Thursday, May 31, 2007

374. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J. K. Rowling)

Synopsis from Amazon:
As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry Potter is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It's been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from our hero's non-Muggle friends from school. Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort will strike. Returning to Hogwarts will be a relief ... or will it?

My rating: 5 stars

373. The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova)

Order of the Dragon symbol

Synopsis from Amazon:
The story opens in Amsterdam in 1972, when a teenage girl discovers a medieval book and a cache of yellowed letters in her diplomat father's library. The pages of the book are empty except for a woodcut of a dragon. The letters are addressed to: "My dear and unfortunate successor." When the girl confronts her father, he reluctantly confesses an unsettling story: his involvement, twenty years earlier, in a search for his graduate school mentor, who disappeared from his office only moments after confiding to Paul his certainty that Dracula -- Vlad the Impaler, an inventively cruel ruler of Wallachia in the mid-15th century -- was still alive. The story turns out to concern our narrator directly because Paul's collaborator in the search was a fellow student named Helen Rossi (the unacknowledged daughter of his mentor) and our narrator's long-dead mother, about whom she knows almost nothing. And then her father, leaving just a note, disappears also.

My rating: 4 stars

372. Beauty Like the Night (Liz Carlyle)

Synopsis from Amazon:
The daughter of London's wickedest widow, Helene de Severs left England in disgrace and has struggled to overcome her heritage. Renowned within Europe's emerging psychiatric field for her gift for healing children, she returns to England confident she has learned to govern her own reckless emotions. A disastrous marriage left notoriously ruthless Camden Rutledge, Earl of Treyhern, with a traumatized child and he decides to hire a governess so that he can concentrate on other family fires. Yet the moment Helene arrives, Treyhern's cold reserve is melted by desire he long thought dead. With her elegant clothing and mountain of luggage, the woman is not who he expected. Or is she? Sometimes the workings of the mind are as dangereous as those of the heart. And soon, danger is truly everywhere ....

My rating: 3 stars

371. Nobody's Baby But Mine (Susan Elizabeth Phillips)

The Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina

Synopsis from Amazon:
Physics professor Dr. Jane Darlington spends her 34th birthday in tears. She wants a baby,but not a husband. Where can she find an average or, preferably, stupid man? She decides that Cal Bonner, legendary quarterback for the Chicago Stars is perfect. Jane sets her plan into action and after some trail and error she succeeds. But the results are more than she bargained for when Cal discovers her duplicity. How can a football player with an interfering family and a nerdy professor who has never known family love ever fall in love?

My rating: 3 stars

My review: I don't understand the overwhelming need to have a child ....

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

370. The Heart of a Goof (P. G. Wodehouse)

Cover of first edition

Synopsis from Amazon:
"Golf is the Great Mystery. Like some capricious goddess, it bestows favors with what would appear an almost fat-headed lack of method and discrimination." These words, uttered by "The Oldest Member," set the stage for a romp around the greens only Wodehouse could have conjured up. In nine stories Wodehouse describes not only the fates of the goofs who have allowed golf "to eat into their souls like some malignant growth" but also the impact of the so-called game on courtship, friendship, and business relationships.

My rating: 5 stars

Publication information:
  • 1926
  • Herbert Jenkins, London
  • Green cloth & black lettering & drawings
  • Title page dated "MCMXXVI"
  • Dust wrapper priced at 7/6

369. A Perfect Hero (Samantha James)

By Joseph Wright

Synopsis from Amazon:
Lady Julianna Sterling, abandoned at the altar and determined never to marry, becomes ensnared in a tangle of intrigue and falls in love with an apparent rogue. Years after her disappointment, Julianna is en route to Bath when her coach crashes, leaving her unconscious. Viscount Dane Granville — a government agent posing as a robber to solve a series of crimes — carries Julianna to his cottage to recuperate. In the ensuing days, the pair fight each other and their mutual attraction, succumbing almost to the point of consummation. But Julianna, still in the dark about Dane's true situation, returns at last to London believing she'll never see him again — until she encounters him in the midst of London's elite. A large coincidence puts Dane on the trail of the villain he seeks and, at the same time, alerts Julianna to the startling truth about an old family scandal.

My rating: 4 stars

368. Tempting Mr. Wright (Sue Civil-Brown)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Tess Morrow and Jack Wright have always struck sparks every time they're in the same room, but now, after years of successfully avoiding each other, they're trapped together by an unexpected hurricane and striking sparks of a whole different kind. Each minute Tess spends with Jack makes his dangerous kisses -- and the mouth-watering way he fills a pair of jeans -- more intriguing than ever. If Tess isn't careful, soon she'll be falling for this infuriating man. Just because they're forced to spend Thanksgiving together doesn't mean that Jack has to like being with Tess. Except he's beginning to notice her warm smile, her long legs, and especially how his teasing gets her all flushed and bothered in all the right places. Suddenly, Mr. Wright is being tempted in some very unexpected ways ... making him wish the storm would never end.

My rating: 4 stars

367. The Jinx (Jennifer Sturman)

Boston -- it would be a great city if there were no Bostonians.

Synopsis from Amazon:
Just as investment banker Rachel Benjamin is poised to enjoy a week in Boston mixing a little business with a lot of pleasure, the "Jinxing Gods" strike again. First she discovers that her new boyfriend, Peter Forrest, seems to be too interested in his lovely new "assistant." Then one of Rachel's clients, Sara Grenthaler, is savagely beaten, quite possibly by the same serial killer who has been murdering prostitutes in the Boston area. To undo the havoc wrecked by the Jinxing Gods, Rachel, with a little help from her four best gal pals and sexy college professor Jonathan Beasley, sets out not only to discover what connection, if any, there may be between the assault on Sara and the takeover attempt of her family's media company but also what, if any, connection remains with Peter.

My rating: 2 stars

366. Liars & Thieves (Stephen Coonts)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Unafraid to walk both sides of the law to attain his goals, CIA operative Tommy Carmellini is sent to post guard duty at a farmhouse in West Virginia. When he arrives, he finds the guards shot dead and a ruthless team of American commandos killing everyone in sight. Carmellini escapes in a hail of bullets with what seems to be the sole survivor -- a stunningly attractive translator, who then steals his car and abandons him after a deadly mountain car chase. But someone else survived the massacre -- someone who holds the answers to a deadly conspiracy. Catapulted into a life and death struggle, Tommy must employ all his savvy and skill just to stay alive. But to find out who is hunting him and why, he'll need the help of retired Admiral Jake Grafton. Now they must learn to tell friend from foe as they fight their way through a poisonous wilderness of intrigue, all the way to a presidential convention in New York City -- and to the surprising identity of someone standing on the verge of absolute power who has jeopardized the safety of the entire nation to prevent a dark secret from ever seeing the light of day ....

