Getting Even with Fran - Christine Stinson (2010)

It's been 30 years since these seven women left school - surely they can get along now. Lawyer Cecilia, whose husband has just revealed a shocking secret, is heading to the reunion to settle an old score with her nemesis, Fran. Kerry wants to lose her fat girl tag for good while her former best friend Nellie is facing a cancer scare. Bad girl Sharon is still feeling guilty - this time about putting her ailing mother into a home - but is ready to stare down do-gooder Anne, who has retained her saintly status by marrying a doctor and raising seven children. Then there's Barb, who doesn't want anyone to know that her life hasn't exactly turned out how she planned. This masterful character development sets the scene beautifully but perhaps like a real-life school reunion, when the women finally get together, the moment fails to live up to expectations.

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Getting Mad, Getting Even - Annie Sanders (2009)

Georgie and Flick run a Domestics Angels agency - providing help to clients on the home front doing everything from feeding a pet to overseeing renovation work. But one day, a woman requests their help to get back at her cheating husband. And so as word spreads, the pair get caught up in a more "Avenging Angels" role which sees them lurking around public toilets and pole-dancing in a club. But one of the humiliated husbands seems to want his own payback on Georgie and Flick. And it seems the need to get revenge is so much closer to home for one of them. It's written in the authors' usual easy-to-read and light-hearted style, but the storyline all worked out that bit too neatly at the end.

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Getting Married - Theresa Alan (2007)

Is marriage the tomb of love? With divorced parents and a whole bunch of friends going through relationship failures, Eva Lockart would never want to experience it personally - but that was before Will came into the picture. Thoughtful, generous, sexy, Will possesses every quality she wants in a man. When he proposes, Eva immediately accepts. But when the wedding preparations begin, she starts to get ridiculously stressed out and starts to question whether her own marriage will turn out to be the mistake of her life. Normally chick lit books dealing with wedding themes don't discuss these fears and the effects of a divorce. But this book does. A rather interesting read but the exaggeration gets too much during some parts of the book. (XT)

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Getting Over Mr Right - Chrissie Manby (2010)

Ashleigh finds out via Facebook that she's been dumped by the guy she thought was Mr Right. But unable to just walk away, she embarks on an obsessive campaign to win Michael back and is more than willing to stalk her prey - both in real life and cyberspace. As she works through all the stages of a break-up - from denial when she turns up at his office to propose, through to anger when she constructs a voodoo doll - much more than her love life starts to suffer. This is the perfect book for those wanting to move on to the laughter stage. It's a light-hearted read that provides a very funny take on being dumped.

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Getting Rid of Matthew - Jane Fallon (2007)

Helen has been having a secret affair with a married man - her former boss - for the past four years. So when Matthew finally leaves his wife, Sophie, and moves in with Helen, you think she'd be delighted. But now she's decided she doesn't want him anymore. So Helen embarks on a campaign to get rid of Matthew, including befriending his wife. One of the best releases of 2007.

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Getting Warmer - Carol Snow (2007)

After ending a four-year relationship with her Harvard graduate boyfriend Ron, and losing both her job and apartment, Natalie Quackenbush finds herself with no choice other than to move into her parents' home in Arizona; and paying for her piling debts through teaching English at a local high school. To compensate for her dull life, she and friend Jill often lie about their own identities by making up a series of incredible stories whenever guys try to pick them up at bars. However, when Natalie falls in love with an incredibly attractive guy, she finds herself spinning more lies about herself - teaching at a prison and living with her mentally insane mum. It turns out that this guy, Jonathan, is in fact falling in love with her. Will Natalie be able to tell him the truth or will she be trapped in her own lies? (XT)

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Gilding Lily - Tatiana Boncompagni (2008)

Lily Bartholomew is at her wits end. Her out-of-work husband Robert refuses to make moves to get a job and his manipulative mother Josephine is the mother-in-law from hell. Josephine has made it very clear that Lily is not the woman for her son. After Josephine gives Robert a Porsche, Lily decides that it is time for her to start working again so she gets in contact with an editor and starts writing about the New York socialites that include her mother-in-law in their social-climbing circle. When she starts to unveil some not-so-flattering secrets that the socialites take part in, she starts to wonder if she has gone too far. A great tale of the glitz and glam of New York high society and the lengths some will go to to continue that lifestyle. (CG)

