Monday Book Review; The Wedding Diary by Margaret James

This is one of those books that you keep on the shelf (or Kindle file) that’s specially reserved for comfort and joy reading. You must have one of those too – stories just sitting there waiting for that moment when you’ve got a horrible cold, or someone’s been mean to you, or life gives you an even bigger kick in the teeth.

I was having the first of these moments when I started reading the story of Cat and her search for the perfect bridegroom to star in her even more perfect wedding; snuffling, sneezing and being generally fed up. Within minutes, I was feeling much better, snuggled up in bed with this example of delicious escapism. I laughed at the antics of Tess and Bex, shivered when Fanny, the evil patroness, was particularly poisonous, and dreamed of a hero like Adam (just pointing out here that I was bagging him for my daughters, not for myself, honest…)

Cat’s tender heart nearly trips her up on more than one occasion – she’s tried so hard to be the ideal girlfriend at the start of the book, and finds the surly Adam not altogether appealing at first, but soon his smouldering charm begins to take effect. My favourite part is when Adam asks Cat to meet him in Italy and she immediately jumps on a plane and does so. Brilliant. No messing, just get in there, girl. The Italian descriptions add even further to the feel-good factor of Margaret’s novel – so well-drawn that you could be there, tasting the gorgeous food, feeling the warm sunshine and…say no more.

So, as a cold cure or for pure pleasure, I would thoroughly recommend The Wedding Diary. It’s easily as much fun as going to a real wedding without having to buy the expensive present or wear the skyscraper shoes. And you can choose your own buffet to accompany it.