My rating: 1 star

My review: At some point, an editor needs to tell writers that movie action sequences do not translate automatically into writing; in fact, they rarely do. I got so bored reading the action sequence in the beginning that I stopped reading the book. Another book never finished.

365. Ghost Walk (Heather Graham)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Kindhearted Andy, the newest employee of a haunted New Orleans walking tour, gives a homeless man $20. Later, her boss and best friend, Nikki, wakes up at 4 a.m and sees Andy standing at the foot of her bed begging for help; she then discovers that a heroin overdose killed Andy at that same moment. Brent, a consultant on things ghostly, is brought in to investigate the murder by heroin of an undercover FBI agent. Believing that there is a link between the two deaths, he joins the tour company, quickly becoming Nikki's protector once she is threatened.

My rating: 1 star

364. Beyond Scandal (Brenda Joyce)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Compromised, married, and abruptly abandoned, Anne St. Georges spends the next four years hating her errant husband, Dominick, and trying to get on with her life. But when Dom returns to Waverly Hall for his father's untimely funeral, old passions resurface, and Anne and Dom are forced to face a past that holds secrets they had never imagined.

My rating: 3 stars

363. The Reasons for Marriage (Stephanie Laurens)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Lenore Lester was perfectly content with her quiet country life, caring for her father, and having no desire for marriage. She took steps to remain inconspicuous and tried her best to show indifference -- but no avail! The irresistible Duke of Eversleigh had found her out and was quite persistent in his affections .... Notoriously charming Jason, Duke of Eversleigh, could easily see behind Miss Lenore's brilliant disguise. Though the awkward lady hid behind glasses and pulled-back hair, she couldn't cover her beauty. And Jason was ever determined to loosen the hold she had on her heart.

My rating: 4 stars

Excerpt: [from Chapter 1]
The door of the Duke of Eversleigh's library clicked shut. From his chair behind the huge mahogany desk, Jason Montgomery, fifth Duke of Eversleigh, eyed the oak panels with marked disfavour.

"Impossible!" he muttered, the word heavy with contemptuous disdain laced with an odd reluctance. As the sound of his cousin Hector's retreating footsteps dwindled, Jason's gaze left the door, travelling across the laden bookcases to the large canvas mounted on a nearby wall.

Expression bleak, he studied the features of the young man depicted there, the impudent, devil-may-care smile and mischievous grey eyes topped by wind-tousled dark brown hair. Broad shoulders were clad in the scarlet of regimentals, a lance stood to one side, all evidence of the subject's occupation. A muscle twitched at the corner of Jason's mouth. He quelled it, his austere, chiselled features hardening into a mask of chilly reserve.

The door opened to admit a gentleman, elegantly garbed and smiling amiably. He paused with his hand on the knob and raised a brow enquiringly.

"I saw your cousin depart. Are you safe?"

With the confidence of one sure of his welcome, Frederick Marshall did not wait for an answer but, shutting the door, strolled towards the desk between the long windows.

His Grace of Eversleigh let out an explosive sigh. "Damn it, Frederick, this is no laughing matter! Hector Montgomery is a man-milliner. It would be the height of irresponsibility for me to allow him to step into the ducal shoes. Even I can't stomach the thought—and I wouldn't be here to see it"

Pushing back his chair, Jason swung to face his friend as he sank into an armchair nearby. "More to the point," he continued, stretching his long legs before him, a somewhat grim smile twisting his lips, "tempting though the idea might be, if I introduced cker Hector to the family as my heir, there'd be a riot—a mutiny in the Montgomery ranks. Knowing my aunts, they would press for incarceration until such time as I capitulated and wed."

"I dare say your aunts would be delighted to know you see the problem—and its solution—so clearly."

At that, Jason's piercing gaze focused on his friend's face. "Just whose side are you on, Frederick?"

Frederick smiled. "Need you ask? But there's no sense in ducking the facts. Now Ricky's gone, you'll have to wed. And the sooner you make up your mind to it, the less likely it will be that your aunts, dear ladies, think to take a hand themselves—don't you think?"

Having delivered himself of this eminently sound piece of advice, Frederick sat back and watched his friend digest it Sunshine shone through the windows at Jason's back, burnishing the famous chestnut locks cut short in the prevailing mode. Broad shoulders did justice to one of Schultz's more severe designs, executed in grey superfine, worn over tightly fitting pantaloons. The waistcoat Frederick
espied beneath the grey coat, a subtle thing in shades of deeper grey and muted lavender, elicited a twinge of envy. There was one man in all of England who could effortlessly make Frederick Marshall feel less than elegant and that man was seated behind the desk, sunk in unaccustomed gloom.

Both bachelors, their association was bound by many common interests, but in all their endeavours it was Jason who excelled. A consummate sportsman, a noted whip, a hardened gamester and acknowledged rake, dangerous with pistols—and even more dangerous with women. Unused to acknowledging any authority beyond his own whims, the fifth Duke of Eversleigh had lived a hedonistic existence that few, in this hedonistic age, could match.

Which, of course, made the solution to his present predicament that much harder to swallow.

Seeing Jason's gaze, pensive yet stubborn, rise to the portrait of his younger brother, known to all as Ricky, Frederick stifled a sigh. Few understood how close the brothers had been, despite the nine years' difference in age. At twenty-nine, Ricky had possessed a boundless charm which had cloaked the wilful streak he shared with Jason—the same wilful streak that had sent him in the glory of his Guards' captaincy to Waterloo, there to die at Hougoumont. The dispatches had heaped praise on all the fated Guardsmen who had defended the vital fort so valiantly, yet no amount of praise had eased the grief, all the more deep for being so private, that Jason had borne.

For a time the Montgomery clan had held off, aware, as others were not, of the brothers' affection. However, as they were also privy to the understanding that had been forged years before—that Ricky, much less cynical, much less hard than Jason, would take on the responsibility of providing for the next generation, leaving his older brother free to continue his life unfettered by the bonds of matrimony, it was not to be expected that the family's interest in Jason's affairs would remain permanently deflected. Consequently, when Jason had re-emerged, taking up his usual pursuits with a vigour which, Frederick shrewdly suspected, had been fuelled by a need to bury the recent past, his aunts became restive. When their arrogantly errant nephew continued to give no hint of turning his attention to what they perceived as a now pressing duty, they had, collectively, deemed it time to take a hand.

Tipped off by one of Jason's redoubtable aunts, Lady Agatha Colebatch, Frederick had deemed it wise to prod Jason's mind to deal with the matter before his aunts made his hackles rise. It was at his urging that Jason had finally consented to meet with his heir, a cousin many times removed.

The silence was broken by a frustrated snort.

"Damn you, Ricky," Jason grumbled, his gaze on his brother's portrait. "How dare you go to hell in your own way and leave me to face this hell on earth?"

Detecting the resigned undertones in his friend's complaint, Frederick chuckled. "Hell on earth?"

