although I thought it was a good read overall, there were several reasons why this book was not a keeper for me.

Anabelle and Stephen were brought together as children when his father the earl married Anabelle's mother. Stephen immediately befriended the young and scared Anabelle and in doing so won her undying loyalty. As they grew older their innocent childhood affection developed into a passionate love that neither of them could control.
They were desperate to marry but alas Anabelle's scheming and ambitious mother refused to let her daughter marry a younger son. She was determined that Anabelle marry Stephen's brother, the future Earl. She got her wish when Stephen was banished to Jamaica after being caught smuggling.
When Stephen left without any word to her, Anabelle felt betrayed, later when she found out she was pregnant she was terrified. There was no help for it but to do as her mother advised and marry Stephen's brother.
When her husband dies and Stephen is named guardian of her son Anabelle's feelings for Stephen resurface and not even his unforgivable abandonment can quench the love that she feels when they meet again after five long years. How will stephen react when he learns he is a father and furthermore how will he feel when finds out he, by rights, should be the next Earl of Weston? Can their love survive the past lies and deceit?

I found this book to be extremely well written. The heroine's no nonsense personality was a refreshing change from the insipid, too stupid to live heroines that are present on every other historical nowadays. What I didn't like was that the whole story is told from Anabelle's point of view. This was a first for me and although it was a change from the ordinary I found that I didn't like it so much because the reader never gets to know what the hero is thinking or how he feels, only what Anabelle perceives he is thinking. This was the main reason I rated this book two stars, another reason was because I felt the book was a bit slow. I mean forty pages went by before the hero made an appearance. Way too much time was spent on horse talk and hunting nonsense which I found incredibly boring. This, however is purely personal taste.
If you like hot love scenes and an edge of your seat plot, then stay away from this book. If you prefer mild love scenes and don't mine lots of drawing room coversation then this is the book for you.

Recommended with reservations. :0)

I am a fan of regency novels in general but have become somewhat disenchanted with them recently. I find I am bored with missish females and overdone plots. A friend suggested I try a Joan Wolf book. I found this book to be a really good read. Annabelle, widowed with a small son named Giles, finds out at the reading of the will of her now dead husband that he has named his banished brother, Stephen, as the guardian to their son, Giles. Annabelle hates Stephen (or so she tries to tell herself) as they were lovers 5 years earlier. Stephen, however, was caught smuggling and was sent to Jamaica and left without a word to Annabelle. Ms. Wolf writes nicely and descriptively about how the relationship becomes rekindled between them, even though Annabelle still has feelings of hurt. I did not have to wade through 200 pages to have the romance resolved. What was resolved by the end of the book with who was trying to murder Stephen. A great read. My only complaint would be that I never got a firm image of what Stephen or Annabelle looked like. Apparently Annabelle was a beauty but not sure about Stephen.

Joan Wolf is a great writer. All of her books are interesting. This one is no exception. The story begins after the heroine's husband dies and leaves his brother as the guardian of their son. The first person perspective really lets you in on what the heroine is feeling, especially since much of the story is told in flashbacks. The secondary characters are also entertaining. It has romance, suspense, and plenty of her trademark horses.

Another great book by Joan Johnston! I just loved Colt to pieces! I was so glad to read about Jenny and Colt. Thank heavens, after all those years, she ended up with the right guy! You ached for Colt and his feelings for Jenny. It was hard to put this book down. The various characters in the book reach out and grab you too. Easy to see that books can follow about Jenny's brother, Randy with Faith and Colt's big brother Jack and Hope! At least we HOPE so. The Whitelaw's are such an exceptional family, by reading the books, you can be a part of the family, at least for awhile. And, Joan usually brings in some imperfection which is unusual, but more normal than the drop-dead gorgeous heroine! This is a reality check that many readers can relate to. Thanks Joan for entertaining us so well with another great read!

The story line was very good and have always enjoyed the Whitelaw's stories. It shows that live is not always easy and happy, but when two people really love each other, they can face anything. I am anxious for the next storries of Randy, Faith, Hope and Jake.

Another great book in her Hawk's Way series. Go out and find the others. You won't regret it. :)

This book covers the whole history of the Byzantine state from aound 400 to its collapse in about 1400.

The good part of the book is that in a compact way it covers the major political events over that 1000 year period. The not so good part is that it assumes knowledge about many peoples that contribute to the story.

When I read "The Histories" by Herodus I had a terrible time getting through the part on the Scythians. That is because I had know idea who they were. I went to the Net and found a reference to them that was just a few paragraphs, that they were Indo-European, that they may have invented horseback riding, that their decendents still lived in the Cacus mountians. After that I was interested in them and had not trouble reading the material.