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Girl From Mars - Julie Cohen (2009)

Comic book illustrator Fil Brown hangs out with her nerdy friends - winning pub quizzes and watching X-Files marathons. When one of the usually socially inept group, Stevo, drifts away after finding himself a mate, she and the others, Jim and Digger, swear a pact (partly in Klingon) that they will forsake all romantic relationships. On the workfront, Fil finds her comic Girl From Mars is about to get a big shake-up, thanks to the grandson of the creator, who wants to inject some romance into the heroine's life - and as it turns out Fil's as well. Read this for a totally different type of heroine. You may well get into the Girl From Mars comic story just as much as Fil's.

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Girl in a Spin - Clodagh Murphy (2010)

Jenny Hannigan is a super-sexy party girl who has men falling at her feet but all she really wants is a life of domestic bliss - the kind of life she never experienced as a child. When she meets Richard Allam, she thinks she's met the one she wants to spend her life with. Trouble is, Richard is a politician who's hotly tipped to lead the Moderate Party to victory in an upcoming election, and Jenny isn't exactly politician's wife material - unlike Richard's ex, the perfect Julia. In a bid to endear Jenny to the public and his party colleagues, Richard recruits publicist Dev Tennant to spin Jenny as the type of partner a political leader should have. But Dev has his work cut out for him with Jenny, and as more and more secrets from her past emerge, Dev finds himself working overtime to keep the truth hidden. Can Dev possibly turn a party girl like Jenny into a political party woman? As the election looms and Richard becomes increasingly caught up in his workload, Jenny is forced to ask herself if a future with Richard is what she really wants after all. Clodagh Murphy has a gift for creating leading characters that you can't help but love, and I was rooting for Jenny all the way through the book as she navigated her strange new world of politics. The supporting characters provide many humorous moments and will have you chuckling your way through the book. (SBB)

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Girl Most Likely To - Poonam Sharma (2007)

Vina Chopra has built a successful 70-hour-a-week career as a Wall Street investment banker but is now looking for a life partner. She's even desperate enough to allow her Indian parents to set her up on dates. But while her focus is on her romantic life, including an ex with a secret and an in-the-closet gay, Vina gets caught up in a scandal that could ruin her career.

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Girls in Trucks - Katie Crouch (2008)

In this coming-of-age novel, Sarah Walters is a reluctant Camellia Society debutante in South Carolina. The society teaches children of a certain social standing how to fox trot, greet adults and wear white gloves - and be prepared for a socially acceptable marriage. The chapters progress in a series of vignettes, from the death of a cousin and worshipping her older sister Eloise who dates a black man, to moving to New York with her best friend Charlotte to work as an editorial assistant and her obsession with preppy Max. Then a series of tragic events bring her home to Charleston. Reminds me a lot of Melissa Bank's The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing.

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Glamour - Louise Bagshawe (2007)

Texan glamour girl Sally Lassiter, smart English girl Jane Morgan and Jordanian beauty Helen Yanna meet at a rich Beverly Hills high school. The three girls form a pact to stick together. Financial catastrophe forces Jane and Sally to drop out of school while Helen is forced into an arranged marriage and sent to Egypt. Over the next few years, the girls individually obtain incredible business success. The three women find each other years later in LA and join forces to open a luxurious store, Glamour. Love, success and power complicate the lives of these women as they struggle to keep their friendship. (AO)

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Glitz - Louise Bagshawe (2008)

The Chambers cousins - socialite Juno, academic Athena, wannabe actress Venus and trendy Diana - have spent the past few years being trust fund princesses courtesy of their reclusive Uncle Clem. But now he has announced that he's picked a young bride, Bai-Ling, and within the year their annual half-a-million-pound allowance will end. The four women hope to stop the wedding by humiliating Bai-Ling in London society and in order to show they are not threatened by the loss of the trust fund they each take on careers. There's a few plot holes amid the glitz but grab it if you're looking to read about designer clothes, powerful men, glamorous careers, lavish property and what it's like to be rolling in money.

