Cat's Books: Romance

While I am just this side of Tomboy myself, (my husband describes my style as pretty but sturdy), I appreciate a heroine who clearly invests some of her monthly budget in fashion magazines like so many women of the world do. 

I like quirks in my characters so I think a shoe fetish, clothes addiction, jewelry needs, and the compulsion to wax poetic about housewares are just as good of quirks as any others. 

I, of course, could have filled every slot on this list with Kristen Ashley's ladies and their shopping and long passages on hair alone.  I restrained myself.  I also left off some classics such as Minerva from Jennifer Cruise's Bet Me to make room for some other heroines and their lovely painted toes. 

Being a women with nice nails does not mean she can't be kick ass as well. Many of these heroines are bad ass.

I also like this kind of heroines breaking  of the stereotype that only vapid meanies have fashion sense and the heroine as the girl who needs to made over. 

I like when a couple comes together and they just have to deal with who the other is. This is another plus of this kind of heroine. There is a lot to deal with in terms of her stuff. 

My stepmother takes 2 hours in the bathroom to get ready. We don't know why. It just is. She gets up earlier to allow herself such fun.  Nothing will hurry her. My father lives and loves with that.  I get ready much faster than my husband who tells me he only has one other speed and its slows. And so it goes. 

While I tend to enjoy the girlie girls in Romance, conversely, I hate Chick Lit.  Hate it.  I think it is because the very fashion involved female is the type and plus I am never happy with the couple time and the HEA.  

So, no Chick Lit in this collections. 

I would love your recommendations and if you would like to vote for the best of the best or see a more complete list go to the Goodreads list: Girlie Girls: Romance Heroines who love fashion and may be just a little High Maintenance 

Here is the definition for Chic Lit from Wiki

Chick lit is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly.[1] The genre became popular in the late 1990s, with chick lit titles topping bestseller lists and the creation of imprints devoted entirely to chick lit.[2] Although it sometimes includes romantic elements, chick lit is generally not considered a direct subcategory of the romance novel genre, because the heroine's relationship with her family or friends is often just as important as her romantic relationships.