This book is fun to read. Plenty of suspense and action, but the characters are warm and likeable. Jolie Wyatt should especially appeal to fans of J.A. Jance's Joanna Brady.

I don't know who wrote that Ingram Review but it's completely innacurate and they obviously didn't read the book. I'm reading the book right now, and that's not what happened at all. A man is murdered in Kit's home during one of his notorious parties, and the widow, Norah, comes the morning after, to see the place where her husband was murdered. Kit is immediately taken with her. At no point does he suspect her of murder, as far as I can tell, and he's not trying to clear his name about it either. He befriends her because he wants her, and practically falls in love (or becomes obsessed, as far as I can tell) with her as soon as he meets her. He also feels guilty that someone died in his own home, and he wants to find the murderer because he's worried the killer will try to hurt Norah too. The book is pretty good. Not as good as some of Smith's other books. The hero, Kit, is awfully sensitive about his Hindu heritage, and takes every insult to heart, which is a little annoying. But i like it, just the same, and have enjoyed it so far.

In a state where a house is considered old if it's been around for more than 25 years, people don't normally associate California with ghosts. However, between earthquakes, the Spanish-American War and the Barbary Coast--not to mention the Native Americans who were pushed around--its past violence and trauma has reaped its own crop of ghosts. GHOST STORIES OF CALIFORNIA is a collection of the Golden State's ghost folklore told in a classic style.

Author Barbara Smith has organized this collection of eerie tales by the milieu each ghost haunts. The ghosts she writes about can be found in homes, public places, "ghost towns," inns, the Pacific Ocean, theaters, and as links to frontier history. The depth of the accounts provides little new insight or facts, but they do give a good shiver for those looking for something spooky.

Any book on California ghost folklore would be incomplete without reports on the Winchester House, Whaley House, QUEEN MARY, and Hotel del Coronado, and Smith faithfully supplies those tales for those new to subject. What makes this volume interesting is the lesser-known stories from around the state. In a haunted transfer station, a murdered attendant still goes out to the livery to care for the horses. The permanently-docked USS HORNET has apparitions of sailors who disappear as they walk around on board. The most malevolent entities can be found at Alcatraz. John Wayne is still sensed and seen aboard his beloved yacht, THE WILD GOOSE, despite selling it shortly before he died of cancer in 1979. (That's one thing about death, you don't have to worry about niceties.) Smith also includes a substantial chapter on the Hotel Roosevelt, which houses several celebrity ghosts including Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift.

Of course, this book just touches the surface of California hauntings. A few that are missing that this reviewer has yet to find documentation on are a couple of hotels in the San Francisco Bay Area and the phantom seen along San Jose's Alum Rock Road. Some of the better-known legends that are also absent include the Moss Beach Distillery, San Francisco Art Institute, and Disneyland. Efforts to make a book that comprehensive would take ages to research and those who want to read the stories would never see them in print.

Anyone who wants to become better acquainted with ghost folklore of this state should really enjoy GHOST STORIES OF CALIFORNIA. The stories it covers are fascinating whether or not the reader lives nearby.

Eyes of dark amber. A mocking smile. An infinitely arousing kiss. Her youthful heart given freely, then shattered. All of this Allison forced herself not to regret. Regret was for those afraid of living, and she was doing just fine. Then Matt Wakefield knocked on her door one frosty morning, as devastating as he'd ever been, and as irresistible. It wouldn't, should't, couldn't last - and this time there'd be no regrets. This time, she wouldn't fall in love...

This book is really neat - taking traditional blocks and making them into other different type of quilts. gives new light on quilt making

While the book has a lot of helpful information, a lot of the basics are left to the imagination. Not a beginners book but very informative!

I have found this book tremendously valuable for those times when I need some new ideas but don't have any extra room in my budget. It's inspiring and informative!

I really had trouble rating this book. Three and a half stars is probably a more accurate rating, as far as I'm concerned. However, I have so much respect for Ms. Smith's writing....

A marriage of conveniece is forced by the debt of Gerald, brother of the heroine, Alicia. Drake has the mortgage to Alicia and Gerald's home. Drake has set the marriage up, to seek vengeance. In my view, this was the only "scoundrelous" behaviour on Drake's part.

Drake cares for Alicia's mother. He takes into his employment the needy people he encounters--a deaf maid, an accounts manager in a wheelchair, a drunken butler...and so on. The only conflict , is the original motivations for Drake's and Alicia's marriage. I think, because of that, this is a slow read, at times. Also, I felt somewhat manipulated. I felt the author tried too hard to get the reader to love Drake.

This book, has many pluses. I enjoyed the supporting characters; a secondary romance was very entertaining. The love scenes are very well done. There's no purple prose; but each scene, is uniquely sexy.

This book may not be a keeper for me. But, it was definitely worth my time and money!

Gerald Pemberton, the Earl of Brockway, foolishly follows in his deceased father's footsteps and gambles away what remains of the family money that his sire failed to waste. Gerald owes a fortune to gambling hall owner Drake Wilder. Out of fear for the brittle mental health of her mother and unbeknownst to Gerald, his sister Alicia offers her self in barter for her sibling's debt. Drake agrees to marry Alicia in exchange for Gerald's IOU.

