750. Guardian of the Horizon (Elizabeth Peters)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson, along with their son Ramses and foster daughter Nefret, are summoned back to the Lost Oasis, a hidden stronghold in the western desert whose existence they discovered many years ago (in The Last Camel Died At Noon) and have kept secret from the entire world, including their fellow Egyptologists. According to Merasen, the brother of the ruling monarch, their old friend Prince Tarek is in grave danger and needs their help, however it's not until they retrace their steps back to the Oasis, with its strange mixture of Meroitic and Egyptian cultures, that they learn the real reason for their journey.

My rating: 1 star

749. Homer Price (Robert McCloskey)

The donut story is one of my favorites.

Synopsis from Amazon:
Six episodes in the life of Homer Price including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits and another about a donut machine on the rampage.

My rating: 5 stars

748. River of Fire (Mary Jo Putney)

Synopsis from Amazon:
On his return from the Napoleonic Wars, Captain Kenneth Wilding rides to Sutterton Hall to claim his inheritance, only to discover that his father has ruined the estate. The only way to salvage it and provide a dowry for his sister is to accept his creditor's bargain: Wilding's debt will be forgiven, if he infiltrates a prominent painter's household and solves a murder. Wilding takes a job as secretary to the painter, but finds his task complicated by his growing attraction to his employer's daughter and by his own secret yearning to paint.

My rating: 2 stars

747. Lady Killer/Secret Admirer (Michele Jaffe)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Set in London in the late 1500s, this hefty volume offers two distinctly different but equally pleasing paranormal thrillers in one tidy package. In Secret Admirer, a killer with a fixation for the letter W is messing with Lady Tuesday Arlington's pretty head. The Lion, as he calls himself, seems to be able to invade Tuesday's dreams and turn them into horrific nightmares that come true. When Tuesday unknowingly paints the scene of her abusive husband's grisly murder, she becomes the prime suspect, until she becomes a target. The reader soon learns, however, that it isn't Tuesday the Lion is after; it's Tuesday's new beau, Lawrence Pickering, head of Her Majesty's operation against smuggling. This stylishly abstract offering will challenge the attention span with its abrupt scene changes, surrealistic tone and harebrained heroine, who withholds vital information despite being faced with the threat of arrest. Still, there are enough surprising plot twists and enigmatic secondary characters to propel readers to finish this turbulent read and launch right into Jaffe's (The Water Nymph) next offering, a comedic mystery featuring detective Clio Thornton and her smart, simian sidekick, Toast. Clio is already on the outs with her wealthy relatives for taking after her adventurous father; now she risks losing her allowance by disrupting her cousin's marriage to Viscount Miles Loredan. Miles supposedly killed the Vampire of London three years earlier, but Clio is convinced the creature has resurfaced. To replenish her dwindling cash flow, Clio proposes that Miles hire her to track down the vampire, an offer Miles has his own reasons for refusing.

My rating: 4 stars

746. The Fellowship of the Ring (J. R. R. Tolkien)

Synopsis from Amazon:
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in THE HOBBIT. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

My rating: 5 stars

745. No Mercy (Jaid Black)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Book 2 of The Empress' New Clothes: NO MERCY, tells us the story of King Rem Q'an Tal and the capture of his Sacred Mate.

My rating: 4 stars

744. Demon Rumm (Sandra Brown)

Synopsis from Amazon:
It was the publicity stunt from hell as far as Kirsten Rumm was concerned. She may have been writing the book about her late husband, aeronautical daredevil Demon Rumm, but she didn’t see the need to play host to the arrogant bad-boy actor starring in the film version’s title role. Still, for the good of the project, Kirsten agreed to share her beachfront home with the impossibly sexy screen idol.

Any other woman would do anything to be in her sandals, but Kirsten wasn’t falling for Rylan North, even if he did play his role of male lead to perfection. His down-home charm, his gentleness and virile charisma, might be seducing her in every sense of the word, but he was an actor, after all. Seducing an audience was his job. Rylan could have any woman he wanted. So why was he so desperately pretending to want her?

From the moment he saw her, Rylan North knew that Kirsten Rumm was the woman he’d been waiting all his life to cast as the star in his real-life love story. What did it matter if he was every woman’s fantasy if he couldn’t get Kirsten to so much as glance his way? He’d caught the look of past hurt behind her sky-blue eyes–a dark secret that shadowed the sparkle. Rylan was determined to find out what tragedy held this passionate woman back from a second chance at love even if it cost him his reputation, his career, and his life. But first he’d have to get Kirsten to act on her instincts . . . and to trust the flesh-and-blood man behind the fantasy.

