Star Book Review: Last Night At Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger (Audio); Narrated by Merritt Wever

     I know this is probably going to sound a little bit backwards to a lot of Lauren Weisberger fans out there but the very first book I read by LW was Everyone Worth Knowing. When I first picked it up, I wasn’t sure if I could get into it – it talked about nightclubs and the drug scene and I wasn’t sure this was going to be an author for me, but by the book’s end, something about the way Ms. Weisberger depicted her characters and scenes had me hooked. Later, I saw the Hollywood movie version of her first novel, The Devil Wears Prada. With a stunning A-List cast, the movie entertained and became a favorite of mine in the chick lit genre of movie pictures and films. Finally this past fall, I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Devil Wears Prada and I must say – I was blown away by its originality. From its fairy tale plot, to its invigorating writing and its articulate narration, I gave this production a 5 Star Review.

     Now, to no surprise of mine, I found Lauren Weisberger has done it again with her latest release, Last Night at Chateau Marmont. Her newest novel can be described as nothing less than “Fabulous!” Brooke and Julian Alter appear to be the perfect down-to-Earth couple that you’d love to go out to dinner with or live next door to. Young and in love, they were quickly swept away by each other in a fairy-tale type of romance and married shortly thereafter. Aside from each other, Brooke and Julian also share a love for their careers, both working extremely hard in their respective professions, Brooke as a nutritionist at a local hospital and young girls’ Private school and Julian as a musician. Barely a year into their marriage, it seems nothing can come between the two young lovers until one night, after an invitation to perform on The Tonight Show, everything that seems right and sane in their world is turned upside down. Julian’s status quickly changes from a struggling musician to a successful artist with a household name who’s known worldwide. Now Julian’s schedule demands his presence from coast to coast and the paparazzi are there for every beat. Brooke can’t escape the scrutiny; she’s either criticized for being there too much or too little for her husband. Torn between two worlds, Julian and Brooke’s marriage begins to look like anything but a perfect relationship. Has the instant celebrity and stardom brought their relationship to a point of no return? Will fame and money affect Julian’s faith and devotion to his wife? Has the constant traveling along with an otherwise MIA husband changed Brooke’s vision of their future? Listen to hear if Brooke and Julian survive the turbulent roller coaster ride that Julian’s sudden rise to stardom has taken them on.

     Newcomer, Merritt Wever, narrated in a believable, expressive fashion that sounded consistent and appropriate with what I imagined the characters might sound like. The varied emotions emanating from her tone and speech in various characters and scenes, made for the perfect dramatic effect. She really made me feel a part of every scene. I found myself imagining what my life would be like if it were suddenly taken over by the paparazzi and had taken my husband (or boyfriend) with them. Would I leave my life behind to attend every show, every performance and every media taping to be at his side? Would are love life slip further and further away as our lives made different turns and angles with each passing day? Would I be set up and decimated by the media as they so easily seem to do to people once they are surrounded by all the money and flashing lights? I’d like to think that I could balance our life out but I think Lauren Weisberger and Merit Wever captured the impossibility of it all in this audio edition of Last Night at Chateau Marmont. I look forward to hearing more from the talented duo of voice and writer.

     Based on its plot, narration and writing style, I would definitely recommend this audio book to music lovers, celebrity aficionados, chick lit fans and audio listeners alike.

STAR RATING: 4 STARS

Star Book Review: Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon (Audio); Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

     Jane Fallon’s debut novel, Getting Rid of Matthew came out in 2007, joining the ranks of many other successful chick lit books on the subject of extramarital affairs, friendship and how one defines one’s self in the midst of such relationship chaos. takes a unique stance on the topic. Reminiscent of books like 1996’s How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan and 2004’s Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin and Marian Keyes’ Angels of the same year, Getting Rid of Matthew tackles a tough topic but adds its own unique perspective to the subject matter. When Stella catches her man cheating in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, she takes her pride back by throwing him and all his clothes out on the street, burns all his clothes, including his most prized possession: a hip, roadster sports car, to bits, symbolizing the love and relationship that he threw away like yesterday’s trash. In an alternate viewpoint, we get a glimpse at the lives of those doing the cheating in Emily Giffin’s Something Borrowed, which chronicles the saga of an affair from its inception when Rachel sleeps with her best friend’s fiancé the night of her 30th birthday. Later we find out, that it’s not just one fiancé having an affair. Darcy also commits the ultimate, adulterous pre-wedding crime and sleeps with her fiancé’s best man. Finally, in Marian Keyes’ Angels Maggie Walsh finds solace across the Atlantic as she makes a daring move from Ireland to the U.S. to start her life anew without her no-good cheating husband and finds happiness and herself in the City of Angels in Los Angeles, CA.

