Promoting Powerful Books by Women about Women
The Heroine Chic Reviews (HCR) story is one of a bookworm in Columbus, Ohio, deciding to share her love of reading women’s points of view in different types of fiction.
Hi, I’m Jessica Burchard, an unabashed bibliophile, eager to connect with you about the power of women sharing their stories.
In April 2023, I decided to take the plunge and build a website from scratch after spending more than a decade creating content for others. HCR is my effort to provide detailed, factually accurate reviews that prioritize plot and characters over opinions and personal politics.
HCR Guidelines
Heroine Chic Reviews is an unsponsored, privately owned website. I read books based on my reading preferences and/or positive buzz I’ve heard from reviewers or on social media.
Each HCR book review has several parts:
- Introduction: Paragraphs naming the book and author and giving a brief overview of the work.
- Plot Summary: Spoiler-free explanation of what happens to whom with some context.
- Character Analysis: A list of main characters and a description of each explaining their roles in the plot.
- Final Thoughts: A summation of my thoughts about the novel.
- Rating: A one-sentence rating of the novel from one to five stars.
- Book Details: The book title, author, year of publication and number of pages.
HCR makes a point of sharing more details than the book jacket copy. The idea is to share honest information to better inform readers so they can decide for themselves if a book is worth their reading time.
Who are my favorite authors
Some of my favorite authors are Dorothy Parker, Shirley Jackson, Gillian Flynn and Mona Awad. Each brings a unique point of view to her writing while allowing her characters to be deeply flawed and memorable.
“Bunny” by Mona Awad was a top read in 2019. The fractured fairy tale story about the power of imagination has lingered in my mind and made me a fan of Awad’s intense, poetic style.
Shirley Jackson’s novels and short stories are classics for a reason. “The Haunting of Hill House” is my favorite of her novels, but “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” is a close second. Jackson crafts troubled fleshed out heroines who are treated unfairly and respond in genuine ways.
American poet and short story writer Dorothy Parker has endured for a century. The Jewish New Yorker’s barbs are famous for the cruelty and directness. Of her immense collection of stories, I adore “A Telephone Call” and “You Were Perfectly Fine.”
Why did I create Heroine Chic Reviews
Rather than limiting myself to posting on Goodreads, I created a space where I could write longer, more in-depth reviews of my recent reads. My book critiques on Heroine Chic Reviews are deliberately detailed with character and plot broken into different sections and the rating at the end.
For me, there’s nothing better than reading a multi-faceted female character that elicits feelings of sympathy, frustration and confusion. Fiction eliciting feelings of authentic experience endure incredibly well.
Where do I get my books
I visit Bexley Public Library, Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Main Branch, Grandview Heights Public Library, and even use OhioLink to check out books that catch my eye. I research new releases on Lit Hub, Kirkus Reviews, and through book review channels on YouTube. Heroine Chic Reviews includes a mixture of new and old releases with novels, novellas, stories, and other works represented.
