Secrets secrets secrets!

Advantages: characters well written
Disadvantages: slow

...secrets which I wont go into detail about so as not to spoil it but it shows why they are holding back a little. The story shows how Tess adjusts to living this different life away from London and as part of a house sitter for a man who is not often there yet she is always thinking about. It shows how she makes new friends and tries to do the best for her daughter. What I really liked about it was the fact that the characters are very well formed, you do feel as though you know them well and would know how they react. However, the book is very slow. It is as though Freya North is trying to really get across her characters personalities so much so that there are lots of pages just full os description about how Joe and Tess are feeling and very little dialogue or action. It makes it a very slow read. It is meant to be quite a touching...

lorriellah 06.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Secrets - Freya North

'Its Bahia Principe'

Advantages: Top class all inclusive hotel
Disadvantages: Isolated from other resorts

...As you drive down the coastal road past all the resort hotels along the northern coast you'll begin to worry like in that Thomsons (?) advert on the TV that you're driving past all the best hotels! Then as you drive through the less developed towns along the road you'll worry that you're going to end up stuck in some shack in the middle of no-where! But as you turn off the coast road just before reaching the town (village?) of San Juan and into the Bahia Principe grounds you'll wonder what all the worrying was about! As with the other Bahia Principe Hotel in Mexico you first drive down the Hacienda, a short road lined with shops bars and restaurants, the one at San Juan has a hairdressers, a jewellers, a snack bar, a disco, a 'hard rock' bar, the reps building internet access (for footy scores of course!) and various shops selling...

Ratherhaveaham 07.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Bahia Principe San Juan, Puerto Plata

hotel sol principe is fit for a king.

Advantages: everything about the place is an advantage.
Disadvantages: the non smoking policy (for some)

...With the exception of Tenerife I usually tend to holiday places only once, preferring to try new places rather than return to ones I have already visited. I have been to torremolinos twice now though and a large part of the reasoning behind that is this wonderful hotel (Sol Principe). This hotel is situated alongside the beach of Playa mar approximately 2km outside the city of torremolinos. It is served by Malaga airport which is a little over 4 miles away and takes only a 15 minute transfer by coach to reach. On approach to this hotel the first thing that caught my eye was the size of the grounds it stood in but it soon became apparent why. This hotel is actually part of a complex which includes as well as the hotel itself the Apartments Sol Principito, a fairly large private car park, a sports area, gardens, a supermarket...

thebigc1690 29.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Sol Principe, Torremolinos, Costa del Sol

Secrets and Lives

Advantages: Writing is beautiful and poetic, Story becomes increasingly compelling as you read
Disadvantages: In places spills over into melodrama, Dr Grene's entries often feel superfluous

...The Secret Scripture Sebastian Barry 320pp, Faber & Faber £7.99 paperback / £3.84 Amazon.co.uk An English teacher once suggested to me that the definition of a good book is one where you want to know what happens to the characters after the story ends. While that is not exactly true of Sebastian Barry's novel "The Secret Scripture" - I was rather bemused that it had been a Booker nominee to be honest - the nature of the story certainly left a considerable impression on me after I finished reading it, and I did spend quite some time thinking about the characters and the setting of the story. The themes and histories the book visits are certainly not new territory to Irish writers of either fiction or memoir, but this book seems to bring a new voice on them, presenting things that have become less shocking from their familiarity in a way...

Collingwood21 16.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry

"Its Bahia Principe"

Advantages: The list is endless........
Disadvantages: Not Cancun

...This was the first Bahia Principe resort me and my wife (then girlfriend) visited. We'd booked to go all inclusive to Malta (probably not the best way to do Malta with hindsight) and were all geared up for it until three days before we were due to fly. We got a letter from the travel agents saying there was a change in the circumstances and that our hotel was having building work done. We went into the travel agents and were offered an alternative. After several hours (or so it felt) of staring at a computer screen we found one! Mexico! WOW! Bit of a step up for us (our only other holiday together was to Spain) we had a bit extra to pay but we covered it and got ready for Mehico! Long haul flights are long haul flights and we all get through them in our own ways (good book, crafty bottle of duty free Bacardi and a few cans of Coke...