Abruptly straightening and swinging back to his desk, Jason raised his brows. "Can you think of a better description for the sanctified institution of marriage?"

"Oh, I don't know." Frederick waved a hand. "No reason it has to be as bad as all that."

Jason's grey gaze transfixed him. "You being such an expert on the matter?"

"Hardly me—but I should think you could figure as such."

"Me?" Jason looked his amazement.

"Well, all your recent mistresses have been married, haven't they?"

Frederick's air of innocence deceived Jason not one whit. Nevertheless, his lips twitched and the frown which had marred his strikingly handsome countenance lifted. "Your misogyny defeats you, my friend. The women I bed are prime reasons for my distrust of the venerable bonds of matrimony. Such women are perfect examples of what I should not wish for in a wife."

"Precisely," agreed Frederick. "So at least you have that much insight." He looked up to discover Jason regarding him intently, a suspicious glint in his silver-grey eyes.

"Frederick, dear chap, you aren't by any chance possessed of an ulterior motive in this matter, are you? Perchance my aunts have whispered dire threats in your ear?"

To his confusion, Frederick blushed uncomfortably. "Damn you, Jason, get those devilish eyes off me. If you must know, Lady Agatha did speak to me, but you know she's always been inclined to take your side. She merely pointed out that her sisters were already considering candidates and if I wished to avert a major explosion I'd do well to bring the matter to your mind."

Jason grimaced. "Well, consider it done. But having accomplished so much, you can damn well help me through the rest of it. Who the devil am I to marry?"

The question hung in the calm of the library while both men considered the possible answers.

"What about the Taunton chit? She's surely pretty enough to take your fancy."

Jason frowned. "The one with reams of blonde ringlets?" When Frederick nodded, Jason shook his head decisively. "She twitters."

"Hemming's girl then—a fortune there, and word is out that they're hanging out for a title. You'd only have to say the word and she'd be yours."

"She and her three sisters and whining mother to boot? No, I thank you. Think again."

And so it went, on through the ranks of the year's debutantes and their still unwed older sisters.

Eventually, Frederick was close to admitting defeat. Sipping the wine Jason had poured to fortify them through the mind-numbing process, he tried a different tack. "Perhaps," he said, slanting a somewhat peevish glance at his host, "given your highly specific requirements, we would do better to clarify just what it is you require in a wife and then try to find a suitable candidate?"

Savouring the excellent madeira he had recently acquired, Jason's eyes narrowed. "What I want in a wife?" he echoed.

For a full minute, silence held sway, broken only by the discreet tick of the ornate clock on the mantelpiece. Slowly, Jason set down his long-stemmed glass, running his fingers down the figured stem in an unconscious caress. "My wife," he stated, his voice sure and strong, "must be a virtuous woman, capable of running the Abbey and this house in a manner commensurate with the dignity of the Montgomerys."

Wordlessly, Frederick nodded. Eversleigh Abbey was the Montgomery family seat, a sprawling mansion in Dorset. Running the huge house, and playing hostess at the immense family gatherings occasionally held there, would stretch the talents of the most well-educated miss.

"She would need to be at least presentable—I draw the line at any underbred antidote being the Duchess of Eversleigh."

Reflecting that Jason's aunts, high-sticklers every one, would certainly echo that sentiment, Frederick waited for more.

Jason's gaze had dropped to his long fingers, still moving sensuously up and down the glass stem. "And, naturally, she would have to be prepared to provide me with heirs without undue fuss over the matter." His expression hardened. "Any woman who expects me to make a cake of myself over her will hardly suit."

Frederick had no doubts about that.

After a moment's consideration, Jason quietly added, "Furthermore, she would need to be prepared to remain principally at the Abbey, unless I specifically request her presence here in town."

At that cold declaration, Frederick blinked. "But...do you mean after the Season has ended?"

"No. I mean at all times."

"You mean to incarcerate her in the Abbey? Even while you enjoy yourself in town?" When Jason merely nodded, Frederick felt moved to expostulate. "Really, Jason! A mite draconian, surely?"

Jason smiled, a slow, predatory smile that did not reach his eyes. "You forget, Frederick. I have, as you noted earlier, extensive experience of the bored wives of the ton. Whatever else, rest assured my wife will never join their ranks."

"Ah." Faced with such a statement, Frederick had nothing to do but retreat. "So what else do you require in your bride?"

Leaning back in his chair, Jason crossed his ankles and fell to studying the high gloss on his Hessians. "She would have to be well-born—the family would accept nothing less. Luckily, a dowry makes no odds—I doubt I'd notice, after all. Connections, however, are a must"

''Given what you have to offer, that should hardly pose a problem." Frederick drained his glass. "All the haut ton with daughters to establish will beat a path to your door once they realize your intent."

"No doubt," Jason returned ascerbically. "That, if you must know, is the vision that spurs me to take your advice and act now—before the hordes descend. The idea of being forced to run the gamut of all the dim-witted debs fills me with horror."

"Well, that's a point you haven't mentioned." When Jason lifted his brows, Frederick clarified. "Dim-witted. You never could bear fools lightly, so you had better add that to your list."

"Lord, yes," Jason sighed, letting his head fall back against the padded leather. "If she's to avoid being strangled the morning after we are wed, my prospective bride would do well to have rather more wit than the common run." After a moment, he mused, "You know, I rather wonder if this paragon—my prospective bride—exists in this world."

Frederick pursed his lips. "Your requirements are a mite stringent, but I'm sure, somewhere, there must be a woman who can fill your position."

"Ah," said Jason, amusement beginning to glimmer in his grey eyes. "Now we come to the difficult part. Where?"

Frederick wracked his brain for an answer. "A more mature woman, perhaps? But one with the right background." He caught Jason's eyes and frowned. "Dash it, it's you who must wed. Perhaps I should remind you of Miss Ekhart, the young lady your aunt Hardcastle pushed under your nose last time she was in town?"

"Heaven forbid!" Jason schooled his features to a suitably intimidated expression. "Say on, dear Frederick. Where resides my paragon?"

The clock ticked on. Finally, frowning direfully, Frederick flung up a hand. "Hell and the devil! There must be some suitable women about?"

Jason met his frustration with bland resignation. "I can safely say I've never found one. That aside, however, I agree that, assuming there is indeed at least one woman who could fill my bill, it behoves me to hunt her out, wherever she may be. The question is, where to start?"

With no real idea, Frederick kept mum.

His gaze abstracted, his mind turning over his problem, Jason's long fingers deserted his empty glass to idly play with a stack of invitations, the more conservative gilt-edged notelets vying with delicate pastel envelopes, a six-inch-high stack, awaiting his attention. Abruptly realising what he had in his hand, Jason straightened in his chair, the better to examine the ton's offerings.

