfect husband, yet she can’t seem to get rid of her baby weight. Workaholic Juliet is doing everything in her power to make partner at her law firm while her husband stays home with their twins. New mom Chloe has just given birth, but she finds her husband indifferent to bonding with and parenting their son.

Mommy Tracked can be better classified as mommy lit for women who have been there, done that when it comes to coping with motherhood and reentering the workforce. This interesting story explores four different lives and unique family situations as readers celebrate the joys and mistakes along the way.

****½ (4.5/5)

I have to admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for the amazing author of Sex and the City, so I may be a bit biased… In the novel Four Blondes, Bushnell brings us back to the inner circle of the rich and beautiful, the elite upper crust of Manhattan.

Four Blondes offers us the stories of four different women who all lead vastly different lives in New York City. First, we meet a B-list model who hops from house to house in the Hamptons rent free by serving as arm candy for powerful men in top social circles. Next is a powerful magazine columnist with a failing marriage to a literary journalist that experiences a major bump in the road when her husband’s career begins to fail.

The third blonde is a Cinderella type character who has married one of the most eligible bachelors in the world, yet she continues to struggle with paranoia and crippling anxiety in her own personal hell. Finally, the fourth blonde is a woman who fears that her time is running short to find the right man, so she travels to London in search of the true love that she can’t seem to find in Manhattan.

In short, this book is addicting. Once you get tired of one story, you’ll already be moving on to the next. A real page turner!

****~ (4/5)

On her ninth birthday, young Rose bites into a slice of her mother’s homemade lemon cake that she has baked for her birthday. Rose soon discovers that she has a surprising magical gift: with every bite of the cake, she can taste her mother’s emotions.

This newfound insight leads Rose to discover that her mother is in despair. Rose suddenly uncovers deeply hidden family secrets, like her mother’s mistakes, her father’s detachment, and the reason why her brother retreats from the world.

Rose’s father and brother also possess supernatural gifts, which reveal more pieces of the story as Rose grows from a third grader into an adult. While this coming-of-age story is bittersweet, it provides an interesting way to explore what goes on behind the scenes in an emotionally crippled family.

Keep in mind that the novel does have some mixed reviews. A few critics didn’t care for the characterization of Rose’s brother and felt that the novel didn’t have enough emotional tension, despite the intriguing plot at face value. Readers seem to agree that while the book starts out on a good note, it begins to unravel at the end, leaving a reader wanting more of a solid conclusion.

This book can’t be classified as typical chick lit since it has its sad moments, but it paints the emotional portrait of a family well within its offbeat story.

***~~ (3/5)

Although I may not classify this book as typical chick lit, it’s a fun, intriguing beach read that certainly relates to the genre. In this book we meet Sara, Annie, Mel, and Lola, who have all gone their separate ways since they lived together while attending a small southern liberal arts college in the early 80s.

Mel is now a mystery writer who lives in New York City and is trying to cope with her stagnant writing career and two failed marriages under her belt. Sara is an attorney who lives in Atlanta and is struggling to keep her marriage together. Annie is a successful businesswoman who lives in Nashville and has married her childhood sweetheart, yet she can’t seem to forget the ghosts of the past. Sweet, easy-going Lola lets life pass her by while she spends her husband’s money and takes pills to ease the pain.

Now, all of the friends are in their 40s and are meeting again for the first time in Lola’s decadent beach house in North Carolina in an attempt to reconnect. But as the week passes, each woman reveals her own secrets in her unique story, and the four friends have to learn how to confront their past together.

I especially appreciated this book because you have the opportunity to relate to each distinct character. By the end of the book, a lingering secret will have you on the edge of your seat!

****~ (4/5)

This novel is by the best-selling author of Must Love Dogs, a fun chick lit book that was made into a movie. Now, Cook has returned with another romantic comedy that explores a single woman who has been unlucky in love so far.

Ginger Walsh is a single 41-year-old woman who is living back at home with her quirky family in the FROG, a.k.a. the Finished Room Over Garage. She hopes to finally find fulfillment in her life by working as a sea glass artist, but instead she finds herself babysitting her sister’s kids and wasting time with her handsome artist boyfriend Noah, who, as luck would have it, has commitment issues.

Ginger’s older sister Geri starts to get anxious about her upcoming 50th birthday. Meanwhile, Ginger’s parents decide to sell their house, and Geri’s second grader Riley is cast with a small role in a horror movie that is being filmed in their New England town. While Ginger is watching Riley on the movie set, she bumps into a charming gaffer who may just make her forget about her emotionally distant boyfriend altogether.

If you want to know why this book works as a summer beach read, it’s because the plot is just interesting enough to keep the pages turning. Cook is a witty writer that spins a classic romantic tale that most women can relate to – especially if you’ve dealt with your share of failed relationships.

***½~ (3.5/5)

This novel explores what happens when teen beauty queens get stranded on a desert island without any access to modern technology or communication. Still, getting stranded doesn’t quell their fierce sense of competition, causing savage brutality to break out amongst the girls in the wilderness.

Even though the plot sounds mysterious and intriguing, this novel does not take itself seriously. The whole purpose of the book is to poke fun at the world of pageantry, which any ex-beauty queen will truly appreciate. The novel is a satirical take on how society forces women to live up to ridiculous beauty standards coupled with scenes reminiscent from the Lord of the Flies and the TV show Lost.

Fans of the book reveal that it will make you laugh out loud and keep you on the edge of your seat at the same time. The book contains quite a few obviously comedic moments that may be more suitable for teenagers, but it still has a mature element with many of the issues that the pageant contestants face throughout the novel.

If you’re looking for a fun, humorous beach read, this book is definitely it. Bray is sarcastic, irreverent, and bittersweet as she tries to provide a new perspective on what really goes on in the pageant world. Most readers will be able to relate to at least one of the typical pageant stereotypes found in the book: the goody two shoes, the know-it-all, and even the transgender contestant. Fun for everyone!

****~ (4/5)

This is the latest novel from the New York Times best-selling author of PS I Love You, which most fans may be more familiar with as the tear-jerking movie starring Hilary Swank.

In this story we meet Tamara Goodwin, a girl who is spoiled rotten and used to living in the lap of luxury. She has never had to consider her future, until she and her mother are left to face a mountain of debt after her father dies unexpectedly. They have no choice but to move in with Tamara’s strange aunt and uncle in a small countryside village.

Tamara quickly becomes bored and lonely; her only friend is found in the form of a traveling library. One day, she finds a large, locked leather-bound book without an author name or title. Tamara can’t help herself – she tries to pry open the lock, and what she finds inside shocks her.

Within the mysterious book, Tamara sees diary entries that are written in her own handwriting – dated for the next day. Each day soon begins to unfold exactly as it was written by Tamara in the diary. She soon realizes that this may be the answer to all of her problems.

Of course, the moral of the story is that you can’t always interfere with fate. For the most part, the book is entertaining, although some portions are fluffy and unnecessary. Still, the plot will keep you turning the pages since it stays interesting with twist after twist.

***½~ (3.5/5)