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Gloss - Jennifer Oko (2007)

How on earth did breakfast TV producer Annabelle Kapner end up in jail suspected of being linked to a terrorist organisation? All she was doing was researching a story about an American cosmetics group which has set up a number of beauty parlours and laboratories in Fardish refugee camps. But her discovery, via her own Deep Throat, that some of the Fardish girls now have disfigured lips sees her make a Watergate-style raid. After she is arrested and the Glossgate scandal develops, all the media seem to focus on is her romance with hot vice-presidential speechwriter Mark Thurber. Will the truth ever be uncovered? The plot is quite convoluted but read it for the insider's view of the ratings-driven world of TV networks where hosts will do anything to stay in the chair and viewers send in the most ridiculous letters.

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Gods In Alabama - Joshilyn Jackson (2005)

Arlene Fleet made a pact with God before leaving her hometown, Possett, Alabama. Now, 12 years later, Arlene resides in Chicago with her African-American boyfriend, Burr, and has kept to her promises faithfully. However, when Burr asks to see her family or threatens to end the relationship, Arlene has no choice but to go back to her hometown, to confront her past and fears. Even though the plot was interesting, with a moderate blend of chick lit and crime, some may find it a confusing read due to the constant change in timeline, between present and past. (XT)

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Going Home - Harriet Evans (2005)

Lizzy Walters heads home for Christmas, after breaking up with her boyfriend, David. But it looks far from a quiet Christmas at Keeper House, with her parents planning to sell the family home, her cousin announcing he's gay and her uncle turning up with a new wife.

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Going It Alone - Clare Dowling (2008)

Millie has a drawer-full of aids to assist in her baby-making activities - sperm-friendly lubricant, ovulation predictor kits, pre-natal vitamins and pregnancy tests. And husband Andrew has been until now willing to drop everything and leap into action when Day 14 arrives. But when Andrew gets a job posting to Germany, he decides to go alone. This leaves Millie without a partner just as her biological clock is ticking down. So she also decides to go it alone - to a sperm donation clinic in Spain.

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Going Too Far - Catherine Alliott (1994)

Polly Penhalligan has given up her advertising career and moved to her husband Nick's farm in Cornwall. But things start to go awry when her best friend convinces Polly to allow the farmhouse to be used for a commercial dog food shoot - and she gets a bit too close to film director Sam.

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Gold Diggers - Tasmina Perry (2007)

Every woman is out to get Adam Gold, a New York billionaire who has just moved to London. Glamorous Karin, one of the women vying for his affections, is a successful fashion entrepreneur who is trying to overcome speculation that she killed her husband. Erin has dreams of being the next literary star and soon finds that although working as Adam's PA has its downsides, the perks are something she may not be able to walk away from. Molly is a fading 80s fashion model who has been holding on to the past and is reluctant to give up her throne to her aspiring model daughter Summer. When Summer catches Adam's eye, will her mother step aside? A great book about sex, drugs and money with a twist at the end. (CG)

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Goodbye Jimmy Choo - Annie Sanders (2004)

Bohemian copy editor Isabel Stock meets designer-clad interior designer Maddy Hoare at a ladies' lunch. Both are fish out of water, having moved to the countryside for their husbands' careers. Then when Maddie finds herself widowed, she uncovers her great-grandmother's book of French recipes for cosmetics and the women form a natural cosmetic company.

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Good Girls Gone Bad - Jillian Medoff (2002)

Actuary Janey Fabey joins group therapy with Dr Hensen because she keeps imagining how she would kill herself. There she meets Suzanna, aka The Dream Weaver, who prefers the company of her dog to men; Laura, who is a top performer in the one-night-stand Olympics; Bethany, a 40-year-old divorcee who still lives with her mother; Valentine, a fat woman who can't stop eating; Ivy, a southern belle addicted to cosmetic surgery; and Natasha, who fears germs. Together, the group help each other battle their personal problems but one day take it all too far.

