I had wondered what had happened to Milly and Dori's brother Deke after reading THE COWBOY CRASHES A WEDDING and THE STARDUST COWBOY and in THE COWBOY'S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE I finally found out -- he got a second chance with his long-time-ago best friend Erin.
For Erin it was the last thing she expected but could she and her first love Deke really have a future together, was it a second chance for Erin's kids Gabriel, Sophie and Nicolas to have a dad and for Deke's adorable son Zack to have a mum and what about Deke's dad, stubborn John Malone, would it be to late for him to have a second chance to reach out to the son he had driven away.
We also get to catch up on some of the characters from Anne's previous books, so if you like reading about lone wolf cowboys, and warm loving families, then this is definitely a book for you.

I give this book an extra star for its originality. I've never read a romance novel dealing with this subjet matter.
However, for all that I liked the plot, I simply couldn't warm up to the characters, especially Ellie. I felt she was much too passive; she'd never stopped being a victim.

Anne Stuart loves creating heroes that you love in spite of yourself. Sometimes, Tanner deserved a smack he was just so annoying - but for some reason he was very appealing at the same time. The story is surprisingly heartwarming in the sense that the two characters manage to overcome a troubled and sad past and discover love and happiness. Some of their scenes together are very warm and tender and very, very loving. This isn't a comfort book - but definitely a very enjoyable one.

Anne Stuart constantly pushes the edge and takes risks, and she far more than succeeds in this book, she conquers--and this reader is delighted.

In _All the Weyrs of Pern_ the large cast of characters from the Dragonrider and Harper Hall books, with the help of the Ancient AI device unearthed at the end of _Renegades_, settle down to their ultimate task: Ridding Pern of Thread for once and for all.

I've read all the Pern books over and over since I first discovered them in eighth grade -- _Dragonquest_ was the first book I bought with my own money. In the main, I really enjoy them. Anne McCaffrey writes well and her ideas are very original, particularly in the earlier books in the series. Some of the later volumes have not thrilled me, however. _Renegades_ I found particularly unmoving, so I picked up ATW with some trepidation the first time. But this is the Dragonriders series at its best, with all the characters the reader has come to know and love facing challenges with fortitude and even humour.

I don't argue that McCaffrey is a great storyteller. She is at her best in situationally-driven stories (rather than character-driven), particularly those where her charcters are put in a new, alien and/or hostile environment where they must develop the skills to succeed in various tasks. This is part of what makes her Dragonrider series appealing to fans of straight science fiction as well as fans of fantasy. And as the basic theme of ATW, it makes for an absorbing read.

McCaffrey needs a continuity editor, however. As her world becomes more and more complex it seems she has trouble keeping track of the details. Unfortunately, I am the kind of person who is bothered by this.

Is Jancis a Mastersmith or a journeyman smith? She seems to be both, often in the same paragraph. And how did she come to be Fandarel's granddaughter when he formerly stated he had no wife, only his work? How did Sharra appear at landing to exchange a significant glance with Jancis, when before and after that single incident it was clearly stated she wasn't there at all? Why is Menolly telling AIVAS about her three children when in _Dolphins_ at a later date she is shown to be pregnant with only the second? How did Lord Oterel appear in _Dolphins_, long after the close of ATW, when he died before ATW ended? These are just some of the details that distracted me.

But, well, this is still a great book and one that really ties up the Pern series. I could only wish that Anne McCaffrey had ended here.

I recently started reading the Dragonriders of Pern series about two months ago. I picked up "DragonFlight" one day in the school's library and read the whole thing in three days and haven't stopped reading the Dragonrider books since. After reading the first three volumes and "The Renegades of Pern" (I suggest you read all of these first) I started reading "All the Weyrs of Pern." Being the Pern-addict I am now, I quickly became engrossed in the story line. With the promise of Thread to be forever gone for Pern's skies and many other rediscovered things that have been long been lost since the first people came to Pern. It makes for a solid story line and keeps the reader interested through out the book. All in all I think this is the prefect ending for McCaffrey's "Dragonriders of Pern". If you like being keep on the edge of your set wondering what's going to happen next, I think this book would be worth looking into. But do be warned, have a box of tissues for the ending. It's an unexpected tear jerker.

