When I read "Winter Garden" by Adele Ashworth, I thought it was the best book I had read in a long time and wrote her to tell her so and she was kind enough to write back to thank me. But, I was wrong, her book "My Darling Caroline" is ranked right up there with "Winter Garden."

The book is about Caroline, a brilliant botonist, who is denied admission to study at Oxford university because of her gender. She is admitted to Columbia University in America only because she told them she was a man, but her father had different ideas. He has arranged a marriage for Caroline to the Lord of Weymerth, a man who has just returned from war.

To say the least, Brent and Caroline are both opposed to this marriage. Caroline has all intentions of having the marriage annuled so that she can travel to America to attend Columbia and Brent, the Lord of Weymerth, is marrying only to get back some of his property and horses, which he breeds. But fate has other plans for them.

The story takes off from there. Adele Ashworth delves into their minds and we get to know Caroline and Brent and come to care for them as dearly as they come to care for each other. I have never read dialogue between the hero and heroine that was so moving and so mezmerizing that it brought tears to my eyes more than once. The scene where they consumate their marriage is so sweet, I had to read it more than once. The book takes hold of you from the very first page and only gets better.

I'm an avid romance reader and go through about three books per week, which I think is good considering I have a full time job. I have to say that I read "My Darling Caroline" in two days. I just couldn't let go. I felt the same about "Winter Garden."

As far as I'm concerned, Adele Ashworth is some kind of writer and my hat is off to her. She can't write fast enough for me.

Please do yourself a favor and read her books - you surely won't be sorry.

This is a wonderfully written, emotionally satisfying book with characters I cared a lot about.

Caroline Grayson wants tbreed flowers, unfortunately, in 1800s England women are not taken seriously as scholars and Caroline's efforts to attend university seem thwarted.

Just when she has made up her mind to leave everything behind and go to school (under a name that won't reveal she is a woman) her father determines she is to marry. Her first meeting with the Earl of Weymerth is not a promising one, but after the wedding, Caroline begins to discover just what a wonderful person her husband, Brent, really is.

She must still decide whether to give up her dream or to leave Brent, whom she has fallen in love with, not to mention little Rosalyn whom she loves as well. Brent's past as a spy also poses problems.

I absolutely loved this book. Caroline and Brent are wonderful lead characters and I hope you'll give them a try.

All her life Lady Caroline Grayson has known that she botany is her life. Now, after finally breeding a rare lavendar rose, she plans to fulfill her dream to study in New York.

When Caroline's father insists that she marry the Earl of Weymerth she is crushed but agrees. Knowing she will ask for a annulment Caroline refuses to make this a marriage in truth. She refuses to consumate the marriage, instead keeping Brent at an arms length.

Having just returned from Waterloo, Brent's only wish for this marriage is a woman in his bed and a wife to bear him sons. He hadn't expected brilliant Lady Caroline.

Brent and Caroline slowly grow to respect eachother and that respect turns into love. Can Caroline give up her lifelong dream of botany to be a wife?

I loved this book, I loved Caroline and I especially loved the brooding Brent. Adele Ashworth is an author to watch and look forward to more of her work.

I just took the GMAT yesterday (3/12/2001). I was stupid for using this book as my only math prep. What I saw on the GMAT was much different form what's in this book. This book covers basic atrihmetic, algebra, word problems, and geometry. THIS IS NOT THE ONLY MATH THAT'S GOING TO BE ON THE TEST!!! This book didn't cover probabilty and statistics, which is all over the GMAT once you get to the hard questions. The problems in this book are very, very simple compared to the actual GMAT math problems. No advance concepts are covered in this book.

Forget this book and get the GMAT 2000-2001 edition by Kaplan. It covers simple and advanced math topics and it even comes with 4 full-length practice GMAT CATs. The Princeton Review gives you GMAT test taking tips and triks. While preparing for the GMAT, I suggest that you use the Kaplan, Princeton Review, and the Offical Guide together.

The sad truth is that the level of difficulty in these books don't match the level of difficulty on the GMAT. Therefore, they tend to give give you a false sense that you are prepared.

The GMAT is not easy. BE VERY PREPARED!! Also, when and if you take the sample tests ETS provides with their powerprep software, the score you get on that will be vey close to the score you will get on the actual test, so don't take it for granted.

