Book Blog #332: Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

 

Title: Part of Your World

Author: Abby Jimenez

# of Pages: 373 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Chick-lit

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Synopsis: After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable. While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people. Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

Review: This is 3 stars with my standards preset to chick-lit standards before reading; otherwise this would be 2 stars. For a chick-lit, Part of Your World was a step or two above Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise (but getting into the same territory with the baby goat mentions as the latter did with chicken marsala - not all women are THAT obsessed with baby goats!). 

The immediate turn off was the first person POV switching between Alexis and Daniel. And, yes, Jimenez wrote it so their POVs overlapped on events, meaning the reader gets to hear about the same thing twice sometimes! Because there's nothing I love more than reading a mediocre plot twice in one sitting! 

Alexis is the protagonist - a rich girl from family of doctors. To her credit, Alexis only annoyed me in the latter half of the book when starts telling people what's best for them (and of course she ends up being "right"). She also conveniently decides to withhold information purely to make the plot more complicated when communicating in a less suspiciously dodge-y manner would have been more realistic. 

Apparently the key to being the lead male in a chick-lit is to be a poor boy who is REALLY good at wood working (I'm looking at you, Happy Place by Emily Henry). In this book, that's Daniel, a naive, lovestruck "boy" (28, young for this chick-lit) from a town so small it's categorized as a village. And unfortunately, he's also a huge simp. Frustratingly, he seems to have no backbone (way too much of a nice guy) to the point where the reader can't even feel sorry for him. Sure, Alexis, tell him nothing! He'll keep coming back for more regardless, but the reader's will hate both of you for it. 

One of the key conflicts is Alexis and Daniel struggling with being born into different classes of the "caste system" (author's choice of words).While people from different backgrounds may struggle to reconcile the differences in their lifestyle, the way this conflict was addressed in this book didn't resonate with me and came off superficial. The rich vs poor issue might be something that would be more believable in historical fiction, but in modern times, Alexis's inherent prejudice and Daniel's insecurity were frustratingly conservative perspectives on the situation. 

Some good things: Part of Your World is a pretty quick read. Despite being very predictable, I was still interested enough in the book to not put it down, even if I was cringing at some parts. 

I had lower expectations because I heard of this book through a negative recommendation; despite its popularity, it was apparently so boring that it was not finish-able. This made it pretty easy for this book to actually exceeded my expectations! That being said, I wouldn't recommend it in a hurry - if you're generally a chick-lit fan maybe, ......otherwise this one is skippable. 

Book Blog #330: Happy Place by Emily Henry

 

Title: Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry

# of Pages: 388 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Chick-lit, Romance

Rating:★★★★☆

Synopsis: Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

Review: If chick-lit is rated within its own category, this is definitely one of the better ones. If I rated this as a regular book (if I didn't realize it was a chick-lit, I'd give it three stars).  

 The good: 

- I was cheering for things to work out between Harriet and Wyn, so the characters were at least somewhat likable. 

- The time skipping works. Chapters of Harriet’s past are interlaced with the chapters of “real life” (present day) of Harriet at the cottage. It was pretty easy to figure out which chapters were present day or not, and slowly discovering the past events that led Harriet to be in the situation she finds herself in keeps the reader coming back for more. 

- The book doesn’t just focus on Harriet’s romantic relationship with Wyn. I appreciated that the author Henry threw in some components of friendship and family in there. 

 The bad: 

- Too much monologuing. A lot of chick lit authors fall into the trap of having their characters spell out their history, their feelings, what makes their characters unique, etc despite that being uncharacteristic for a slice of life story. 

- There’s some pretty lame lines (that actually made me laugh out loud? So maybe it’s a good thing). This is mostly from Wyn talking about how he’s hard often when in convo with Harriet. 

- Since chick lit is a usually a depiction of a woman’s fantasy (hard emphasis on fantasy, in terms of it being unrealistic), the messages of following your heart and doing what makes you happy didn’t resonate with me. Characters “learning” these lessons and turning a leaf so quickly and willingly with minimal struggle made me truly believe this is an overly optimistic novel trying too hard to be inspiration. 

Nonetheless, it’s a quick and enjoyable read (the ending soured my impression of it, but I enjoyed the earlier parts of the story). I would recommend it for those interested in chick-lit.

Book Blog #318: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

 

Title: Something Borrowed

Author: Emily Giffin

# of Pages: 322 (paperback)

Genre: Adult, Chick-Lit, Romance

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

Review: Remember, since this is chick-lit, my expectations for this book were about as low as they could be. That being said, Giffin's writing style is actually pretty enjoyable. I was able to visualize what the characters are doing, and her descriptions seemed realistic enough. 

If only her writing talent was not wasted on such a garbage plot. I'm glad to be able to NOT have friends like the group that is described in Something Borrowed. I WISH this book felt more unrealistic because that would mean terrible people like this wouldn't exist. But alas, I fully believe there are people out there in the world that would have the same moral alignment. 