My rating: 1 star

My review: Wow. Books from the 80s do not hold up well. I read this for a book club and it ... sucks. A lot. Everything about it is terrible. The heroine is weak and annoying. The hero is pushy and annoying. The premise of the book doesn't make any sense. Here are a few criticisms (there's no way I can list them all):

• Rylan wears jean shorts -- we have already gone over the heinousness of this fashion crime. One star off automatically.
• In the beginning, Rylan is an extremely rude and pushy houseguest. Why doesn't Kirsten kick him out of the house? It's her house. The importance of a movie does not outweigh good manners.
  
• Rylan coming onto Kirsten. Dude, she lost her husband not too long ago. It's clear she hasn't gotten over it. Back off.
• Rylan is suddenly in love with Kirsten -- uh ... what???
• Rylan's "famous" stare. Dude, get over yourself.

In short, Kirsten's indecisiveness is tiresome (make up your mind already!). Rylan's a jackass. A match made in heaven.

I've read a lot of bad romances and this is one of the worst.

743. The Secret Servant (Daniel Silva)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
A leading terrorism analyst is found brutally murdered in Amsterdam. The Dutch police believe it is the work of a deranged extremist -- but others know better. Gabriel Allon -- art-restorer, spy, assassin -- is called in to make discreet inquiries. It would seem that the dead man was close to uncovering the plans of a major terrorist operation -- a new threat which no-one could have predicted. The trail leads to London, when a young woman vanishes .... She is the daughter of the American Ambassador -- and goddaughter of the President of the United States -- and the kidnappers' demands are at once horrifically clear and clearly impossible to meet. The President turns to Allon, a man whose abilities he has depended on before ... Allon soon finds himself in a desperate search for the missing woman, and those responsible -- but the truth, when he finds it, is not what he expects. In fact, it is one that will shake him, and many others, to the core.

My rating: 3 stars

My review: Not as good as the previous Gabriel Allon books in plot and writing, which, sad to say, is better than a good number of books currently being published. The main sticking point for me is when the characters lecture each other on foreign policy -- shouldn't they know this already? I do not like the practice some writers have of explaining policy issues to their readers; the characters inevitably end up sounding like some blowhard pundit on a cable news show, oversimplifying the issues while maintaining an unrealistic political stance. In his previous books, Silva has refrained from this practice but, in The Secret Servant, there's continual talk and explanation of the "puppet" regimes in the Middle East (such as in Egypt) and it becomes tiresome. I recommend skipping through these parts if you want to enjoy the book.

742. Against the Wall (Rhyannon Byrd)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
She's a good girl ready for her turn to be bad. He's a hard-ass set on resisting the inevitable. When temptation lives just around the corner, who knows what wicked wonders will result? Shea Dresden doesn't need her PhD to know she's more brains than bod-too much bookworm, too little bada-bing!-but this is getting ridiculous. Her sexy nextdoor neighbor, the sinfully irresistible Ryan McCall, has been going out of his way to ignore her for months now. She's flirted, asked him out, done everything but beg-and still come up empty-handed. Tired of waiting for what she wants, Shea hatches a scheme to snag the stubborn ATF agent once and for all. It's the perfect plan, and she's willing to do anything to make it work. But when her little strategy backfires, Shea finds she's being rescued instead of ravished. And she still wants her mind-shattering night of sexual ecstasy. What's a desperate woman to do? Rock his world, of course! Shea's not about to take another no, especially when she's already got the sexy stud in her bedroom. She may have to swallow her pride to get what she wants-but by the end of the night, it's Ryan who's paying all the lip service. Ryan McCall's been burned before, and he knows better than to play with fire. Too bad the shy little scholar living right next door affects him like gasoline on an open flame. He's done his best to stay the hell away from her, but once he gets that first taste, he knows he's in some serious trouble. Shea may be looking for wild times between the sheets, but Ryan soon finds he's ready to convince her to take a chance on a bad boy like himself-forever.

My rating: 3 stars

741. The Neverending Story (Michael Ende)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Bastian embarks on a wild adventure when he enters the magical world of Fantastica, a doomed land filled with dragons, giants, and monsters, and risks his life to save Fantastica by going on a very dangerous quest.

My rating: 5 stars

740. The Return of the King (J. R. R. Tolkien)

Synopsis from Amazon:
While the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarmed out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggled deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron’s power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the accursed Ring of Power had to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way was impossibly hard, and Frodo was weakening. Weighed down by the compulsion of the Ring he began finally to despair.