Drake has a secret agenda and the lovely Alicia provides him with giant steps towards achieving is goal of attaining entrance into polite society. He also has the double satisfaction of knowing he possesses the woman his estranged father wants. However, against all his desires, Drake soon falls in love with his wife and in spite of his mistreatment of her she reciprocates those feelings.

SEDUCED BY A SCOUNDREL shows why fans think Barbara Dawson Smith is one of the genre's top historical romance writers. The story line centers on love conquering hate, but done in a fast-paced Regency format. Drake is an enigmatic character whose need for vengeance thrusts the story line forward. Alicia is a warm, intelligent, and brave person who sacrifices her own needs for her ailing mother. The secondary players provide a feel to the era, especially the gambling "hells" and the shunning of a person born on the wrong side of the covers. Ms. Smith imbues the plot with plenty of sexual tension, a move that will elate Regency readers who love a touching tale with lot of spice.

Harriet Klausner

Gerald Pemberton, the Earl of Brockway, foolishly follows in his deceased father's footsteps and gambles away what remains of the family money that his sire failed to waste. Gerald owes a fortune to gambling hall owner Drake Wilder. Out of fear for the brittle mental health of her mother and unbeknownst to Gerald, his sister Alicia offers her self in barter for her sibling's debt. Drake agrees to marry Alicia in exchange for Gerald's IOU.

Drake has a secret agenda and the lovely Alicia provides him with giant steps towards achieving is goal of attaining entrance into polite society. He also has the double satisfaction of knowing he possesses the woman his estranged father wants. However, against all his desires, Drake soon falls in love with his wife and in spite of his mistreatment of her she reciprocates those feelings.

SEDUCED BY A SCOUNDREL shows why fans think Barbara Dawson Smith is one of the genre's top historical romance writers. The story line centers on love conquering hate, but done in a fast-paced Regency format. Drake is an enigmatic character whose need for vengeance thrusts the story line forward. Alicia is a warm, intelligent, and brave person who sacrifices her own needs for her ailing mother. The secondary players provide a feel to the era, especially the gambling "hells" and the shunning of a person born on the wrong side of the covers. Ms. Smith imbues the plot with plenty of sexual tension, a move that will elate Regency readers who love a touching tale with lot of spice.

Harriet Klausner

The official reviewers panned this romance, but because just about everything Smith has written has been at least passable, I thought they were being too harsh. Not so!

The hero is neither likeable nor intriguing, and the story leaden and choppy. Stay away from this one. Try her best stories instead, in my opinion, Never a Lady and Her Secret Affair (if you like the reluctant male lover type!).

Gabriel Kenyon returns from Africa seeking revenge on the man who killsed his partner. He also finds himself responsible for his parner's daughters. But he'd rather face the wilds of Africa than face Kate Talisford, a girl he's sworn to protect...a girl he longs to possess. As Kate and Gabriel search for her father's killer and a priceless statue, they find that maybe the true treasure is the bond that they're forging...a bond that could be love.

Barbara Dawson Smith tells a fantastic historical story, full of intrigue, fun and of course, love.

This is a wonderful romantic adventure with a plot and pace that never let up as orphaned Kate plunges into a wild search involving an ancient Egyptian icon and a truly chilling group of Regency bad guys. Gabriel is the perfect hero--reluctant, sexy and ultimately redeemed by the love of a good woman. Barbara Dawson Smith is one of the most consistently excellent authors in the genre.

Those of us that read romance novels essentially know what we'll be getting into before we read Page One. There's a predicability about romance, & that's for the most part why we read it. That's what we're looking for.

The difference comes in w/the characters, the way the tension builds, the sensuality between them, the predictability or, better, the lack of, and the hopefully well-done backdrops for each fantasy story. Because that's what a romance is meant to be: a fantasy whereby a reader can step away from her own reality for even a short time & feel drawn into this make-believe world.

Barbara Dawson Smith has fulfilled all the most important elements in ROMANCING THE ROGUE. The hero & heroine are beautiful. There is just enough tension between them without there being an overt amount of never-ending sparring. The timing is well-done, so that Michael & Vivien are brought together in increments, steps in time, building up to a rather believeable end. And the supporting characters are well-defined.

If I had any criticism at all, it would be minimal. Maybe the book could've supported a wee bit more sensuality. While I could tell the couple were very attracted to each other, the heat of such a connection could've been turned up just a notch. Also, I kept waiting to see Vivien reunite with Brand after she knew him to be her brother. That was a scene that could've held a considerable amount of emotion, & I really wanted to see it happen.

I liked the sexual tension between the characters. This book is pretty good and worth reading. It's my first one by Smith and I plan to read her other novels. My only complaint is slight -- a little too much hatred between the main characters (until the end which more than made up for it).

A great book, worth reading, Michael and Vivian were exciting fiesty characters and The Rosebuds had me laughing, a delightful, must read book. I couldn't put it down once I started it. Than again I bought all her books and haven't found a bad one in the bunch.