This was the first book I have ever read from Ms. Michaels. Unfortunately If I don't love book at first read, than I never read another from same author. I'm not proud of this but that's the way I am. I don't know how this was given five stars from even one reader. I realize not everyone's taste is the same but.. There was a certain section in the book that completely turned me off.. A scene at the airport where Emily was going to go away for a couple of months... She hugged her friends, cried, walked a few steps, came back and hugged them again telling them how much she loved them. She acted as if she was never coming back. Get real! I also think she gave herself too much importance as if everyone was supposed to be in awe of her owning fitness centers. "I'm Emily, of Emily's Fitness Centers..." So what. Then she talks to the ghost of her dead husband. Too wierd for me. I'll stick to Sandra Brown, my favorite.

I have been a fan of Fern Michaels from WAY back, when she was doing romance novels. This book was fantastic! Emily might have felt bad for what happened to her rotten husband, but I didn't! I felt that he got exactly what he deserved. This book showed how easily it can be for a woman to lose herself in her husbands world and lose sight of herself. When they walk away, you are left with "what do I do now" and "who am I" kind of thing. This book showed how one woman put herself and her life back together again, one step at a time. Once you meet Emily, you won't soon forget her!

I am a HUGE Fern Michaels fan, but I must say that Dear Emily is my favorite of Fern's books. This book gives so much hope, and is such a wonderful story. If you have ever battled with your weight, love life, or self esteem, this book is for you. It changed my life. THANK YOU FERN!

Courtesy of A Romance Review

Good girl Jane Preston is a pre-school nursery owner. Before she closes up for a two-week vacation to celebrate the 4th of July, her cousin, Molly Applegate begs her to save her job by replacing her as an escort to a college professor, John Romanowski, in an exclusive intellectual retreat in Cape May, New Jersey. What Molly wants Jane to do is to dig up some secrets and scandals of Senator Aubrey Harrison, who is going to announce his run for presidency.

Professor John Patrick Romanowski, aka J. P. Roman, New York Times No. 1 bestsellers of political thrillers, is also invited to the retreat but his main purpose is to bring the Senator down by catching him in the act of something scandalous.

The meeting of Jane and John is quite comical as they both dressed up and pretended to be someone that they were not - plain Jane as a ...sex babe and John as a... OMG!

THIS MUST BE LOVE is a romantic comedy that is filled with humorous and funny situations. Ms Michaels has once again penned an unbelievable story that makes you laugh out loud. Like most of her books of the same genre, this one is another refreshing read that surely will uplift your spirit after a long day's work.

Though she knows every time she does a favor for her cousin Molly Applegate she gets into trouble, pre-school owner Jane Preston agrees to pose as her relative at the Sixth Annual Intellectual Retreat in Cape May, New Jersey. Molly admits she cannot attend because her face is too well known as that disastrous intern, but she needs to report a scandal involving a potential presidential candidate Senator Aubrey Harrison or lose her position as a reporter.

John Romanowski also attends the event. John, better known as author JP Roman, wants to find mud to not just abort Harrison's run, but to destroy the SOB who unceremoniously dumped his mother after a love affair for a better political wife. His mother never recovered so John was orphaned as a teen.

Singles are matched up with John and Jane assigned to one another. They are immediately attracted, but their mutually exclusive inquiries cause problems for the dueling Js. If they are to succeed on their endeavors and come away with a loving relationship, one of them must step forward and trust the other with the truth.

Though coincidence brings the lead protagonists together, readers will applaud this amateur sleuth romance. The story line is very amusing as John and Jane trip over one another in their efforts to find the loaded gun that will destroy Harrison. Jane especially is an intriguing character because she is the classic amateur sleuth as she stumbles from one mistake (except for loving John) to another. Together they make for a delectable novel.

