Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues by Trisha Ashley

I really enjoyed this book - another great read by Trisha Ashley. I loved the main character, Tansy, and felt really close to her throughout the story. I felt similar emotions to her - sadness at Aunt Nan's death, anger at Justin's revelations, frustration at his inability to realise he'd done wrong, and the like. Aunt Nan and Bella were also lovely characters and I felt like they were personal friends. I also fell in love with Flash, who sounded adorable. So I was really drawn into the story and wanted to know what would happen next - which made it hard to put down! I also loved reading Aunt Nan's recordings and finding things out as Tansy did. The shoe shop sounded perfect, as did the whole village. I enjoyed reading about characters from previous books and seeing what they were getting up to. It was just a real feel-good story, with occasional twists and turns, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I give this book 10/10!

The Village Vet by Cathy Woodman

This book was an enjoyable read, but it wasn't one of Cathy Woodman's best. It was lacking something, but I can't quite figure out what. The plot was exactly the type of thing I love to read about, with an Animal Rescue Centre set in a countryside village. But I think the problem was that I didn't quite warm to the main character, Tess. I felt there was no need for her to take her fiance up the aisle and then to decide she didn't want to be with him. And the romantic interest, Jack, lacked a certain sparkle. It seemed strange that one moment Tess didn't like Jack in the slightest and the next minute she was head over heels in love with him. It should have been a more gradual process. However, I did enjoy reading about other characters, such as Libby and the committee members. And I loved reading about the animals, from Buster the dog, to Dolly to pony, to the baby birds. And as I got towards the end of the book and the action got quicker, I did find myself enjoying it more. But the one thing that still puzzles me is why the book is called 'The Village Vet', when Tess is not a vet and it isn't based in a veterinary practice. However, overall I give this book 6/10.

The Love Letter by Fiona Walker

This book was a real disappointment for me. After I read the synopsis, I thought this book would be an enjoyable read. However, there was a lot to the plot which I did not like. My biggest problem with the book was the main character, Allegra. She was referred to as 'Legs' throughout the book which thoroughly irritated me. I did not feel like I could connect with her because she kept doing really stupid things, such as wearing her nephew's clothes instead of just buying new ones and letting herself be held hostage by her own boyfriend. I never felt connected to any of the characters throughout the book, either. I did like Byrne to start with, but after he and Allegra got together, he became a different character. In addition, there was a lot of references to them making love, without there any need to, which really started to annoy me by the end. In addition, the ending was also a major dissapointment. The whole book was just generally long winded with too much going on and too many different characters and family dramas occuring which were hard to keep up with. It is such a shame, because the writing style was good and there were a few entertaining moments, but the story got out of hand and a little surreal in places. Therefore, I give this book 3/10.