Having just finished the last of the short stories in the book "Love Mystifies", I can only ask myself "When will the next anthology from these gifted authors be published?". This, the second anthology of their short stories, proves even more enchanting and delightful than the first. And who thought THAT was possible? These tales weave romance with mystery, magic, supsense, vampires, reincarations and loves from the past, all into spellbinding and seductive webs of intrigue. My favorite stories were those of Betsy Norman's; my favorite being "The Talisman" for it's eerie, yet sweet ending, and "Imagine" which actually gave me chills in one part. Kudos to a wonderful romance writer! If you believe in romance and the mystery and magic and the surreal happenings that it can bring, this book is for you. My compliments to all the authors on another terrific anthology.

Or buy the book yourself, if you don't have a sweetie! Love Mystifies is the perfect book to warm up the chilly winter nights. Every short story in the collection is a gem, crafted by talented artists. Don't wait another minute to get swept away by this book!

Nothing spectacular to write home about. When I bought this book, I was hoping for the old radio dramas that I used to listen to when I was a kid on Sunday nights. I will say that there were some very good stories. But a few left you rather wanting.

Professional golfer Lee Ofsted has just landed an instructor's job assisting fellow pro Jackie Piper at a beautiful Rhode Island resort. Her job is to provide golf lessons to the employees of a marine salvage company. To Lee, this is an easy way to combine a vacation with making an easy grand a day for a week. However, the anticipated idyllic week goes sour at the fourth hole when Darlene Chappell, the spouse of the salvage company president, Stuart, is almost kidnapped. Soon afterward, Stuart is found murdered.

Lee and her friend begin to investigate the murder. To their amazement, many people had the motive to kill Stuart. However, as she gets closer to the truth, Lee literally finds herself in a sudden death game in which her life is the ultimate stake.

The third Lee Ofsted mystery novel is a fabulous who-done-it due to the brilliant characterizations of the lead protagonist, her associates, and all the duffers hooking their swing. The story line is interesting as Charlotte and Aaron Elkins scribes a fabulous amateur sleuth tale. This reviewer recommends to lovers of golf and amateur sleuth stories, all three books (the previous two are WICKED SLICE and ROTTEN LIES) because they are superb mysteries.

Harriet Klausner

Set in England of the 1600's Jane Eyre's life story is told through her own perspective, aging throughout the novel. Her thoughts and feelings from early childhood through where she is in life writing the book are told with a grace that comes only from life experience. Jane Eyre is from the time of her earliest memories an orphan. In this book she finds love, acceptance, and herself. Charlotte Bronte's talent for bringing out all sides of a character is shown well in this book, she leaves nothing to be desired as far as rounding out her characters. Such characters as Mr. Rochester who first shows Jane true love, Mrs. Fairfax who helps her to understand her equality to others, and Adele Varens who helps her remember childlike wonder as she goes through her life changing experiences, all play a part in Jane coming into herself. This book is an inspiration and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story.
Attention was drawn to the dramatic separation of the classes during the time the book was set it. Jane Eyre is an orphan, and therefore frowned upon by all as a dependent and a burden, almost no one expects her to do anything valuable with her life. This remearkable young woman pushed for the right to be sent to school, then ater her graduation stayed on as a teacher, after a mentor and only tie to the school left she advertised herself out as a governess. This was by no uncertain terms a grand achievement for someone born of such a position in the world. Although a governess was not the highest position during her time, she made due with the job and eventually found another window of opportunity. She fell in love with the master of the house and was asked for her hand in marriage. Certain events delay this already unseemly arrangement before true happiness is found.
Many readers and critics alike have compared this story very closely to Cinderella. The plots are similar, however, they are not quite the same. Jane Eyre, born an orphan, falls in love with her version of "Prince Charming," coming to her in the form of an employer. This idea of romance found in hte most unlikely of places with the most unattainable of people is a common thread through many modern works. This kind of fairy tale is appealing to a broad audience and almost any age. However, the level of reading that Jane Eyre is written for would suggest an age group of 12 through adults.
This novel left me both uplifted and very impressed with the style of writing that Chalotte Bronte has. The novel's use of separation in social classes to cause a stir and engage the reader's attention to the romance of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester is brilliant. Most people would say that the book is a basic take off of the age old tale of Cinderella, but in all actuality it is a beautifully mastered knowledge of the romantic ideals of many young women. I would remcommend this book to the age group of 12 through adults, this novel is also geared mainly towards women, although it would be a wonderful read for those men in the world who have a taste for this genre. Over all the book was a success, a literary masterpiece that has forever more left it's mark on our society as a classic.

