Customer Reviews

Girls Night In

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The only person I have read is Jennifer Weiner and the reason I bought the book. I of course read that story and the Cat Lady story by Valdes-Rodriguez because I love cats! These stories were ok, but not as good as I expected. I will give a brief run-down of all the stories, just like I did with another short story chick-lit book-Girls About Town.

1. Party Planner-Meg Cabot-4 stars-This was pretty funny. Not especially well written, but funny non-the-less, told through emails.

2. Traveling Light- Carole Mathews- 3 to 3.5 stars- Was ok, but not memorable.

3. Cat Lady- Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez- 3.5 stars- Again just ok. A woman who writes notes to herself, suddenly finds herself in need of a cat. The writing of notes to your future self though was clever.

4. Changing People- Sophie Kinsella- 4 to 4.5 stars- I really did like this one. I have been meaning to read some of her stuff and she has graduated to the top of my list.

5. New York- Jill Davis- 2 stars- Kind of pointless, not engaging or funny. Glad when it was over.

6. Revenge- Emily Barr- 4 stars- Maybe it's the evil streak in me, but I did like this one. I know she didn't mean to do it, and what she had planned seemed fairly harmless, but you just never know what can go wrong.

7. Here Comes Harry- Jessica Adams- 1.5 stars- Did not care for this one. Again kind of pointless, not engaging, not especially well written and not funny. Skip it!

8. Know it All- Sarah Mlynowski- 5 ++++ stars- I absolutely loved this one. I was actually laughing out loud. The ending was perfect when she finally came to the realization she did. I suggest reading this first, middle and last to get you through a lot of the not so great ones.

9. In Agony- Isabelle Wolff- 3 stars- This started out slow, but had a good ironic ending.

10. Dating the Enemy- Lauren Henderson- 1 star- I did not like this one at all, obviously, with the star rating. Too Sex in the City, without any of the wit.

11. From This Moment- Megan McCafferty- 3 stars- This started off too slow (I could have done without all the driving around), but the ending was good and had a good story line.

12. What Goes Around- Louise Bagshawe- 4.5 stars- Another good revenge story!

13. Rudy- Lisa Jewel- 1 star- Pointless, pointless, pointless!!!

14. The Truth is Out There- Marian Keyes- 4.5 stars- I thought this was cute and clever. Another one to add to my list.

15. Here We Are- Linda Curnyn- 1.5 stars- I did not like the story or how it was written.

16. Siren Songs- Stella Duffy- 3 stars- It was ok, but not great. Wasn't banging my head against the wall praying for it to be over like the 18th one.

17. The Marrying Kind- Anna Maxted- 2.5 stars- It was ok, but did not add anything to my life, or cause me joy in anyway.

18. Don't You Know Who I Am- Adele Lang- 0 stars- I am hoping this was supposed to be some tongue in cheek kind of story, but it didn't work for me, and was more pointless and time-wasting then any other story I have read.

19. Good Men- Jennifer Weiner- 3.5 stars- Although the reason I bought the book, I was just so-so on the story. It was written well, but I got confused on the characters and who was doing what and why.

20. Dougie, Spoons, and the Aquarium Solarium- Jenny Colgan- 3 stars- Again, I feel like a broken record...it was ok, but not great.

21. Acting Strangely- Chris Manby- 3.5 stars- This turned out to be a cute story, but it just barely passes my "It was ok" baseline.

The few stories that are excellent are worth buying the book for, especially since it also benefits a charity.

"Girls Night In" is a really great collection of short-stories by some of the most talented and successful women's authors in today's market place. I was eagerly anticipating the book that would tie me over until some of my very favorite authors published a new book. With great stories from Jennifer Weiner (Good In Bed / In Her Shoes / Little Earthquakes), Sophie Kinsella (Shopaholic Books/ Can You Keep A Secret?), Lisa Jewell (Thirty Nothing / Friend of the Family), and Anna Maxted (Getting Over It / Running in Heels / Behaving Like Adults / Being Committed) I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed. And I wasn't.... This collection is a great anytime read that you can pick up and put down without losing your place and the flow of the book. That's what's so great about short-story collections. You can read what and how much you want.

With the proceeds going to charity - this is a great chance to read something amazing and do some good at the same time. Give it a chance --- you'll be really happy you did.

Cheers!

Not only is this collection of short chick lit stories by many of the best authors around, but when you buy a copy, the proceeds go to the "War Child" agency, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children who are victims of war. Some of the authors who have written short stories for this collection are Jennifer Weiner, Sarah Mlynowski, Meg Cabot, Lynda Curnyn, Anna Maxted, Chris Manby, Lisa Jewell, Lauren Henderson, and more. With such a great author line up, who can resist this book? I sure couldn't!