I took the GMAT exam for the second time yesterday, and I can tell you that this book was very helpful. When used correctly, this book can help you increase your quant score - it is the most efficient study guide to review math concepts. (Strangely enough, I saw a question on my GMAT that was the exact same as a question in this book!!) If you have not had any GMAT prep, I would recommend the Kaplan GMAT book AND CD ROM, plus the ETS GMAT questions book and CD software. These are your core study tools. The Princeton Review CD ROM is good for more CAT exam practice. Kaplan material is usually a bit tougher than the actual GMAT, and the ETS CD ROM should be used to get familiar with what you'll see on test day and to boost your confidence.

I hate to say this, but there is an element of luck involved in the kinds of quant questions you get. My first GMAT exam was a disaster because I felt I was 'ambushed' by the math section, but in my test yesterday I felt great about the quant section - and I think this book played a role.

Don't let the GMAT intimidate you. You will need to be in the right frame of mind, and doing all the practice tests and improving your weak areas will lead you to success!

For those people studying for the GMAT who need a little more help with Math, this book fits the bill. It goes a little more in-depth in some areas than the GMAT books from either Kaplan or Princeton Review. Anyone who has been through either of those books and is looking for something else to help boost their Quant score should pick this book up.

My primary complaint about this book is that the authors are not familiar with the idea of "Show, Don't Tell". The book hops blithely from topic to "inspirational" topic, tossing in pseudo case studies at random. These case studies, or short stories about particular client/horse experiences, rarely last more than a page and would be just as easily summed up in a single sentence like "Joanne recognized her control issues after realizing that horses can't be controlled like humans can". In several cases, the stories would end just as I started to be curious enough to read more. In many other cases, the stories were so short or bland that I didn't care about them at all. The basic thrust of most of them, regardless of the chapter title (like "Our Connection with Animals", "Riding Horses to Health", and "The Genesis of Feelings") was that "the magic of horses fixes stuff". While people like "Joanne" are described as having these sudden revelations about their lives, there is nothing to follow up whether they took that lesson back and truly made a change in their life. The troubled youth who tried to straighten up from his jail cell so he could someday acheive the dream of owning a horse might just as well have been inspired by the dream of owning his own tattoo parlor. Don't TELL how much we can learn from the special and magical horses, SHOW me.

Every horse in the authors' stable is an anthropomorphic Lassie. Their horses know just what lessons their clients need to learn, are sweet and loving to anyone who approaches with an pure and open heart, but collectively act crazy a la Black Beauty if someone is on drugs or just plain untrustworthy. One stallion trumpets and paws at the ground because he "knows" that there is a foal trapped under a fence several miles away. A horse tumbling off a cliff has terror in her eyes, not for herself, but for her rider. A mare's negative reaction to a student's tension and anger is because she "knew" that the student was ready for the lesson of being forced to take resposibility. Furthermore, the authors' intense focus on the traits of their beloved Peruvian Iberian breed (a fine breed, to be sure) ends up implying that there is something special and magical about the breed itself, rather than horsekind in general. I am an avid horse lover, and at no time did I feel that any equine in this book was a real living, breathing beast.

Metaphysical abilities are attributed where none are necessary. A student realizes that the more she concentrates on staying away from flowerpots in the corner of the arena, the closer she and her mount get to them. The fact is, all beginning riders learn the lesson "look where you want to go". There are physical reasons for this that have more reasonable explanations than "vibrations" or "path of energy". I can't argue that any of this is false, because it isn't. However, the psychospiritual and metaphysical aspects of horsemanship as presented here are too syrupy for my own sensibilities.

There is little that is presented in this book that I would challenge or disagree with, but the presentation was too nonsensical to have been inspiring to me, and in fact, I had a very difficult time trying to discover what the true message of the book is. If I'd never had experiences of my own with horses and were handed this book to convince me to back a new venture using horses in psychological therapy, I doubt I'd write a single check. Although I have the strong feeling that the authors are experienced horsewomen and competant psychiatrists, there was nothing in this book to truly convince me of this. The only reason I gave this book 2 rather than 1 star(s) is because it may have interest for psychotherapists with little exposure to horses.