     Unlike its predecessors, Ms. Fallon’s story does not end with a cheating husband caught in bed with his mistress and thrown out on his rear. It does not indulge in the nuances of an illicit love affair and it does not take an entire ocean to separate the cheater from the cheatee to move on with their lives. Instead, Getting Rid of Matthew focuses on the women in Matthew’s life, and we get to see an affair from the vantage point of both the mistress and the wife of Matthew. In fact, at one point in the story, the two women form unsuspecting bond (although one of the women is entirely unaware of the other’s true identity). Nevertheless, I was surprised when this tale began when cheating husband, Matthew, showed up on the doorstep of his mistress, Helen, with all his possessions in tow. Ironically, in the tradition of the infamous saying “we all want what we can’t have”, Helen almost simultaneously decides she is “over” Matthew and no longer wants to be with him. However, feeling guilty, thanks to the constant reminder from Matthew about how he has just uprooted his entire family - wife, Sophie and two daughters - for her, Helen feels obligated to let him stay at her apartment. Nonetheless, as the label, an affair, often implies, Helen quickly realized nothing was about to be settled easily or amicably and as it became clearer to Helen that their living situation was anything less than temporary, she proceeded to orchestrate various “plans” to be rid of Matthew once and for all. Shortly into her master plan, Helen found herself in the midst of a predicament on the brink of disaster. Listen to the entire unabridged audio version to hear the hilarious recount of all the antics Helen pulls off in her attempt to break free form her married lover. This was a unique, fun, and unusual tale from British chick lit author Jane Fallon, made even more fun by seasoned narrator Rosalyn Landor. Ms. Landor excels at making emotion an audible expression such that listeners feel like they are part of all the narrative action.

Star Rating: 5 Stars

Star Book Review: The Big Love by Sarah Dunn (Audio); Narrated by Eliza Foss

     As many of you already know, one of my major aspirations in life is to become a published chick lit author. On my journey I have read two very influential books on “how to” become a successful chick lit writer; one, Will Write for Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel by Cathy Yardley; and two, See Jane Write: A Girls Guide to Writing Chick Lit by Sarah Mlynowski and Farrin Jacobs. Mlynowski and Jacobs (2006) book mentioned Sarah Dunn’s The Big Love over and over, citing her writing process and quoting some of the more efficient and notable lines from the novel. It has been on my “to-be-read” (or listened to) list ever since.

     Published in 2004, I considered this to be one of the earlier books of the chick lit genre, keeping this in mind as I heard the very much traditional and formulaic chick lit plot with which this book centered itself around. In such a “classic” style, the female heroine is catapulted on a search for self after losing the thing nearest and dearest to her heart (usually a boyfriend). To (very) briefly sum up this type of plot (or at least my interpretation of such a plot): girl loses boy; in turn, girl loses sense of self; girl forced to search for self; just when things seem to be going well, boy (or another boy) comes back; girl either decides she wants boy or that she doesn’t need him to survive; girl solidifies sense of self and accepts life and self for the better; and usually she lives happily ever after (with or without boy). Of course, most novels are much more complex than my (very) brief interpretation, and often throw in a few unique and unpredictable curve balls, but basically, I believe this was the formula most often followed in early, “classic” chick lit novels.

     Many things made The Big Love stand out for me apart from other ‘classic” chick lit books. I especially enjoyed the creativity of the opening premise in which the author chose to set the scene for main character, Alison, to lose the “love of her life”; Alison’s boyfriend leaves in the middle of a dinner party, with the excuse that he is just running to the store to get a bottle of mustard, only he never comes back. Not only does he not come home, but he calls to tell her that he’s been having an affair with his ex-girlfriend and is madly in love with her again – all the while, Alison’s dinner guests are still at their house. As the story continues, Alison is set up on various dates; contemplates the saga of her relationship and what led up to its demise and above all, begins a search for self as “Alison” rather than as “so-and-so’s girlfriend”. She finds herself wondering, was her ex “the big love”? Is there such a thing as “the big love”?

