What ridiculously trashy books/authors do you love?

[Sadik]

Not the likes of Georgette Heyer (not truly trashy IMO), but the really indefensible.

Mine is Cassandra Clare - I'm currently eking out her latest book, ignoring the massive plot holes (and improbable lack of communication without which things would be resolved in about 2 chapters) in the certain knowledge that it'll no doubt end on a cliffhanger which won't be resolved until book 3 in about 2 years time.

Ooh I LOVE Flavour of the Month msjunipet, excellent book (a little life & loves of a she-devil about it I reckon?) Destiny by Sally Beauman is a brilliant too

Jane fallon

Oh I think I remember Destiny, I might have to try and get hold of a copy.

Glad I am not the only Flavour fan!

Douglas Kennedy. Every character has to set up home anew. They always go to a hardware store and then redecorate on a budget - always white walls and stripped wood floors.

I'm curious on how people define trashy?

I'd assumed that it would generally cover any novels that aren't deep or meaningful. I'd also add anything that is clumsily written or a bit sensationalist, like murder mysteries.

I guess in the purest sense it could just mean a badly written book. Or does it refer just to sex filled novels?

Denise Grover Swank! The Rose Gardner mystery series. Silly but fun.

The Chalet School. There's quite simply nothing better than reading about Jo's latest set of triplets, or the saintly Robin, when you're stressed or knackered.

The Chalet school. is. Not. Trashy.

"I'm curious on how people define trashy?"

Hard to put a finger on exactly, but I'd say the heroes/heroines will be impossibly handsome and talented, if its a real-life set novel their living conditions will be improbable (badly paid employee has lovely flat to herself), that sort of thing. The ending will be appropriate for the genre - so definitely a happy outcome for a romance, mystery neatly solved in a police procedural.

Badly written just makes a bad book, not an enjoyably trashy one for me. DD and I were just talking about this, and we reckon the best trashy writers are very evidently writing in genre and having fun with it (why I love CC - plenty of jokes about her own plots within the books).

Georgette Heyer probably is trashy by this definition, but just squeaks out of it into respectability IMO because of the level of research put into her historical settings.

Assuming we're talking romance, y'all need to avail yourselves of the wonderful Smart Bitches Trashy Books website!

It's fabulous, full of recommendations, reviews, cover snark and other fun!

My guilty pleasures are a bit of Danielle Steele! Formulaic but I love them.

Jill Mansell, wonderfully predictable, I know what I'm going to get and enjoy reading it

J A Kerley. Trashy detecrivw stories, all pseudo-pschycological-sexual nonsense I love them!

Somerville I saw CS Pacat present and discuss the inspiration from Dorothy Dunnett. It was fascinating.

It does seem like any women's genre fiction is automatically ridiculously trashy by definition doesn't it?

I'm really surprised Marian Keyes is included in this list. I can't think of one of her books that matches:

"Both guilty of that most irritating of chick lit/flick tropes...a new dress and an hour with an hairdresser and you can lose 3 dress sizes and 10 years...and gain the man of your dreams (who is likely right under your nose but you will insist on being oblivious to his good looks, great personality and obvious love for you because you fancy a rotter from Accounts)"

I'm not sure it's necessarily that gender specific though StUmbrage - agree some genres are, but trashy fantasy-romance at least seems to be read by men/boys as well as women.

Another vote for Jilly Cooper - love her books, and agree that the earlier ones, with girls' names as the titles are great fun. Spent lots of time as a teenager reading them all when I should have been revising! I read 'Harriet' again recently - and want to rediscover them all.
I was always torn between Cory Erskine and Matt in 'Imogen'....which is a perfect summer read. Super Cooper indeed!
www.tatler.com/news/articles/september-2016/when-tatler-met-jilly-cooper-interview-2016

Somerville, I am an enormous fan of the Chalet School. But great literature it ain't.

StUmbrage I had no idea Pacat is a Dunnett fan Totally makes sense actually.

My own definition of 'trashy novel' is one that I store in a bookcase with the spine facing inwards. And Captive Prince, with a blurb all about pleasure slaves and the main character spending most of his time on the end of a leash, is definitely stored inwards! However, it's not badly written in any way.

Also...
< sticks fingers in ears, pointedly ignoring Matilda >

"My own definition of 'trashy novel' is one that I store in a bookcase with the spine facing inwards."

I have a shelf of 'trashy fantasy/sf' and another shelf of 'serious fantasy/sf' - funnily enough shelf (a) is not at eye level (mind you, it's mostly CC/Mercedes Lackey/Anne McCaffrey, so not so many pleasure slaves)

Do you know, in RL no-one I know has ever even heard of the Chalet School. They give me the full look whenever I try to share the Chalet School love.

Stephanie Laurens - all her books are the same and the 'mystery' is always quite obvious but I still love them and reread them every year or so especially the Bastion Club series.

Laurie McBain - the first trashy book I ever read was 'Wild Bells to the Wild Sky' and I have loved her books ever since. Such sweeping love stories with such typically perfect women and men. 'When the Splender Falls' is one of my favourites.

Somerville, I am an enormous fan of the Chalet School. But great literature it ain't.

Chalet School books (and other kids' books) are guilty pleasure rather than trashy.

Okay, I'll accept the Chalet School as a guilty pleasure. Only I have absolutely no guilt about reading it at all.

There, happy now Somerville and squoosh

I remember reading Julie Burchill's Ambition when I was a teen, now that is trashtastic. Ruthlessly ambitious protagonist from small town moves to the the big smoke and claws her way to the top of X industry whilst indulging in all kinds of eye popping sexual shenanigans.