Soulful Dress - Marcia Ball

Advantages: Good story set in an interesting period of time.
Disadvantages: Slightly unbelievable at times.

...and Marcia Preston effectively draws the reader into the drudgery of Trudy's daily routines. Soon Trudy learns through an old friend, Wolfgang Kruger, that, as the wife of a defector, she is in danger of being brought in for questioning by the Stasi. Faced with possible imprisonment, torture or worse Trudy reluctantly takes up an offer of help to escape to the west. Tragically she is unable to take Stefan with her - a heart-wrenching decision for any woman. Having survived the terrifying ordeal of her escape, Trudy learns the fate of her husband and sets about trying to find a way of being reunited with both Stefan and her mother in law. The reader is then presented with a sequence of events which somewhat tests the bounds of credibility but nevertheless still provides an enjoyable read. President J F Kennedy visits to deliver his now... Read review

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Advantages: easy going easy read
Disadvantages: none

...I found this book in our local charity shop - it cost me 50p i think but was marked up as £5.99. Have to say i had never heard of the author before and it was the many vibrant colours of blue on the cover and the seaside picture on the front that caught my eye. She was born in Somerset on August 6 1945 the day the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She was the youngest of five girls and Marcia wanted to train as a ballet dancer. Unfortunately this was'nt to be, so she studied to be a ballet teacher instead. Her first husband was a naval officer with whom she had a son, Charles. Her second husband, Rodney, himself a writer and broadcaster, encouraged Marcia to write novels. This is a cosy read with good characterisations set in the South West of England in Devon. I think it appealed to me all the more because of its... Read review

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Advantages: Katherine Heigl
Disadvantages: Predictable

...27 Dresses is a 2008 romantic comedy, starring Katherine Heigl and James Marsden, and was directed by Anne Fletcher. Jane has always been the bridesmaid and never the bride, she?s obsessed with weddings and has in fact been a bridesmaid 27 times, hence the title of the film. When she?s attending two different weddings on the same night, she bumps into Kevin, a cynic who manages to write the most romantic weddings at the same time. At the same time, she?s hopelessly in love with her boss, then her sister arrives back in town and somehow is engaged to her boss within the month. Jane is shocked, how will she ever win over George now? And how will things go with Kevin? What will her 28th dress be? The cast is good, but nothing special. Katherine Heigl plays Jane, the main character in the film who?s looking for love but finds it somewhere... Read review

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