This is absolutely the best book I have ever read. I recommend to anyone who will listen. The book gives insight to horse relationship and can be used in human relationships with each other. I have reread the book just for the enjoyment of it. Thanks to the authors for a wonderful read.

First, let me say that I have owned Peruvian Paso Horses for nearly 25 years and think they are, by far, the best friend and ride of any other breed that I've owned . . . . and I am also a counselor who works with adjudicated juveniles so this book seemed perfect, melding two of my main life interests. I found the book to be an easy, yet interesting read with excellent case histories and descriptive passages. Having used horses and horsemanship as therapy for troubled youths myself, I think that this book could point the way for many therapists in this area. Any horse is a great help from a therapeutic viewpoint, but the Peruvian Paso Horse excells in this area - they are incredibly intuitive and responsive to the needs of their owners/riders! Read this book!!

I loved the romance of this book! This book is not for children 12 and under. Other then that it's great!

A happy, resolved ending is the only thing missing from this book, and I still gave it five stars. Megan is Rapunzel, and she is a beautiful fairy tale. Megan lives in a tower (at her British all-girls school), with no other family in the world, save Sleeping Beauty (Alice) and Snow White (Bella). Megan falls madly in love with Simon and their whirlwind affair costs her almost everything. This is a wonderful book, it is not full of sex, like a few other reviews have suggested. Geras stays faithful to the original story and, like most original versions of fairy tales, sex is involved. I highly recommend this book and the rest of the trilogy, "Watching the Roses" and "Pictures of the Night." Trust me, if you read all three, your happy ending will come. Maybe your prince too...

It was while reading Adele Geras' Egerton Hall trilogy that I realized why we girls like V.C. Andrews when we're in high school. We grow up on fairy tales, and we are enchanted by these stories of downtrodden young girls who persevere and find love, success, and happiness. Then, someone convinces us we're too old for "that stuff", and that we ought to read realistic stories instead. In Andrews' gothic novels, especially the Heaven and Dawn series, we find the very same kinds of stories--the stories of young women making it despite horrible circumstances--and that's why we take so easily to those books. They're "realistic" enough to satisfy our left brains, but I'm gaping at this point as I recall all the fairy-tale elements in those stories--the ash girls and wicked stepsisters and what-have-you.

In that vein, I recommend the Egerton Hall series. I don't mean to say they are just like V.C. Andrews novels; they're not. Geras has a COMPLETELY different and much brighter style; even the darkest book of the trilogy, _Watching the Roses_, has its moments of humor and lightness. And, there is no incest, fewer Dark Family Secrets, and almost no purely good or evil characters--everyone in Geras' books is only human, with good and bad qualities. What they do have, is three sensitive and talented young girls on the brink of adulthood, dealing with love, hate, family, friendship, jealousy, and schoolwork--and sometimes disowning, rape, and attempted murder. Each of the books tells the story of one of the girls' initiation, so to speak, when she learns about love and about the adult world. And each parallels a classic fairy tale the reader will remember from childhood--and yet they are not fantasy; it is human resourcefulness and not magic that wins the day here. I can't explain, without sounding pedantic, how much these novels affected me; all I can say is this: I am 23 now. I wish I had had these books at 14. They are going to be on the shelf of my (hypothetical) daughter once she reaches puberty.

This is the first novel of the trilogy. It parallels "Rapunzel", and tells the story of Megan, the most down-to-earth of the three girls. Orphaned in childhood, she lives at a boarding school with her guardian, Dorothy, who teaches at the school. She is sheltered, and has rarely met boys. Then, Dorothy hires a handsome young teaching assistant, with whom both Dorothy and Megan fall in love. He returns Megan's feelings, and a secret affair ensues. He seems oblivious to the fact that she is only seventeen, and she is soon in over her head. Then Dorothy finds out...

Is their relationship based only on sex and infatuation, or can it grow stronger, strong enough to endure ostracism, poverty, and hardship? The book's ending is a question mark. The romance is not resolved until three-quarters of the way through the third book, _Pictures of the Night_. (Note to Editor: Please compile the three books into one volume!) I recommend reading all three, both to read the end of Megan's tale, and to read the equally compelling stories of her friends Alice and Bella.