My rating: 5 stars

739. The Berlin Conspiracy (Tom Gabbay)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Wallowing in a post–Bay of Pigs funk, ex-CIA agent Jack Teller is called out of retirement in 1963 and sent to Berlin to meet an East German agent with a message for Jack's ears only in the debut of screenwriter and former TV producer Gabbay. Jack is floored by both his contact's identity and his information about a plot to kill President Kennedy during an upcoming visit to West Berlin. His dormant idealism roused, Jack delves into the conspiracy while dodging the threats of corrupt CIA higherups and falling in with colorful residents of Berlin's Cold War demimonde.

My rating: 1 star

My review: The writing is terrible; parts of the book sound like a bad gangster movie from the 1930s.

738. Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Jess Aarons wants to be the fastest boy in the fifth grade -- he wants it so bad he can taste it. He's been practicing all summer, running in the fields around his farmhouse until he collapses in a sweat. Then a tomboy named Leslie Burke moves into the farmhouse next door and changes his life forever. Not only does Leslie not look or act like any girls Jess knows, but she also turns out to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. After getting over the shock and humiliation of being beaten by a girl, Jess begins to think Leslie might be okay. Despite their superficial differences, it's clear that Jess and Leslie are soul mates. The two create a secret kingdom in the woods named Terabithia, where the only way to get into the castle is by swinging out over a gully on an enchanted rope. Here they reign as king and queen, fighting off imaginary giants and the walking dead, sharing stories and dreams, and plotting against the schoolmates who tease them. Jess and Leslie find solace in the sanctuary of Terabithia until a tragedy strikes and the two are separated forever.

My rating: 1 star

737. It Happened One Autumn (Lisa Kleypas)

Synopsis from Amazon:
The setup is familiar: strong-willed American heiress Lillian Bowman gets under the skin of straitlaced earl Marcus Westcliff, and soon finds herself sharing the sheets with him. But what distinguishes this book from a multitude of similar stories are Kleypas's characters. One can imagine the mouthy Lillian as a regular on Sex and the City and, with his contemporary sensibilities and hunky good looks, Marcus could easily win the heart of a modern woman. Indeed, while the protagonists are both hardheaded in a typical way and their path toward love is peppered with few surprises, it's no chore to sit back and be amused by their antics and engrossed in their struggles.

My rating: 4 stars

736. A Duke of Her Own (Lorraine Heath)

Synopsis from Amazon:
The Duke of Hawkhurst is proud -- and really rather, well, poor! He has an enormous estate, and a long–standing pedigree, but his ancestors have gambled, frittered, and otherwise simply lost the Hawkhurst fortune. Luckily, there are American heiresses galore coming to snare titled gentlemen, and put their money to good use keeping the castles sturdy and the estates afloat.

Lady Louisa St. John -- the daughter of an earl and the sister of an earl -- is forced to become essentially a finishing governess to Jenny Rose. Hawkhurst has decided that the American, Jenny, should be his bride, but it's Louisa who loves him ... and Louisa whom he eventually realizes he loves with a passion he's never felt before ....

My rating: 5 stars

My review: A great spin on the influx of American heiresses who went to England in the 1800s to marry nobility. For once, we see it from the perspective of the British nobility who are forced to marry or cater to these heiresses.

735. Enslaved (Jaid Black)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Book 3 of The Empress' New Clothes: ENSLAVED, tells us the story of King Kil Q'an Tal and the capture of his Sacred Mate.

My rating: 4 stars

734. Body Check (Deirdre Martin)

Synopsis from Amazon:
When persistent sports publicist Janna MacNeil butts heads with hockey team captain Ty Gallagher, they don't just crack the ice-they melt it.

My rating: 2 stars

My review: Not as good as The Penalty Box.

733. Stuart Little (E. B. White)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
This is a story about Stuart Little, who is only two inches tall, with a tail and whiskers, but who has the courage of a lion as he copes with life in an adult-size world. He rides on New York buses, races sailboats on the lake in Central Park and sets out across the world in search of his friend.

My rating: 4 stars

732. Perelandra (C. S. Lewis)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
In the second novel in C.S. Lewis' classic science fiction trilogy, Dr Ransom is called to the paradise planet of Perelandra, or Venus, which turns out to be a beautiful Eden-like world. He is horrified to find that his old enemy, Dr Weston, has also arrived and is putting him in grave peril once more. As the mad Weston's body is taken over by the forces of evil, Ransom engages in a desperate struggle to save the innocence of Perelandra ....