Good Men by Jennifer Weiner explores the male perspective of a well-known character from the novel "Good in bed". Know it All by Sarah Mlynowski was a very interesting story. Shaun has a new roommate named Dee who seems to be psychic. Dee keeps seeing visions of Shaun's recent ex-boyfriend meeting a beautiful readhead. So what does Shaun do? Appears at the place they are supposed to meet and prevent it from taking place. Very interesting results take place. I enjoyed this story about letting go and moving on. In Agony by Isabel Wolff is about Jane, an Agony Aunt with problems of her own she can't solve. New York by Jill Davis is about a week in the life of Anne, a new employee at a glamorous magazine in New York City. Traveling Light by Carole Matthews is a story about Kane and Alice, two people who meet on a train journey and fall in love.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg - there are so many great stories in this book! 21 in all, each story carefully crafted by our favorite chick lit authors. Don't miss this one! This book is one of the September releases from Red Dress Ink.

This was one of the most fun anthologies I've read. Not all the stories are winners, of course, but it was a good book to curl up with! Some of the best ones:
Carole Matthews writes about a woman traveling China and meeting another charming fellow traveler. This story alone is worth buying the book for. Can't get it out of my mind - it's short but definitely sweet.
Sarah Mlynowski writes about a girl with a psychic roommate. This story was highly entertaining and also made me think.
Megan McCafferty's story - which is actually what I bought this book for, since I've loved her other novels - was also good, but not particularly fantastic like her books. It revolves around a wedding singer and is interesting, but not as witty as I'd come to expect from her other books.
Most of the stories in this book were good, but there are also a few losers in there as well (as in every book) - Jill Davis' story was boring, Jennifer Weiner's was not entertaining (but then again, it apparently revolved around one of her book characters, and I haven't read her books), and Anna Maxted's seemed to have no point - just to name a few. While this isn't the anthology to end all anthologies, it was definitely a good read, and full of good chick lit to curl up with at night. I'd recommend this book to chicks everywhere looking for some entertainment! Enjoy it - and perhaps find a new author or two you like! I know I did. Besides, it's for a good cause.

Benefitting War Child, a charity to help kids hurt by war, this anthology brings together the queens of the chick lit world across publisher lines. Some stories play off of their author's past work, others stand alone. By turns they are funny, witty, or depressing. The best advice is to read backwards, if you want to save the best for last, Meg Cabot's entry. If you are a fan of the genre, indulge yourself and help someone doing so.

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

For anyone who loves chick lit, this is a no brainer. I enjoyed some stories more than others, maybe the need to keep the stories short and sweet made them a little too cute and predictable without the time and space to really examine characters. But that's what's so great about this book, with so many stories you're bound to find some you really love. With so many great chick lit authors in one book, and proceeds that go to a worthy cause, you really can't go wrong.

This twenty-one chick lit anthology is a sub-genre's dream as all the tales are well-written and cross the full gamut of topics from breaking up is hard to do to making up is more fun for two, etc. The locations vary from the office to the home, etc. The authors are a who's who with many successes on their résumés. There is even the return of heroes from previous novels.

This reviewer never expected to appreciate a chick lit compilation, but it seems as if the sub-genre is intended for short stories as the fit is perfect. Each tale provides enough insight into the lead protagonist so that the audience obtains strong characters dealing with life's foibles. Finally, as an added incentive earnings will go to War Child, a not for profit organization trying to help young victims of war. Readers will spend several delightful nights in appreciating this fine collection, demand Red Dress follow up with similar tales (such as BIG NIGHT OUT) while supporting the book's worthy cause.

Harriet Klausner

This quick read is a can't miss because the short stories are written in such different voices. No matter what your taste, you'll find a story here to love. Only two of the authors -- Kinsella and Keyes -- were familiar to me. The rest were new and, for the most part, fun and exciting. One story, though, felt a bit out of place and stays with me. "Revenge." This does not deliver the frothy fun of the others. It's darker and perhaps that's why it's more resonant. Also, it's important to remember that when you buy this book, you are helping to support a good cause.

I gave up on Red Dress Ink for a while, for its books were getting quite monotonous, but I couldn't resist this short-story collection featuring several of the best RDI authors and other big names in the chick lit genre. Girls' Night In is the perfect anthology for those who love those single-woman-in-the-city tales. The big bonus is that you get a lot of popular authors here. My favorite stories were "Party Planner," by Meg Cabot; "Changing People," by Sophie Kinsella; "Know It All," by Sarah Mlynowski; "Rudy," by Lisa Jewell; "The Truth Is Out There," by Marian Keyes; and "Good Men," by Jennifer Weiner. But the ones that I liked the most were "Cat Lady," by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (I now cannot wait to read The Dirty Girls' Social Club) and "Don't You Know Who I Am?" by Adele Lang. The two aforementioned stories were the wittiest of them all.

The one big disappointment here is that the stories written by UK authors like Keyes, Colgan, Wolff and others were featured in the three-year-old British version of this anthology. I was also disappointed with Lynda Curnyn's short story. It wasn't what I expected from her. All in all, this is a great book to pick up if you're in the mood for some light, fun reads. Girls' Night In should be devoured during a nice bubble bath. Enjoy!

I know they were short stories but after I finished one section I kept wishing that it would have went on and we could have learned more about the characters. Cat Lady and Party Planner were my favorite stories and I just wish they had them in a longer version.