Blogger Girl by Meredith Schorr
What
happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a
universe you pretty much saved? Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to
find out. A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read “Bridget
Jones’s Diary,” Kim, with her blog, “Pastel is the New Black,” has
worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the
claim that “chick lit is dead” once and for all. Not bad for a woman who
by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless,
legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm. While Kim’s day job holds no
passion for her, the handsome (and shaving challenged) associate down
the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one
of her most hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick
lit scene with a hot new book that’s turning heads—and pages—a cross
the land. It’s also popped into Kim’s inbox—for review. With their
ten-year high school reunion drawing near, Kim’s coming close to
combustion over the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her
seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a
“blogger girl” makes the grade in her off-line life.
Excerpt from Blogger Girl...
Nicholas patted the seat next to him. “Sit with us.”
Daneen
looked at me like I was a rescued stray cat she wished would get lost
again. “Yes, join us if you’d like. Although, it will probably be super
boring for you. We’re working.” She pointed towards the pile of papers
like I wouldn’t have noticed them otherwise.
“A little break won’t kill us,” Nicholas said winking at me.
I
smiled at him and took a bite of my sandwich. When no one said
anything, I took another bite and decided to feign interest in what they
were working on just to break the awkward silence. “So…”
“So, how long have you been a legal secretary?” Daneen interrupted.
“Almost
three years,” I answered. I was too taken aback that Daneen had
actually initiated a conversation with me to go into more details.
“Have you taken the LSAT yet?” Daneen asked.
Surprised by the randomness of the question, I stuttered, “Huh? Um, no.”
“You are going to law school, right?” She probed.
“Why do you ask?” Nicholas questioned.
Daneen
looked at Nicholas like he had an eyeball in the middle of his
forehead. “I just can’t imagine anyone graduating college and working as
a legal secretary unless she hoped to get good recommendations from
attorneys for law school. Turning her attention to me, she said, “You
went to college, right?”
I shredded my napkin wishing it was her face. “Yes.”
Daneen nodded. “Where’d you go?”
“Syracuse,” I said.
Momentarily looking at me with envy, Daneen said, “I wished my parents would have let me go to a party school!”
“Syracuse
had a great communications program and it might seem shocking to you,
but I’ve never had any desire to go to law school,” I said assuredly.
“It’s
not shocking to me,” Nicholas said, squeezing my knee under the table.
“And Syracuse did a great job. Kimmie is a super communicator. You
should check out her blog.”
Daneen looked at me with renewed interest. “What kind of blog?”
“It’s a chick lit blog where I post about chick lit novels. I write reviews, interview authors. That sort of thing.”
With a furrowed brow, Daneen said, “I thought chick lit was declared dead ages ago. I read Bridget Jones’s Diary in
college but don’t know anyone who reads it now. Except my sixteen year
old niece. She has that Shopaholic series, but I assume she’ll grow out
of it soon.”
“No one writes chick lit like Sophie Kinsella,” I said.
Daneen looked at me blankly. “Well, that’s great, Kimmie! Your blog sounds cute.”
I tried not to lose my lunch over her use of his nickname for me, especially since it might have been the first time she had ever directed me by name.
Guest Post From Meredith Schorr
What makes great chick lit?
What
makes a book “great” is very subjective. Notwithstanding the obvious
factors like well-written, not riddled with typos or grammatical errors,
and a cohesive story with a beginning, middle and an end, what makes a
book “five-star” worthy to me or “five champagne flutes” worthy to
Kimberly Long, the main character of Blogger Girl, might not be the same for someone else.
Having
published three chick lit novels and read approximately three hundred
of them, I consider myself somewhat of a chick lit connoisseur. I’ve
listed below the characteristics I consider essential to categorizing a
chick lit book as “great.” Since I’m not technically a book reviewer,
however, I asked Kimberly Long of the popular albeit imaginary chick lit
blog Pastel is the New Black to weigh in as well.
Characters
Kimberly:
I love a chick lit book with characters I can relate to. A character
who reminds me of myself or one of my best friends. Someone I could
commiserate with about hot colleagues, annoying family members or bitchy
chicks who try to make my life miserable.
Meredith:
I don’t necessarily need to relate to a character to enjoy a chick lit
book but I need to find her believable. I don’t like characters who are
cardboard cut-outs. I also like my characters to be somewhat flawed. If
they always do the right thing or are merely victims of circumstances
out of their control, it’s less interesting to me. I don’t necessarily
need to “like” a character or want to have drinks with her, but I need
to care about her enough to have a vested stake in the outcome of the
book. Finally, I like a chick lit book with good character development. I
want the main character to change in some respect from the first page
to the last.
Humor
Kimberly:
I love books that make me laugh. If I snort on the subway on the way to
work, all the better. I absolutely love British chick lit because of
the wit.