My rating: 3 stars

731. Heather's Gift (Lora Leigh)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Heather's job was to guard Sam's body. As part of the team assigned to the protection of the August family, she had taken her job seriously. Until a mad man learned she was Sam August's weakness. Until the past rose with deadly intent and surprising secrets. Will Sam be able to deny his passion for this woman, or will the dark nightmares, and sensuous desires that rage through them both be the cause of his destruction, and the destruction of the woman he loves.

My rating: 4 stars

730. Death at Bishop's Keep (Robin Paige)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Kate Adrleigh is everything the Victorian English gentlewoman is not--outspoken, free-thinking, American ... and a writer of the frowned upon "penny-dreadfuls."

Soon after her arrival in Essex, England, a body is unearthed in a nearby archeological dig--and Kate has the chance to not only research her latest story ... but to begin her first case with amateur detective Sir Charles Sheridan.

My rating: 1 star

729. Paradise Postponed (John Mortimer)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Why does Simeon Simcox, "left-wing cleric" of an English village, leave the Simcox brewery millions to the morally loathsome Leslie "The Toad" Titmuss, city developer and Conservative cabinet minister? Simeon's sonsFred, the jazz-drumming doctor, and writer Henry, once "Britain's brightest and angriest"conduct separate sleuthing inquiries into Simeon's life and will. Was the low-born Titmuss, who has bought and sold his upper-crust associates and climbed to power on their crippled backs, really Simeon's offspring?

My rating: 1 star

728. The Liar (Stephen Fry)

Synopsis from Amazon:
A chronic liar with few friends meets Professor Trefusis -- academic, broadcaster, polyglot and admirer of Elvis Costello -- and is led through an adventure that takes in Piccadilly rent-boys, a lost pornographic Dickens novel, international espionage and disgraceful scenes on a cricket field.

My rating: 2 stars

727. Centerburg Tales (Robert McCloskey)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Further adventures of Homer Price, including those in which a juke box sets the whole town singing against its will and in which a mad scientist develops weeds that overrun the town.

My rating: 5 stars

My review: I read these stories when I was a kid and loved them. Even now, I still find them funny.

726. Silk and Secrets (Mary Jo Putney)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Set in the Near East of the Great Game, this sequel to Putney's Silk and Shadows switches focus from Mikhal Khanauri and Sara St. James to the adventures of Sara's cousin Lord Ross Carlisle. Carlisle, now Marquess of Kilburn and heir to the duchy of Windermere, is headed for Bokhara (currently Uzbekistan) for word of the missing Ian Cameron, brother of Ross's young wife who ran away 12 years earlier. En route he is rescued from maurauding Turkomans by his long-lost bride, Juliet, rather improbably dressed as a Saharan Tuareg and the accepted leader of a small Persian fortress. The two embark for Bokhara together, fighting the desert, hostile factions and each other.

My rating: 4 stars

725. The Red Pony (John Steinbeck)

Synopsis from Amazon:
The stories chronicle a young boy's maturation. In "The Gift," the best-known story, young Jody Tiflin is given a red pony by his rancher father. Under ranch hand Billy Buck's guidance, Jody learns to care for and train his pony, which he names Gabilan. Caught in an unexpected rain, Gabilan catches a cold and, despite Billy Buck's ministrations, dies. Jody watches the buzzards alight on the body of his beloved pony, and, distraught at his inability to control events, he kills one of them. The other stories in The Red Pony are "The Great Mountains," "The Promise," and "The Leader of the People," in which Jody develops empathy and also learns from his grandfather about "westering," the migration of people to new places and the urge for new experiences.

My rating: 1 star

724. Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)

Synopsis from Amazon:
It's 1954, and U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule arrive at a small island in Massachusetts' Outer Harbor. It is home to Ashcliffe Hospital, a federal institution for the criminally insane, and one of the patients has escaped. Although the two men are new partners, they have already developed a wry, jocular relationship while also swapping personal, painful details. Daniels' lost his much-loved wife two years prior in a fire, while Aule requested a transfer out of Seattle after being harassed over his personal relationship with a Japanese American woman. After interviewing the hospital's medical personnel, both men have the feeling they are being stonewalled, especially by the director, who seems to alternate between a cold authoritarianism and a sudden and sweeping compassion. When the island is hit by gale-force winds and Aule disappears, Daniels must go it alone, beset by the fear that he has been fed psychotropic drugs and the belief that the hospital is performing radical brain surgery as part of a secret-ops program.