     I’m so glad I listened to the unabridged audio version, read by Eliza Foss. With its combination of a classic story line, winning female heroine, and fantastic narration, The Big Love had me at from its inception. Eliza Foss did a good job portraying each character, namely Alison, as she made her way on a journey in search of self in this comical and heartfelt story. Listen to the full audio to find out what she concludes in her quest for The Big Love.

Star Rating: 3 stars

Star Book Review: My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict’s Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass Is the New Black; Or, A Culture-Up Manifesto by Jen Lancaster, Narrated by Jaime Heinlein

The fifth installment of a set of memoirs written by and about Jen Lancaster does not disappoint! In fact, partners, Jen Lancaster and narrator Jaime Heinlen hit a proverbial home run in the publishing department for audio listeners of Penguin Audio. I only found out about the works of Jen Lancaster earlier this very same year when I got back into reading Chick Lit and joined several online book groups to discuss similar fictional and non-fictional novels. Since January, I have sped-read through all of Jen Lancaster's novels in anticipation of her latest release, My Fair Lazy (featured here). Between her first book, Bitter is the New Black and My Fair Lazy, there is a tight race vying for my favorite. I know one thing's for sure though, I already CAN'T WAIT for my next fix of comedienne, Jen Lancaster. Luckily enough for me, I recently found out (through her hilarious blog, http://www.jennsylvania.com/) that she is part of a weekly column feature, the Humor Hotel, which features her and three other funny authors writing about what she writes about best: making notable observations on pop-culture (Read: Making fun of the latest and greatest); talking about the roller coaster ride that is every relationship; gossip at the water cooler (or what happens at work), her unique, oh so very personal, take on life and finally, any other random nuance that enters her mind and lands on the published page. Basically, in a nutshell, her column, is a mini-version of one of her full-length books and something I plan to read up on as soon as I go into Jen-Lancaster-humor-withdrawal.

So, back to My Fair Lazy (notice how I'm trying hard to hang on to the very last shred of whatever I can get of her latest book to tide me over until the next release - there will be another release, right?!?!? Right???!) Okay, anyways, if you haven't guessed already, I LOVED My Fair Lazy. Once again, Jen Lancaster takes  a creative spin on a satirical memoir, this time pondering the modern quest of whether or not there Reality TV has taken the place of America's "cultural" warfare? Jen Lancaster determines that, surely, there must be life out there beyond that offered by the programming of Bunim and Murray, but what? And, so she sets off on her "cultural manifesto".

In classic Jennsylvania style, Jen Lancaster begins to include adding all sorts of "cultural" activities to her daily routine - from getting her nails done at a Vietnamese nail salon, to visiting museums in various cities, eating every kind of ethnic cuisine possible, going to the opera, listening to jazz and learning poetry for the first time and anything else that might provide a more enlightening cultural experience than Season 15 of MTV’s The Real World. With hilarious vignette after hilarious vignette, readers get to indulge further into the uniquely, insightful mind and outrageous events that make up Jen Lancaster's life. I love how she manages to take so many excerpts from her life and turn it into an entire collection of related moments, by integrating her latest book tour, visits with old friends, taking care of her (multiplying) pets (and Fletch) and of course, in this novel the purpose of it all: "culturing up". I always love listening to these books so much more than reading them myself because Jaime Heinlein does the BEST job of narrating how I imagine each story to be told - she maintains all the sarcasm, humor, slight arrogance and naiveté (if you can have both at once) throughout every word. This may just be the pair's best release yet!! I can't wait to find out what the next saga will bring. To be read anytime you need a laugh or a smile, or just a break from reality.   

Four Stars:

Star Book Review: Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate by Kyra Davis

     Break Out of the Box - at least that was the first part to the demands made of me for Red Dress Ink Reading Challenge Task #9 in the 5 point Category: Read a Chick Lit Mystery.

