Now I often turn to Lindsey Kelk when I need to to be carried away on a ‘chick lit’ journey which does not require too much concentration and I want to relax.
I don’t want anyone to think this is because Lindsey is not a skilled author – she is very clever and her books are extremely popular for a good reason.
There is a talent to building a world the reader wants to be a part of and when you read Lindsey’s novels, they spirit you away into someone else’s life with all its dramas and challenges and a therapeutic dose of wit.
However you are always pretty much guaranteed a happy ending and lot of laughter – something we all need right now.
I may be a massive lover of the crime and thriller genre and the classics but chick lit was one of my first loves , even if I hate the phrase chick lit which is a perhaps tone deaf in 2020.
This is excellent story writing by a woman for women and not to be underestimated.
What Lindsey does so well is makes her characters inherently likeable and compelling , you want to be them and be in their world and you are left with a feeling there may be hope for you too. They feel like your friends.
Lindsey and therefore her characters don’t take life too seriously though the subject matter are realistic enough – but there is an undercurrent of sarcasm and some laugh out loud humour thats runs through her writing throughout.
Her run to success was with her first novels I heart New York and the subsequent series which I very much enjoyed.
But today I am talking about The single girl’s to-do-list, which is not a new release, it dates back to 2011.
She has many newer books available, including a number of childrens’ books.
In case you missed it is the name of her new adult release and just about to if not already hitting the virtual shelves
The single girl’s to-do list is a standalone story unlike the I Heart series and focuses on make-up artist Rachel Summers and the breakup of her so called perfect relationship.
The supporting cast are her beautiful long term friend Emelie who is is inexplicably in love with Rachel’s waste of time brother and their rich, gay and unemployed best friend Matthew.
Like all good chick lit supporting characters they each have their own journey to make.
The story starts as Rachel and her boyfriend Simon go on a break – you can see the influence of Friends here – it’s not the last time the TV show is referenced via its humour.
So cruelly cast aside by the man she thought she would marry, list-obsessed Rachel and her friends decide to draw her up a single girls to do list to get her spirits back up which end up taking her on a series of disastrous but ultimately uplifting adventures that even take her to Canada to chase ‘the one that got away’.
Readers of the I Heart series will also enjoy the appearance of popular character Jenny Lopez who make a surprise cameo.
As always I’m not going to give away the story – and there is a drama on every page – but if you are looking for escape during the lockdown Lindsay Kelk is a great go to and this is a good standalone example of her work.
Lindsay Kelk herself is a huge presence online – she now lives in LA with her American husband and chronicles her day to day life via Instagram and Twitter.
She is also a make-up blogger and a massive wrestling fan and hosts two Podcasts to that end – Full Coverage and Tights and fights on the Maximum Fun network
The days when authors simply wrote books are long-gone.
So that’s my Lockdown Read of the week – the Single Girl’s To do list available in all the usual places and not a new release so not to pricy.
But if you are generally looking for a fantastic example of well-written and escapist women’s fiction, any of Lindsey Kelk’s back catalogue should be a go-to.