"Morecambes, Lady Hillthorpe's rout." He paused to check the back of one envelope. "Sussex Devenishes. The usual lot." One by one, the invitations dropped from his fingers on to the leather-framed blotter. "D'Arcys, Penbrights. Lady Allington has forgiven me, I see."

Frederick frowned. "What did she have to forgive you for?"

"Don't ask. Minchinghams, Carstairs." Abruptly, Jason halted. "Now this is one I haven't seen in a white—the Lesters." Laying aside the other invitations, he reached for a letter-knife.

"Jack and Harry?"

Unfolding the single sheet of parchment, Jason scanned the lines within and nodded. "Just so. A request for the pleasure, et cetera, et cetera at a week-long succession of entertainments—for which one can read bacchanal—at Lester Hall."

"I suspect I've got one, too." Frederick uncurled his elegant form from the depths of the armchair. "Thought I recognised the Lester crest but didn't stop to open it." Glass in hand, he picked up Jason's glass and crossed to place both on the sideboard. Turning, he beheld an expression of consideration on His Grace of Eversleigh's countenance.

Jason's gaze lifted to his face. "Do you plan to attend?"

Frederick grimaced. "Not exactly my style. That last time was distinctly too licentious for my taste."

A smile of complete understanding suffused Jason's features. "You should not let your misogyny spoil your enjoyment of life, my friend."

Frederick snorted. "Permit me to inform His Grace of Eversleigh that His Grace enjoys himself far too much."

Jason chuckled. "Perhaps you're right. But they haven't opened Lester Hall for some years now, have they? That last effort was at Jack's hunting box."

"Old Lester's been under the weather, so I'd heard." Frederick dropped into bis armchair. "They all thought his time had come, but Gerald was in Manton's last week and gave me to understand the old man had pulled clear."

"Hmm. Seems he's sufficiently recovered to have no objection to his sons opening his house for him." Jason reread the brief missive, then shrugged. "Doubtful that I'd find a candidate suitable to take to wife there."

"Highly unlikely." Frederick shuddered and closed his eyes. "I can still recall the peculiar scent of that woman in purple who pursued me so doggedly at their last affair."

Smiling, Jason made to lay aside the note. Instead, his hand halted halfway to the pile of discarded invitations, then slowly returned until the missive was once more before him. Staring at the note, he frowned.

"What is it?"

"The sister." Jason's frown deepened. "There was a sister. Younger than Jack or Harry, but, if I recall aright, older than Gerald."

Frederick frowned, too. "That's right," he eventually conceded. "Haven't sighted her since the last time we were at Lester Hall—which must be all of six years ago. Slip of a thing, if I'm thinking of the right one. Tended to hug the shadows."

Jason's brows rose. "Hardly surprising given the usual tone of entertainments at Lester Hall. I don't believe I've ever met her."

When he made no further remark, Frederick turned to stare at him, eyes widening as he took in Jason's pensive expression. "You aren't thinking...?"

"Why not?" Jason looked up. "Jack Lester's sister might suit me very well."

"Jack and Harry as brothers-in-law? Good God! The Montgomerys will never be the same."

"The Montgomerys are liable to be only too thankful to see me wed regardless." Jason tapped the crisp parchment with a manicured fingernail. "Aside from anything else, at least the Lester men won't expect me to turn myself into a monk if I marry their sister."

Frederick shifted. "Perhaps she's already married."

"Perhaps," Jason conceded. "But somehow I think not. I rather suspect it is she who runs Lester Hall."

"Oh? Why so?"

"Because," Jason said, reaching over to drop the invitation into Frederick's hand, "some woman penned this invitation. Not an older woman, and not a schoolgirl but yet a lady bred. And, as we know, neither Jack, Harry nor Gerald has yet been caught in parson's mousetrap. So what other young lady would reside at Lester Hall?"

Reluctantly, Frederick acknowledged the likely truth of his friend's deduction. "So you plan to go down?"

"I rather think I will," Jason mused. "However," he added, "I intend to consult the oracle before we commit ourselves."

"Oracle?" asked Frederick, then, rather more forcefully.

"We?"

"The oracle that masquerades as my aunt Agatha," Jason replied. "She's sure to know if the Lester chit is unwed and suitable—she knows damned near everything else in this world." He turned to study Frederick, grey eyes glinting steel. "And as for the 'we', my friend, having thrust my duty upon me, you can hardly deny me your support in this, my greatest travail."

Frederick squirmed. "Dash it, Jason—you hardly need me to hold your hand. You've had more experience in successfully hunting women than any man I know."

"True," declared His Grace of Eversleigh, unperturbed. "But this is different. I've had women aplenty—this time, I want wife."

362. National Velvet (Enid Bagnold)

A great film as well

Synopsis from Amazon:
A fourteen-year-old English girl wins a horse in a raffle, trains it, and rides it in the Grand National steeplechase.

My rating: 4 stars

361. To Sir Phillip, With Love (Julia Quinn)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Sir Phillip knew that Eloise Bridgerton was a spinster, and so he'd proposed, figuring that she'd be homely and unassuming, and more than a little desperate for an offer of marriage. Except ... she wasn't. The beautiful woman on his doorstep was anything but quiet, and when she stopped talking long enough to close her mouth, all he wanted to do was kiss her ... and more. Did he think she was mad? Eloise Bridgerton couldn't marry a man she had never met! But then she started thinking ... and wondering ... and before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match. Except ... he wasn't. Her perfect husband wouldn't be so moody and ill-mannered, and while Phillip was certainly handsome, he was a large brute of a man, rough and rugged, and totally unlike the London gentlemen vying for her hand. But when he smiled ... and when he kissed her ... the rest of the world simply fell away, and she couldn't help but wonder ... could this imperfect man be perfect for her?

My rating: 5 stars

360. Again and Again (Susan Johnson)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Caroline Morrow, divorced and almost penniless, reappears in England in 1821 after an absence of five years, to the delight of Lord Simon Blair, her former lover. Soon they are in bed again, and again, and again, as the apt title implies. Ultimately, despite willful tempers and disagreements and recriminations on both sides, Simon literally kidnaps Caroline from her employer's estate and marries, then impregnates her to the amazement of the ton. After a false scare over the baby, they realize that they love each other, and that they will live happily ever after.

My rating: 2 stars

My review: A plot which makes no sense. Irrational characters. Tiresome dialogue which tries to hard.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

359. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J. K. Rowling)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Once returned to Hogwarts after his summer holiday with the dreadful Dursleys and an extraordinary outing to the Quidditch World Cup, the 14-year-old Harry and his fellow pupils are enraptured by the promise of the Triwizard Tournament: an ancient, ritualistic tournament that brings Hogwarts together with two other schools of wizardry -- Durmstrang and Beauxbatons -- in heated competition. But when Harry's name is pulled from the Goblet of Fire, and he is chosen to champion Hogwarts in the tournament, the trouble really begins. Still reeling from the effects of a terrifying nightmare that has left him shaken, and with the lightning-shaped scar on his head throbbing with pain (a sure sign that the evil Voldemort, Harry's sworn enemy, is close), Harry becomes at once the most popular boy in school. Yet, despite his fame, he is totally unprepared for the furore that follows.