A true classic, I found an old copy in my mothers house and devoured this book one hot summer. It has been made into several motion pictures, the most recent of which being in 1996 starring William Hurt.

The heroine of the novel, Jane Eyre, ends up in a strict boarding school after her parents die and her only living relative, and aunt, can no longer stand her 'wickedness'. She endures hardships at school, and the school mistress tries to dampen her passion and opinions.

Jane does not lose her spirit, she merely hides it behind her plain face and grows into a proper lady of her station. She graduates from school and takes on a position as a tutor for a young French girl, the ward of a Mr. Rochester. She is given a room in his large house the likes of which she has never seen in her former spartan existance. She falls in love with the little girl as well as Mr. Rochster.

Rochester is hiding a tragic secret however. One that he kept from Jane and everyone else for many years. The truth is finally exposed and Jane is heartbroken. This, however is not the end of our tale. Their love does not die, and the end of the novel is poignant and romantic. I guarantee it will have you in tears.

Charlotte's writing is beautiful, moving, and descriptive. She is unmatched as a mistress of character development.

To be honest, I haven't read many classics, but this is by far my favorite book ever. I was assigned to read it for school and am now completely obsessed. I have three different copies of the story, but my first copy was this cover.

What makes this book endurable and able to plow through for the first one-hundred-thirty pages and then keep reading for the next three-hundred-forty-one is the characterization. You love Jane, you hate Mr. Brocklehurst, and I don't know about anybody else, but I loved Mr. Rochester, Helen Burns, and Diana and hated St. John Rivers and Mrs. Reed. All characters stir feelings of either love or hate in you. This truly is the first, and the best, soap opera in the world!

I was told by some that they thought the ending lacked - ha ha! The ending couldn't have been better in my opinion. I, personally, didn't see it coming. When Jane was actually contemplating marrying St. John Rivers, I openly yelled "No! No! You can't marry him! You love Mr. Rochester whether he's married to a lunatic or not! Don't marry the moron! He's forcing you into it!"

This book evoked emotions from me I've never gotten before while reading a book. It evoked emotions I never even got watching a movie. Well, maybe it did, only they were excrutiatingly amplified. It was painful to read of Jane leaving Thornfield, even more painful to watch this self-respecting woman beg for food, and yet uplifting to read of her scorning St. John's idea of love and Mrs. Fairfax's label of "beggar."

All in all, whether you're assigned to read it or not, "Jane Eyre" is overly well worth its 461 pages.

Hedda Gabler is a wonderful story of a woman desperately trying to have control over her life. Married to a husband she doesn't love and pregnant with a child she doesn't want, Hedda seeks comfort in an old friend. There are enough surprizes in this play to keep it interesting throughout. Ibsen uses his brilliant writing style to capture the very essence of Hedda. I highly recommend Hedda Gabler as well as other works by Henrik Ibsen.

