I was sadly disappointed in this book. The dialogue is very stiff and unwieldy to me and the hero doesn't make much sense. I thought the plot was a stretch most of the time. There seemed to be little of her ususal humor evident.
I am glad this was not the first of hers I read.

AFter reading all the 5* reviews, had to put my comments in. I've read most of JAK (& Amanda Quick & Jayne Castle), and re-read them. Including this one. The plot is good, I like all the stuff about books and old books, but the hero is just too obnoxious. I know they're all a little too macho, but this guy is rude and lacks some of the endearing qualities of her other heros. He does get better as the book goes on, but not soon enough for me. I would have dumped him way back. I actually prefer her newer work, where the heroes are a little less rude and the heroines more willing to stand up for themselves.

I am in the process of buying and reading everything Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle has written. I have not been disappointed yet! Hoping all of her out of print books will be reissued. I was late in finding Ms. Krentz but I'll not rest till I've read them all!

"The Jewel Heart" is not my favorite book by Barbara Helen Berger. It is the first book by her that I've read that has not blown me away. Still, I can see quite clearly how a book like this would move the heart of a dancer.

Both my wife and daughter have danced some ballet. So I was not surprised when my daughter really enjoyed this book.

This little tale about the relationship between Gemino and Pavelle is quite interesting. Like the rest of Berger's stuff, it is a clear enough story to read once to a child. At the same time, it is deep enough to bear some reflecting on by mature kids and mature adults.

I wish I could give "The Jewel Heart" three and a half stars. It is, like all of Berger's books, worth reading. It is just not my personal favorite. That said, I recommend it.

My 6-year old daughter and her friends are enthralled with this lovely book. We've read it many times and they never seem to tire of the story of the kind ballerina, Pavelle, and her dear friend Gemino. The illustrations are works of art and have a wonderful ethereal quality to them. Ms. Berger is a truly talented author and illustrator.

This is a delicate, gentle tale, with pictures so soft they're almost wistful. But the story of the lovely dancer and the one who weaves her music is quietly luminous and has a serene, pure joy at the ending, where the young musician's heart bursts into a beautiful rose. The shadows that whisper through the book are magical. All in all, a dream of a book.

I loved this story. I had never heard of Terri Lynn Wilhelm when I bought this book. I was interested in buying it when I saw that it was set in the Scottish Highlands, which is my favorite story setting. I took a chance...and was not disappointed. Ms. Wilhelm has an extraordinary talent for storytelling, her stories flow quickly and easily and her detailed descriptions of everything from the setting to the characters' emotions really allow you to get caught up in the story. The 2 lead characters are both strong, brave, honorable and currently in trouble. Hero was once wealthy, until her mother remarried. Now she finds herself lost and alone in the wild higlands of Scotland searching for her aunt after having escaped the poverty of London, not to mention a pair of lecherous hands. She meets up with Ciaran, who is escaping a band of blood thirsty Highlanders bent on seeing him die. Their paths cross. Hero asks for his help in searching for her elusive aunt and Ciaran finds he must help her for fear that she goes about it alone - again. In the process of Ciaran's helping Hero find her aunt, they find themselves falling in love with each other. Ciaran does not want this to happen as he feels his days are numbered with the MacDubhair clan's slaughtering his whole clan and him being the sole survivor and hunted by them. Once Hero gets past her initial fears she decides she wants him. To keep. So when Ciaran does the heart-breakingly noble thing by not touching her and leaving her behind so he can go off and basically get himself killed - she does not allow it.

I won't tell you any more of the story but its a definite must read. The emotions the characters feel are very clearly described throughout.

Highland Jewel was both romantic and excitingly full of suspense. I could not put the book down and yet I did not want it to end. It would be so nice if Miss Wilhelm would write a sequel.

Highland Jewel has everything--a wonderful, unusual setting, a spunky, loveable heroine, and an unforgettable hero. It also has a tender--and quite sexy!--romance between two strong, exciting characters. You'll hate to see their story end. I've read other books by this author, and I loved them all. She completely captures the feel of the Highlands--and she uses both humor and deep emotion in every story. I especially love her heroes. They aren't just gorgeous men. They always have a special, tragic nobility, too.

Essentially that title sums it up. The problem with most of these kinds of books is they cover every facet of the performer's life (and Jewel has had a more interesting one than most) but they are too close in time and too enthusiastic to be definitive on the career of someone who is clearly talented and articulate but has a long way to go to develop to the level of those whom we will remember a hundred years on. This is a source on a life in progress not anywhere near a final word and analysis.