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Good Grief - Lolly Winston (2004)

aka Sophie's Bakery for the Broken Hearted

What do you do when your husband dies three years into your happily-ever-after? If you are Sophie Stanton, you try to be the gracious young widow, carrying yourself with dignity and elegance. When that doesn't work out quite as planned, you have the requisite nervous breakdown. Once the grief subsides enough where you can get out of bed again, you take a long look at your life and begin to figure out what's next. Sophie packs up her house and her grief and heads north to Ashland, Oregon, to live with her best friend, Ruth. In the process of reinventing her life, she becomes a Big Sister to 13-year-old pyromaniac Crystal, befriends charming thespian Drew, and begins a new career in the pastry business, all of which lead to her comedic, chaotic and heartwarming path back to the rest of her life. Sophie's story is utterly delightful, heartfelt and uplifting. A true testament to what can happen when you are forced to examine what you want your life to be. (LEK)

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Good in Bed - Jennifer Weiner (2001)

Plus-sized culture reporter Cannie Shapiro is horrified when her ex-boyfriend Bruce writes a magazine column on the topic of Loving a Larger Woman. Amid the humiliation, Cannie decides it's time to change some things in her life. She joins a weight-loss program, gets stuck into writing a screenplay and befriends a Hollywood actress. And just as she decides she's better off without Bruce, he brings an unexpected complication into her life.

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Good Little Wives - Abby Drake (2007)

A murder mystery comes to New Falls when police find Kitty standing over the body of her ex-husband Vincent holding a smoking gun. Was this an act of revenge because she lost her social standing when he dumped her for a much younger woman, hairdresser Yolanda. But Kitty swears she didn't kill him and her friend Dana tries to help prove her innocence. Meanwhile Lauren, who is married to an older widower with a large family, admits to an affair with Vincent. Suddenly the finger of suspicion begins to point at the other trophy wives too, including committee queen Caroline who has quickly distanced herself from the case, and Bridget, who says she lied about her whereabouts to keep her illness a secret. When all the secrets are revealed will this also uncover the killer?

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Goodnight, Beautiful - Dorothy Koomson (2008)

Nova agreed to be a surrogate for her childhood friend Mal and his wife Stephanie. But during the pregnancy, Stephanie changes her mind and Nova is left to raise the baby, Leo, herself. Stephanie apparently panicked when she saw a text message from Mal to Nova, saying "goodnight, beautiful" and demanded that he cut all ties with Nova and the baby. Now with seven-year-old Leo in a coma, will his father finally return to their lives? And was that text message the only reason that fragile Stephanie feared having a baby in her life? Told from both Nova and Stephanie's viewpoints in a way that will keep readers on their toes, this tearjerker is the author's best yet.

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Goodnight Nobody - Jennifer Weiner (2006)

Kate Klein is a mother of three under five and is married to political consultant Ben. They move from New York to Connecticut after she is pram-mugged. Finding it hard to fit in, Kate is invited to lunch by Kitty Cavanaugh because they share 'an acquaintance'. But when she arrives, she discovers Kitty has been stabbed to death. Despite the warnings of the police chief and her husband to leave the crime-fighting to professionals, Kate launches an investigation - delving into Kitty's double life while the kids are at nursery school.

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Gossip - Ros Reines (2006)

Ros Reines worked as a gossip columnist for a Sydney newspaper so news of her debut novel had many wondering how much of it would be fiction. Her heroine, Venous Ventura, is a gossip columnist for the Sunday Observer. She enrols in an exclusive self-help course at Byron Bay at the behest of her boyfriend - former rock star Larry. Tagged The Bitch, she joins fellow guests, including her nemesis, fashion designer Ruby Star (Abusive) and football star Todd Straw (Unfaithful), in facing their demons. And of course Venous is not only determined to keep breaking celebrity stories, such as J.Lo's arrival in town, while she's on the retreat but she's also desperate to dish the dirt on Ruby's secret.

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Gossip Hound - Wendy Holden (2003)

Also known as Fame Fatale

Book publicist Grace Armiger can't get anyone interested in her collection of oddball authors. Her life at home with scruffy boyfriend Sion isn't much better and she's just had an inappropriate one-night stand with one of her writers. So when she is sent to Paris to liaise with film star Red Campion over his book, she thinks her life may be looking up. But ruthless tabloid reporter Belinda Black also has Red in her sights.