I say this to point out the biggest drawback of this book. There is no mention of the ethnographic or linguistic relationships between the various groups. Today it is important that Serbs and Russians are enthnically close. This books doesn't give a hint of these kinds of relationships. That makes it more difficult to remember the information.

However, it is still a valuable book to help understand the events that made the world the way that it is. It is scrupulous about its sources and there is no question that the information is as accurate as possible.

Ostrogorsky has put together a good single-volume survey of the thousand years of Byzantium. The tale begins, standardly, with Diocletian and Constantine, and ends with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. He takes an omniscient view of Byzantium, focusing neither on the lives and deeds of the Emperors nor the cultural and religious developments, but telling a well-balanced narrative. In that it serves as a useful introduction. However, Ostrogorsky writes without any passion, and fails to humanize the major figures. There are, though, several excellent maps that put others to shame. In all, the book is worth owning for the factual narrative and great maps. If you are looking for an impassioned and entertaining story you should pick up John Julius Norwich instead.

George Ostrogorsky's book covers all Byzantine history from Diocletian and Constantine to the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It is, moreover, intelligible and useful to the nonspecialist with only a broad historical background. Its particular value is that it imparts an understanding of the *process* of Byzantine history, especially in three key periods. First, the transformation of the decrepit East Roman Empire to a viable state able to withstand great adversities and heavy defeats. Second, the reinvigoration of that state after the iconoclast crisis and its rise to great power. Finally, the unintentionally suicidal policies adopted after the death of Basil II, which led to the breaking of Byzantium's back only fifty years later. Ostrogorsky's copious footnotes - happily, not endnotes - are especially useful because they cite many arguments and authors with which Ostrogorsky himself disagrees. Thus he provides easy access to views other than his own. There are a few minor irritants in the softcover edition, the absence of most of Ostrogorsky's excellent maps being the main one. There is also some little use of untranslated and untransliterated Greek. But neither deficiency adversely affects the book's overall value.

Hope's Crossing by Joan Elizabeth Goodman is about a girl named Hope Wakeman. It takes place in the year 1778 and 1779. Hope lives with her family in Fairfield, Connecticut. They support the Revolution, and Mr. Wakeman is off fighting the war with General Washington. But one night, a group of four Tories comes and raids the Wakeman's house. They take all the valuables - including Hope - and set the house on fire. Hope is left with that picture, of her mother and three younger siblings and two serving girls standing outside their burning home. The Tories take her to Long Island and she is forced to work for Noah Thomas and his cruel wife, Elspeth. While there, Hope meets Noah's mother, Mother Thomas, who wants to leave just as much as Hope does. Together they escape in the middle of the night and journey to New York City in hopes of getting Hope back to Connecticut and her family. However, while in New York, tragedy strikes, leaving Hope to wonder if she can continue the journey to her family, or if she should just give up hope.

"Hope's Crossing" was a neatly told historical fiction with the twist and turns neatly put - in other words, it's predictable. Not too many Revolutionary War books deal with child kidnapping, so this may open your eyes to that bit of knowledge. I don't really think that they would kidnap a child under those circumstances, say they wanted ransom, but leave know hint of where to give the ransom. The ending came a little too quick and easy; there should have been some more obstacles for Hope. The epilogue was very short, and only gave historical facts, not what happened to the people in the book. From the author's note, I presume that she borrowed the name Wakeman, since Joan Elizabeth Goodman mentioned how she grew up with Wakeman's. A decent historical fiction, as long as you don't analyze it too much. I recommend.

Hope's Crossing is a great and funfilled book. Joan Elizabeth Goodman really details her writing to make you feel like you are Hope, and makes you think what you would do if you were in the situation that she is in. It is about a girl named Hope who gets kidnapped from tories after they raided her home in Fairfield, Connecticut. She is taken to Long Island, New York where she works for one of the torie's wife Elspeth. Then one night she plans to run away with another character in the book. This book will make you never want to stop reading it. Find out what she does on her escape by reading this book. I really suggest you do. Enjoy!!!

The following notices appear on the copyright page of this unusual book:

Nihil Obstat:
Rev. John H. Miller, C.S.C.
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur: Archbishop Philip M. Hannan, D.D.
Archbishop of New Orleans
July 4, 1983

"The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat or Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed."

Interestingly, beginning with Pope John XXIII the Catholic Church has sought to distance itself from relics and miracles, but that has not seemed to deter Ms. Cruz-she is a prolific writer on the subject. Those who share her beliefs will enjoy this book.

