The good parts of this have stayed with us, though often having become clichés; the not-so-great parts, well anything looks a bit musty a generation later, doesn't it. This was a 5-star game changer for me; it created the market for (admittedly not always quality) 'chick lit', but turned the stage a bit for female authors, who were thin on the ground at the time because of how the industry was (is…) run.

With very few exceptions I rate books as I would have when they came out, not as I see them now. Two decades ago I was smashing the *** and !!! keys. And so it stays.