I read this book a few years ago, but I thought it was very informative to see inside a person's soul who is as genuine as they come. Like most biographies the stars are more into telling shocking stories(true or not) to find a fan base. Jewel has nothing to hide and she puts her softest most fragile thoughts into all her work; that is what kept my curiosity at its highest level- her amount of sincerity. I have found through reading all her books that she has influenced me dramatically.

It is amazing that in the height of the alternative movement in music; here comes a young girl from Alaska singing music from the heart about everyday events, so she changes the format of music completely to a much softer more meaningful kind of sound... I am sure if a lot more people would listen to their heart more and not be so impulsive things could be a lot better in the world today.

I read this book a few years ago, but I thought it was very informative to see inside a person's soul who is as genuine as they come. Like most biographies the stars are more into telling shocking stories(true or not) to find a fan base. Jewel has nothing to hide and she puts her softest most fragile thoughts into all her work; that is what kept my curiosity at its highest level- her amount of sincerity. I have found through reading all her books that she has influenced me dramatically.

It is amazing that in the height of the alternative movement in music; here comes a young girl from Alaska singing music from the heart about everyday events, so she changes the format of music completely to a much softer more meaningful kind of sound... I am sure if a lot more people would listen to their heart more and not be so impulsive things could be a lot better in the world today.

This book starts very well, the middle is full of suspense, and the last scenes are griping, just the end leaves you wanting more. If you are a fan of Bram Stoker you'll really enjoy this, he frames the ere scenes so well you are suspicious of every- one and thing. I could choke on the air in the house where it takes place. I couldn't walk through the Egyptian exhibit at the museum without getting the creeps after reading this book. It does have some drawbacks, but is much better then Stokers "The Lair of the white Worm", because he doesn't rely on psychological symbolism to much. You'll definitely want to know what's going to happen next. The 1970's movie is not very good.

I really love Bram Stoker's writing and this would have to be my second favorite book of his (Dracula being the first of course).

Though the pace is slow compared to modern writing, the descriptions are wonderful. The characters are standard Stoker men and women. I have to admit I like them, even if they are a bit over melodramatic in nature.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending, which left to many questions in the air.

Either way, I recommend this book. If you are a fan of Stoker, definitely purchase a copy. If you are looking for a change in horror fiction or are interested in this periods writing, I'd recommend it too.

This was a good book to read. It keeps you on the edge wondering what will happen next. The ending is kind of a dud though, I thought. Other than that, very good mystery book- highly recommend it.

There are good and bad sides to this account of the legendary Bell Labs.
On the good side, this book is definitely a _must_ to the BL "diaspora", people who spent some 5-10 years of their life there, but did not choose it for lifetime. This is true especially for those who experienced the real pioneer era, i.e. when research was still under AT&T funding without business pressure, and at the birth of optical communications, a field that BL carried to the full end, in spite of many other useful or useless but high research achievements. Good times indeed from 1945 to until the 1990s for talented and die-hard investigators. As one Holmdel veteran wrote it once "..it was hard believing that you could be paid to have so much fun".

The book is very interesting when showing the transformation from this legendary research system model into the new-and-ugly market-oriented one. Regrettably enough, the author puts emphasis on the more politically-correct later stage, instead of telling us what was good and personal in the earlier one. Yet, he provides a vivid account of his (seemingly mild ?) tribulations to get the scientific nerds and egoes under him through such a cultural painstaking transformation, especially when he strove to develop a viable and interesting product which unfortunately failed to interest the blind Top. In the concluding sections, he courageously mentions the infamous fraud that marred this respected institution (but it could be a "vaudoo" trick as well to avoid really adressing the core of the issue: scientific dishonesty as a mushroom on a decaying environment). In spite of many repeats and heavy commonplaces "scientific- vs. market-oriented research problem, or the reverse, and again never really solved", it is written in a soft and agreeable style, with that touch of personal and sincere account that makes you want to read the book to the end (could CS engineers of the world unite and follow such a writing example).

