Review: Big Girl

Meet Victoria Dawson, heroine of Big Girl by Danielle Steel. The firstborn child, she grows up feeling out of place in her family because of her fair hair and thicker build. While the rest of her family is dark haired and thin, Victoria is blond, blue-eyed and according to her father, has his grandmother’s ‘big’ build. Victoria puts up with her father’s thinly-veiled barbs while her mother constantly drops weight remarks. Meanwhile her parents dote on the younger sister Grace, as she is beautiful and thin. Victoria and Grace form a strong sisterly bond despite the family tension.

Victoria goes to college at Northwestern, then later becomes a private high school teacher in New York City. She is aware that she often overeats – especially when things go wrong – but she doesn’t know what to do about it. She tries therapy, hypnosis and one diet after another with little results other than gaining and losing the same weight over and over. Until finally she meets the man of her dreams and the weight starts coming off…

This was one of those classic “overweight girl tries to lose weight, is unsuccessful until she meets a man who makes her feel whole” kind of novels. It is at least mildly painful to read about Victoria’s constant dealings with ‘fat girl’ stereotypes and watch as her parents put her down constantly. Unfortunately (SPOILER ALERT!!!) she never stands up to them, although the love of her life does eventually. I was disappointed with the ending because it seems like she learned nothing other than that she is a great person only because she has a wonderful man to tell her so. (Seems like there is very little personal development for the character!)

The writing in this story is extremely redundant (the author repeats the same thing over and over) and the characters were seemingly one-dimensional. I would have rated this book 2 stars, however, I am a sucker for ‘dieting lit’ kind of chick lit novels and I did manage to get through the entire book.

Overall, Big Girl by Danielle Steel turned out to be a mostly ‘OK’ read. I would recommend waiting for it to come out in paperback or getting it at your local library, however, as the hardcover edition is pretty pricey.

3 Stars
Reviewed by Rian Montgomery

Review: Priceless

Twenty-two year old Charlotte Williams seems to have it all: she’s a tall, gorgeous blonde, has a rich father who dotes on her and a huge Park Avenue penthouse where she has just returned to after studying in Paris for a year.

After an exciting first night back in town, Charlotte’s world crashes down around her quickly. Her father Jacob is arrested on charges of fraud, and suddenly everyone is out for her blood. The tabloids trash her and she has enemies threatening her security. Her personal bank accounts have been frozen, and Charlotte feels she has no choice but to leave town.

Charlotte heads down to New Orleans to stay with her beloved former nanny Millie and finds a job in a local restaurant. In no time at all she has a new best friend Kat, who introduces her to the New Orleans nightlife and vintage fashion. Soon Charlotte is scoring singing gigs and becoming known for her smoky, sexy voice. She even reconnects with an old friend Jackson, who is looking like he might become more than a friend.

However, there are still problems… for one thing, Charlotte is being stalked by someone who wants to make her pay for her father’s crimes.

I enjoyed Nicole Richie’s Priceless quite a bit – especially in the beginning & middle of the novel. The pace was breathless and there was plenty of suspense. Charlotte was an interesting character for the most part although a little one-dimensional. The story line flowed rather well except in the last several chapters, where it almost seemed to be rushed to the final conclusion.

Overall? I’d recommend this to anyone who liked her first book The Truth About Diamonds.

reviewed by Rian Montgomery

2011 Site Updates!

Hey all! As usual, it’s been awhile since I’ve updated here. Thanks for continuing to visit and leave comments. So here’s the deal: I am snowed in for at least the next couple of days, so I’m going to take some time to update this site with some new reviews. I took a road trip to the northeast (New Hampshire & Boston, MA) in October 2010 and managed to get some good chick lit reading in. For whatever reason, when I’m traveling, I prefer reading Chick Lit to anything else!

Here are four books I read on the road (and since the road trip) and plan to hope to review on this website at some point in the near future. (In the meantime, you can click on the book to read the publisher’s description):

The Recessionistas by Alexandra Lebenthal
Turning Tables by Heather & Rose MacDowell
Priceless by Nicole Richie
Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

I also plan to read and review the second and third books in Lauren Conrad’s LA Candy series.

Stay tuned for more…

October 2009 Site Update

Hey all, I apologize for letting this website sit and languish again! I have found myself extremely busy and at the same time, interested in different genres of books (again). I am currently going through an ‘Ancient Egyptian History’ and ‘Speculation’ reading phase. Of course every night I still read a few chapters of a chick lit novel before going to sleep, but rarely anything new. Sophie Kinsella’s Twenties Girl is sitting on my nightstand, unread, as are a couple of other recent/new releases. I also have about 3 somewhat recent chick lit novels that I’ve read in the past couple of months, but have yet to review.

I don’t want to keep promising to update this site, but I will do my best to update it soon and add the reviews…

I am interested to know if anyone on here would like me to set up a new forum on this site? One person commented on a recent post that they would be interested in chatting with fellow chick lit fans on a forum. (Long-time fans of this website will remember we used to have a pretty active & fun forum, which unfortunately got deleted during a server crash). I’d be happy to set up a new one if enough people respond and are interested. So IF any of you would be interested, please leave a comment on this post and let me know! I will be back to check in a few days.

Thanks for continuing to visit!

August Update

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know I’m working on the New Books pages for August and September. Stay tuned…

Sophie Kinsella’s Twenties Girl Is Out Today!

I’m always excited when one of my favorite authors has a new book out, and today is no exception! Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella was finally released today. I went and bought myself a copy and look forward to reading it.

I will be writing a review for it as soon as I get a chance to read it, so keep an eye out!

So, have any of you read it yet (or plan to)? What did you think?

Review: L.A. Candy

I won’t lie – I watch The Hills religiously every week when it’s on and I’m a fan of Lauren Conrad’s. So of course I was going to buy a copy of her first book L.A. Candy, which happened to be a teen chick lit novel.

Set in the glamourous LA/Hollywood area, L.A. Candy was a fast and fun read about two girls who have just moved to LA together: Jane Roberts, who has just started an internship for celebrity event planner Fiona Chen, and Scarlett, an intelligent and outgoing beauty who is attending USC.

The girls are overwhelmed and enthralled with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood life. One night at a club, a producer approaches them about starting their own reality series, a “reality version of Sex and the City”. After some hesitation, Jane and Scarlett agree… and their lives are never the same again. They join two other girls for the show: Madison, a spoiled, rich heiress, and Gaby, a loveable airhead. It doesn’t take long for the show to become a hit and for the girls to become celebrities. (more…)

Merging TeenChickLit & ChickLitBooks

Hey all! I have decided to merge my TeenChickLit.com and ChickLitBooks.com sites into one. After all, most chick lit fans read the teen stuff as well as the adult stuff, and vice versa.

So, I will be adding my teen chick lit reviews onto this site in the next few days. And although there is a super-cute layout on TeenChickLit.com, I will be forwarding the domain to this site as well.

Review: Kissing In Technicolor

Charlie Frost is 27, about to graduate from film school, and is trying to make a name for herself in the film industry. Making ends barely meet as a Yoga instructor, and having her latest screenplay rejected, she has no idea her life is about to change. On the advice of one her professors at school, she begins to revise one of her earlier plays in hopes it will be made into a movie. At the same time, she meets a handsome soap star, Hank, who is definitely interested in her.

When she receives the great news that she will be able to direct the play, Charlie is thrilled. Hank manages to convince her to give him the lead part, but she isn’t too sure of her decision. When problems break out during the rehearsals and taping, she realizes it may not have been the best idea… (more…)

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