yet it was a good one. if youre on the look out for strictly romance with nothing other than that going on, this is the one for you ::smile

Eden Carlbough is the owner of a girl's summer camp. Her hunky neighbor, Chase Elliott, owns an apple orchard that her campers love to trepass in. Eden falls out of a tree and right into Chase's arms...and so, the love story begins. Very cute book.
Excerpt from the back of the book:
"Temptation...it was an orchard away for socialite-turned-camp counselor Eden Carlbough. Orchard owner Chase Elliott was maddeningly attractive, irritatingly self-assured -and strictly hands off! Eden had enough to worry about with a camp full of preteen girls. But her heart knew where her preference lay...with forbidden fruit!"

fill the afternoon with a smile. as long as you dont expect that all of the books Ms. Roberts writes are a 5 starer, you will enjoy this one. i have yet to stop reading a book mid-way thru, so somethings good ::smile

FBI Agent Roman DeWinter comes undercover to the Whale Watch Inn to break up a counterfeiting and smuggling ring. One of his suspects is the inn's lovely owner, Charity Ford. He has to solve the case and clear Charity from all involvement before he can allow himself to fall in love with her. There is mystery and suspense as we figure out who the counterfeiters/smugglers are.
Excerpt from the back of the book:
"Secret agent Roman DeWinter came to the seaside inn with only the clothes on his back and a loaded .38 revolver. His orders: expose a criminal organization based at the vacation hideaway. His downfall: forsaking all reason for a few precious moments with the lovely innkeeper Charity Ford - his key suspect....."

This is one of Nora Roberts earlier books. If you have some time to kill and are a fan of Nora Roberts, this an OK book to read. The story line is good, but I felt that the characters were developed only half way. I also felt like this book was rushed and a little on the predictable side. I've read all of her more recent book and am a big fan, but with this book, Ms. Roberts didn't deliever some of that emotional attachment you feel for some of her characters and stories. Now a little clue on what this book is about: Laura Malone has been on the run for several months and is pregnant and alone. She ends up getting snow bound with Gabriel Bradley. Gabriel wants to be left alone so that he can get his life together and heal.

Laura Malone, widowed and eight months pregnant, is on the run from her disapproving former in-laws, who want to raise the baby themselves in their blue-blooded lifestyle. A car accident in the snow brings her to cranky artist Gabriel Bradley. Laura is snowbound with Gabe in his cabin and he offers to marry her to help defeat the in-laws. This was the first Nora Roberts book I have ever read which continued the story after the hero and heroine got married. Laura and Gabe learn to build a new family together and foil the evil in-laws plans.
Excerpt from the back of the book:
"No one was going to take her child away from her! Pregnant and alone, Laura Malone had been on the move for months. Finding herself snowbound with an angry, impatient Gabriel Bradley was not part of her plans.
Gabe wanted to be alone. He'd come to the isolated cabin to think, to work, and to heal. But when a woman crashed into his life-literally-he's felt obliged to help. Laura was everything a man could ever want and all that he desired. She trusted him, but Gabe was hard put to be an angel when Laura felt like heaven in his arms."

I love Nora Roberts and this is a good story - but not one of my favorite ones.

The back cover reads: "She was a success. Hillary Baxter had been only twenty-one when she left rural Kansas to pursue a New York modeling career. When Bret Bardoff, owner and publisher of fashinable Mode Magazine, offered her a prestigious six-month contract, the sky was the limit. There was only one problem. Hillary fell in love with Brett. But he appeared to be interested only in her glamorous image. Could he learn to love the woman whose face had haunted him from the first instant he had seen her photograph?"

This is a sweet, simple story about Hillary Baxter, a New York model with small-town values and Bret Bardoff, the magazine owner who hires her for a fashion photography project. I enjoyed it more than the other reviewer apparently; it's a nice book to curl up with on a rainy afternoon.
Excerpt from the back of the book:
"Model Hillary Baxter was every photographer's delight! In front of the camera, her perfected loveliness allowed her to be anyone she wanted to be. Yet behind the high-fashion trappings, she was simply a small-town girl-and certainly no match for her new boss, Bret Bardoff! Could he learn to love the woman whose face had captured his imagination...and haunted his dreams?"

I realize that this was one of Nora Roberts' earlier books, so the fact that the writing was not as good did not surprise me. However, I was very dissapointed that she speant almost no time letting the readers see Seth's thoughts until the very end and then, in a very uncharacteristic move for Roberts, allows her heroin to forgive him without too much changing or apoligizing on his part. I think this was an interesting book to read because of the fact that it was so early into Roberts' career but as a novel, I was just not impressed.

What did Lindsay Dunne know about dating? A ballet dancer, her life had been rehersals and recitals-now dangerously handsome Seth Bannion wanted to teach her the lessons of love. Seth's orphaned niece was enchanted with her ballet teacher, and Seth understood why. But if he risked letting Lindsay into their lives, would she one day dance right back out?