Lots of good explanations - but also many sidebars which don't help. Biggest problem is lots of errors in the math examples which hopefully will be caught if reprinted:
pg20 - 94 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 (meant to be 96=2x2x2x2x2x3)
pg21 - this time correct prime factorization but still says 94
pg100 - products of 4 & 9 roots mixes addition and multiplication... 3 errors in the step-by-step process; complicated by using yet another "+" when should be "X" in the description afterwards.
pg103 - denominator of final answer should be 5, not 15
Frustrating I've been marking the book up for errors.

I purchased this book a couple of years ago when I was preparing to take the GRE, and I desperately needed some math review. The book was perfect for that purpose, but I've also found myself referring to it many times since then. It's a great reference for all that math you had in high-school and/or college and don't use enough to keep fresh in your mind. I've used it quite a few times at work as well as with some of the classes I've taken in grad school (Computer Science). The only think that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is the lack of an index, which makes it difficult to look up specific topics. The book is small enough and so well organized, though, that that is a minor annoyance.

helpful math review I recieved a lot out of reading this book.

I'll be brief and tell you that this book was really intriguing and well-crafted--however the ideas in it were a little creepy. Our main character, Delia, has just moved to a small town. She doesn't fit in well at school, and feels as if she is a disapointment to her charming and popular parents. One afternoon, she meets Amandine, a strange, artistic girl waiting for her father afterschool. Amandine offers Delia a chance to see her drawings of the "Ugliest Things you ever saw"...for money. Delia refuses and they are friends ever on out. (Not your average friendship, eh?)

However, Delia is dragged into the dramatic world of Amandine; a girl who does not have a self, rather, many characters of whom she plays. Amandine is an actress, an artist, and--sadistic? When Delia realizes the true Amandine is not at all the nice character that she plays when she is with Delia, she flees her friendship thinking that everything will be all right. However, the last thing anyone needs is to be on the wrong side of Amandine...a lesson Delia learns very quickly.

Scary. I wouldn't read it again. This book shines with bitter revenge, false friendship, and the unbalanced human mind. yet, the writing was very good and if you are into the dark, vampiry side of human nature, this is the book for you.
Happy (or unhappy, I suppose w/ this book) reading! -lia

After reading the other reviews, I have to wonder if I
read the same book. People are calling this simplistic
and contrived, unoriginal and boring. Someone else
(whose emotional state I'm worried about) says lonely,
awkward Delia is "the nut case" and claims Amandine,
who is pure sociopath all the way, "doesn't do anything
wrong." Sorry, but I think intentional lies used as
"punishment", damaging libel and playing two people off
each other is "doing plenty wrong."

Maybe this story struck home with me because I had an
Amandine in my high school past. She was also a master of
playing her few friends off of each other, dramatizing horrors
that never existed for the benefit of teachers and parents,
and telling outrageous lies about herself in order to be the
center of attention. And, like Amandine, she had lots of
talent that went wasted because it was more fun to destroy
other people's lives.

No, the story is not loud and melodramatic. It is quiet and
subtle as Delia tries to sort out what her friend expects of her
tries to please parents who expect too little of her (and who
are clearly disappointed in her) and who has only one really
sympathetic adult to whom she can turn.

If you haven't read it, please don't go by the other customer reviews. If you are trapped in a friendship like the one Delia has with Amandine, it might help to know that you aren't alone.
And if you DON'T know an Amandine, consider yourself lucky and read this as a true horror story of what can happen in such a
friendship.

Amandine is a very interesting book. You will really anjoy this book if you like reading about how someone's friendship works out. This book is very easy to get into. You can start reading and read for hours. I can relate to the friendship in this book. Amandine and Delia are two totaly diffrent people who get along really well.Most guys will probably consider this a "girly book" because the main charcters are females. Girl readers, on the other hand, can relate to their friendships to Amandine and Delia's

This was a blessing to read! The book offers practical ways to create solutions for problems, how to listen, empathize, and better understand the person with whom you're speaking. As a teacher, I am able to apply this with students of ages ranging from 5 to 15 yrs old, and as a continuing student, I am able to apply communication techniques to others. The illustrations are especially helpful for "review" of the books main focus. This is a simple to read, easy to understand book, with efficient ways to apply knowledge towards MANY people, not only children. I recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in improving their communication skills, interpersonal relationships, and relationships with children. Husbands, wives, teachers, students, THIS BOOK WORKS when applied. I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride when I noticed myself referring to examples from the book, and you can, as well. It's definitely worth reading!

