Rating: 
Summary: I miss Sidney
Review: It is amazing to me that this is the first book that Stacey Ballis has written. Not only is the format novel, but you feel like Sidney, her main character, is sitting in the room telling you about her life. One night I woke up dreaming about Sidney (I only had about 50 pages to go), so I had to turn on the light and finish the book in the middle of the night. Of course, in the morning I was mad at myself because there was nothing left to read. Being happily married and having lived a pretty boring life before that, I think I lived vicariously through Sidney for the 5 days I was reading the book. I sure hope Sidney reappears in another book soon because I miss her.
Rating: 
Summary: Red Dress Stink Bomb
Review: Like another reviewer below, I too wish that I could give this book 0 stars. I wasted several good plane and vacation hours wading through this book, and I can only hope that some of these reviews save other readers from wasting $15 and 3 hours of their lives that they can never get back.1. The main character, Sidney, is so arrogant that I lost all interest in her activities. I think the author meant for the readers to cheer for the "unapologetically sized-24 Sidney Stein"'s equally outsized ego; i.e., here is a smart, confident, fat girl. In this, the author completely mistakes confidence for pomposity and pretentiousness. Friends in the book are hardly mentioned besides her various loves.... and why? Because no real person could ever put up with this girl for more than five minutes! 2. The poetry, which is interspersed every ten pages or so, is atrocious. The quality of poems reminded me of seventh grade creative writing class. On the back of the book, it says the author is a poet. I can only hope that if she has published poetry, it is better than the drivel that "Sidney" writes. 3. Perhaps I'm getting a little picky here, but the author is clearly against contractions. Her characters speak so stiffly: "I am going to go to the store." "I would like to go with you." It's true that by the time I started noticing missing contractions, I was completely annoyed with the book, so maybe I'm overreacting and it won't bother anyone else. Someone (I wish I knew who) wrote, "There's no worse robber than a bad book." This book (the 2/3 I managed to finish) robbed me. There are so many better "chick lit" books out there - please check out some of those instead!!
Rating: 
Summary: Chick Lit for Real Women
Review: The great thing about this book is that it feels REAL. A real, believable heroine and honest situations. Our love-lives aren't one dimensional... they are always some combination of comedy and tragedy. We see the same balance in Sidney's story... while the core relationship of the book (that of Sidney's affair with a married man) proves difficult and at times painful for her, we also have a terrific time witnessing her bad blind dates and hearing her back histories about former escapades.
And finally! A book with an overweight protagonist who isn't obsessed with being overweight and -- more importantly -- without her weight having to be the focus of the book.
Writer Stacey Ballis is obviously a very intelligent woman. Although her writing is accessible, it is by no means 'dummied down.' Let's face it, some chick lit (however fun) can be a bit vapid. Not so with this one.
Whether you're singled, married, or maybe somewhere inbetween, this book is a great summer read.
Rating:
Summary: Love it!
Review: This book is outstanding! I'm a single girl out there in the dating world, and this book had me laughing and remembering all of my horrible dating stories. I've always said that my dating life serves one purpose, which is to entertain my friends, and this book let me know I wasn't alone. Thanks Stacey Ballis!
Rating:
Summary: A little different
Review: This book was a little different from the other chick lit out there. It deals with infidelity, which may be too "heavy" for other books, but is dealt with well here. The character inserts poetry and speaks to the reader, two unusual devices. There's no doubt Ballis is intelligent, and some of her observations and lines are so sharp and witty, I wish I'd thought of them myself.
Rating:
Summary: Someone please shoot me
Review: This book was horrible. It went on and on with whining about Geoff. The poems and letters where too much. Everytime I saw one I thought, oh please God no. I am a big fan of chick lit, but this is just horrible.
Rating: 
Summary: What I expect from Red Dress Ink
Review: This book was not interesting; I couldn't even finish it. The main character was so annoying! I actually didn't look at the publisher or I wouldn't have ordered it. I have found that most red dress ink books are not the most well-written books and will look at the publisher from now on...
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous and Funny - A Step Above
Review: This is wonderful read! The story and the unusual writing style carried me along and kept me interested right to the end. I enjoyed the humor and sophistication of the book, and main character Sidney's asides to the reader add a real richness to her character. I admit to skipping some of the poetry on my first reading, because I wanted to get back to the story I was enjoying so much, but when I did go back and read the poetry, I found much of it beautiful and touching. I kept wondering all through the book about how much of the author was in Sidney. Well, that question was answered for me on Stacey Ballis' own website. Ms. Ballis has endowed Sidney with some of her own attributes, and the result is a fascinating and very likable character, well-rounded in all senses :-) My favorite section of the book was the description of Sidney's encounter with an extremely unskilled bed partner. Even while I was feeling sympathy for the man (who just can't seem to take direction), I was laughing out loud at the wickedly outrageous portrayal of the poor guy's bad technique. It takes a keen observer of human nature, quick wit, and a talented use of language to create a scene this funny. Stacey is now writing a second book, which I understood is due out in April of 2005. I'm looking eagerly forward to its release!
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