My second foray into e-books. I bought this one not really knowing much about it except that it was a regency historical. The story is, basically, a two way "beauty and the beast" story with a very damaged hero who, through the encouragement and example of the feisty heroine, recovers himself and the pair live happily ever after once they overcome some very difficult physical and social impediments.

My main concerns were that there were some errors in titles, a child character who seemed to go from birth to riding her pony in a period of less than two years and some silly mistakes like the heroine staying the same age for several years.

The villain of the piece was well done and the villainess gets involved in something rather daring for a regency historical. Quite unique in my experience!

The quality of the prose needed sharpening up. I had the feeling that this book had not been as carefully edited as it deserved. Overall, I enjoyed the story, the character development of the H/H and the unusual premises that the author used to develop her story.

There are some good writers being published in e-books and they are worth seeking out.

"Thy Kingdom Come" is a wonderful treatise on the call to arms, and that call is not one destined in loss. As Joshua was promised victory in Canaan in the fulfillment of his commission to take the Promised Land, so too we are promised victory in the world in the fulfillment of the Great Commission to create disciples of the nations. We are not told to "give it a try and I'll come back for you when it's too tough," rather "Go, ye therefore (as all power is given unto Jesus) and make disciples of the nations."

Is God's arm too short that He cannot make the mission successful? "Thy Kingdom Come" should serve to harden our wills toward His.

I believe that Dr. Spaite and Ms. Salter, conceptually have a very good topic here. The number of clergy leaving the field is staggering. The author and contributor, however do place some unrealistic expectations on the shoulders of the pastor. One area, which should have received more attention is that of pastoral salaries. While their treatment of the psychological aspects of burnout and tension in the parsonage was sympathetic, only about one paragraph in 300 pages of work dealt with the very real problem of paying the bills while serving God.

Courtesy of Love Romances

The Christmas Portrait by Megan Daniel
Cassie Douglass is a designer of window displays for a well-known department store in New York City. She puts huge amounts of time and effort into designing the Christmas window to duplicate the exact portrait of a famous Christmas Ball from 1882. As she stands looking at the window, she imagines what it must have been like to be at that party. Suddenly, Cass finds herself at the ball, and face to face with Nicholas Wright, the portrait artist in the flesh. As Christmas draws nearer, so do Cass and Nicholas, in spite of the mental scars he faces from a time in his past. Now Cass is frightened... will she be whisked back to her own time or will she remain with Nicholas and the love they have found?

This was a delightful Christmas tale, taking place in a Victorian era New York City. Ms. Daniel paints a vivid imagery of the city at the peak of the holiday season. One will feel as if actually at the balls and galas, wearing the glittering jewels and fabulous gowns. The passion between Nicholas and Cass is immediately obvious, as is Nicholas' angst over his present lifestyle.

The Spirit of Things to Come by Vivian Knight-Jenkins
Taylor Kendall is a kindergarten teacher from Massachusetts, on her way to her parents' home, and dreading every minute of it. She sees a deer in the road ahead and swerves to miss it, sliding in the snow and going off the road, knocking her head on the steering wheel. When she comes to, she finds herself in 1692 Massachusetts, and in the heart of a puritanical town. She ends up in jail for openly and knowingly violating one of their laws she feels is stupid. Jared Branlyn, the local smithy, takes her in as his apprentice, keeping secret that she is a female. The more time he spends with her, the more attracted to each other they become. Taylor finds herself wishing she can stay with him, yet scared that her own time may call her back.

This tale takes place in an often neglected period of American history. The restrictions placed on the every day lives of the Puritans makes one more appreciative of the rights found in today's society. This is a good story for making people remember just how special Christmas is.

The Ghost of Christmas Past by Eugenia Riley
Jason Burke is a news reporter for a New York paper, who has lost his drive to write and has no desire to pen a series of "fluff" articles on Christmas traditions in England. He is touring the old Simmons hotel and is led on his tour by the hauntingly beautiful Annie Simmons. He cannot get her out of his mind and when he returns to visit the hotel, he ends up in 1852 where he meets Annie alive and well. He realizes his purpose there is to save her from a horrible fate destined to occur on Christmas Eve... and he does just that, falling in love in the process.

This is an excellent story with a paranormal twist like this reviewer favors. The way Jason focuses so completely on his self-proclaimed mission to rescue Annie, backfires in a fascinating way, adding to the story. A true gem, Ms. Riley has written another wonderful tale.

Twelfth Night by Flora Speer
Aline Bennett is mourning her beloved Grandfather's death, looking through his ancient Book of Hours, admiring a Christmas painting of Medieval times. She blinks and unexpectedly finds herself living the life depicted in the painting. She meets her soul mate at the same time and longs to stay with him forever. But will she be able to stay when fate calls her to return to her own time?

