I have been reading Savannah Page's "When Girlfriends" series for a little while now. To date, my favorite from that series off the top of my head was, When Girlfriends Step Up.

This novel focuses on the fifth girl in our ensemble, Emily Saunders. Emily is a trust fund baby who does not need to work, but does work part time at her friend Sophie's cafe (see When Girlfriends Break Hearts) and freelances as a photographer. Emily definitely loves to travel, however, doesn't know if she will ever find the one like her friends since she cannot see herself staying in one place for too long.

When Emily mentions thinking about traveling again, her friends decide that all of them will set her up with a blind date so that she can finally see about committing to someone and find love.

I would suggest first time readers start with "When Girlfriends Break Hearts". That novel was the weakest in the series for me. However, you need to start there to get all of the relationships straight in your head and also to know what characters are talking about when they refer to past events. Ms. Page assumes the readers have been reading right along in order so she does not feel the need to re-introduce every little thing (thank goodness) but does refer to things to ensure that a cold reader would not be confused about what characters are discussing.

I am very happy that with Emily's story Ms. Page provides more details on Seattle, Pike Place Market, the parks, everything.

I was also happy that with Emily's character we got more insight into Jackie and more of the other girls as well.

The only reason why I dropped this half a star was because I thought it was a bit much that all of Emily's friends pretty much acted that until she found the one she was never going to be committed to anything. I found Emily very committed to finding what works for her, her work, her friends, and her resolve to return to Africa. Since I am a traveler (semi-retired) I felt myself more emphatic to Emily's character since I have friends who are constantly trying to fix me up and don't understand why I am single. I also want to say just like in the last book that Clarie (When Girlfriends Chase Dreams) was still annoying. I don't like that she sticks her nose in everything and seems to feel that when she is ready to get married or have kids her now husband needs to get on the same page. I know that Emily said she was glad to see Claire back to normal but I really didn't see that.

Would definitely recommend to fans of the series! ( )

I received a copy of When Girlfriends Take Chances by Savannah Page in exchange for an honest review.

The girls again! Emily has been in town for quite some time, around a year, and she is starting to feel the itch for adventure again. So much has happened with all the other girls and she’s been there for them. They realize that they have all found love except her. So as a salve for Emily’s need for adventure they devise a plan to find her some “lurve”. Each one of the girls has to find someone they think will be a perfect match for Emily, so she could find her happy ever after. I liked the story and it held true to the personality of the girls, however, this is the only time I did not like Emily at all, she is a shallow one, probably one of the most shallow of all the girls, and I thought Jackie held that crown for so long. Great story with a real life situation, with the world we live in now, it’s more likely to happen than not. Another great book in the series.
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What do best girlfriends do when one of their own is chasing the adventure dream but also wants to find true love?

In When Girlfriends Take Chances, the fifth installment of the When Girlfriends ... collection, author Savannah Page transports the reader back to Seattle for another visit with the six best girlfriends that we've come to know and love: Claire, Sophie, Robin, Lara, Jackie and Emily. This time it's Emily's turn to tell her story!

Emily Saunders has lived a wanderlust and free-spirited life filled with exciting worldwide adventures as a freelance photographer. But home is where the heart is, and for Emily that is Seattle with her five best friends. When Emily gets the itch to travel again, her five besties decide it's time for her to join them in the relationship club, so they form Operation Blind Date, where they each select a guy to set her up on a blind date, hoping that she'll find her one true love, a committed relationship, and a happily ever after ending.

I really enjoyed catching up with all six girlfriends, the author does a great job of intertwining all of the latest news about each of the girls within the main storyline. She has a smooth style of integrating snippets from the previous books' storylines into the current book that makes it easy for the reader to feel like they haven't missed a thing while waiting to read the next installment in the collection. I loved each of the books in the series, but I have to admit that I really enjoyed Emily's story the best, because I love her wanderlust and free spirited nature, her exciting adventures, and yet I could sympathize with her struggle choosing between travelling and finding love and having a committed relationship like the other five girls. I loved the humor and drama, I couldn't stop snickering as Emily endured through Operation Blind Date, these six girls are a hoot to follow and they sure do keep the reader thoroughly entertained!

This is such a fun collection to read, the six girlfriends continue to show what true friendship is all about: through good and bad times, thick and thin, ups and downs, and every trial and tribulation that befalls them, these six lovely ladies are supportive and always there for each other. I am looking forward to reading about Sophie's story (part two) in the seventh and final installment in the collection, When Girlfriends Find Love.

If you are looking for a fast-paced, thoroughly fun and entertaining collection of Chick Lit stories that celebrates womanhood and the strong bonds of friendship, then When Girlfriends collection ... is a must read, you won't be disappointed!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.

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