I found All the Weyrs to be the most satisfying of the newer Pern books written in the 90's. Here McCaffrey takes on a plotline set up in Renegades and DragonsDawn. The book details a lot of technology introduced by the computer Aivas which was uncovered at the end of Renegades. But somehow reading about the characters learning about technology is not incredibly dry but rather entertaining. One of my favorite aspects of McCaffrey's writing is the simple and sweet voices of the dragons in speech. Here, Aivas, the computer, takes on a persona that is more sophisticated than the dragons but equally sweet. The venture to rid Pern of Thread involves ventures into space, some of which made me mentally balk at going "between" to a space ship. Also the book introduces the future political upheavals and problems with the introduction of the new technologies. All of our favorite charactors are here, particularly Jaxom and Sharra, Robinton, Lytol and of course F'lar and Lessa.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about the book itself, I just though I would let potential buyers know that the book does contain a facsimile of the first quarto of Hamlet, as well as background and commentary. So unless you have trouble reading the antiquated type face, don't buy an "edited" version of Q1 when you get the original here.

I thought the book was great and very informing. I will read it every night and day for the rest of my life. I love William very much I wish he was still around now so I could meet him.

Back Cover description: Demetri Kastro has dark suspicions about Joanna, the young and very attractive woman who has escorted is father home to Greece. Though the elderly millionaire is ill, Demetri is certain Joanna isn't what the doctor ordered!
However, Demetri's attempts to dig beneath Joanna's coolly beautiful exterior reveal few clues as to the nature of her relationship with his father. She's giving nothing away...except an unwitting sexual attractiveness that Demetri finds hard to resist....

Well-done story with good sexual tension between Joanna and Demetri. Two subplots thrown in; one about the father's health, and the other about Joanna' ex-husband. Joanna seems to have the upper hand-by that I mean she is not a doormat doing whatever Demetri wants. Her relationship with his father is nicely done and respectful. Try it.

My mother-in-law says Harlequin Romances are so easy. They are like a quickie before lunchtime she informs me. And I always was inclined to believe her, never having indulged myself. Until now.

Curled up in my reading chair, having put my daughter to sleep, I felt ready to enjoy a sweet romance with Anne McAllister's July release, "Nathan's Child." Unprepared and definitely uninformed, I began a starkly realistic story of a single mother's struggle to include the long absent father of her child. As the characterization of Carin Campbell blossomed, McAllister deftly handled the reactions of Nathan Wolfe and Lacey Campbell as their own relationship develops. The depth of this book is impressive with its intuitive revelations and ability to make you care about the individuals.

Nathan Wolfe, thirteen years missing, from Carin Campbell's now in control life, suddenly appears wanting to be a part of his daughter's life. Lacey Campbell couldn't be more pleased. Carin on the other hand, has decided duty be hanged and Nathan with it. As Carin consciously begins mending the relationship between Nathan and Lacey, she and Nathan find family ties are not always the ones that bind. And that love can be the strongest bond of all.

Overall, "Nathan's Child" was well worth the wait for those who have been begging for completion of the "Wolfe Brothers' Trilogy." Check out the the Inconvenient Bride and Rhys' Redemption for the other Wolfe Brother's stories.

McAllister deserves high kudos for making this story so likable and in a short amount of time. She reels you in quickly and keeps her story believable the entire way through this book. It's hard to believe she manages it with so little time and with one of the oldest plots of all time. It's a remarkable talent!

You may resent the quickie remark, but if you are looking for a sexy but touching story, "Nathan's Child" delivers. Emotionally deep and stirring, it deserves all your attention (whether you read it before lunch or not)!

...P>Anne Haven's HER BABY'S FATHER examines the boundaries of ethical behavior and the definitions of fatherhood. The plot may seem a bit overburdened with the number of stunning twists, from infertility to brothers having been married to the same woman at different times, but the strengths of characterization and gentle handling of extremely delicate family matters reveals a deft authorial touch. Haven's smooth writing style, multidimensional characters and strong emotional conflicts make for a evocative read. Recommended.