Harriet Klausner

This book is everything you ask for in a romantic comedy - finally drawn characters who are actually funny not trying to be funny. So often romantic comedies involve characters spouting funny lines, but in this book the humor seems natural. Jane and John are people you'd want to spend time around. Splendid from beginning to end. I can't wait for "This Can't Be Love" next year!

Michael Wheeler argues convincingly that, despite his own protests to the contrary, John Ruskin was influenced throughout his life by his deepseated belief in a benevolent God. This thesis runs counter to conventional critical opinion that holds Ruskin abandoned religious belief in 1858, and that his later work provides a secular alternative to organized religion.

This work is well researched and intended for other scholars. Even the literate, well-read generalist outside 19th century studies may have difficulty tracing Wheeler's argument, since he references hundreds of works by Ruskin and by those who have written about him in the past century. Nevertheless, the argument is well constructed and should serve as a corrective to the tendency of postmodernist critics to revel in the agnosticism and atheism that pops up in several of Ruskin's writings during the middle years of his career.

This is one of the worst books that I've read in a long time, maybe ever. The characters in this book were all stupid and boring, and those with animals cared more about their pets than they did themselves. The main character (whose name I have already forgotten and don't care to look up) was a wimp with a comically, one-dimensionally evil husband who physically and mentally abused her. I guess that he was there to balance out those who she met later in the book, who were comically, one-dimensionally good. Anyway, the woman finally hightailed it out of her marriage only when her husband hit her dog. After she left, she got lucky in the most annoying ways possible; did this woman actually earn anything that she got once she moved? I have my doubts. Being a victim will get you only so far, but she definitely coasted on her status for the entire book. She was lame and uninteresting, as were her friends and her "troubles"; plus, she was so DUMB. People who care so little about their own self-preservation do not deserve to be cast in books as heroes. Fern Michaels did not do anybody any favors by writing such an insultingly bad book. Why isn't there a way to give zero stars?

I am glad I did not let the previous negative reviews stop me from reading this book. I found it to a very good read. The book begins with,Helen, a beat-down battered wife who is married to a controling over bearing abusive husband(Daniel). Daniel has destroyed Helen's self-confidence, her self-worth, her self-esteem, among many other things. He finally almost kills her dog,Lucie. Helen loves her pet like Lucie was Helen's child. One of the turning point of the the story is when Helen runs from Daniel to protect Lucie's life.

Helen comes in contact with people who can help her rebuild her life. They give her the opportunity to regain all Daniel has taken from her. I love the parts of the book that show how strong Helen becomes. The ending is equal to a fair tale story of love and happiness.

I am not familiar with the abused wife syndrome. It was chilling to read about what Helen was going through with her husband when he attacked her. It was heartbreaking to read how she felt worthless, and he felt justified. But the story around them did not hold up. Interesting, but not plausible. All the pieces fit together too neatly, and the ending was just a fairy tale. (Poor girl inherits millions and makes up with her estranged mother.) The characters' relationships with each other were not clearly explored. We understood why Helen's benefactor loved animals, but we had no clue why she befriended battered women. And Helen's decisions when trying to flee her husband are just plain stupid. I like stories with happy endings, but I want them to be believable. This book was a good read, but the ending was just too tidy. By the way, I lived in NJ for many years and it almost never snows before Christmas.

Waiting for You is missing one of Michaels' main ingredients -- sparkling, witty dialogue which creates character development. The 2 main characters are Jack and Meredith who grow up together as the son and ward respectively of an abusive, neglectful father (who manages to construct a Machiavellian plot while being a perpetual drunkard and then suffering from syphillis. Yes, this is a bit hard to believe.) The plot is largely constructed through prose and attempts too much -- the story of the main characters'lives from the ages of 7 and 6 months, the addition of 2 incessently-quoting Shakespearean actors turned nursemaids who then become interfering ghosts, an American Indian friend of Jack's from his 5 year financial-empire building foray into the New World (which is never explicated), a nefarious estate manager, and a secondary character, Kipp, who is in love with Meredith. Michaels needed to edit this book down to the main ingredients, begin it when Jack and Merry are 22 and 17 respectively when the story really begins and construct dialogue to keep the story moving rather than relying on descriptive prose and an excess of tertiary characters. At the end of this book, I did not feel that I knew the characters very well, though I had read a description of much of their lives. This book's secondary character, Kipp, is the main charcter of the sequel, Someone to Love. Even in Waiting to Love, Kipp seems to be the most interesting character. The sequel, therefore, is the much better book: the dialogue is a joy to read, Kipp becomes more complex and yet clear as the story evolves, and even though we are reading a Regency it all seems believable. Buy Someone to Love and read Waiting for You only to learn about Kipp before that book begins.