This is by far the most awful, horrible book I have ever read in my life... really. If you want to waste time and money to buy it and read it - go ahead, but it would be exactly that - a total waste. The writing was extremely poor and bordered on a second-grade vocabulary. There was less than zero chemistry between any of the characters - I mean, the lead male continually tells his wife/girlfriend to shutup, he calls her an idiot, and he tries to drown her in the bathtub a few weeks into the marriage - that's romantic???!!! There was no respect between any of the characters at all. I have no idea what the other reviewers were reading, but I think anything with the name Nora Roberts gets a high rating just because. This was one of her earlier works (perhaps the first? or very close to it), and I know she's improved. Just stay away from this book and I would assume anything of hers written pre-fame because it's likely to be just as awful. A terrible waste of printing money and materials. AWFUL!

Racing fans will especially enjoy this story of love at the track. Cynthia "Foxy" Fox, a noted photographer, accompanies her race car driver brother, Kirk, on the circuit to provide photos for a book. The sponsor of the car is studly Lance Matthews, whom Foxy has secretly loved for the past ten years. Foxy worries when her brother has a crash and is scared that Lance, a former driver himself, will go back in the car to replace him. An enjoyable read and an interesting look at why race car drivers get back in that car each day, despite the danger.

This is a well-rounded selection of common-sense conservative thought through the ages. It features a like of contemporary luminaries in the conservative movement as well as the venerable founding fathers. Though, it is must likely to resonate with contemporary neoconservatives than the more social conservatives and paleoconservatives. I also recommend, the Concise Conservative Encyclopedia.

this book is a simple, short love story. there isnt much depth to it but i did enjoy it. one has to remember that this is one of the earlier books writen by nora. you can see the major improvment in her writing skills as well as character depth. it is a quick read and one that leaves a smile on your face. sometimes thats enough ::smile

I enjoyed this novel much more than the other reviewer. Vance Banning, the wealthy president of a large construction firm, feels burned out and buys a cabin in a secluded area for a long vacation. His neighbor is lovely Shane Abbott, who thinks he is an out-of-work carpenter. Shane feels sorry for him and keeps trying to find paying work for him! Very cute story.
Excerpt from the back of the book:
"Wealthy Vance Banning needed a rest from the rat race and from gold-digging women, so he settled in a rural retreat and said he was an out-of-work carpenter. Vance was certain that would stop his beautiful neighbor from getting too friendly! But he had no idea how persistent Shane Abbott could be when it came to giving a helping hand-or a loving heart."

Lenore "Lee" Radcliffe is a magazine reporter who seeks an in-depth interview with publicity-shy horror author Hunter Brown. Okay, here's the unrealistic part: he'll only grant the interview if she comes camping with him for two weeks in a canyon in Arizona. Now, most magazines would never let their employees spend that kind of time on just one article, but apparently Lee's employer really wants this story, so she has to do it. Over the two weeks, they learn all about each other and fall in love. This book introduces the character of Lee's best female friend, photographer Bryan Mitchell, who gets a book of her own, the much superior sequel, "One Summer." Lee and Hunter briefly appear in that book as well.
...

These stories were uninteresting, with unrealistic plots and underdeveloped characters. I have read some of the other books in this Once upon series and they have been mediocre, but these stories were all a complete bore. Save your money.

I really enjoy the Once Upon collection. . . However was really disappointed with this books. The stories lack substance and characters. In addition, I was expecting more romance in the sense that the kiss in each story would almost be soul shattering for each of the couples. In several ways the authors could have focus more on the reasons as to why the kiss is so important or how it seems to have affected each of the characters. Instead I got the idea that the authors wanted to rush to the ending.

"A World Apart" by Nora Roberts. Kadra the Demon Slayer has vowed to destroy the devils that threaten her world. When the demon warriors and their king flee through a portal to a strange orb, Kadra follows. However New York City in the twenty-first century is eerily bizarre so Kadra coaxes private investigator Harper Doyle to help her battle her demons even while love blossoms between them. Nora Roberts provides a strong fantasy romance.

"Impossible" by Jill Gregory. Her family has always sheltered Princess Erinn of Marlbury from the ravages of the hundred-year war. Still their enemy Tynon of Bordmoor kidnaps her. Tynon believes that Erinn is a witch, who has enchanted his land and soon afterward his heart. Jill Gregory paints a wonderful fantasy romance.

"Sealed with a Kiss" by Ruth Ryan Langan. Her father promised powerful Highland chieftain Duncan MacLean his daughter Arianna Douglas in marriage in exchange for protection against invaders. When Duncan's warriors come to escort Arianna, his nephew Lachlan steals her heart. This is an entertaining tale that although the key characters are never developed.

"Kiss Me, Kate" by Marianne Willman. Kate Singleton inherits a manor with a resident enchanted prince. However, her heart belongs to her new neighbor, Michael Bellamy. With a wee bit of help, Kate might save the prince and gain heart's desire too. This is a fun fairy tale that the audience will enjoy yet feel the American, the Englishman, and the frog needed further development perhaps in a novella.

The fifth "Once Upon a ..." is a delightful fantasy romance anthology.

Harriet Klausner