Amazon steered me to this book when I was looking for more on Cuban politics after reading "Against All Hope" by Armando Valladares (a maginificent, poetic book about the horrors of life in the Cuban gulag).

Geyer presents a sweeping biography of Castro, from childhood all the way up to September 11. She offers real insight on Castro's psychology and crisply recounts events leading up the revolution. It is primarily a political history.

To me the most fascinating aspect of Castro's story is how easily he comes to power after starting out with such pathetically meager resources. His "liberation" of Cuba begins with a tragi-comic marine landing by a handful of hungry and confused rebels. Incredibly, by virtue of his irresistible personality, brilliant, bold, and ruthless tactics, and a hopelessly incompetent Batista regime, Castro takes control of Cuba. The story is remarkably similar to that of Pizarro's conquest of the Incas.

Two problems with the book. First, I think Geyer's narrative becomes quite sketchy after Castro reaches power. There's a lot going on, and she needs more detail to tie together all the political, psychological, and social threads of her story. Second, the writing is uneven: her descriptions of characters and events are passionate and dramatic, but her analysis is sometimes vague and hard to follow.

All in all, Geyer paints a pretty good picture of the Castro phenomenon. If you have never delved into this subject, you might be astonished at what's been going on 90 miles from the United States. Clearly, Geyer knows her material, since she personally knows many, many of the key political figures in Cuba and the United States. I think she is a very reliable source of information on a subject where reliable reporting is hard to find.

This book is a very well written analysis of Castro's regime as well as his personal methods of operation. It does an excellent job of helping to understand what makes him tick. However, it is extremely slanted toward the anti-Castro Miami Cuban community, and virtually ignores the black Cubans. Highly recommended, but take the bias into account, because it is easy not to.

As one of the thousands of the Cuban non-political middle class who had to flee Cuba leaving everything behind including family, who not only experienced and suffered Castro's rise to power first hand, and whose family and himself personally knew quite a few of the persons which the book makes reference to; I, would not edit anything in this book. This is an accurate and well researched work as its large number of appendix sources testify. Geyer's only hope for her book has been to open the eyes of those who are still under Castro's spell for pre 60's revolutionary romanticism. Her book details Castro's rise to power accurately including his use of brutality and its resulting human suffering which are inherent to any totalitarian regime.

I'm writing this to warn off readers...this book is so terrible, I only gave it 2 stars for the description of Alejandro. HE, at least, was well-written. It should be titled, "Abby's a Wimp". This heroine has let everyone walk all over her since day one. It was so annoying, it spoilt the whole book for me! Don't bother with this one.

I read this book ...and struggle now to recall the Jarrett and Stone stories - they simply made no impact and they did not capture my attention. I had read the Gracie story elsewhere so this volume was very unsatisfactory for me.

In Jarrett's story, Sara Blake, brought up in India, has been reduced to being the governess to an eight year old child (Clarissa) who is an incredulous character to say the least! She behaves neither like an eight year old nor like a child of the early 19th century. Yeech! Lord Revell Claremont, younger son of a Duke, had the Great Misunderstanding with Sara many years ago and, over a Christmas house party, everything is sorted out. Sorry - I could not bring myself to care about the characters or their dilemma; they did not attract me at all and the story line was tired and not especially interesting.

Lyn Stone's story of a marraige of convenience, mystery children, mistaken identities, etc (every trite and well used theme you can think of) was played out in a stiff and what appeared to me to be a hastily written format. The prose never seemed to lift or sparkle as one might reasonably expect in a Regency Christmas story. Again, Bethany and Jack are not people I could get interested in; too one-dimensional for me.

Anne Gracie's story was at least better written. Again, a case of mistaken identity through the means of amnesia, this is the story of a man set upon and near death rescued by a penurious widow and her small daughter. Although the story was simplistic and credulous at times, at least Gracie has the manifest talent of writing prose that holds one's attention. I didn't think this was her best effort but at least one could care about the characters and one can at least be cheered when poor Ellie snags her Lord Rothbury.

I think Harlequin failed with this anthology. I love Christmas Regency short stories but this volume was flat, sometimes turgid and sadly filled with uninteresting characters trapped in uninspiring stories. Don't bother.