My rating: 5 stars

358. The Beautiful Stranger (Julia London)

Yet another romance novel set in the Highlands

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
In Julia London's The Beautiful Stranger a pretty Scottish widow Kerry MacKinnon and Arthur Christian, a rich and powerful peer of the British realm, are thrown together by fate on a deserted Scottish road. Together they travel cross-country to reach her Highland home and although society would never condone a match between them, they fall in love. Arthur knows that he can never offer the lovely widow a future, but in the days he spends at her manor, he becomes increasingly enchanted by Kerry, her beautiful glen, and the quiet rural life she lives. Kerry is desperate to save her debt-ridden glen home and struggles to find a way to pay the overdue mortgage and outwit the lecherous neighbour determined to foreclose. Too late, Arthur learns the extent of the danger that threatens her. He's determined to rescue her, but before Kerry is truly safe they will have to risk everything, including their very lives.

My rating: 3 stars

357. Hide and Seek (Cherry Adair)

Ruins in Peru. It has nothing to do with the book but I thought the picture was cool. Source: http://www.rutahsa.com/peru-06-kc.html

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Searching for her missing sisters, Delanie Eastman poses as the mistress of an international crimelord to infiltrate a remote South American mountain hideaway, where she encounters her old lover, Kyle Wright, a man in the middle of his own secret agenda.

My rating: 5 stars

356. Be My Baby (Susan Andersen)

A balcony in New Orleans

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Unexpected romance is the result when macho New Orleans cop and bodyguard Beau Dupree is assigned the task of "baby-sitting" prim and proper debutante Juliet Rose Astor Lowell during the grand opening of her father's new hotel.

My rating: 2 stars

355. The Provincial Lady in Wartime (E. M. Delafield)

Bombed buildings in London during WWII

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
World War 2 has begun, and the provincial lady must cope with gas masks, evacuated relatives, and canteen service.

My rating: 5 stars

354. Pompeii (Robert Harris)

Computer-generated depiction of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Harris's protagonist is the engineer Marcus Attilius, placed in charge of the massive aqueduct that services the teeming masses living in and around the Bay of Naples. Despite the pride he takes in his job, Marcus has pressing concerns: his predecessor in the job has mysteriously vanished, and another task is handed to Marcus by the scholar Pliny: he is to undertake crucial repairs to the aqueduct near Pompeii, the city in the shadow of the restless Mount Vesuvius. And as Marcus faces several problems -- all life threatening -- an event approaches that will make all his concerns seem petty.

My rating: 4 stars

353. That Scandalous Evening (Christina Dodd)

Michelangelo's David

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
When Miss Jane Higgenbothem's sculpture of Lord Blackburn -- the man she secretly adores -- was revealed, making her a laughingstock, she fled to the country in shame, but now, ten years later, she returns as a chaperone to her niece and encounters Lord Blackburn -- a man who is not about to let bygones be bygones.

My rating: 4 stars

352. The Big Four (Agatha Christie)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
An uninvited guest, coated in dust, sways and falls in the doorway of Poirot's bedroom. Who is he? What is the significance of the figure 4 scribbled repeatedly on a sheet of paper? Poirot is plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life to uncover the truth about "Number Four".

My rating: 4 stars

Publication information:
  • 1927
  • Collins in London
  • Blue cloth with red lettering
  • Dust wrapper priced at 7/6

351. High Fidelity (Nick Hornby)

Jack Black is very funny.

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Hornby's narrator is an early thirtysomething bloke who runs a London record store. He sells albums recorded the old-fashioned way -- on vinyl -- and is having a tough time making other transitions as well, specifically to adulthood.

My rating: 3 stars

350. Breath of Magic (Teresa Medeiros)

1876 illustration of the Salem Witch Trials

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
A woman with supernatural powers leaves seventeenth-century Massachusetts to travel through time to the present, where she lands at the feet of a billionaire with a hard heart.

My rating: 5 stars

Sunday, May 27, 2007

349. Beyond Desire (Thea Devine)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
From a private berth on the Orient Express, to the finest hotels in Europe, to the mystical gateway of the East, these unlikely lovers, Alexandra DeLisle and Ryder Culhane, risk a passion that will test the limits of desire and fate, as they face a danger greater, and more seductive than any power they could imagine.

My rating: 5 stars

348. Swept Away (Candace Camp)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
When Lord Stonehaven accuses Julia's brother of a crime he did not commit, the ruinous scandal threatens to destroy her family, and Julia launches a vengeful and seductive scheme designed to bring down the unrepentant rogue.

My rating: 5 stars

347. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)

Leonard da Vinci, self-portrait

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
A murder in the silent after-hours halls of the Louvre museum reveals a sinister plot to uncover a secret that has been protected by a clandestine society since the days of Christ. The victim is a high-ranking agent of this ancient society who, in the moments before his death, manages to leave gruesome clues at the scene that only his granddaughter, noted cryptographer Sophie Neveu, and Robert Langdon, a famed symbologist, can untangle. The duo become both suspects and detectives searching not only for Neveu's grandfather's murderer, but also the stunning secret of the ages he was charged to protect. Mere steps ahead of the authorities and the deadly competition, the mystery leads Neveu and Langdon on a breathless flight through France, England and history itself.

My rating: 3 stars

My review: Fun to read (which made it a best seller) but in no way justifies the incredible press that it received and Brown's subsequent pomposity about his "theory" regarding the Holy Grail.

346. The Viscount Who Loved Me (Julia Quinn)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Wise, lovely and kind, Kate Sheffield is determined that her beautiful half-sister, Edwina, marry a reputable man in The Viscount Who loved Me. Unfortunately for Kate, Viscount Anthony Bridgerton -- London's most eligible bachelor and a notorious rake to boot -- sets his sights on Edwina, and what the viscount wants, the viscount gets. Only this time, Anthony must win the elder sister's approval before he may charm the young beauty into marriage. Hardly a problem for the impossibly handsome viscount, that is until the determined Kate, whose deep, dark eyes and lush mouth send his senses racing, presents a challenge that Anthony cannot refuse. Worse yet, Kate's response to his playful advances only confirms the ardent attraction that both seem desperate to deny. Anthony is faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, the perfectly amiable Edwina, while on the other, the most stubborn, single-minded -- yet confoundedly desirable -- female ever to grace a London ballroom. Anthony's quandary comes to a fast and fateful conclusion when he and Kate are caught in an innocent but compromising position. There's no choice but to marry, a resolution that leaves both parties uneasy. For despite their growing feelings, each struggles with personal demons that may destroy any chance for true happiness.

My rating: 4 stars

My review: My only problem with the book was Anthony's irrational and, frankly, moronic fear of bee stings.