     Once again, I turned to Kyra Davis and her Sophie Katz series for murder, mystique and a litttle sex and candy. Hey, what could possibly NOT be entertaining about that combo?? Well, I know for me, mysteries are my second favorite genre to that of Chick Lit, so any book that combines the two probably doesn't have to try to hard to please my interests. Also, Kyra Davis is one of those authors who (at least to me) gets better and better at her craft the more she writes. The story becomes more involved, more intricate and more entertaining as the series continues. I also love how she maintains the core group of characters. In fact the only person not in all of them (that i can think of) is sister, Leah, who isn't introduced until book two. She does an excellent job of maintaining consistency in that core group of characters, making the reader feel like they really know this San Franciscan group (not to be called Frsico under ANY circumstances:))

However, now that I'm on my third novel in this murderous and fashionable series, it is somewhat easier to reminisce about its good moments. For instance, I have listened to all the unabridged audio books in the Sophie Katz series so far and I wasn't always so enthusiastic about them. The first book (not my favorite) was a new experience for me (to say the least). First, I had never read (or listened to) a chick lit mystery before Sex, Murder and a Double Latte so I eally didn't know what to expect from the genre. Second, the narrator, although varied in her vocal talent, was also dissimilar from many of the narrators I had listened to thus far. I guess I was used to the sweet, soft, very feminine (and often British) sounding voices of women, like Katherine Kellgren, Rosalyn Landor and Kathleen McIneney. For the Sophie Katz' anthology, Kyra Davis teams up with Gabra Zackman, who has a more alto (than soprano) sounding voice. It can get somehat gruff, even for the female characters. I think, more than anything, it caught me by surprise in the first audio book and by the third book, I didn't even think twice about her tone of voice. Perhaps Ms. Zackman's talents also grew over the years, the more she got to know the collection of interesting and diverse characters in Sophie Katz' life but maybe also I just became more open to different voices. As I listened to Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate, I credited Ms. Zackman for her efforts in portraying such a wide range of characters - this third installment seemed to have more characters than the first or second book required of its narrator - and I can't imagine how difficult it must be to constantly (and believably) change one's voice so that your audience can differentiate between them. Well done, I say. Overall, Gabra Zackman, and Kyra Davis once again offer listeners a thrilling, murderous, scandalous and sexy mystery with Sophie Katz and on-again off-again boyfriend, Anatoly Darinksky, on the hunt for their killer. As always tensions are high (and not just between Anatoly and Sophie) and listeners are kept guessing "whodunit" until the very end. Definitely recommended to Chick Lit and Mystery readers alike.

 

                                                                                         4 STARS:

The Summer of Chick Lit and Me

     If you read my blog or are a member of any book groups on Goodreads, you may know that I am a bit of a Goodreads junkie (Self-proclaimed, of course – I have never been good about denying things – I’m like one of those people who wears my expression all over my face.) I recently joined a new group called, Book Blog Networking, and it is turning into one of my favorite groups on GR. It is a wonderful networking tool. It provides access to limitless book review blogs. I have met some really great people who share the same interests in reading and blogs as me; and finally, the network is a great place to sound off ideas, troubleshoot technical problems and get help and advice on any other aspect of blogging that might pop up. It has also inspired me to create a second blog and to be more diligent about posting on my original blog.


     This summer I am participating in (yet another) reading challenge with the GR group, Red Dress Ink Fans; and although I am off to a slow start (with nothing but a poor excuse), my goal is to post the books I read and write a review for each one as I cross them off my TBR list. The current challenge is what I consider a “Reading Scavenger Hunt”. You must find books that fit into various categories and after you’ve used a book for one category, you cannot double up and count it for another category. For example, the first book I read is going to be part of a three (3) book series for a 25 point task that correspond with a City, State, and Country. I just finished listening to the unabridged audio book of All-American Girl by Meg Cabot (country), am currently reading the paperback, I Heart New York Lindsey Kelk and I plan to either read Hollywood Car Wash by Lori Culwell or listen to Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl by Belle du Jour to round out the category.

     Below you can see the book covers of all the books on my reading challenge list, each corresponding with a specific category. If you are dying to read a review for one of the books on my list, please let me know and I will prioritize it on my TBR list this summer. (Sometimes I have a hard time choosing which one to read next because to me (of course) they all look great! So really, you’d be doing me a favor by making a request. Thanks so much. And, enjoy!