During the Regency, many members of the Ton sated theirpersonal pleasures at the cost of the estates. Perhaps the mosthedonistic is "Awful" August Coltrane....

WAITING FOR YOUis an entertaining Regency romance that leaves some gaps inunderstanding for the reader to accept. The story line centers on thereactions to the actions of Awful, but his motives seem extreme evenfor a wastrel like him. Why have an heir or accept a ward, if he onlyplans to destroy the estate? Still, Kasey Michaels is such a goodtalent that having the lead charcaters rotate waiting for one anotherfeels like a fresh plot device. Though not her best tale, Ms. Michaelsspins a narrative that will still delight Regency romancereaders. ...END

Kasey Michaels has written another winner! Jack is a hero with realistic faults that Merry takes delight in pointing out. He manages to be protective without being patronizing. Merry the heroine, possesses all the qualities we wish to see in our heroine,humor, compassion and a bit of stubbornness. I found all of the auxillary characters to have enough depth to make them interesting. The ending is well thought out and twisting enough to make you sit back and go AHHH.(like you knew it all along) All in all, well worth the read.

The SEALs have Marcinko, Army SF has Hackworth. Finally, AirForce Special Ops has a voice. The book is a gritty, true-to-lifeaccount of Air Force PJ's and Combat Controllers. As a former spec opsflight surgeon that worked closely with these brave men, it's about time they get some well deserved recognition. The addition of the other "silent" force- Marine Force Recon is a bonus. This is a worthy first effort. Although it doesn't quite have the same punch as one of Marcinko's books, it's well worth the read. One thing- PJ comes from Pararesuce Journeyman, not jumper.

I liked the book so much I immediately read it a second time once I was finished! Look for this one to be made into a movie! It has non-stop action and adventure! All of you who like "guy movies" put down the remote and pick up this book! You wont want to put it down! This book is not only a non-stop thriller, but is also a pretty accurate detailing of events about the Air Force Pararescue career field. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a PJ, past or present! I think this book would be worth reading for anyone who is interested in joining the Pararescue field. THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE! HOOAH!

First book I have read straight through since 'Jaws' came out. Masterful storytelling and explicit detail make this book too exciting to put down. No break in the action or suspense, with compelling characterizations and a convincing storyline. I had 13 years flying military aircraft described in the book, and even logged time in combat rescue and special operations working with real PJ's -- Salazar hits the nail on the head in every respect. Crichton, Koonce and Clancy have a new peer among their ranks in Mr. Salazar. His extensive military background provides unparalleled realism for those of us who are 'in the know' about covert military operations. This book is a must read. It has 'blockbuster', 'sequel' and 'feature film' written all over it, but pandors nothing to achieve these results. Mr. Salazar is certain to develop a cult following among military and history buffs. I look forward to his next thriller -- meanwhile, it's time for a re-read!

Both Kentucky Rich and Kentucky Heat were terrible. The dialog and the characters were totally unrealistic. I won't be reading the third in this lackluster trilogy. In fact I have been disappointed in the last few books Fern Michaels has written and I won't be reading anything she writes again.