345. Life Skills (Katie Fforde)

Canal boats in England

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
A combination of overwork and jet-leg propels Julia Fairfax into becoming engaged to a golf-playing wine buff called Oscar. But when she realises that she has fonder feelings for his adorable Labrador than for Oscar himself, she is forced to confront the fact that there is something drastically wrong. Ditching her fiance and jacking in her job, she decides to revolutionise her life. Her new career as a cook on a pair of hotel boats is certainly a departure, and teaches her more about life than how to get a couple of narrow boats through a lock. But even afloat, Julia's past catches up with her. Not only must she contend with the persistent Oscar (not to mention his frightful mother and her own mother's determined matchmaking), but also the arrival of her childhood enemy, the enigmatic Fergus Grindley ....

My rating: 2 stars

344. Devil's Bride (Stephanie Laurens)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Governess Honoria Wetherby is determined not to marry; she plans to have adventures among the Egyptian pyramids in lieu of wedding a controlling husband. But even the best-laid plans can run afoul of luck and outrageous fortune, as is fatefully proven one stormy evening when Honoria happens upon a dying young man in the woods. After passing the night in a cottage alone with the corpse and his cousin, the rakish and very much alive Devil Cynster, it is decided -- by the handsome rake -- that Honoria has been compromised by the unchaperoned evening and the only remedy is to marry. Despite her flat refusal, Devil is determined to have the beautiful and feisty governess and his family is overjoyed that he is finally planning to marry. But Devil definitely has his work cut out for him as he attempts to convince Honoria to wed him and forego her plans for adventure. Luring Honoria to the altar is further complicated when she insists upon aiding him in the search for his cousin's killer. Which will Devil accomplish first: seducing Honoria or unveiling a murderer? Or will Honoria foil the first plan and solve the second before Devil can?

My rating: 2 stars

343. Postern of Fate (Agatha Christie)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have just become the owners of an old English house. Along with the property they have inherited a collection of antique books. When looking through "The Black Arrow", Tuppence comes upon a series of apparently random underlinings which spell out a disturbing message.

My rating: 3 stars

Publication information:
  • 1973
  • Collins Crime Club in London
  • Orange/red cloth with gilt lettering
  • Dust wrapper priced at £2.00

342. The Prize (Julia Garwood)

The Bayeux Tapestry

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
In William the Conqueror's London court, Saxon captive, Nicholaa, was forced to choose a husband from the assembled Norman nobles. She chose Royce and they soon revelled in their new-found love. However, this was soon to be disrupted by the call of blood, kin and country.

My rating: 2 stars

341. Slightly Tempted (Mary Balogh)

Waterloo (no, not the ABBA song)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
From the moment he spies Lady Morgan Bedwyn across the glittering ballroom, Gervase Ashford, Earl of Rosthorn, knows he has found the perfect instrument of his revenge. But wedlock is not on the mind of the continent's most notorious rake. Nor is it of interest to the fiercely independent Lady Morgan herself ... until one night of shocking intimacy erupts in a scandal that could make Gervase's vengeance all the sweeter. There is only one thing standing in his way: Morgan, who has achieved the impossible -- she's melted his coolly guarded heart. For Gervase, only the marriage bed will do, but Morgan simply will not have him. Thus begins a sizzling courtship where two wary hearts are about to be undone by the most scandalous passion of all: all-consuming love.

My rating: 3 stars

340. Heaven, Texas (Susan Elizabeth Phillips)

A high school football stadium in Texas. Apparently, high school football is a big deal down there ....

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Gracie Snow is determined to track down the legendary Bobby Denton and drag him back home to Heaven, Texas, to begin shooting his first motion picture. But despite his dazzling good looks and killer charm, Bobby has reservations about being movie star -- and no plans to cooperate with bossy little Gracie, whom he can't get off his mind or out of his life ....

My rating: 4 stars

My review: Like most of Susan Elizabeth Phillips's books, there is great character development and plot. So why did this book get 4 stars and not 5? Because of the descriptions of the clothes Bobby and Gracie wear. Lavendar silk shirts? Purple cowboy boots? Red rompers? Okay, I'm not from Texas so I don't know what's considered "fashionable" down there but some of the clothes sound like they're straight out of the 80s. Let's get with the times! Throughout the book, I was waiting for someone to whip out a white denim jacket. The clothes so grated my sense of style that I had to dock a star off. Otherwise, it's a great book.

Excerpt: [from Chapter 1]

“A bodyguard! I don’t need any damn bodyguard!”

The silver toes of Bobby Tom Denton’s purple lizardskin cowboy boots flashed in the sunlight as the ex-football player stalked across the carpet and planted the heels of his hands on his attorney’s desk.

Jack Aikens regarded him cautiously. “Windmill Studios thinks you do.”

“I don’t happen to care what they think. Everybody knows there isn’t a single person living in all of Southern California who’s got a lick of sense.” Bobby Tom straightened. “Well, maybe some of the ranchers do, but not other than that.” He folded his lanky frame into a leather chair, propped his boots on the desktop, and crossed his ankles.

Jack Aikens observed the man who was his most important client. Today Bobby Tom was dressed almost conservatively in white linen trousers, a lavender silk shirt, his purple lizardskin boots, and a light gray Stetson. The former wide receiver didn’t go anywhere without a Stetson. Some of his girlfriends swore he even made love wearing it, although Jack didn’t quite believe that. Still, Bobby Tom was proud of being a Texan, although his professional football career had forced him to spend most of the last decade living in Chicago.

With his magazine cover good looks, woman-eating grin, and imposing pair of diamond-studded Super Bowl rings, Bobby Tom Denton was pro football’s most visible glamour boy. From the beginning of his career, television audiences had loved his country boy manner, but those who’d played against him weren’t fooled by good ol’ boy charm. They knew that Bobby Tom was smart, driven, and as tough as they came. He’d not only been the most colorful wide receiver in the NFL, he’d also been the best, and when a disabling knee injury five months earlier in last January’s Super Bowl had forced him to retire at the age of thirty-three, it was only natural for Hollywood to be interested in making him the newest hero of their action adventure movies.

“Bobby Tom, the people at Windmill have a right to be worried. They’re paying you several million dollars to make your first movie with them.”

“I’m a football player, not a damn movie star!”

“As of last January, you became a retired football player,” Jack pointed out. “And it was your decision to sign a movie contract.”

Bobby Tom whipped off his Stetson, plowed one hand through his thick blond hair, and shoved the hat back on. “I was drunk and looking for new direction in my life. You know better than to let me make important decisions when I’m drunk.”

“We’ve been friends for a long time, and I have yet to see you drunk, so that’s not going to work as an excuse. You also happen to be one of the smartest businessmen I know, and you sure as hell don’t need the money. If you didn’t want to sign that contract with Windmill, you wouldn’t have done it.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve changed my mind.”