I loved this book. It goes along with "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk." In fact, the book uses the same formula and layout. The communication techniques are the same, with different examples which show how they can be used in a school setting. I found the cartoons really helpful and I liked all the great examples. I especially liked all the illustrative dialogues between the teachers in the book; the authors really take the time to explore all the criticisms of their approach and do a good job of refuting them.

The one thing the book doesn't do, because it is so focussed on communication, is really address specific school problems, like students who don't do homework. If that's what you're looking for, this book may not be enough, but the communication skills taught in it are still valuable as part of dealing with such issues. Thus, if you've read the first book you might find it repetitive. If you haven't, and you're a teacher, I'd suggest you buy this one instead.

After a frustrating first year of teaching at a junior high school, I was about ready to give up the teaching career all together. I picked up this book one evening because I liked the cartoon drawings in it (it looked like it would be fun to read). I couldn't put it down. I learned so many things that I cannot wait to use my second year of teaching. I especially appreciated the chapter on praising children. I never realized what a negative impact that too "straight-forward" praise (such as "You're so smart!") could have on a student. Now I look back when I was a kid, and I hated it when people would constantly say that to me, because I always felt like, "okay, i'm smart....so what?" I thought I wouldn't be allowed to make a mistake. Those types of teachers that would say things like, "oh, don't worry about that assignment/paper/project...you are smart..you can do it," well, that didn't make me feel any better. The best teachers I had were the ones that gave me specific examples of things that I was doing right in class.

This novel is an excellent introduction to mythology. While a student may not at first be interested in reading Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, the student may consider reading this paperback. Though some of the events seem improbable...anything is possible when Greek gods and goddesses intervene. Readers will end this book wanting to learn more about Eros, Aphrodite, and others. Obviously, readers will want to know more about the legend of Troy as well.

It was interesting to view the story of Troy through the eyes of four teenagers who are common citizens who had to endure the siege that not only limited food resources, but nearly reduced everyone to the same level. This story includes passion, action, violence and sadness.

I think this book is the best book ever written about the history of persia and the trojan war. it talks about the gods, goddesses, famous people like Achilles and Hector, all through the eyes of ordinary people. Xanthe, who works healing wounded soldiers, falls in love with this Persian soldier guy Alastor. Xanthe has a very close relationship with her sister Marpessa who never ever speaks, olny to Xanthe, and can see the gods. Aphrodite, bored of war, war, war, decides to make things more interesting for herself, so she gets her little son Eros (Cupid) to shoot at Marpessa AND xanthe, so that they will both fall in love with Alastor. This book is sad, funny, and happy all at the same time. it shows what life was like for people back then, and what happens to Xanthe and Marpessa.

I started reading this book thinking it would be like another book, Inside the Walls of Troy, which is told by Cassandra and Helen instead of those who are rarely mentioned in any of the stories about troy, and most of them exist inside this book and this book only. This book is told from several points of view: Polyxena ( not the princess ), Iason, Alastor, and the two major players in the book, Marpessa and Xanthe. Familiar fces, whether gods or mortals, also show up: Astyanax (the part where he dies is the only part I don't read anymore), Hector, Priam, Hecuba, Paris, Deiphobus, Ares, Aphrodite,Artemis, Poseiden, Apollo,Laocoon, Andromache, Helen, Cassandra, and Achilles. I would suggest this book to anyone who wants to read about troy.

The first half of the novel is well done, and enchanting in places. However, plot twists often become confusing, and by the last chapter, we are led to the most implausible surprise-- that Mrs. Fairfax was somehow the evil queen in all this. Nothing in the entire novel prepared us for this, and thus, it felt completely contrived. Perhaps the author was trying to be gothic, but she failed utterly to convince this reader. I felt cheated of the true richness and emotional depth that is "Jane Eyre."

As an editor of the letters of the late Jean Rhys, i felt the same sense of discovery and excitement on reading Emma Tennant's Adele as i did when i first read Wide Sargasso Sea. Again, a character no one had thought or known about had been rescued and brought to the fore. In the case of Sargasso Sea it was of course the first Mrs Rochester, in Tennant's book, the little french girl, Mr Rochester's daughter is the heroine of a novel that goes hand in hand with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.

