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Chick lit has had a bad reputation as fluff about shopping and romance, but I must admit that I, the person with the bachelor’s degree in English, love it. There is always romance and, personally, I don’t mind that. There are also really interesting and well-developed characters, funny situations, and some life lessons. If you’re new to the genre I would recommend Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding or In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner for starters. If you’re a long-time fan and looking for some new material, here are some good ones I’ve read recently.

Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde is the story of Grace, a divorced wine expert who is trying to rescue her crumbling London home and Ellie, a pregnant and struggling artist. Along the way they find solutions and cranky, interesting men. . . with potential, of course.

Friends gather together after hearing about the death of a former school mate in Second Chance by Jane Green. While grieving about their friend, they re-examine their lives exploring issues of love, infertility, careers, and bad marriages.

Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakthrough by Isabel Sharpe is a surprisingly great book. The glamourous Lorelei Taylor returns to Kettle, Wisconsin seeking a quiet refuge from the press coverage of the recent trial where she was acquitted of murdering her husband. She assumes that nothing ever happens there, but is soon clashing with the town socialite, giving teens dating advice, unwittingly giving hope to an abused woman, and, of course, coping with a cute neighbor.