But others will enjoy it too. Ms. Cruz is a diligent and competent researcher, and she brings together information on this arcane subject from a wide range of sources. I eventually found her credulity tiring, but not before I had read through the sections on the True Cross, Crown of Thorns, Holy Nails, Holy Sponge, Holy Shroud and Veil of Veronica. Having just returned from Italy, where I personally viewed what purported to be some of these items, I found her descriptions particularly interesting.

Relics provides an excellent introduction to the practice of relic veneration that is followed within the Catholic Church. After giving a brief background on the theological basis for the ritual, Cruz immerses the reader in stories about the various types of relics populating Catholic churches around the world. The result of this study is both interesting and educational.

While the book is a valuable resource, it does suffer from being a bit dated. It was printed in 1984 and hasn't been revised since then. An updated version would allow the reader to learn recent developments in the verification of these relics, like the tests performed on the Shroud of Turin in the 1990s. By providing updated information, Cruz would give the reader a better basis to understand all aspects of this ritual.

Even with this shortcoming, Relics is a good starting point for anyone wishing to learn more about Catholic relics and the devotion they inspire.

Cruz accomplishes a great deal in her treatment of notable Relics of the Catholic Church.

This is an easily dramatized subject, and the greatest contribution Cruz makes is to approach the Relics in a scholarly, matter-of-fact style that conveys the history and impact of the Relics without engaging in argument.

Consequently, the book carries substantial value for those motivated in their Faith by material evidence. And yet there is simultaneous value for the more detached reader.

Perhaps the clearest indication of the tone and style of the book is in the Introduction's quote from the biography of St. Gertrude the Great: "If you desire to have some relics which will draw My Heart into yours, read My Passion, and meditate attentively on every word contained therein and it will be to you a true relic which will merit more graces for you than any other... thence you may know and be assured that the words which I uttered when on earth are the most precious relics which you can possess."

It is clear throughout that Joan Carroll Cruz has taken this message to heart - approaching the Relics she describes with reverence, but with proper perspective.

This is the first Sister Joan mystery I have read, and it likely won't be the last. It appeared to me, however, that the meat of the mystery story took a backseat to other issues, namely Catholic/Protestant relations in a small Scottish town and how Sister Joan got along with various townspeople and the monks of a nearby monastery. The issue of the legendary "Black Morag" was, I thought, a bit silly, but necessary to introduce the clandestine romance between two young people, which the Sister Joan eventually discovers.

As a novel, "Sanctity" is a good read and does offer enough suspenseful action to keep a mystery fan occupied.

Sister Joan had been involved in two unfortunate murder cases, so her prioress felt that she needed to go on retreat to Scotland in order to renew her spirituality. As isolated at the retreat is, it gives Sister Joan a bit more freedom and introduces her to a wild area of Scotland with some interesting townspeople. There is a decided anti-Catholic sentiment in the nearby village, but two families overcome their prejudice enough to invite Sister Joan for a meal. She discovers that there has been an unhappy history between the two families and they are currently estranged because of past romances. She spends some of her leisure time painting pictures of a monastery which is on an island which can only be reached by a rowboat, obligingly rowed for her by a young monk named Cuthbert. Of course the inevitable body shows up and Sister Joan is torn between her obligation to the monks and her responsiblity to report it to the police. As usual, she would rather solve the case herself than to turn it over to the local authorities. This is a good addition to the series and the loose ends are all cleverly tied up in the end.

The tone is dry. The characters are interesting and believable. The sleuth is intelligent, fallible and stubborn. The story is fun to follow. Sister Joan on vacation! One of the most entertaining reads I've had.

I am a fan of the 'Wolves' series, but they are beginning to vary a lot in quality.

The first three, "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase", "Black Hearts in Battersea" and "Nightbirds on Nantucket" are all highly recommended. Unfortunately, there are numerous potboilers, in which Dido Twite is stuck in some strange place--"The Cuckoo Tree" et al.

The real story continues in "Dido and Pa." As Aiken's characters grow older, she loses her touch with them; this is why her adult stuff is much less interesting. "Is Underground" is pretty variable. The set-up, with the soccer bit, lacks Aiken's usual wit, and the mind-speech and other stuff seems forced. But Is's relationship with her grandfather and aunt is good. Gold Kingy is a yawn, compared to other villains like the Slighcarps and Dido's parents.

To answer your question: Dido and Penny are full sisters; Is is their younger illegitimate half-sister.

Re: the dispairing notes in Aiken's writing. See "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" regarding Aiken's family history.

Good book, picking up from the earlier Dido and Simon pieces. Is is Dido's younger half sister, first mentioned, i beleive in Dido and Pa. Did sends her to stay with thier mutual sister Penelope but obviously she is a younger version of Dido, and gets into equally interesting adventures. The consequences of the ending of this book are rather heavy for Dido's friend Simon as becomes clearer in a later work.

