review 1: Better Off Without HIm is an older chicklit, so maybe hen lit. Husband unexpectedly announces he wants a divorce and leaves the heroine for a much younger, chic French woman. Mona is distraught at first, but then begins to realize the wisdom in her crew of friend’s words, “You’re better off without him.”. Mona is a hard protagonist to feel sorry for or even connect with. She is wealthy in her own right even without her husband’s money. She has a dream job, romance novelist, a beach house, and a plethora of hunky men waiting to help her pick up the pieces. High on romance and a “you go girl” vibe, but low on realism. Overall, an okay, quick read. review 2: Readable Middle Aged Chick Lit.To me, Chick-Lit describes books written about twenty-s... moreomethings. Or maybe up to mid-thirty-somethings at best. Once the main character moves beyond that age the term "chick", which is already slightly insulting, becomes even more so. But there isn't another genre to describe this, except for "Contemporary Fiction", which is entirely too vague. It definitely isn't a romance novel. There isn't much romance in it. Maybe it is a "coming of middle-aged" novel.Whatever the label, this was a well written, enjoyable, easy to read, fluffy with just a little weight to it, book. The characters were portrayed realistically and sympathetically. Even the "bad guy", whom I suppose is the ex, had his better moments.My only complaint was that the romantic interest comes to play at the very end of the book. It seemed to be an afterthought. I imagined an editor or publisher reading the draft and saying "This is really good, but it needs some romance", so rather than weave a romantic component throughout the book, the author added two more pages at the end of the book that dealt with the heroine's budding romance. I would have liked it better if she just left that out entirely.I thought the narrator did a very good job. Other than the anti-climactic romance element, I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. less