     All-American Girl is the first in a two-book series by Meg Cabot, narrated by Ariadne Myers, that follows Samantha Madison as she comes of age in the Presidential setting of Washington, D.C. Samantha is in high-school who has a passion for drawing and her sister’s boyfriend, Jack. As much as she loves art, she despises Susan Boone’s drawing classes, which she has been mandated to take since being caught charging students at John Adams Preparatory High for her celebrity caricatures. One day when Samantha decides she’s going to skip SB’s art class, she stands in a crowd to watch as a parade takes place in the heart of DC’s political arena. She notices an odd-looking man listening to Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl on repeat, and before she even has time to think about what she’s doing, Samantha finds herself jumping in the middle of a bullet from Mr. Uptown Girl and Mr. President, himself. Her courage and bravery catapult her into the spotlight (that and a broken arm that brings her to a local hospital) and Sam becomes an overnight celebrity. Everyone knows her name and everyone wants to be her friend – kids at school even start dressing in all black just like her. She never could have imagined life like this and now she must grow up and learn about relationships, love, family, the way of the world, and a little bit of politics in front of the public eye. Will everyone find out that she has a huge crush on her sister’s boyfriend? Will everyone start idolizing Gwen Stefani and become fascinated with art and drawing? Finally, what about David, he president’s son? Could Samantha be developing feelings for him? As her art teacher so eloquently puts, hear what happens when Samantha learns the difference between “seeing and knowing” and “hearing and listening” in this YA audio book. Ariadne Myers, who has put the voice to many YA audio books, by other Chick Lit authors such as Sarah Mlynowski, does an excellent job creating a different tone for each character in Meg Cabot’s All-American Girl. From “rebel” Jack, teen queen and big sister, Lucy to Presidential hunk and artist, David and of course, the red-headed, average, middle child Samantha and all the characters in between, Myers creates a believable world of young adult life in Washington, DC.

     I can’t wait to listen to what happens in the sequel, Ready or Not.

     Rating: 3 out of 5 STARS.

#Amwriting

I just wanted to apologize to my fellow bloggers for dropping the ball last week and not posting my usual Writer's Wednesday column. Things got really busy between work and (mostly) school; but now that my research paper is done, I am working on some great posts for this week.

One (that I actually started last week but just couldn't get it done in time) is going to be about how writers' use connections in their novel writing. Emily Giffin appears to be a follower of this trend. In her latest book, Heart of the Matter, we see the appearance of Dex and Rachel once again from Something Borrowed. Similarly, in Baby Proof, the lead heroine, Claudia works for a book publishing company and one of her favorite clients is an author from London, named Ethan, who is married to a woman named Darcy and she asks him about how his twin boys, John and Thomas (a reference to characters in Something Blue). I love reading cameos, connections and links like these! They make me smile and reminisce (especially if it was a really great book).

The second blog that I am going to be working on is going to be about using dialogue in writing. I have finally been picking up where I left off (eek! Months ago) in my own novel. Can you believe I even forgot one of the secondary characters names?!!!! That's when you know you are long overdue to get back to writing. Anyways, I worked on a few chapters yesterday, jumping around between chapters 2 and 3. filling in the dialogue I wanted to include to keep the storyline flowing and the chapters in order. I will be exploring the importance of dialogue and how you can reveal so much about characters through its use and examples of how to use it most effectively in your writing.

On another note, just to keep you all up to date on my To Be Read List, I have recently finished reading The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley, a new author addition to my list of chick lit faves. I also just finished wrapping up the audio cd of Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison, which to my delightful surprise was a spinoff to her first novel, Shoe Addicts Anonymous. As always, look out for my audio reviews at the Chick Lit Club.

I update my current reading list on Twitter a lot too if you want to follow me there as well. My username is cgraceh and my picture is the same as the cartooon pictured on my blog here:)

Thanks! Write a lot. Read more soon.

One Dream Come True: Chick Lit Audio Book Reviews by Me

As you already know if you read my blog, one of my greatest loves of all is the Chick Lit or Women's Fiction genre. Since about 2000 or 2001 I have been reading these "candy covered books" full of stories of everything related to women's lives, tackling topics of love, passion and betrayal to weddings, babies and motherhood and even the hardships of moving to a new city, death and grief. To be fair, this is only a minute sampling of subjects that you will find upon opening one of these books.

One of my first experiences to finding out about these books was at a job I had in Boston. I worked at a Trade Show Company amongst many other women and we had a large book shelf where we swapped books with each other. A few of the women I befriended received books at least once a month, some even more frequently, from one of Harlequin Publisher's affiliates, Red Dress Ink, which solely produced books of the Chick Lit genre. I had instant access to new titles and authors and living in the city, the library provided a whole world of books that I'd learned of from these women. On my train ride to and from my apartment in Somerville everyday, I read and read and read. I probably read two to three books a week...and my love for Chick Lit grew.