In the book Underground, the main character Is tries to find her missing cousin, Arun, in the city of London. She later finds out that more than half of the children are gone and they are going to a place called Playland.
I liked this book a lot since I thought most of the clues were different and more clever than other types of mysteries. The book was also easy to read for me which makes the book a lot better.
I don't usually read a lot of mysteries , but compared to the ones I did read this book is just as good. I would give this book a 5 out of 5, or 5 stars in this case.

I bought this book for a college class and the next semester they changed the book. I read some things on my own and found some good but I don't think it was worth the money. I still have it though because when I read it, it makes me feel smart. Plus they come out with new ones all the time...dont buy it new. Just get a used one. All they change is the cover and a couple inserts so the pages are different and you think its different than the old one. Dont be fooled.

Although the editorial selection clearly slants to the left, and is bubbling with postmodernism, many of the essays here are quite enjoyable, especially the humorous prose of James Thurber and Mark Twain, and George Orwell's "Politics and the English Lanuage" is delightfully informative. The best expositionary anthology I've yet seen.

College English text yes, but contains a huge variety of stories from notable writers. Short stories yes, but great for those who don't want to delve into full-length novels. Also contains questions to think about after many of the essays and mini biographies of the authors.

I was very disappointed in this book. The portion sizes are very small. I certainly could not satisfy anyone in my family with a half cup of beef stir fry (noted as the serving size for this receipe). The receipes were good but you must figure on two serving sizes for each person for most main dish receipes. Explanations of food exchanges was very helpful.

This is my favorite diabetic cookbook. My response to the unfavorable review about the portion size is that you have to adjust your eating habits to less meat and more starch and vegetables. You don't have to go hungry!

This ccobook has very simple, easy to prepare meals. ALL the ingredients are things you would find in a normal pantry. Not items that need to be purchased at specilaty stores. EXCELENT!

i thought this book was boring... Maybe for a way younger audience it is alright but i dont recommend for any one else

This book is a really nice book for people who like mistery books. Even though the book is not really mystery It still contains the information to keep you turning the pages. This book has fascinated me to the lesson not to make crimes or peoplle might send to a place where you would have never thought you could be friends with anybody, especially if they pu you with someone in a bad tempered person like Mrs.Merkel. Another lesson there to learn is not to make some aggresive people mad so they if realesed could come and crush you down as the investigators thought that the people she cought were the ones to go after her and bruise her so she had to go to the hospital. But the person who attacked her was really smarter then the planings of Mrs.Merkel. The person who attacked, was the most hated person in mrs.Merkels life. The only part that was a mystery in the good book written by Joan Lowery Nixon is when Mrs. Merkel wa attacked and Abbie and other people tried who might have attacked mrs.Merkel. However Abbie is not alone in her family to be on her case. Her mother Mrs.Thomson is only giving a little support to any of the cases , by just giving Abbie her car. But her little brother Davy is on the case with a notebook and some Questions he is able to help Mrs.Merkel to find a person who attacked her. At first everyone thought that it was a person from their book club,which later turned into Bucklers bloodhounds. Mrs .Merkel was the one who participated the most. She cought two crooks and she says that she never got any credit for her hard job. So in conclussion I really enjoyed this book. TYhe book kept me turnin the pages of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Joan Lowery Nixon's, "Nobody's There!" Not only was it another awesome thriller from Ms. Nixon, but it was also a great family story...
The storyline revolves around a girl named Abbie. Her father recently left her, her mother, and her brother for another woman. One night, while Abbie is spying on her father and his new romance, she becomes so furious when she sees her kiss him, that she begins to throw rocks at her window.
Now in trouble for malicious mischief, Abbie's judge understands (to a certain point) what Abbie is going through, and puts her on probation. For a punishment, she is put in the Friend to Friend program, which is a program in which high-schoolers visit and look-after elderly women a few times a week.
When Abbie is assigned to Mrs. Merkel (an extremely grumpy woman who is totally disagreeable), she considers quitting, but hangs in there. Mrs. Merkel is a part of a book club, which is turned into Buckler's Bloodhounds (a new program where elders try to stop other elders from being tricked by con artists).
Mrs. Merkel gets way too involved, thinking she is a real private eye, which could be dangerous...
One day, Abbie decides to skip a visit to Mrs. Merkel's, but afterwards feels guilty. So, later that night, Abbie goes to visit Mrs. Merkel only to find her laying in a pool of blood. Mrs. Merkel ends-up in a coma, and Abbie is determined to find the culprit. Could it be someone who was tired of her meddling around, and decided to put an end to it? Or is it something deeper than that? Find out in the stunning novel, "Nobody's There!"