Adele moved me deeply;this is a story with which so many will identify. for adele wants one thing more than anything in the world, and that is the reconciliation of her mother and father. That Celine Varens, actress and trapeze dancer, Parisian to her fingertips, has abandoned her daughter cannot at first be accepted by the child; and in this beautifully written account of her life in France and in the grim confines of Thornfield Hall in Yorkshire, Adele brings us both grief, a sense of a rebellion and finally, happiness.
A wonderful book.

"Adele: Jane Eyre's Hidden Story" provides a unique perspective of "Jane Eyre" through the eyes of some of the minor characters in the novel (Adele, Rochester, Grace Poole and Mrs. Fairfax). In this book, we find out about Adele's life with her mother, and explore Rochester's "hidden secret" in greater detail. "Adele" is a wonderful companion to Jane Eyre, and has earned its place next to "Jane Eyre" on any bookshelf.

What happens when a good girl has an affair? Read this book and your questions will be answered. Playing Away is a wonderful novel about a fairy-tale marriage and what happens after. Highly recommended to British Literature fans or for those who want to read about the married side of Bridget Jones.

Connie Green Baker has it all: a loving husband, fabulous friends, nice home, great life. So why the affair? It baffles Connie the most -- she loves her husband and is not unhappy in her marriage. But once she meets sexy, uninhibited John Harding at a work conference, something stirs inside her (literally!). Connie suddenly has a one-track mind on the John Harding Train and, try as she might, she can't (or doesn't want to) get off. As an adulteress, Connie again experiences the crazy passionate drama that was a part of her former life, the life she led before she got married. Which is not necessarily a good thing....

And then there are her friends: Sam, Daisy, Lucy and Rose -- each unique in personalities who offer advice and support for dear Connie, who has found herself in quite a predicament. Readers will laugh and smile in recognition, but will also shake their heads in dismay. The story follows Connie through the many stages of her comfortable and seemingly boring marriage and her disappointment of the lustful, bodice-ripping fairy-tale she imagined it to be. Playing Away is more than just a testimony to the awesome dynamics of a marriage -- it's a gritty portrayal of the toll it takes on a restless mind and the mistakes that can be made to fix it.

Is there such a thing as Happily Ever After? That's what Connie Green -- the spunky heroine in Playing Away -- wonders. More importantly, why would a confident and successful career woman with a seemingly perfect husband want to have a sleazy affair with a I-can-get-any-woman-I-want-whenever-I-want man? These are the things that the precocious heroine is battling with. Connie cannot resist John Harding's enigmatic and tenacious nature. Before she knows it, she has begun a steamy and dangerous affair that could make or destroy her life. Connie is confused. She doesn't know what she wants. So she seeks advise from her friends, all of which are too preoccupied with their own love lives -- or lack thereof. Will Connie come to her senses, or will she throw caution to the wind and jeopardize her marriage?

This novel made laugh and cry. There were some scenes in which Connie and John engaged into some pretty racy sex. But there were funny and touching moments as well. I loved Connie's friends -- their get-togethers and witty conversations felt as though I was watching an episode of Sex and the City. However, I frowned at the fact that Connie seemed a little too desperate about John and degraded herself most of the time. It was painful. But the sharp writing and witty characters are the force in this magnificent novel. Playful, sexy, perverse and with a particular brand of sly naivete all its own, Playing Away is a reading investment. I highly recommend it.

Connie Green, married to a wonderful man Luke for one year, meets a walking stag John Harding in Paris on a business trip. She makes it clear to him that she is a married woman but he doesn't care. He just has one thing on his mind--sex. Connie knows that the one person good for her is Luke. But she gives in to John's sexual wiles with hopes that he will come in time to romance her which is less likely to happen. Her close friend Lucy, who has had her share of married lovers, gives her the 411 on being involved with a married man. But Connie buys too much into the fantasy which destroys her peace of mind and she has to come face to face with herself, her husband and friends.
In addition to what is happeneing to Connie, her friend Daisy is engaged to be married while another friend Rose(sister to Daisy) has her own set of marital problems.
This book is a good read. The author does a superb job covering marriage and infidelity in her fictional debut. This book was too hard to put down. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen next in the book.