“You’ve been involved in more business deals than I can count, and I’ve never known you to break a contract. Are you sure you want to start now?”

“I didn’t say I was going to break the damn contract.”

Jack rearranged two file folders and a roll of Tums. They’d been friends for a decade, but he suspected he didn’t really know Bobby Tom much better than the barber who cut his hair. Despite his affability, the former football player was a deeply private person. Not that Jack blamed him. Everybody in the world wanted a piece of Bobby Tom, and the athlete had learned to protect himself. In Jack’s opinion, he didn’t always do a good job of it. Every ex-jock, shapely female, or hometown buddy with a hard luck story had come to regard Bobby Tom as an easy mark.

Jack peeled the silver foil coin off the end of the Turns roll. “Just out of curiosity, you know anything about acting?”

“Hell, no.”

“That’s what I figured.”

“I don’t see what difference it makes. Movies like this, all anybody has to do is kick ass and undress women. Hell, I’ve been doing that since I was eight years old.”

That sort of comment was vintage Bobby Tom Denton, and Jack smiled. Regardless of what his client said, he had to believe Bobby Tom planned to make a success out of his movie career. He’d never known the ex-football player to take on anything he didn’t plan to do well, from acquiring land to buying into new businesses. On the other hand, he certainly was taking his time about it.

Jack settled back in his chair. “I talked with Willow Craig from Windmill a couple of hours ago. She’s a mighty unhappy lady, especially since you’re the one who insisted that all the location shooting be done in Telarosa.”

“They needed a small town in Texas. You know how bad the economy’s been down there, and this’ll help out.”

“I thought you were doing your best to stay away from your hometown for a while, especially with all this craziness over that big festival they’re planning to rejuvenate the town.”

Bobby Tom winced. “Don’t remind me.”

“The fact is, you have to get down there. Windmill has already moved in their equipment and personnel, but they don’t have you there so they can start shooting.”

“I told them I’d show up.”

“Just like you told them you’d show up for all those meetings and wardrobe fittings they had scheduled for you in L.A. two weeks ago.”

“That was chicken shit stuff. Hell, I’ve already got the best wardrobe of any player in the NFL. What do I need fittings for?”

Jack gave up. As usual, Bobby Tom was going to do things his own way. For all his surface amiability, the Texan was stubborn as a mule, and he didn’t like being pushed.

Bobby Tom lowered his boots from the desk and slowly rose. Although he hid it well, Jack knew that he’d been devastated by his forced retirement. Ever since the doctors had told him he’d never play again, Bobby Tom had been wheeling and dealing with the ferocity of a man poised on the brink of financial ruin instead of a sports legend whose multimillion-dollar salary with the Chicago Stars provided only a fraction of his net worth. Jack wondered if this movie deal wasn’t just Bobby Tom’s way of passing time while he tried to figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

Bobby Tom paused at the door and gave his agent that level, blue-eyed gaze defensive players all over the league had learned to dread. “How ’bout you get hold of those people at Windmill right now and tell them to call off their bodyguard.”

Although the request was mildly uttered, Jack wasn’t fooled. Bobby Tom always knew exactly what he wanted, and he generally got it. “I’m afraid somebody’s already on the way. And they’re sending an escort, not a bodyguard.”

“I told them I’d get myself to Telarosa, and I will, If any damn bodyguard shows up and thinks he’s gonna order me around, he’d better be one tough hombre because, otherwise, he’s gonna end up with my initials carved in his. backside.”

Jack glanced down at the yellow legal pad in front of him and decided this wasn’t the best time to tell Bobby Tom that the “tough hombre” Windmill Studios was sending went by the name of Gracie Snow. As he slipped the pad under a file folder, he hoped to hell Miss Snow had a gorgeous ass, a mankiller set of tits, and the instincts of a piranha. Otherwise, she wasn’t going to stand a chance against Bobby Tom Denton.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

339. The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary (Simon Winchester)

78 Banbury Road, Oxford -- the home of James Murray, editor of the OED

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Ask a logophile or crossword-puzzle addict what the holiest of holy reference works might be, and you're almost certain to receive a three-letter acronym in reply: the OED. Now in 20 volumes and still growing, the Oxford English Dictionary is an astounding monument, one that, like the Great Wall and the Roman Forum, seems to have been around forever. But, writes the always interesting explorer Simon Winchester in The Meaning of Everything, it took decades -- and considerable sums of money -- to bring it into being. The Scottish autodidact James Augustus Henry Murray, surrounded by a small army of underpaid and overworked helpers, laboured over it for more than half a century, seeing into print "a total of 227,779,589 letters and numbers, occupying fully 178 miles of type" that brought the elusive histories of words such as walrus (courtesy of J. R. R. Tolkien) and cow ("the female of any bovine animal," courtesy of Murray himself) into sharp relief.

My rating: 4 stars

338. Double Cross Blind (Joel Ross)

St. Paul's Cathedral in London during a fire bomb raid in 1940\

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
On the morning of December 1, 1941, at the start of Ross's debut thriller, American Thomas Wall wakes up in a London hospital, where he's recovering from wounds he suffered as a member of a Canadian unit massacred in battle on Crete. Thomas blames his diplomat brother, Earl, for betraying his unit to the Nazis and wants to know where Earl is. Later that day, a British intelligence officer persuades Thomas to pose as his brother in order to pump a captured German spy. Aware of Thomas's identity, the spy sets him on the trail of hidden microfilm containing information regarding the upcoming Japanese attack in the Pacific. Thomas attempts to enlist the aid of Earl's wife, Harriet, but as she works for British intelligence, she has her own plans.

My rating: 4 stars

337. Mike and Psmith (P. G. Wodehouse)

Boys playing cricket at Eton

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
It was a preference for cricket over schoolwork that united Mike and Psmith in their reluctance to attend their new school, Sedleigh. The school insists that its attendees be keen, but it is sorely unprepared for boys of such foresight and resources as Mike and Psmith, who have decided to devote their energies exclusively to ragging.

My rating: 5 stars

Publication information:
  • Part 2 of Mike
  • 1909 (15.9.1909)
  • A & C Black in London
  • Olive green pictorial cloth
  • Title page dated 1909
Cover of first edition

336. Dragons of Winter Night (Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman)

Source: www.mattstawicki.com

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
The War of the Lance has begun in earnest, and the Companions -- Tanis, Flint, the twins Raistlin and Sturm, Flint Fireforge, Goldmoon, et al. -- find themselves separated across Ansalon. Everyone's figured out that Takhisis's dragon minions aren't just scary bedtime stories, and the desperate search for the Dragon Orbs and the mythical Dragonlance is on.

