Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin made a good showing at the box office this weekend (go see it -it’s really cute, and John Krasinski is a doll.).  It’s chick lit with a bit of a twist – the chick cheating with her best friend’s fiancé is actually the sympathetic character here.  (When I read this back in 2004, I really, really wanted to hate it, because come on, who roots for the Other Woman??  But I couldn’t, because Giffin absolutely manages to tell the story in an engaging, charming way.)  Here’s some chick lit that features friends you wouldn’t want to have.

In Marisa De Los Santos’ Belong to Me, Cornelia and Teo are a happy suburban couple. When Cornelia meets the beguiling and mysterious free spirit Lake, the two women become fast friends. Unfortunately, Lake has ulterior motives and is keeping a big secret from her new friend.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah  is the story of Tully and Kate, inseparable childhood friends.  Kate, however, falls in love with Tully’s ex-boyfriend. Fast forward 30 years and Tully betrays Kate on live television when she accuses her of being a bad mother. Will their friendship ever recover?

Jane Heller’s Best Enemies finds Amy catching her fiancé and her best friend Tara in bed together.  In time, Tara marries the lout, and Amy becomes a top PR woman. When Tara writes a book about her perfect lifestyle—a total lie, by the way—Amy is, naturally, assigned to promote it.

Marian Keyes writes some of my favorite chick lit novels.  In The Other Side of the Story, Lily, an author, stole her best friend Gemma’s man.  Gemma starts writing funny emails about her breakup that land on the desk of Lily’s agent Jojo, much to Lily’s jealous dismay, since she is struggling to write her second book… and also finding that life with Gemma’s ex is not at all what she expected.

The Myth of You & Me by Leah Stewart is literary chick lit.  Cameron and Sonia were childhood best friends from until they had a huge falling out after college.  After not speaking for 10 years, Sonia sends Cameron a letter announcing her engagement, prompting Cameron to track her down and unravel the real reason behind the end of their friendship.

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Of all of the 352 pages, my husband just had to decide to peak over my shoulder when Phoebe Millbury finally succumbs to her passion for the rogueish Rafe Marbrook, bastard brother of the Marquis of Brookhaven. We were on a plane, and he was so shocked that I would be reading such racy content in public that he literally sputtered. I just raised a libariany eyebrow and kept reading. The first in a trilogy, Celeste Bradley’s Desperately Seeking a Duke introduces three cousins who must be the first to marry a duke in order to inherit the family fortune. Pheobe, a vicar’s daughter, is the star of this saucy tale of love, lust, and ridiculous 19^th-century inheritance law.

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Covet, the first book in J.R. Ward’s new “Fallen Angels” series debuted on the New York Times’ Paperback Best Seller list last week.

In the latest from the erotic paranormal romance writer (her words), tough guy Jim Heron’s performance on seven tasks will determine the fate of the world. If he’s successful, the angels win and hell and its minions disappear. If he fails, the demons win and the world as we know it and all the angels up in heaven go bye-bye.

His first mission is to save the soul of driven businessman Vin diPietro. At first Heron thinks he is supposed to help Vin commit to his mysterious girlfriend Devina. But no, Vin’s soulmate is really Marie-Terese, an abused single mother on the run from her her powerful ex who only works as a prostitute to keep her son safe. (And, yes, the movie “Pretty Woman” is referenced half a dozen times.)

The book is a traditional romance in that the main story becomes the relationship between Vin and Marie-Terese and they do get their happily ever after. There are several steamy sex scenes, but fewer than one might expect in nearly 500 pages from a best-selling erotic romance writer. Faithful readers of Wards’ Black Dagger Brotherhood series will enjoy the focus on alpha-males on a mission. Fans of both series may also enjoy:

Lara Adrian
Midnight Breed series
Book 1 “Kiss of Midnight”

Keri Arthur
Riley Jenson series
Book 1 “Full Moon Rising”

Christina Dodd
Chosen Ones series
Book 1 “Storm of Visions”

Christine Feehan
Carpathians series
Book 1 “Dark Prince”

Sherrilyn Kenyon
Dark-Hunter series
Book 1 “Night Pleasures”

Alexis Morgan
Paladins fo Darkness series
Book 1 “Dark Protector”

C.E. Murphy
Negotiator Trilogy
Book 1 “Heart of Stone”

Lynn Viehl
Darkyn series
Book 1 “If Angels Burn”

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