Nealy Coleman Diamond returns in Kentucky Heat-the stage is set when Nealy throws her two grown children, Emmie and Nick, off her horse farm for what she considers irresponsible acts. To Nealy, who's worked hard with her horses all her life, her horses come first. It seems that they come even before her children, most especially Shufly, who just happens to be a hopeful for her. Showing the world a calm façade, Nealy is determined to stick to her guns.

When her ex husbands law partner, Hatch Littletree, enters the picture, we begin to see Nealy opening, and letting Hatch help her heal the chasm she's created with her children. But Nealy's a strong, independent woman, and it's hard for her to change her ways...

In the second installment in the Kentucky series, readers once again get to visit with the Coleman and Thorton families from Michaels Texas and Vegas trilogies, sometimes to the point we loose focus of the story of Nealy and Hatch. Ms. Michaels weaves a good tale, with more romance and much angst this time, but at times it seems like the focus of the story was lost to me. Long time Michaels fans will no doubt be thrilled, but if you haven't followed the series, prepare to be lost at times.

This book was my first Fern Michaels book, and it will definately not be the last one i read!
Nealy Diamond Clay is a famous jockey that owns and runs Blue Diamond Farms, a top horse racing farm in Kentucky.
Nealy's children, Nick and Emmie, had finaly convinced their mother to let them have a week off for vacation, which Nealy never had allowed. So when they both took an extra week off (without telling Nealy!) and one of the farm's mares had complications foaling, Nealy was angry. To her the horses came first, so she kicked them off the farm. Later in the book you find out that Nealy really kicked them out because deep down she knew knew that they would never create a life of their own if she didnt push them away from the comforts of Blue Diamond Farms.
Through this rough time, Nealy also meets up with her dead husband's best friend, Hatch, Nealy tries to fight it, but through it all she knows she has romantic feelings for Hatch.
Also, Nealy is entered to ride Shufly, her champion horse Flyby's son, in the Kentucky Derby. But Nealy is woman in her early fifties, and many people doubt her. Can she and Shufly win the triple crown races against all odds?
For awhile everything is great for Nealy. She is in love with Hatch, has reunited with her children, has had a good horse racing season, and has traveled the world with her new fiance. But can one dreadful night destroy everything for Nealy, and maybe even cost her life?

I listened to the audio tapes of this book and really enjoyed the first few chapters. Then when the car accident finally happened I was bored for two tapes, then, started to dislike everyone. Callie seemed nice enough at first and then after the accident, everyone hated her, then the inconsistencies began. Bode became black??? But not black really b/c he had white parents and was raised black even though everyone in town knew he was white and Callie was black???? Most mixed marriages I've seen and know the child doesn't come out fair w/ blond hair?? So, how was Callie fair and Bode dark-skinned, etc. Then Brie and Sela hated each other at first and always argued together, then move in together and become 'sisters'. Bode describes Sela as a wonderful, peaceful person....then later says she's a piss-ant...Hello? I began to dislike all these people and thought Callie was the way she was only b/c of Mama Pearl. She was a totally different person at the end then at the beginning, and so I wished them all luck and threw the tapes in the trash. Read Celebration if you like this author, but avoid this one.

This book starts out promisingly enough. An affluent man in South Carolina has a daughter named Callie, ostensibly an only child. He adopts Bode Jessup, so Callie can have a brother. He also brings two young girls from disadvantaged and dysfunctional families, Brie and Sela, to be Callie's playmates, but they end up spending most of their time in the Parker household.

As Callie's mother is a sick woman and her father is a busy man, the roost is ruled by Mamma Pearl, a larger than life African American woman. She becomes the center of the universe for these three children, who look to her as a mother figure and love her dearly. Mamma Pearl also loves and cherishes these children, sacrificing her life to their well being.

When they are all young adults, however, intrigue and turmoil bubble under the surface, as their true feelings for each other begin to emerge on the eve of Callie's wedding. The catalyst for a great emotional catharsis is the tragic accident that leaves Callie in a coma on her wedding day. As events unfold, shocking family secrets are revealed, ripping the blinders from their eyes, as all was not what it seemed.

