One of the things that turned me off what I call “older woman chick lit” is it’s so formulaic you can feel like you’re reading the same story over and over. It’s usually middle aged lady with a lovely home, lovely children flown the nest, lovely hubby and quirky single best friend suddenly finds her life turned upside down due to either her husband dying, leaving her or losing all their money. After a few chapters of crying/struggling, quirky friend usually says something like “but Daphne, you’re a wonderful cook, why not set up your own business cooking for dinner parties/baking cakes OR the heroine has been painting or making pots for years, thinking she was no good, then suddenly gets discovered and her work sells for thousands. Along the way she will usually acquire a cute dog or cat, a run down but charming cottage that she revamps on a shoestring and of course an incredibly attractive new man because OF COURSE our heroine may be any age between 45 and 65 but she does not look it being slim, gorgeous, stylish.
I know it’s nice to escape into fantasy but I wish there was some originality