My rating: 4 stars

335. Scandal (Amanda Quick)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Emily Faringdon, a 24-year-old spinster, adores a man she has never met: Simon Traherne, her favorite correspondent on her favorite subject, romantic poetry. When Simon attends a meeting of Emily's local literary society, he indeed seems to be "the man of her dreams," a handsome earl apparently willing to overlook the scandal in her past -- a thwarted elopement. But Simon is interested in her mostly as an instrument for revenge: he blames Emily's father for his own father's ruin and suicide 23 years before. Since then, Simon has plotted to destroy the Faringdons. A romantic with a strong pragmatic streak, Emily persuades Simon that marrying her enhances his possibilities for gaining revenge and she then begins her own campaign to win his affection and free him from the past that has poisoned his life.

My rating: 2 stars

334. The Truth About Love (Stephanie Laurens)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Dashing Gerrard Debbington is an acclaimed landscape painter, Lord Vane Cyster's protégé, and the ton's most eligible bachelor. All he lacks is the chance to paint the beautiful, unusual gardens at Hellebore Hall, the Cornwall home of reclusive Lord Tregonning. One day, the opportunity drops in his lap — so long as he agrees to also paint a portrait of Lord Tregonning's daughter. Reluctant to spend months in the company of a vapid society chit, Gerrard almost refuses, but the lure of the gardens proves too strong. At Hellebore Hall, Gerrard discovers that he's in deeper than he bargained for. Jacqueline, Lord Tregonning's daughter, is a remarkable young woman, and she inspires both his artistic passion and his love. She is also widely suspected to be the cause of two deaths: that of her former fiancé, who disappeared two years before, and her mother, who mysteriously fell to her death into the brooding Garden of Night. Lord Tregonning, convinced that a good portrait portrays the true nature of its subject, believes that Gerrard's depiction of Jacqueline will prove his daughter's innocence. So who is the real killer?

My rating: 2 stars

333. One Night of Sin (Gaelen Foley)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Lord Alec Knight, the most daring and handsome rogue in all of London, is a smooth-talking aristocrat with an abundance of high-society lady admirers. With his irresistible wit, lucky hand at the gaming tables, and enticing charisma, he can have any woman he wants. But when the only girl he would have considered marrying ties the knot with someone else, Alec realizes he doesn’t want to be with just any lady – he wants to find the love of his life. The boldly spirited, beautiful Miss Becky Ward takes his life by storm after he rescues her from peril. Alec soon learns that she is on the run from her cousin, the murderous Prince Mikhail Kurkov. Becky has uncovered a menacing secret about the prince – now nothing will stop him from hunting her down. In the midst of danger, Alec and Becky find themselves deeply drawn to each other. After the two spend an all-consuming night of sin, Becky’s knight in shining armor vows on his honor to protect her until the end. But before long, Alec is protecting her with more than honor – and it seems the once untamed rake of London just may have found what he has been searching for all along ... true love.

My rating: 2 stars

Friday, May 25, 2007

332. Rendezvous (Amanda Quick)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
The scholarly Harry Fleming, earl of Graystone, prizes loyalty above all else. A former spy, he is haunted by his failure to nab a traitor known as the Spider. Furthermore, his wife was "a lying, deceitful, falsehearted bitch." Now a widower, Harry's in the market for a second wife. He has selected as his bride Augusta Ballinger, a reckless but steadfastly loyal woman, and knowing she will balk, he persuades her guardian to present the engagement to her as a fait accompli. Despite her attraction to Henry, Augusta is indeed convinced that a free spirit doesn't belong with a stick-in-the-mud scholar. But the marriage proceeds, and as Harry tries to fashion a proper wife out of Augusta, he begins to believe that a document linked to the suspicious death of her brother two years earlier may offer a clue to the identity of the elusive Spider.

My rating: 3 stars

331. Splendid (Julia Quinn)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
High-spirited American heiress Emma Dunster travels to London, where her high-jinks lead her into rescuing the Duke of Ashborne, a notorious rake who is impressed with her splendid verve.

My rating: 2 stars

330. One Night of Scandal (Teresa Medeiros)

Brown Willy Bodmin Moor, Cornwall

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Proper decorum has never come easily to Carlotta Anne Fairleigh — not even tonight, when the lovely, impetuous miss is finally making her debut. As she waits to make her entrance, she can't help wondering about the darkened house next door, the supposedly abandoned home of Hayden St. Clair, the man society has dubbed the "Murderous Marquess." Certainly one small peek through his window before the festivities would be harmless .... And, naturally, this latest "adventure" ends in disaster, thoroughly compromising the budding debutante's reputation and leaving her suddenly, unthinkably ... betrothed! Soon she's en route to the wilds of Cornwall in the company of the handsome, mysterious marquess whose name the ton whisper with fear and loathing. Yet there is something thrilling — and surprisingly tender — about her dark, unreachable groom, and the desire in his eyes is undeniable. But before Lottie will surrender to the yearnings in her heart, she must unlock the secrets of Hayden's past, no matter how scandalous — or perilous — they may be.

My rating: 4 stars

329. The Chosen (Chaim Potok)

Synopsis from Amazon:
In 1940s Brooklyn, New York, an accident throws Reuven Malther and Danny Saunders together. Despite their differences (Reuven is a Modern Orthodox Jew with an intellectual, Zionist father; Danny is the brilliant son and rightful heir to a Hasidic rebbe), the young men form a deep, if unlikely, friendship. Together they negotiate adolescence, family conflicts, the crisis of faith engendered when Holocaust stories begin to emerge in the U.S., loss, love, and the journey to adulthood.

My rating: 1 star

328. Absalom, Absalom! (William Faulkner)

Synopsis from Amazon:
The story of Thomas Sutpen, an enigmatic stranger who came to Jefferson in the early 1830s to wrest his mansion out of the muddy bottoms of the north Mississippi wilderness.

My rating: 5 stars

My review: One of my favorite books. Faulkner is one of the greatest, up there with Dickens and Twain. The story is captivating while the writing enhances the mood of the story and draws in the reader even more.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

327. Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)


Synopsis from Amazon:
Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue. With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties.

My rating: 3 stars

326. Legends (Robert Littell)

Synopsis from Amazon:
A female CIA executive looks frighteningly like Fred Astaire, while a former top agent works as a PI out of a former pool parlor above a nondescript Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn. The detective's name seems to be Martin Odum, but "Fred Astaire" calls him Dante, and he also goes by Lincoln Dittmann, the name of a Civil War enthusiast whose cartons of memorabilia sit unopened in Martin's office. Is Martin Odum himself a "legend" — a fake identity dreamed up in the dark imagination of the CIA? Because he needs the work, Martin agrees to help an old Russian KGB agent find his Israeli daughter's husband and persuade the man to give her a "get" — a divorce decree required by religious law. The husband has been pretending he's Jewish to cover up his link to a Russian criminal called the Oligarkh. As the bodies of his friends and clients begin to pile up, Odum searches for answers about not only the missing husband but also himself.

My rating: 4 stars