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Got You Back - Jane Fallon (2008)

When Stephanie discovers a suspicious message on her husband James' mobile, she tracks down the female caller and finds that he has been living a double life. He spends the early part of the week living with his girlfriend Katie in a rural town while he runs his vet practice, then the rest of the week in London with Stephanie and their son Finn. Stephanie convinces a shocked Katie not to tell James what they have uncovered - instead they join forces to make his life hell first. But then one starts taking the revenge a bit too far and James' life really starts falling apart. It'll keep you reading to find out whether revenge is indeed sweet but I would have preferred a bigger showdown or twist at the end.

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Greek: Double Date - Marsha Warner (2010)

Casey agrees to go to an engineering awards dinner with her brother's geeky roommate, Dale, who couldn't get a date himself. Her only comfort lies in the fact that she has a hot date with Rob to the All Greek formal the next day. Only due to unforeseen food poisoning, the dates change and both events happen on the same night, making Casey chose between the two, or be forced to go on a double date. With Casey's ex Cappie never far from her mind either, she wonders just exactly who might capture her heart by the end of the night. Greek really is a guilty pleasure, if you like watching it on TV, then you'll probably like the book too. It's an easy read and is much like watching an episode. So much so that you get a bit disappointed at the ending, as of course, like a TV episode, it leaves it wide open for the next instalment. (AB)

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Growing Up Again - Catriona McCloud (2007)

Janie Lawson tells her husband Ludo that she is leaving him after 14 years of marriage. The next morning she wakes up back in her childhood room and finds it's 1981 and she's a teenager again. It may be too late to save Elvis but Janie decides to warn Princess Diana and prevent many of the world's tragedies. Janie also welcomes a second chance in her personal life. For one, maybe she can help her parents find their bliss. Oh and she could be nicer to that geeky classmate Danny, invest in some sure-thing shares and devise the odd ratings-winning TV show. But most of all Janie wants to do things differently with Ludo. Soon Janie realises that even second time around, nothing is guaranteed. The explanation of how and why Janie has time travelled is not really explained satisfactorily (but then again this isn't sci-fi), and as a teen of the 80s I'd have liked to have seen more 80s cultural references. But don't miss out on reading this - unlike Janie, you may not get a second chance.

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Growing Up Twice - Rowan Coleman (2002)

Jenny, Rosie and Selin grew up together, getting dressed up for Friday nights, drinking too much and talking about boys. Now approaching their 30s, Jenny realises much hasn't changed over the past decade. She is still in her dead-end office job, still drinking too much and she's even got her eye on a wholly inappropriate boy, 18-year-old Michael. Then Rosie announces she's pregnant as Selin, the responsible one, increasingly draws away from them. Jenny realises it's time for her to grow up but it may just take a tragedy for this to happen.

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Gucci Mamas - Cate Kendall (2007)

If you think that superficial breed of status-obsessed yummy mummy is native only to Manhattan and London, then think again. In Melbourne, Mim Woolcott sends her children to a prestigious private school, where it is mandatory for the mums to keep up with the latest fashions, drive an expensive car, attend charity events and bitch about who gets the biggest photo in the social pages. But big cracks are appearing in Mim's picture-perfect life. Husband James is working ever longer hours but even his big salary can't keep pace with the family's spending - plus he's wondering what's happened to the laid-back woman he married. And it seems Mim is not the only school mum with problems on her gold-rimmed plate. A timely message about the perils of living in a materialistic world amid lots of label name-dropping and catty behaviour.

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Guilty Pleasures - Tasmina Perry (2008)

Cassandra, editor of Rive magazine, has been waiting for the chance to boost her fame and fortune for years. She has believed that her uncle Saul Milford would leave his luxury goods company to her. So when he dies and leaves it to her cousin Emma, she is furious and starts to scheme to have her fail. Emma left England long ago, and had no desire to inherit the company. But now she wants to prove her family wrong and make the business succeed. Or will she have to give the company to the one person she has been trying to live up to her whole life? Tasmina Perry really sucks you into the fictional lives she creates. (CG)

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