Romance/chic lit books that I've read (with reviews!)

Submitted by ProdigalStudent on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 22:37
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  1. Night Whispers by Judith McNaught (Good intro to JM's books, but definately a sub-par effort and read compared to her other novels. Problem with this novel is its a Romance Mystery, however the mystery is too predictable, and the romance isn't as good as it is in her other, better books)
  2. Paradise by Judith McNaught (Loved it. Undoubtedly JM's BEST contemporary novel. Matthew Farrell is quite possibly JM's most charismatic and interesting heroes. No wonder though that he is the fictional dream-man for manyyy ladies who've read this book.)
  3. Perfect by Judith McNaught (Loved it. It was just unputdownable. And we'd a return appearance from the lead couple of Paradise too, which only made the book better.)
  4. Until You by Judith Mcnaught (Disappointing after reading Whitney My Love, the lead couple's love-story seemed too forced, however one good thing about this book is the return of all the previous past historical characters and ofcourse, Stephen himself)
  5. A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught (LOVED it. A must read for all Judith McNaught fans. Its a medevial romance with so many twists and turns and so much passion, you wont be able to keep the book down.)
  6. Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught (Liked it - Great introduction to historical romance)
  7. Whitney, my love by Judith McNaught (Liked it - however sometimes the male leads bordered on cruelty which wasn't very fun to read about)
  8. Someone to watch over me by Judith McNaught (Mediocre)
  9. Double Standards by Judith McNaught (Love/Hate - The male lead was extremely frustrating but the story was riveting)
  10. Double Exposure by Judith McNaught SS(Overall good guilty pleasure read for an SS, however 2nd half of the story was extremely underwhelming)
  11. Tender Triumph by Judith McNaught (worst of the bunch, avoid if possible - might raise your BP)
  12. Once and Always by Judith McNaught (Great book but slow read)
  13. Remember When by Judith McNaught (Not bad but boring - No chemistry between the leads. Build-up was unsatisfactory. Not recommended)
  14. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (Uhh witty and easy read like most Julia Quinn novels usually are, but definately not my favorite. It was a little too light-hearted for me and got boring in the middle. Plus I never cared much for the leads... The Bridgerton family is superb though)
  15. The Viscount who loved me by Julia Quinn (One word: BRILLIANT!!! Without a doubt, the BEST book by Julia Quinn... If only she'd write like that more often)
  16. An Offer from a Gentleman by Julia Quinn (Boring from what I've read... Revamped Cinderella story)
  17. Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn (Aww Colin's story... It was nice, but could've been much better especially with regards to the chemistry between the leads and the sudden proposal by Colin which frankly speaking was out-of-the-blue and could've been better-developed)
  18. How To Marry A Marquis by Julia Quinn (Fun book but again too light-hearted for me to truly enjoy it. However it is one of her better books.)
  19. This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Don't read it. Good premise but baddd execution. The chemistry between the couple seemed very forced IMO... And frankly speaking, it appears to be mediocre compared to her other books)
  20. Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Liked it a lot, though the ending didn't quite match up with the entire book)
  21. Kiss An Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (LOVED it, its a bit slow at the beginning but once you catch on with it, you really start to enjoy the story)
  22. Nobody's baby but mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Didn't quite enjoy it, the premise or the story. It has its moments though.)
  23. Match Me if you can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (My favorite of SEP was a toss-up between this one and 'kiss and angel' but chose this one because the latter one dragged too much at the beginning and frankly speaking I got super-tired of the multiple misunderstandings. Warning though don't read it if you have to work... Cause this one is absolutely unputdownable!)
  24. Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Liked it. The main heroine, Sugar-Beth is a very refreshing change from the type we're used to see in romance novels, I also loved the hero who was hot however the book could've concentrated more on the development of their love-story and trimmed some of the subplots.)
  25. The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophia Kinsella (Sophia is quite possibly the most funniest chick lit author that I've ever read. Her first book is a good intro to the shopaholic series, however it drags a lot in the beginning and the middle. Still its great for a fun summer read.)
  26. Shopaholic Abroad by Sophie Kinsella (An improvement on the first book and definately twice as more fun to read. I would've enjoyed it more had I not been spoiled by the movie.)
  27. Shopaholic ties the knot by Sophie Kinsella (Not bad... The book started off well and ended well but it really really dragged in the middle. The book depended most of its tension on ONE unconvincing misunderstanding)
  28. Shopaholic and baby by Sophie Kinsella (MY FAVORITE of the Shopaholic series... It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Totally feel-good. It was just SO nice to see all the superb main and supporting characters coming together in this one novel... Felt very nostalgic. Loved the growth and development in Becky's character as well. AND IT WAS TOTALLY HILARIOUS AS WELL!!! Especially when
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    Becky pretended that her water broke!!!
    )
  29. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (Uhh I'm a bit ambivalent about this one. While I definately LIKED it, the ending left me kind of going 'WTF THE BOOK ENDED? Are you SURE there are NO pages missing in it?' to myself. It just wasn't enough for the build-up in the book. Hot male lead though!)
  30. Can you keep a secret? by Sophie Kinsella (Hands down, my FAVORITE Sophie Kinsella novel along with Shopaholic and Baby. I just couldn't choose between the two.I liked Shopaholic and Baby for its familiarity, meeting all the Shopaholic characters again. But this one, I liked just for the concept and the fantastic way it was executed by Sophie. The romance in this book is hands-down the BEST that Sophie has written and it is laugh-your-head-off-funny... )
  31. Princess Dairies by Meg Cabot (Liked it. Great introduction to the PD series and works well as a standalone issue as well.)
  32. Princess Diaries 2 by Meg Cabot (Not Bad. It served as a nice transition novel between PD 1 and PD3, but beyond that it was kind of forgettable.)
  33. Princess Diaries 3 by Meg Cabot (Liked it. Great conclusion, the Mia/Michael love-story wasss very sweet and enjoyable, though a little bit dragging. I would've preferred had we gotten more interaction between Mia-and-Michael.)
  34. Princess Diaries 4 by Meg Cabot (Here begins the 'triumverate' of the bad Princess Diaries book... 4, 5 and 6... Boring and dragging... I wouldn't recommend it all as a stand-alone book... For series-lovers I only liked the follow-up to the Mia-Michael story and thats it.)
  35. Princess Diaries 5 by Meg Cabot (Haha this is even worse than PD 4)
  36. Princess Diaries 6 by Meg Cabot (Not recommended. This one is not only boring but also LONGER than the previous PD books)
  37. Princess Diaries 7 by Meg Cabot (Loved it. A VAST improvement from her previous novels... Thanks to JP's character.)
  38. Princess Diaries 8 by Meg Cabot (Umm ambivalent on this... While this one had a LOT of material, it was just un-interesting. Or maybe I'd become apathic to the characters at this point... Haha though the ending of eight was a cliff-hanger or what?)
  39. Princess Diaries 9 by Meg Cabot (Forgettable.)
  40. Princess Diaries 10 by Meg Cabot (Not a bad conclusion to the PD series, but I seriously expected more from it. I wanted a detailed conclusion and somewhat an insight into Mia's life later on but this was a bit short-cutted so yeah that disappointed me.)
  41. How to be Popular by Meg Cabot (LOVED it.
  42. To Be Continued.
Author Comments: 

Just a few notes for self-referance
Bold - Books that are my favorites from the respective author
Italics - Books that I've skimmed
Underline - Short Stories