This is yet another delightful story by one of the masters, Ms. Speer. Aline blends right into her new life, enriching the lives of all who come in contact with her. Her passion for life is real, as is her agony of wondering if she will be sent home with no warning. This is a great story to round out an even better collection.

Who doesn't dream of life in another time and place at least once in their lifetime? Christmas is a time about taking one back to wonderful memories and treasuring loved ones. So what better way to showcase such a theme of time travel then at Christmas? Let this book warm the reader's heart, and encourage reminiscing over Christmases past. This reviewer's only regret is in not having discovered this delightful read at an earlier date.

A wonderful effort by first-time author Dr. Daniel Miller. The absorbing plot, coupled with Dr. Miller's unique insight into the medical profession, provide for a "real good read". When is his next book coming out?

There are things that boys are supposed to do - play sports, get girls, try to find ways to get beer. But guess what? Some of us just aren't like that...we're into drawing comics, programming computers, writing new-school funk music, volunteering, even cooking.

Life Happens to the worst & the best of Guys & in much the same ways: you all got to deal with stress, stereotypes & peer pressure. Check out The Guy's Guide Bill of Rights - it's cool & Fashion 101 - it's good for a giggle!

An interesting primer for boys becoming teenagers, useful without being heavy; funny without being rude & instructive without lecturing. A very good gift idea for a boy's birthday. Do check out our Boy's Week in which a fistful of Men & Gender books are reviewed.

This is a great starting tool to give new christians a framework upon which to build future bible studies. The author begins at the beginning, just as the bible does. The author adds value by providing the student with some history of how the bible came about. However, some doctinal issues (i.e., eschatology, dispensations and the like) must be challenged by the serious student. The author's basic outline does allow for a well-trained teacher to guide the student along the course of rightly dividing the Word of God and letting scripture interpret scripture, based on content, language and grammar,etc.

You've come a long way, sister: from the 1950's demur, submissive and obedient daughter of the church who had to be pushed into organizing by the Vatican (!) to the 1990's educated, organized, Americanized, politicized, feminist mature woman who has found her own identity and moral agency and so her own inner authority, and has done so and maintained it despite almost constant hierarchical and Vatican opposition. The Vatican that ironically started this transformation is now cracking the whip and trying to get these tigers back on their chairs. American Catholic sisters have gone from the middle ages to postmodernity in the space of a few decades, one of the most astonishing transformations of a group of women ever, and it is excellently chronicled and its elements analyzed by Quinonez and Turner, starting with pre-Vatican II developments like the Sister Formation Movement, but focusing principally on the history of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), which proved to be the vanguard and axis of growth. As former executive directors of the LCWR at the time much of this change was taking place they have an insider's feel for the meaning of the data they draw on and the comments their interviews surfaced, but as they admit (page x), "We bring certain biases to the work." The description of the transformation is a kind of in-house history that seems to say the LCWR has done all things well. Despite continuous conflict with the Vatican and the American hierarchy and internal conflict that at one time led to the establishment of a rival group, virtually no attempt is made to present the position of the minority among their members or their communities or the splinter group or the American hierarchy or the Vatican, except to characterize the men as anti-Vatican II, power hungry, domineering, rude male chauvinists who just refuse to listen to the constant and careful explanations of the enlightened sisters. While there may be some truth to this characterization, one still senses a lack of balance here. There are other viewpoints that need their tale told as well, there are other sisters who do not see this as their story. One annoying feature of the book is the constant intrusion of "[sic]" whenever a quotation from decades past includes a masculine common-gender form. One wishes the authors had had the imagination and prudence to make their rather obvious point in a more magnanimous and less irritating way. Nevertheless, the history and position of some, perhaps many, modern sisters are well and clearly presented here. I'd recommend this book especially to sisters and hierarchy alike, as well as to those interested in the feminist movement of the last half-century.

Transformational Learning is the art of orchestrating change in an organization so that specific, measurable goals are reached. "Transformational Learning", by Daniel Tobin, is a practical guide to the subject, grounded in relevant theory, and aimed at the people who have to make the change effort successful. It is approachable from the view of senior management, or from middle managers who don't have visionary or committed leadership, and even from first line managers who have a very small sphere of influence. The chapters cover all relevant topics, and offer a message: change *can* happen, change *can* be successful - with thought, planning, measurement -- and with this book.

I used this book to help plan a trip to the Southwest. I found it pretty informative with accurate information. The descriptions were accurate as well and it helped to get the most out of the days. I do wish it listed more in the way of hotels but it is really more of an activity book than a complete planner. All in all it was a good book and I would use it again. The suggested schedules were helpful as well.