The book, which started off promisingly enough, begins to head south, as a series of revelations, increasingly implausible, are divulged. Moreover, the personalities of the characters seem to change at the drop of a dime, depending upon the circumstances. This tends to render them two dimensional, as there is no real character development. This deficiency in the writing serves to further highlight the implausibility of the storyline. Moreover, some of the surprises in store for the reader are positively ridiculous. The secrets about Bode and Callie are especially ludicrous, making the book almost laughable.

The only thing that seems to save this audio book is the reading by Laural Lerlington, who does an excellent job with the material with which she had to work. The fact that the book is rife with dialogue, rather than narrative, works to the advantage of the book when read aloud, and Ms. Lerlington does a masterful job of infusing the characters with as much personality as possible. While the reading rates four stars, the content of the book rates two, resulting in an overall rating of three stars.

I have just started reading Fern Michaels. I like the "spirits" and the animals she uses in her books. I also like that the characters in her books are talking instead of just reading narrative. As in the title of my review, I found this book enjoyable. That friends are there for each other for years is something rarely found these days. Some things were not explained, at least that I recall. What exactly was the "frizzled chicken" used for. Mama Pearl was a wonderful character and always wanted the best for her children. Then again I did find it hard to believe that two children could pay for all the upkeep on the plantation with just a newspaper route. Or that the authorities apparently never looked closely at the car to see if the seatbelts were working. If Brie was a crack FBI agent. She should have been able to figure that one out. Who cares that Bode was black or white? But this was the South! I would love to hear more about Hatch and Sela, and Bode and Brie in possibly another book. I did not like Callie's character at all, she was a "taker" as Sela said when they came to that conclusion themselves. The book was enjoyable, with a few minor flaws that isn't going to keep me from reading it again. I will put this in my library as a keeper instead of making it a give away.

Fern Michaels Listen To Your Heart is another winner. Great book and very touching story about 2 sisters and there loves. Highly recommended!

This is a very light & refreshing book .there are two dogs in the story & they make you fall in love with them ....they are just precious.! I think this book would be a wonderful movie ....light & funny & refreshing .... there is a lot in the book to remind us all of one very important person in our lives ...our mothers..

As always, Ms. Michaels does an outstanding job of entertaining readers with her gift of storytelling. "Listen To Your Heart" is no exception. A fast-paced love story with a supernatural twist, she takes readers on a journey revealing just how far the bonds of love can reach.

Let me first start out by saying that I am, in general, a fan of Kasey Michael's books. That being said, PLEASE let me discourage you from buying this book. While the hero is not too interesting -- he's from the "Straight-Laced and Repressed Nobleman" mold -- the heroine actually made me grind my teeth. A more vapid giggling bimbo of a woman has never been penned. I finished the book, hoping against all hope that the characters would get better, but instead endured 400 pages of wanting the heroine to be in the room with me ... just so I could slap her silly. There is little plot, even less character development, and nothing whatsoever to actually make you care about the cardboard-like characters. 0 out of 5 stars.

Michaels made all French people seem like harlots, and most English people as vague martinets. The sexual tension between the hero and heroine was more like a master going after a mistress (which it sort of was). The heroine was somewhat disappointing, with practically no depth or sharpness- only giggly happiness. heaven save me from silly heroines. The story laid out the characters well, but i really didn't like the characters.

Oh My God! Indiscreet was Incredible! I agree with others who said the book was a hilarious romp through Regency England. There were times when I couldn't stop laughing, the little secret in the prologue being only the first one. The bombshell secret revealed later, though, was even better. I grew to see Sophie Winstead and Bram Seaton as friends, and truly enjoyed laughing, crying and going along for the ride with them on the road to true love and soulmate-hood. How anyone could rate this less than 5 stars is beyond me, because it was a truly wonderful book. In a career of writing wonderful books, this is definitely one of Kasey Michaels's best.