On the less good side, there is way too much lip service to the author's past line/patriarchal hierarchy: basically GOD, as incidentally represented by VP research, then N+2 and N+1 or self, yielding annoying or meaningless expressions such as "the post-(my boss)BL", and so on. For any experienced-writer viewpoint, the final edition looks embarassingly perfect and rosy, in spite of some episodic 'disagreements' and other ego-tantrum lullabies. But the reader may forgive the author's sincere epitaph for the "great" bosses that made up his career, and understandably, that book is a dedication to them. (now are these heroes really dead, or enjoying happy lives in California start-ups instead ? We may surely save our tears in the latter case). We would have liked to know more about the causes that precipitated the doom of Telecoms, as viewed by the seemingly unique institution in charge. The competition and ROW must have been following in daily angst the Murray Hill saga, with its waltz of questionable promotions and friendly departures. Overall, it looks like the author stayed inside a fall-out shelter during all the events that got the market and stocks down to where it still lags. The painstaking story of the N-vestiture of the BL hologram, which gives a conceptual ground to the book, is alas no substitute to a real personal 20-years account. Maybe when the author was a post-doc researcher doing science and papers in his laboratory keyboard, hoping to get to the boss position, could we have learned something about the Crown Jewel times. Unfortunately, this is where the intimate story is skipped, and thus the official one (taht the reader is offered) starts with the "day after" the demise of the Crown, and the Jewels in the process of running away.

At the beginning of his book, the author is very honest (say at least careful) to mention his lack of knowledge of non-CS activities at BL. But nevertheless he seems to praise Raman amplifiers (invented in Germany, France and Japan in the 80s, notwithstanding the discovery of SRS in fibers at Holmdel in the 70s) while remaining blind to the discovery/development of the erbium fiber amplifier at the BL Holmdel facilities. Such an event triggered the entire WDM revolution and generated billions of revenues for the new market-oriented BL BUs, their subsidiaries and an opportunistic submarine branch in particular.

The author was probably not interested in the history of BL to such an extent, past his office/coffee-machine loft at Murray Hill. A bit more curiosity and less self-centeredness would have been a plus for such an otherwise very commendable personal account.

This lack of curiosity about other fields, due to internal competition, rivalry or complete indifference between BL sites, was typical of the older BL regime. This book thus indirectly provides an unwanted homage to these lesser-known and shadowy aspects of the Labs. But glamour of the past is also important for little boys and girls.

One star yet for "buy" in a 1/0 decision space.

This is a must read for all those in organizations that have been around for a long time. Today, partly due to technology, organizations more at a far greater pace than ever before - Bell Labs the technology innovator itself could not keep pace. It was a fascinating look inside Bell Labs at the time it was going through a historic cultural shift. Gehani is a gifted writer, it was hard to put down the book.

A must read for those working in organisations where a fine balance needs to be made between the sweaters and the suits. The book describes in detail how even one of the greatest, legendary companies can stumble badly when management fails to keep the crucial balance.

For a police procedural story at its best, written by a retired law
enforcement officer, Family Jewels can't be beat. When Brenda Helper and her
partner arrive at Shanis Jewelry it is unclear whether Michael Inez died of
a heart attack or murder. And like all police officers Brenda has other
calls, other scenes to attend. But too many of the robberies and murders
have similarities or connections to Inez' murder. As Brenda and her partners
work their beat, meet vagrants, answers calls, interrogate suspects, visit
with victims, it becomes clear they are unraveling a network of crime.

The cost of solving the case, or cases, is high. Three officers "were
charged departmentally and placed on desk duties." Brenda escaped injury "by
virtue of her age and physical conditioning." But one of the other officer's
"injuries had been quite severe in that he had nerve damage to his fingers,
a serious concussion and had loss a substantial amount of blood."

Only the superbly interesting and well paced plot kept the reader turning
pages. Though this reviewer read a trade paperback copy of this book
complete with glossy front cover graphics and back cover author's bio and
picture, it appears to be a first draft-most definitely not an edited book.
The plot and writing is so captivating, that with professional editing,
Family Jewels could become a made-for-television movie earning it five
daggers. But in its present form it is at best only a three dagger read-such
a shame. Review by Evelyn Gale of All About Murder Reviews

Family Jewels is a detective novel about a homicide in a jeweler's store, and the subsequent investigation by three detectives, assisted by the only witness, who is murdered shortly after. This is T. Y. Green's first published novel. She is a twenty-year veteran of the Baltimore City Police Department. The crime was written extremely well, covering all the basics that make a good detective novel.

The information given to the officer in the story is handled in a quick and timely fashion. The scenes, nicely fleshed out, made the places seem real. The method of murder was unique, and the experience Ms. Green must have clearly showed through in the plot.

However, the voice of the book switches back and forth between breathing characters and a police report, giving it an odd, disjointed feeling. The passage of time is thrown in without much of a transition. While I found the method of murder and the subsequent investigation unique and seemingly accurate, I had a difficult time liking any of the characters. They didn't always act true to the personalities Ms. Green established for them early on.
--Written by John D. Tunstall, SF/Fantasy Editor for Dog-eared Webzine.

