I’m the first to admit that I love “chick lit.”  I don’t know if it’s my over-identification with the romantic troubles or the universal themes, but I love it.  I feel like it went out of fashion for a while, but that in the last several years, women’s commercial fiction has really made a come back– and I’m loving it!

All of this leads me to my latest read: Circle the Date.   The book follows the relationship woes and business complications of two best friends, Patsy and Lesley, who run a wedding planning (and expanding event planning) business. Having done a lot of event planning at this point in my life, I took particular pleasure in reading about the complications that invariably occur when planning something that has to be “perfect.”

Both Patsy and Lesley have eight year old daughters– Patsy is married to Tom and Lesley is a single mother following an acrimonious divorce from the wandering-eyed Eric.  In terms of personalities, they are worlds apart, but they share a passion for their kids, their business and for avoiding the “shiny moms” from the PTA. While Lesley has no time (or patience) for romantic imaginings of “What if,” the less than satisfied Patsy indulges in (mostly) harmless romantic pining… pretty much any time a man is nice to her (ie “I’m in love with the gardener,” “I’m in love with the butcher,” etc.).  I find myself identifying with both women: I have no time for it, but a healthy round of “What if?” has never gone wasted in my world either.

It’s a fun romp through life’s complications (that are not so easily dispatched) with something so girl-awful (romantically speaking) at the beginning that I actually laughed out loud and said, “Oh, that’s horrible.” It’s not because I’m mean (though, I am), but rather I could completely identify with that “You have got to be f***ing kidding me” feeling.  I know absolutely how I would react in that situation. I couldn’t put the book down after that point.

The book is available now. If you click on the picture, it should take you to the Amazon.com link. Susie Beaty Green is a new author, and I have a soft spot for those. She’s also a regular columnist now over at motherhoodismessy.com. Enjoy!