If you believe cheating is not acceptable regardless of the context, Something Borrowed will NOT resonate with you. This book spends 322 pages justifying cheating, primarily focused on tearing down Darcy's character to make our protagonist Rachel feel better about cheating with her fiance Dexter. In an even cringier twist, Dexter, who is constantly flip flopping between Rachel and Darcy, isn't even properly crucified for stringing along two women. The narrative of it being a push and pull only between the two women is so dated (which makes sense since this book was published in 2004). 

Not something that is worth reading amongst the modern women audience. 

Book Blog #317: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

 

Title: It Ends with Us

Author: Colleen Hoover

# of Pages: 386 (ebook)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Chick-lit

Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis: Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

Review: Why am I crying? 

This was supposed to be some silly, brainless romance I could enjoy. Even the synopsis reads like some cliche love triangle. To be fair, it took me forever (aka me reading a chapter or so every couple of weeks) to get through the first 30-40%. It read exactly like I expected - woman meets man and they have immediate sexual chemistry without much depth to their relationship otherwise.

The progression of the main relationship happens in such a short span of time, it was hard for me to take it even half seriously. I was bashing Hoover in my head for creating such an unrealistic relationship that I couldn't root for. The character building in general was especially weak - a handsome neurosurgeon who seems to have it all? A main character who seems to have it made career-wise? What superficial struggles could Hoover possibly have in store for the reader? 

I was all ready to give this book 2 stars. I'm a huge sucker for cheesy romance, so at some high points I was considering giving it 3 if I felt at least neutral about it by the end. Nothing could be worse than that terrible chick lit I read that wouldn't stop talking about the main character loving chicken tikka masala, but Lily using whether or not someone donated to charity as a metric on whether they're a good person (ask any billionaire if they've donated to charity; they'll probably say yes) was getting really close. 

But then Hoover introduces the topic of domestic abuse. I'm surprised there isn't noted somewhere in the synopsis because as it is now, it's not doing the book justice. While the fluffy parts of this book are 2-3 star range, the way Hoover writes about domestic abuse is completely heart wrenching. I couldn't believe I was reading the same book; while all other parts of unrealistic, the depiction of domestic abuse was almost TOO real. 

Even one of the cliche lines Hoover threw in early on, "We're all just people who sometimes do bad things," this line rang more true after reading through her complex depiction of both the victim and the perpetuator of domestic abuse. While some people's abuse might be more cut and dry, some can take the form where those involved have a mix of good and bad within them.  

After learning from the author's note that Hoover was basing the domestic abuse off of her parents' relationship, everything made sense. The more fiction the story was, the more Hoover's writing struggled. But once it was based off of real events, Hoover was really able to pull through and send a message through her chick-lit reminiscent of Jodi Picoult. 

If you don't mind slogging through the cheesy beginning, and you're into chick-lit, I would actually recommend this book to you. As far as chick-lit goes, this is definitely one of the better ones.  

Book Blog #276: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

 Title: Fifty Shades of Grey

Author: E.L. James

# of Pages: 515 (ebook)

Genre: Romance, Erotica, Chick-Lit

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

Review: This was actually....better than I expected.

I know it's not saying much since my rating is two stars (in reality it's somewhere in between one and two stars). I heard a lot about this book throughout the years because of all the hype and even attempted to read this book back in 2017 (my impression of the first 50 pages was so bad that I had to stop reading). 

Let's start with what I didn't like about Fifty Shades of Grey. 

The characters

The characters are cliché (rich, attractive man meets ordinary and innocent girl? Far from original). Perhaps this is to be expected from a book that started as a Twilight fanfic, which was painfully obvious even with the changes James made to make her cast of characters more "original." The story takes place in Washington, her mother (who is divorced from the person Ana considers to be her father) lives in a state with contrasting weather, and Ana is giving her space to be with her husband...does this context sound familiar? At one point, Ana even refers to a character as a "glorious, pale-skinned vamp" (447) which might be an innocent (although strange) description if not for the book's origin. 

I actually got a little emotion while reading this book. "Because Christian and Ana's relationship is so romantic?" you might ask. NO, their relationship is so toxic and abusive. I practically weep thinking about all the horny middle-aged women getting off on this unhealthy relationship. 

The dialogue

The dialogue is repetitive, awkward, and sometimes cringe-y. The reader is suppose to believe that Christian is this intimidating, eloquent man who speaks beyond his years (which, by the way, would make a lot of sense if he was a 100+ year old vampire...), but his dialogue doesn't meet this description. Most of this book is him repeatedly telling Ana to eat and stop biting her bottom lip. It gets old. 

What was even more distracting is how James insists on using the word "behind" to refer to someone's butt. Once I noticed (and once you get passed the first 20% of the book, boy do they mention their "behinds" a lot), it drove me insane; to me, "behind" is an awkward, polite way to refer to someone's butt. After everything Christian and Ana have been through, there's no need for such verbal restraint.

The genre

This book is DEFINITELY well classified in the romance chick-lit genres, and it has everything working against it because I am not a fan of chick-lits (although I will say that this is better than Jennifer Cruise's Bet Me). This is the first erotic I've read, so I'm not sure how much sex is enough sex for people who are seeking out an erotica, but honestly I felt like there was less than I was expecting. It's the worst of both worlds: people who are here for the plot (anyone?) would think there is too much sex, people who are sexually frustrated(?) don't get enough. 