Henrik Ibsen was truly the Father of Modern Drama! His plays are much more "in-tune" with today's life than many scholars want to believe or will admit. Hedda was a powerful woman, who on the surface appeared to be confined by a dress, imprisoned in man's house, and smothered by a male-dominated society. It would appear that Thea Elvstead was the woman with more control, but this is not true. Hedda was a calculating "bitch" who dared (quite shrewdly) to cross over her set in stone "boundaries," manipulate others, and stand back and watch others lives be destroyed as a result. But when she is backed into a corner by the "new" creative couple (George & Thea) and Judge Brack, she takes the final power into her own hand. How ironic that the power is her late father's pistol. How tragic is her death when it was the ultimate control of a destiny that she so strongly desired? Henrik, you were a true visonary!!!

Hedda Gabler lives in an absolute prison. Her idylic residence is a prison, her marriage to a hopeful "ilustrious intellectual" is a prison, but above all, she lives imprisoned by herself, trapped by the social parameters that demand her to live the way she does. Hedda just can't figure out how to get out of that tedious state. She's intelligent, cold, severe; Gabler has an almost prodigious capacity to obtain all the information she inquires about the people around her; she manipulates them, she seems to get involved, but she simply tries to take advantage of the situation. Apparently, she doesn't feel much, but in reality, Hedda is in constant turmoil - her involvement has to do, almost exclusively, with what she just cannot allow herself to do.

For this woman, being able to have some sort of "power" over someone becomes the most exciting of all experiences, however - there's a point when she no longer will be able to manipulate the situation on her favor, she will realize how many forces have power over her; therefore, she will simply do the most congruent and coherent of things, as unexpected and shocking as the outcome of this play could possibly be.

Well organized activities! Thanks TCM once again for making my job easier. Teachers rock!

This literature unit was a great resource in teaching about the book. I used this book to teach my second grade students. The set up of lessons made my life easy. I love the way they broke the book up into chapters and already had vocabulary lists made. The book allowed for a very integrated curriculum. I would definitely recommend this resource to any teacher.

I was required to purchase this book for a college course. I am very thankful that my instructer choose this book. It is full of wonderful examples of appropriate literature for children. I sat down one evening and read two chapters for the sheer joy of it. The only thing that I was unhappy with was that there was a lack of children's activities in regards to the poetry section. All and all, this is a exceptional book for anyone interested in children's literature.

I am very disappointed to see that this book is out of print. I borrowed it a couple of years ago from my local library and have been looking for my own copy ever since. It is a highly enjoyable romance, with realistic and likeable characters. The story involves a young woman returning to her family farm (ranch?) in the American West after becoming jaded with city life. It provides light and escapist reading, without being sugary or silly.

The Battle of Betazed by Susan Kearny and Charlotte Douglas is set approximately two months after the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode "Tears of the Prophets," and a few months prior to the events of Star Trek: Insurrection.

This book is about the how Betazed fights the Dominion complete with Vorta and the Jem'Hadar. Deanna Troi has to choose between the survival of her homeworld and her ethics. A struggle that is ongoing and she trys to sort out the consequences of what is asked of her.

This is a good book revealing more of Deanna Troi as a breathing person and what she goes through, as she comes to grip with the reality that the people on Betazed want her to do something she is repulsed by, (releasing a tellepathic killer). The Dominion War has fallen to one of it most ominous points. The Federation is battling the Dominion on several fronts. The Cardassians allied with the Dominion make things extremely difficult on Betazed... can you imagine Lwaxana not having a bath in months and she has another child.

This book keeps your interest, it builds and builds upto a climax that is fascinating. We see the kindling of the gone cold relationship between Riker and Deanna. As the stresses build the relationship begins to heat up. I hope this will continue.

The evil Dr. Crell Moset, one of Cardassia's foremost exobiologists is here making things worse for the Betazeds by running horrifing experiments...but in the end his research is used with a justified twist. The pace of the book is excellent and the clever intrigue made the book readable...obviously this is a book for all those who are Deanna Troi fans as it works deeply into her soul.

A very fast read...captivating...fascinating.

I recommend reading this book and the book has a good picture of Deanna in her SOB suit on the cover.

Being a huge fan of Deanna Troi, I had to get this book when I saw it on Amazon. I knew I would love this book, and in fact, I finshed it in one day.