Meredith:
I have to agree with Kimberly. Humor is key in chick lit. I also love
British chick lit although there are many hilarious American writers.
*cough*
Romance
Kim:
I love a good romance. While I enjoy reading about other aspects of the
main character’s life, the romantic element is my favorite. I love when
a couple has a nasty fight and one of them pulls out all of the stops
to resolve things. A well-written “grand gesture” is awesome.
Meredith:
I definitely enjoy a good romantic element as well. I especially like
when there is a really humorous or teasing element between the
characters. I don’t like when the only connection is sexual because to
me that is a cop-out. While sexual chemistry is obviously essential, I
like when the characters make each other laugh.
Happy Endings
Kimberly:
I love happy endings that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside – when
all of the main character’s dreams come true from love interest to
career aspirations to making peace with enemies.
Meredith:
I Iike happy endings in chick lit too, but “happy” doesn’t necessarily
mean tied up in a pretty pink bow to me. As long as the ending is
optimistic and is appropriate for the main character’s journey, I am
satisfied. I don’t like a sappy ending if it doesn’t go with the rest of
the book. I don’t like chick lit books with “dark” endings. And I don’t
like when a book leaves me hanging because it is the first in a series.
Even if the story is continued, I prefer a certain amount of closure
for each book.
Originality
Kimberly:
It doesn’t bother me if a book has similar themes to other books I’ve
read because, let’s face it, most romances are girl meets boy, girl
loses boy, girl gets boy back. I don’t mind formulaic, but the
characters must be unique and I am sick to death of certain themes:
twenty-nine-year-old woman freaking out that she’s turning thirty and
not yet married, although that might be too close to home for me right
now; love triangle between “safe” guy and “bad” boy because, in my
experience, the “safe” guy is usually a controlling and anal jerk and
the “bad” boy usually has a heart of gold underneath his ripped chest.
BORING.
Meredith:
I agree completely! I also don’t like when a book uses all of the
“classic” chick lit hooks: gay best guy friend, evil boss, shoe
addiction, ridiculously cool and gorgeous best girlfriend. Pick one.
Sub characters/sub plots
Kimberly:
Although there is usually one major plot line, I like when there is
more to the story than just that aspect. For instance, if the main plot
is a romance, I want to see some family or friendship dysfunction as
well. Maybe an annoying younger sister, a loyal best friend or a skank
from high school trying to relive her “glory days.” Or if the main plot
is a main character’s journey to discover what she wants out of life, I
want to see some sex on the side J.
Meredith:
I agree with Kim. One of the reasons I prefer chick lit to straight
romance is that I get bored when all interaction is between the hero and
the heroine. I want to see the heroine succeeding or failing in the
work place, letting off steam with her friends or fighting with her
family. That being said, I don’t like when there are too many subplots
or secondary characters that take focus off of the main story.
And there you have them! Although the above is a summary of what Kim and I consider to be “great” chick lit, there are always exceptions!
My Thoughts:
I loved this book. I loved the way it was written. I loved the Author's voice. I loved the characters the Schorr created, they were real and ones you could get to know and care about. It was awesome to read an amazing chick lit book. It has been awhile for me. This book was engaging, laugh out loud funny, witty and wonderful.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5
A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered her passion for writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related emails way more than she was probably supposed to, and was famous among her friends for writing witty birthday cards. After trying her hand writing children’s stories and blogging her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling writing "real chick lit for real chicks." When she is not hard at work on her current work in progress, Meredith spends her days as a trademark paralegal. She is a loyal New York Yankees fan and an avid runner. Meredith is the author of three published novels, Just Friends with Benefits, A State of Jane and Blogger Girl
Connect with Meredith!
Buy the Book!
**Blogger Girl Kindle edition is now only 99 cents!**
**Blogger Girl Kindle edition is now only 99 cents!**
Meredith Schorr Blog Tour Stops
November 4 – The Little Black Book Blog – Review
November 5 – Book Mama – Review, Guest Post & Excerpt
November 6 – Books in the Burbs – Review & Excerpt
November 7 – The Gothic Ballerina – Guest Post
November 11 – The Outside Lane – Review & Q&A
November 12 – Chick Lit Club Connect – Guest Post
November 18 – Bee’s Knees Reviews – Review, Guest Post &
Excerpt
November 19- Storm Goddess Book Reviews – Review &
Excerpt
November 20- Leigh Bennett – Review, Guest Post &
Excerpt
November 22 – Chick Lit Plus – Review
November 25 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews – Review, Guest Post
& Excerpt
**Everyone who leaves a comment on the tour page will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card! Anyone who purchases their copy of Blogger Girl before November 25 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five bonus entries.**
