The 4 Best Chick-Lit Authors

Chick-Lit is a newer sub-genre of fiction geared toward women that addresses common issues in love, family, and relationships. The chick-lit genre does often border on romance, but overall tends to focus more on difficult situations that the women protagonists usually overcome.

Here are my 4 favorite authors from the chick-lit genre. These women write intelligent, intriguing novels with unforgettable heroines.


1) Kathleen Tessaro

With beautiful prose and genuine, unforgettable, romantic stories that suck you in, novels written by Kathleen Tessaro are perfect for all your moods -- especially the sad ones. Each of Tessaro's four novels are extremely feminine and will make you feel even more beautiful after reading them. Another great component about Tessaro's novels is that her protagonists are intelligent women and lack the ditzy ramblings, mishaps and silliness prevalent in most other chick-lit novels. Although all of Tessaro's novels are stand-alone novels and can be read in any order, I recommend starting with The Flirt (2007) because it's my favorite!

Other novels written by Tessaro include:
Elegance
Innocence
The Debutante
The Perfume Collector
Rare Objects

Our reviews of Kathleen Tessaro:
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- The Debutante
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- The Flirt

2) Isabel Wolff

Novels by Isabel Wolff seem to get classier with every new release. If you enjoy reading the light-hearted and humorous spectrum of chick-lit, I definitely recommend beginning with Wolff's first novel, The Trials of Tiffany Trott (1998) and reading her novels in the order in which she wrote them. Although each of Wolff's novels are stand-alone, you will appreciate her talent in addition to her stories, which have progressively become better and better as the years have passed. Another bonus to reading Wolff is that most of her novels are typically longer than average at over 400 pages, yet the pace of her stories are comfortable and perfect, so its highly unlikely you'll zip through it too fast or on the flip-side, grow bored.

My favorite novels by Isabel Wolff are:

Out of the Blue
Rescuing Rose
A Vintage Affair
The Very Picture of You
Ghostwritten

Our review of A Vintage Affair:
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- A Vintage Affair

3) Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern writes some of the saddest novels I've ever read, so make sure you have a box of tissues nearby when you read her books. P.S. I Love You (which was also made into a movie starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler) is one of my all-time favorite novels about a young woman who loses her husband to a fatal illness and is told to perform certain tasks by her husband through a series of letters he leaves to her before his death. The rest of Ahern's novels are just as enchanting and some even contain elements of fantasy which make for highly original and entertaining reading. Since Ahern resides in Ireland, most of her novels have alternate titles depending on where you live.

My other favorite novels by Ahern are:

Love, Rosie (2004)
If You Could See Me Now (2005)
The Time of My Life (2011)
The Marble Collector (2015)

Ahern recently released the sequel to P.S. I Love You, called Postscript. Awesome!! I can't wait to read it!

Our past reviews of Cecelia Ahern:
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- If You Could See Me Now
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- There's No Place Like Here

4) Beth Harbison

I'm a huge fan of Beth Harbison, especially after reading her first novel, Shoe Addicts Anonymous. All of Beth Harbison's novels are like chick-lit candy; they're hilarious, fun, light, and in some cases, nostalgic for readers in their 30s and 40s. Harbison's novels are pure entertainment and the perfect pick-me-up for any occasion or mood you may be in. As a personal preference, I tend to veer away from chick-lit that is too ridiculous and over-the-top unreal, but in Harbison's case I make an exception because she's got a loving, carefree and humorous style. Better yet, Harbison is an author you will buy without reading the synopsis of her novels because each one is guaranteed to please no matter what the case.

Here are my other favorite Harbison novels:
Secrets of a Shoe Addict (2008)
Hope in a Jar (2009)
Thin, Rich, Pretty (2010)
Always Something There to Remind Me (2011)
If I Could Turn Back Time (2015)
One Less Problem Without You (2016)
Every Time You Go Away (2018)

Our reviews of Beth Harbison:
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- Always Something There to Remind Me
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- Thin, Rich, Pretty
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- Secrets of a Shoe Addict
Dreamworld Book Reviews -- Shoe Addicts Anonymous

Who are your favorite chick-lit authors?