This book is very thought provoking, especially towards the end. The story tells of the occupation of Betazed during the Dominion War. Being peace loving and having few weapons of their own, Betazed fell easily to enemy forces. After only four months, the Cardassians and The Dominion have a new space station under construction and operational around the planet.

They plan to use the station, Sentoch Nor, to launch attacks on the inner worlds of the Federation, such as Vulcan and even Earth. The Federation is well aware of this fact, and has launched several attempts to regain Betazed. Unfotunately, they have al ended in disaster.

With starfleet sources stretched thinly, the Betazoid resistance (partially headed by Lawaxana Troi) comes up with a plan to retake their world with minimal help from starfleet. Unfortunately, it will require them to take an action that could destroy everything Betazoid society stands for. The peace and tranquility of Troi's homeworld could be forever destroyed.

With this new plan from the resistance, the Federation forms a plan to destroy Sentoch Nor and retake Betazed. Troi, Crusher, and Data, along with starfleet Commander Vaughn, are sent to a Betazoid outpost to obtain a serial killer named Tevren. This Betazoid has an ability that could save their world, if it was taught to other telepaths. Doing so would go against every moral and ethic Deanna has learned from her people.

While Troi and company attempt to secure Tevren, the Enterprise, supported by only three small light cruisers, is forced to take on a fleet of Cardassian and Dominion ships. They need to distract them, while Troi completes her mission. They also need to weaken Sentoch Nor's shields long enough for Riker, O'Brian and LaForge to beam in and destroy the station.

In the end, this books comes down to one question for Couselor Troi. Is freedom worth sacrificing everything you believe in?

This book is powerful and though provoking. Unfortunately, having two authors often leads to conflicting chapters and statements. I think they took the "I'll do one chapter, you do the next" approach. This often makes the writing style choppy and a bit confusing. Fortunately, the strong points in this book more than make up for it.

This book is a must have for fans of Deanna Troi. You'll love it's in depth look at her inner struggles and pain resulting from the conquest of her world. The way it focuses on her moral dilemnas and decisions will keep you from putting this book down until you're done. And then, you'll want to know even more of how she'll deal with the knowledge and skill she has acquired.

the war against the dominion and the cardassians is not going well for starfleet. betazeid has been captured and the dominion
force is builing a new space station with betazeids as slave labor. when starfleet sends ships to liberate betazeid they are
utterly destroyed before they even get close to the system. with
this defeat starfleet gets a message from the betazeid resistance
movement on betazeid that is headed by none other than laxanda
troi herself. the plan they want implemented can mean freedom
for their homeworld but may leave the betazoids scared emotionlly
permanently. what is freedom worth? will they risk their very
way of life for their freedom? deanna troi is caught in the middle of this very ethical decision and what she and the crew
of the enterprise do is well worth reading. this is one of the
best star trek the next generation books that i have read and i
highly reccomend it to all fans especially if you are a deanna
fan.

My Aussie husband (before he was my husband) planned to return to Australia for a year to finish his degree. I had planned to go as well so I purchased this and other books to help me get an Australian work permit, etc. Six months before I was due to leave I sent away over 30 letters requesting LEGAL work in Australia. After I read the book I was confident I would be able to obtain a work permit; six months later I was confident I'd wasted my money. Unless you are Bill Gates or the like, overseas companies just don't want the hassle of hiring an American. You would probably be better off looking for cash-in-hand jobs once you get there.

The book has a lot of pertinent information and covers a lot of issues, from relocating (including pets) to finding work to finding housing. As it was written specifically for residents of the UK migrating to Australia or NZ, some of the information is not relevant to US-based readers, which was disappointing for me. Also, the edition I read in early 1998 had house prices from 1994, and the prices I've noted while doing some of my own research recently are much higher. All in all, however, quite detailed and descriptive of all the things one needs to think about if migrating "down under."