Chick Lit VS Romance

Since I have posted a review on a chick flick, I'd say it'll be fun to do something about the four chick lits that I have read. I started reading the works from this author, Dorothy Koomson, when I bought "The Chocolate Run". There was nothing special when I read it the first time. In fact, I regretted my choice in purchasing the book for it was no where near interesting. However, about a month back, my reservoir of books had run dry. I got nothing better to do so I was rereading past books. I picked this one up again to reread it. This time around, I appreciated the plot, humour and characters more. Maybe it was due to me not expecting anything much that the book finally managed to charm me. So much so that I looked forward to reading other books from the same author.

There is to me, and generally, I think, a difference between chick lit and romance. The stories and characters in chick lits are usually bolder and closer to reality. Think authors like Marian Keyes and the one who wrote "P.S. I Love You", her name slipped my mind. It doesn't really follow a standard plot evolvement like romance do. Normally, in romance, man meets woman, conflict, realizes they love one another, and then happy ending. You can bet your life that the main characters will definitely fall in love and be with each other by the end of the book. The only thing you can be sure of of chick lit is that the main female character stays constant. You won't know until the end if she's going to end up with her boss or the guy she loved in the past. Better yet, she might even choose to remain single in the end.

Anyway, my lenthy explanation above sort of also described Koomson's books. You really won't know what is going to happen to her main character. In her first book, "The Cupid Effect", there were a lot of potential players around. You tried matching her lead with every other guy that cropped up but sometimes you will just have to read on to find out. This is another major difference between chick lit and romance. In romance, you can be sure of the chemistry between the two main leads. Even if there's another guy with better qualities than the hero, the heroine will ultimately choose the hero. But this is different in chick lit. The girl might think the guy's just a friend and have no feelings for him, but in the end, she might realized that she has been heal over heels since chapter one. Either that or there's great chemistry between man and woman, and in the end they won't be together due to stupid reasons like logistics. I mean, how can problems like this occur in fiction??

My point is that I hate and love Koomson's books. I like how she has good foundation for her plots. The back cover always read interestingly. This made me purchase her books full with anticipation. There are also characters you can love easily for everything they do have reasons to support. The changes the characters go through from the beginning when everything is lost until the end when they managed to recover who they really are, were very real. It's not rushed so that a happy ending can be achieved. It was paced properly to keep you reading.

What I hate about her book is that I cannot figure out the ending. And a lot of times it ended in disappoinment. What's the point of the book if everything's back to square one by the end??

Anyway, below are her books that I have read. She's still new so there are only five books to her name. I read four. I have had enough of her. No way am I buying the fifth one. I have set my eyes on other books. Books I am only going to read after finishing all those crappy assignments.



By far the best I have read from her. Plot was awesome, with the revelations in the end, plus a wholesome ending. It felt that my time reading this was worth it.

This was one book that left me with a "What the.. huh???" expression by the end of the book. It just didn't live up to its top billing. In fact, it felt like a waste of time.

This is one book where I have no idea who she is going to end up with in the end. Also the one I hinted at when I referred to square one. Hah.

Apparently this was one of her more successful books. Why, I have no idea. This book is supposed to talk about the love between a single woman who is suddenly burdened by a dead friend's child. The story didn't focus so much on developing this relationship. Instead, it steered to a direction which left me sort of baffled.

Oh, and something else too. All these are British books. Meaning it's set in London. So, it uses a lot of British phrases that I was not familiar with. It was a refreshing change from all those American reads. Example, knackered means tired. And I am so knackered right about now.

So long.