So what saved this book from 1 star?

There was an interesting subplot of Grey's potentially abusive past (one that the reader doesn't get much insight to in this book) that can be used to explain (although not justify) his abusive behavior in Christian and Ana's relationship. I think this additional complexity (to an otherwise simple book) kept me interested in hopes that we would be able to learn more about how his past has affected his current sexual behaviors.

Honestly, the 1 star rating is also reserved for books that make me angry that I read it. Although this book was poorly written, I didn't feel pissed off while reading Fifty Shades of Grey. It didn't take that long to get through this book, and I was feeling like reading a quick, easy-to-read romance (the cheap stuff that causes you to lose brain cells rather than gain them). I'm not sure how well this fit the "romance" bill, but everything else seems to meet my qualifications.

Would I recommend this book? Nah.  Even just to understand the mainstream hype? Not worth your time. 

Book Blog #264: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

Title: Bet Me
Author: Jennifer Crusie
# of Pages: 391 (paperback)
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: Minerva Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Even if he is gorgeous and successful Calvin Morrisey. Cal knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. Even if she does wear great shoes and keeps him on his toes. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again. But Fate has other plans, and it's not long before Min and Cal meet again. Soon, they're dealing with a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kreme donuts, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a freakishly intelligent cat, Chicken Marsala, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of. Including the biggest gamble of all—true love.
Review: I intentionally looked for a chick lit to read.

From my understanding, chick lits are not meant to be great literary works. They are written for the masses, primarily aimed at female audience (dare I say housewives?). I wanted something cheap, easy, and dirty, and I thought a chick lit would satisfy this craving.

My mistake was assuming all chick lits would have an emphasis on the physical aspect of a romantic relationship. Although I'm sure a fair amount do, this one did have nearly as much as I expected. The book concentrates more on the conflicts she has when interacting with Cal, her love interesting in the story who has a not so secret bet to get her into bed within a month of asking her out. Because him getting her into bed is the end goal, there's significantly less romantic action between the two of them than what I was hoping for.

This might be fine for some readers. Personally, if I wanted to read about a complicated romantic relationship, I would choose a book that does not fall under the chick lit genre. Like I said before, these types of books are not amazing pieces of literature. The relationships between friends/family/lovers are quite ridiculous and unrealistic. All the conflicts are petty, and the Min was annoyingly obsessed with Krispy Kreme donuts and chicken marsala.

There was also third person POV switching, and to make matters worse, the narrations were not very distinct. Although humor is not high up on this book's list of genres, I would classify it more as a romantic comedy, except that it's not even that funny.

I had pretty low expectations and was searching for a cheap, romantic read. This didn't quite meet that expectation which is why I am giving it two stars. I would recommend skipping this book for something else if you are searching for a romance novel or a good read.

Book Blog #258: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Title: The Notebook
Author: Nicholas Sparks
# of Pages: 203 (paperback)
Genre: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Synopsis: A man with a faded, well-worn notebook open in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. Until he begins to read to her. The Notebook is an achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with you forever.
Review: Why is this story so popular? Is the movie that much better than the book?

This could have been rated two stars; since it's such a short book, it's not as big of a time-waster as many other books. However, I still thought it was a waste of time, thus the one star rating.

This is such a basic love story that's been done time and time again. I'm confused why this book in particular became so well known even to those who haven't read the book or watched the movie. If someone told me it was a fanfic written by a preteen, I would believe it. Perhaps I'm just not a fan of the chick-lit genre, but the descriptions are so tasteless. I just can’t take descriptions about Noah’s “loins” and Allie’s “erect nipples” seriously.

I don't regret reading it since it is such a popular story. But if you might want to reconsidering reading if you want to read an interesting story.

Book Blog #99: Here Today, Gone to Maui by Carol Snow

Title: Here Today, Gone to Maui
Author: Carol Snow
# of Pages: 204 (paperback)
Genre: Women's fiction, Chick-lit
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: When Jane Shea's boyfriend, Jimmy, invites her to spend a week at a swanky resort in Maui, she's thrilled-of course-but nervous. She worries about missing their flight. She worries about losing her luggage. It never even occurs to her that she might misplace Jimmy. But paradise has a way of attracting trouble, and Jane hasn't even managed to learn the hula or paddle under a waterfall before Jimmy disappears. When the police suggest that Jimmy has drowned, Jane thinks things can't get any worse-but her troubles have just begun. This is one vacation the guidebooks never prepared her for.
Review: The only reason why I bought this book is because it was the summer time, it said Maui on the cover, and I thought it was a YA. After reading the first few chapters, I realized I was mistaken. So it's not really the book's fault that it only received two stars; the wrong reader just happened to pick it up.

It's not really a bad story; sure, the beginning really sucked. But since there's a bit of a mystery behind it, it held my attention and actually became quite interesting in the end. However, that doesn't stop me from disliking the protagonist and cringing and the writing style now and then.

If this genre of books is meant for you, sure, it's a good book. But if not...then no.