About Me/Review Policy

About Me/Review Policy

I am an avid reader and listener of Chick Lit novels and audio books and have followed the trends of the genre since its inception in the nineties/early millennium. Some of the first books I ever read were Candace Bushnell, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and of course, Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones; but my memories of “chick lit” or women’s fiction trail back even earlier than these fabulous writers to the books of my childhood and teen years. Books like Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters, Billie Letts’ Where the Heart Is, and even Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls. I consider my true introduction to the genre to have been primarily through a book-sharing program at my office in which women maintained a physical “To-Be-Read” bookshelf with the policy “take a book, leave a book”. It was during this time that Red Dress Ink (RDI) formulated, thus marking the United States’ first publishing company solely dedicated to the production and sales of chick lit novels. Many of my friends and co-workers were part of RDI’s book-of-the month club and we would eagerly await the new releases that showed up in our mailboxes each month. After many years, despite the horrible rumors that chick lit might be “dead”, my love for chick lit has only grown bigger and broader and the number of books and authors I enjoy increase almost exponentially with every passing month. I even dream of writing my own chick lit novel one day. Some of the writers I look up to and aspire to be like include (but are not limited to) Emily Giffin, Candace Bushnell, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella (and Madeleine Wickham), Beth Harbison, Lauren Weisberger, Gemma Townley, Sarah Pekkanen, Sarah Mlynowski, Kyra Davis, Shanna Swendson, Jennifer Weiner, Jen Lancaster, Karyn Bosnak, Lindsey Kelk, Ilana Fox and many many more!

            On my blog you will find many reviews of the books I am either currently reading or listening to and maybe even a few “blasts from the past” (provided my memory serves me accurately enough). The majority of the books I review are my own, bought and paid for (some traded on swap sites like Bookmooch and Paperbackswap), others are borrowed from the library and few and far between are copies of ARCs or books I’ve won through various giveaways or that I’ve been so lucky to receive from an actual author. I own a Pandigital eReader (called “The Novel”) so some of my books may be an ebook version but I always make it my policy to solely review the unabridged copies of all books so that I get the complete story, exactly as the author originally intended.

I also review books and have my own audio book review page on the world renowned web site based out of Australia, The Chicklit Club, so if you see a review on my blog, I will likely also publish a review at the CLC as well. I am an active member of Goodreads (cgraceh) and Twitter (@cgraceh), where you will find abbreviated versions of my reviews as well as updates and blasts on what I’m currently reading, thinking and otherwise doing related to reading and writing chick lit. Finally, I am also the co-moderator of both the Chick Lit Book Club and the Chick Lit Writers groups on Goodreads should anyone be looking for an online group to join, read and chat about chick lit.

            Finally, I am always looking for ways to update and improve my blog. Should you wish to see any books reviewed that you don’t already see up here or should you have any ideas for new events, features or sections, I love to hear from my followers so please contact me at cgraceh at gmail dot com. If you are having a hard time getting a copy of a book, I am open to trades and giveaways. I am always looking for my next author interview, guest post and/or book giveaway so if you can and want to donate any of your time and/or publications to my blog, please feel free to email me and I will be more than happy to accommodate you.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog where I try and provide everything chick lit. Happy reading! 

XOXO
~  Cathy