Brenda, a rookie officer secretly teams up with Lawrence and Alverez to solve a case that's kept the citizens of Baltimore frightened for over a year. The Baltimore City Police Dept. can't seem to connect any of the clues that are disrupting the peace of their city. After a series of unlucky events leave Brenda and Lawrence struggling to keep their relationship from deteriorating, they stumble across some leads that help them to uncover evidence to help solve a once thought unsolvable mystery, climaxing into an exciting and chilling conclusion. I found this book to be well paced and written. I didn't want to put it down once I started reading. T.Y. Green provided an excellent end to her book that leaves the reader anticipating her next novel. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to solve a good mystery. T.Y. Green should write scripts for TV Drama!

if you're into S & M, this book is for you . . . I didn't like it. very brutal sex. and the computer wouldn't let me give a a ZERO star rating but that's what i'd give it. ick.

I found this book both exciting and stimulating. I guess its what every lesbian dreams off!! Once i'd started reading I couldn't leave it down!! A very on the edge and extremely erotic book. I did enjoy the painting scene, and I couldn't wait to read on the plot is really good and exciting as it unfolds through all the steamy scenes. This book certinaly gives the open mind a few ideas, I doubt i'll be doing the spoon scene though. Buy this book, you wont regret it, its the most fun you can have with your clothes on, a big thumbs up!!

This was an amazing book - I'm still finding it hard to believe that it's been hidden away under the genre of erotica and therefore been deprived of the praise it deserves. I first read a review of it in SFX magazine and was sceptical. I thought I'd try it anyway, though, and was I in for a shock: beneath the Viking storyline are several equally important themes - for example, I found in the novel an examination of the nature of violence and a scathing critique of religion. So the novel has those layers in addition to being one of the sexiest reads of the year and a sword-'n'-sorcery fable that puts Xena to shame. Viva Rika! I want more.

It seems that in many of the BSC mysteries, the "crime" or "mystery" does not turn out to be real, like in this book. Also, how realistic is it that two 11-year-olds would be permitted by their parents to wander around New York City by themselves when they're not even familiar with the city?

My other complaint is that this is Jessi's ONLY mystery. She was also neglected a lot towards the end of the regular BSC series. I wonder if Ann Martin just forgot to write more books about her...

Jessi and Quint are suspicious of some people they heard Arguing about stealing some new jewwels in the museum. Then they learn never to jump to conclusions as they find out the people they are suspicious about are just movie actors doing a movie about Jewel Thieves!!!!!!!!!

i haven't reAD THE book but to the first review i really don't think you should have told the ending.i ordered it and now it's just a waste of money!

I was disappointed by this book. Though the stories in it are undoubtedly true and it does describe how difficult Jewel's road to stardom was, it seemed to read more like a chronology of events than an in-depth look at her career. Quotes were interpersed throughout from Jewel and those close to her, but the author never actually interviewed her himself. You could easily find much of the factual information online for free and if you know what EDA stands for, you probably know most of it already anyway.

If you are looking for more insight into Jewel's life and career, I would suggest her autobiography "Chasing Down the Dawn". If you want inspiration for making dreams come true and listening to your soul, "The Architecture of All Abundance" by Lenedra Carroll (Jewel's mom) is a must-read. If you're still thinking about this book, read the online "look inside" excerpt pages first - that's almost 20% of the book right there.

I never realized, until I read Angel Standing By, how difficult Jewel's life was previous to her becoming a star (can you believe she had to steal toilet paper from fast food restaurants?!). I never realized how precariously the foundation upon which her stardom was built - late to an audition with Atlantic Records, she almost never got signed. If it hadn't been for the persistence of her rather green A&R rep, who just believed in her the way some people ardently profess faith in to a god, Jewel would have been slinking back to oblivion in the San Diego coffeehouse scene. I never realized how much impact her love affair with Steve Poltz, nearly twice her age and already a scenemaker in San Diego band the Rugburns, had on her own career and visibility ... culminating in their shared songwriting of "You Were Meant For Me." And these are the minor points... All the inside stories, all the behind-the-scenes insight that could make you feel like you truly know this songstress, are in this book. Maybe diehard fans close to stalkerdom already know these stories, but for the rest of us, Angel Standing By is a must read. You can never really understand Jewel's songs (much less her poetry) until you understand her.

Anyone who loves Jewel is going to love this book because it give so many facts about her life and it shows that not everyone starts out with a road paved in gold.you have got to take chances to get where you want to go .