Years later, since leaving that job and the city (and Red Dress Ink has since retired its production of books), I have actively sought out resources on the web more than ever. I began with my local library's website to see what books were available at the library close to my current place of work. To my pleasant surprise, in this age of ever-advancing technology that I live in, I came across a new online library called Overdrive Media. Ever since discovering this awesome site, full of e-books and audio books, I have been checking out books on my library card to the max! and listening to audio books in my car, while I cook, make dinner and anywhere else I can plug in my iPod.

Around the same time, I also became active on Goodreads, a wonderful social networking Web site that acts as a virtual book club and and a whole lot more. You can find any book or author ever published, including plot summaries and author bios, win free books in daily giveaways, start your own group (on any topic you want) and find friends who share common interests. This is only the beginning of it, too. If interested, you will have to scope it out for yourself.

I joined the Chick Lit Book Club and soon was asked to become co-leader of the group with the fabulous woman who started it all. I soon found many women (and even a few men) who shared my passion for reading, writing and Chick Lit in general. One day, while talking a lot about shared interests and dreams of penning our own Chick Lit novel, a fellow Book Club member suggested I create another group called the Chick Lit Writers group. I was elated to find people as eager as I was about the subject and activity of writing and even more excited that they specifically wanted to write Chick Lit.

Other than these two sites, I know have a long list of sites I go to that I consider to be real gems for all things related to chick lit. One of my all time Favorite Chick Lit websites is the Chick Lit Club. It originates in Australia and has everything you could ever possibly want to now about the genre, from author bios and interviews, to book reviews, plot summaries, top ten lists, books-made-into-movies news and so much more! Recently, I mentioned this site on one of the Chick Lit Writers discussion boards and one of our members mentioned to me that she had seen on the Site's contact page that its Founder and is always seeking out new contributors, reviewers and women, in general, from around the globe who are passionate about Chick Lit. Additionally, another woman who participates in the Chick Lit Club had shared with me some of her freelance work on various women's Web sites and magazines. It was really inspiring to see that such opportunities to write existed for women like myself. I was eager to seek out a similar opportunity to get my foot in the door into the world of writing (especially one that included a Web site that I fully supported). As an avid chick lit reader and aspiring writer, I jumped at the opportunity to contact the Chick Lit Club's leader to see if I might be granted permission to try my hand at writing for her Web site.

I noticed the Chick Lit Club had an overwhelming number of regular book reviewers from everywhere, but especially women from the U.S. In fact at the time, the site was trying to increase its diversity of women by adding a reviewer from India. I thought for sure I would never get the chance to write for this site as just another American woman who loved to read Chick Lit...so I began to brainstorm....how can I be different from the other women reviewers from the United States on this site? How can I contribute in a unique way to benefit both the Chick Lit Club and myself? And that's when I came up with my proposal to the site's creator....

Luckily, the Chick Lit Club's creator accepted my request!! And ever since, the Chick Lit Club Presents Audio Books by Cathy Herbert. Please click on the link to check out my exclusive page where I have been reviewing unabridged audio books. I listen to all the latest and classic Chick Lit books and rate them from 1-10. Click Here For Reviews on How I Hear It: http://www.chicklitclub.com/audio-books.html

Currently reviewed on the Site:

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin; Narrated by Christine Marshall (2006)

Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office by Jen Lancaster, Narrated by Jaime Heinlein (2006)

L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad; Narrated by Lauren Conrad (2009)

Passion, Betrayal and Killer Highlights by Kyra Davis; Narrated by Gabra Zackman (2006)

Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis; Narrated by Gabra Zackman (2005)

Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison; Narrated by Orlagh Cassidy (2007)

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger; Narrated by Bernadette Dunne (2002)

The First Assistant: A Continuing Tale From Behind the Hollywood Curtain by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare (2006)

Thyme Out/Second Thyme Around by Katie Fforde; Narrated by Davina Porter (1999)

And Many More To Come...

Note: I also review regular books at the Chick Lit Club, as often as I find the time to submit them. Because I am so focused on my exclusive audio book page, I have mostly been submitting those reviews, but who knows. As time goes by, and my review writing gets caught up tot he current book I'm listening to, I will probably spend my time more equally reviewing both new and classic paperback and audio books. Hopefully, this is a start of many new opportunities and writing prospects to come but for now, what more could a girl like me who loves to read and write Chick Lit ask for?