Ratherhaveaham 25.11.2004 · Read review
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Review of Hotel, Bahia Principe (Tulum, Mexico)

It's a matter of principal

Advantages: Good Location and Cheap
Disadvantages: Not very secure and dirty

...The Hotel Principal is in a great location two minutes from Las Ramblas and if you are looking for a place to be in the centre of the main strip at a reasonable price then this will be ideal. At a minimum of a three night stay the price ranges from 80-100 euro's per room, per night with a choice between standard and superior rooms, including breakfast. Whilst the accomodation is not a high standard, the standard rooms offer, TV, Safe (which cost 1.50 euro's per night) ensuite, balcony and air conditioning. The superior rooms are slightly better with marble bathrooms and slightly more spacious than the standard rooms. Personally, we booked a standard room and found it in dire condition with mould on the walls, brick and brack furniture. The wardrobe is the size of a small broomcupboard with no door and only two hangers...

dollyvan 20.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Hotel Principal, Barcelona

* Discover The Secrets *

Advantages: Actors , Special Effects ,Exciting
Disadvantages: Moaning Myrtle!

...Harry Potter is back , and this time he is about to start his second year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But there's just one thing ? Why is Dobby the house elf so concerned about Harry and why is he telling Harry he will be in serious danger if he goes back to Hogwarts ? Watch Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets to find out! Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets was released in the United Kingdom on 15th November 2002. The film was directed by Chris Columbas. This is my favourite Harry Potter movie. It was also my favourite book out of the whole series. I enjoyed the first film (Philosopher Stone) so I was quite excited when this movie was released ; and this film is so much better than the first! I think the main difference between the first movie and this one , is how the three main characters...

xdonzx 21.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (DVD)

Bahia Principe

Advantages: Bargain Dominican Luxury
Disadvantages: Remote location (but ok if you want to escape!)

...My boyfriend and I took a holiday in September 2003 at Bahia Principe in Dominican Republic. Opting for an all-inclusive (to help stretch our budget) we were abit apprehensive due to some horror stories we'd heard about all-inclusive's in general. We booked through teletext so managed to get a decent deal. After a long day of travel (including 8 hour flight!) we were ready to collapse by the time we arrived. The first thing that struck us was the lavish grounds of the complex. Next came the charms of the wonderful staff who couldn't do enough for us!!! Our room was spacious and well air conditioned; it was a perfect retreat from the heat! The rooms are spread out in small apartments of 8 rooms, and are surrounded by tropical gardens. One thing worth a mention with regard the rooms is the high standard of daily cleaning...

alexlou 13.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Bahia Principe San Juan, Puerto Plata

I have a Secret!

Advantages: Great shops, bras, creams etc
Disadvantages: None

...Victoria's Secret is one of my favourite beauty stores and my guilty pleasure whenever I am in the States. Unfortunately they do not have any stores here yet selling the bras although they do have an outlet in Heathrow Terminal 5 selling their creams and lotions. A little bit of history - Victoria's Secret was founded in 1977 by a man who felt embarrassed buying women's underwear and felt the need for something easier. It has now turned into a billion dollar company with sales surpassing $7billion in 2006. They are mainly know for their lingerie but also do a fabulous range of perfumes, creams and make up. Like I said Victoria's Secret are mainly know for their fabulous bra range. Walking into one of their stores is like walking into a sensual French boudoir. The walls are wallpapered with stripy pink wallpaper and there is black...

Spottydog11 19.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Victoria Secret

What Secret?

Advantages: The basic advice is 'good'
Disadvantages: Pretentious, not movitational or inspirational, repetitive, boring, not worth the paper it's printed on

...What?s The Secret? Well, it?s not actually a secret. Although great effort has gone into creating a book that looks as though it?s going to reveal some substantial mystery, this is actually a sub-average self-help book that simply reiterates advice that has been doing the rounds for at least twenty years. The only difference is that it?s presented as some esoteric information that the reader should consider themselves lucky to be party to. Linking her advice to Einstein, Beethoven, Edison and Galileo is all very intriguing, but gives Rhonda Byrne?s book more than a whiff of pretentiousness. These great men all knew The Secret not because it was only available to the most intelligent elite, but because it?s rooted in common sense. To be fair, let?s assume that that?s the point Byrne is making: that The Secret is not actually...

DoubleFantasy11 14.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Secret - Rhonda Byrne