Finished The Devil in the Junior League by Linda Francis Lee.

Frede (pronounced Freddie) Ward is a member of the ultra-exclusive Junior League of Willow Creek, Texas. Everything about her life is fabulous — until her husband Gordon steals her money, divorces her, and runs off with another woman. Frede’s solution? To get “no class” lawyer Howard Grout to track down Gordon. There’s only one catch — Howard wants Frede to get his less-than-sophisticated wife, Nikki, into the Junior League. While Frede tries to whip Nikki into JL shape, she (rather predictably) learns some lessons about herself.

I have to say that I didn’t like Frede that much. Since the novel is written in first person, that was a major problem. All Frede cares about is being a perfect lady and adhering to the lessons her mother taught her — even though she doesn’t seem to enjoy doing it. At the beginning, she comes off as lifeless and boring as the understated beige clothes she favors.

Take, for example, when she finds out that Gordon is cheating on her. Frede packs up his clothes and tells him to get out in a rather calm manner. It just didn’t ring true for me. This book is set in Texas. I expected a shotgun to come into play somewhere in this scene. Woman scorned, and all that.

Also, Frede finds out near the end that Gordon cheated on her with just about everybody in town. How blind do you have to be not to know your husband has slept with every other woman in the Junior League? I would think somebody would tell you. That seemed a little far-fetched and unrealistic to me, as did what Gordon was planning to do with Frede’s money.

Still, things pick up nicely in the last 100 pages, and it was fun seeing Gordon finally get what he deserves. But overall, I can’t give this one a ringing endorsement.

So, thumbs down.

PS I believe I read somewhere that Jennifer Garner was considering doing a movie based on the book. If she does, it might be one of the rare cases where the movie is actually better than the book.

Up next: Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross.

Finished Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund. I wouldn’t exactly classify this as a YA novel, but it’s not really romance either. Collegiate lit? Chick lit?

Amy Haskell is a typical junior at Eli University, editing the college’s lit magazine and wondering whether she wants to have a real relationship with her “friend with benefits” Brandon.

Then, Amy gets “tapped” or chosen to join Rose & Grave, the most elite secret society at Eli. And her whole life changes. Suddenly, all the cool, rich kids on campus are her friends, and she’s riding around in limos and drinking champagne.

At least until the older members of the society decide to shut Rose & Grave down. Seems the old, white guys don’t think women should be allowed into their club. Sexist pigs! 👿

But Amy, with the help of her new friends, manages to change their minds — or at least circumvent their scheming.

A prestigious, Ivy League-type college that has a plethora of secret societies isn’t a world I’m familiar with, since I attended a Southern university where most of the students were commuters (including moi). But hey, that’s why we read books, right? To get transported to other worlds.

I enjoyed a lot of things about SSG. The college atmosphere was nicely done, as was Amy’s worry about how her new “status” would affect her relationship with her best friend. Amy was a smart, believable character who wasn’t afraid to stand up to people who had a lot more power than she did.

The only thing I didn’t like about Amy was the way she treated Brandon. The nicest, sweetest guy in the world, and she messes up their relationship. I know Amy has her issues, but I wanted to reach into the book, take her by the shoulders, and say “What the heck are you doing?” Then again, most of us don’t know a good thing when we see it.

(And I wanted to know Poe’s real name. If it was in the book, I missed it.)

Anyway, thumbs up.

BTW, the second book in the series, Under the Rose, was just released. Got to help a fellow Chick-Lit writer out. 😀

Up next: The Devil in the Junior League by Linda Francis Lee.

What about you? What are you reading this summer? Inquiring minds want to know …