My rating: 3 stars

My review: Another book which isn't great but worth reading for the incredible ending.

723. The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club (Laurie Notaro)

Synopsis from Amazon:
“I’ve changed a bit since high school. Back then I said no to using and selling drugs. I washed on a normal basis and still had good credit.”

Introducing Laurie Notaro, the leader of the Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club. Every day she fearlessly rises from bed to defeat the evil machinations of dolts, dimwits, and creepy boyfriends—and that’s before she even puts on a bra.

For the past ten years, Notaro has been entertaining Phoenix newspaper readers with her wildly amusing autobiographical exploits and unique life experiences. She writes about a world of hourly-wage jobs that require absolutely no skills, a mother who hands down judgments more forcefully than anyone seated on the Supreme Court, horrific high school reunions, and hangovers that leave her surprised that she woke up in the first place.

The misadventures of Laurie and her fellow Idiot Girls (“too cool to be in the Smart Group”) unfold in a world that everyone will recognize but no one has ever described so hilariously. She delivers the goods: life as we all know it.

My rating: 5 stars

My review: Absolutely hilarious. There are some stories which seem to have been taken directly out of my own life. If you're one of those girls who hasn't lived life in the most elegant, lady-like manner, this is the book for you.

722. Very Good, Jeeves (P. G. Wodehouse)

Cover of first edition

Contains:

• "Jeeves and the Impending Doom"
• "The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy"
• "Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit"
• "Jeeves and the Song of Songs"
• "Episode of the Dog McIntosh"
• "The Spot of Art"
• "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina"
• "The Love That Purifies"
• "Jeeves and the Old School Chum"
• "The Indian Summer of an Uncle"
• "The Ordeal of Young Tuppy"

My rating: 5 stars

Publication information:

• 1930 (4.7.1930)
• Herbert Jenkins
• London
• Orange cloth & black lettering
• Copyright page states "First printing 1930.."
• Dust wrapper priced at 7/6
  

721. Hot Ice (Cherry Adair)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Huntington "Hunt" St. John needs a thief. Preferably a resourceful, cunning, totally unscrupulous thief capable of breaking into religious-zealot and terrorist Jose Morales' San Cristobel home and stealing a set of computer disks. Hunt, an operative with the privately funded, freelance antiterrorist organization T-FLAC, quickly discovers that jewel-thief Taylor Kincaid is the woman he wants, but before he can secure her services, Taylor does the job on her own. But after she is arrested mere hours later by the San Cristobel police, Hunt sees an opportunity for a deal. Taylor pretends she has no idea what Hunt is talking about until an encounter with a group of lethal terrorists out for the same disks convinces her that she'd be better off trusting the enigmatic and sexy Hunt.

My rating: 3 stars

720. Wives and Daughters (Elizabeth Gaskell)

A GREAT adaptation of the book

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Wives and Daughters is set in the mid-19th century in the small village of Hollingford, in rural England. The Industrial Revolution hasn't yet thrown the country into turmoil, and the railway is just beginning to cut a swathe through the land. It sounds old-fashioned, (and there are themes in the novel which date it) but Gaskell's witty, warm tale of love and longing is surprisingly contemporary. Much of the fun in Wives And Daughters comes from Gaskell's sprightly characterisation, and willful insistence on the unconventional hero and heroine, both worthy, principled, and a little tedious. Molly Gibson, the doctor's daughter, is intelligent, spiritedly dutiful and given to much silent endurance. The object of her affections is Squire Hamley's younger son "Good Roger! Kind Roger! Dear Roger!", a sort of duller Darwin. The course of true love doesn't run smooth, thanks in the main, to the scintillating Cynthia, Molly's step sister. Cynthia is a glorious creation, willful, sinful and incredibly attractive, who, with her French education, strolls through the novel with "the free stately step of some wild animal of the forest" -- moving almost, as it were, to the continual sound of music. Cynthia's mother, the epitome of snobbery and self-deceit, whose "words were ready-made clothes, and never fitted individual thoughts" adds to the piquant entertainment. The novel revolves around the trials and tribulations, the questionable reputations of the inhabitants of Hollingford. It was Gaskell's last and most mature work, powerful and engrossing in structure and unfinished.

My rating: 5 stars

719. Conquest (Jaid Black)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
No Escape
Kara Q'ana Tal has been promised in marriage to Cam K'al Ra since she was a few months old. Determined to experience freedom rather than marriage, Kara flees from Cam and seeks refuge within the matriarchal planet of Galis. With the blessing of Kara's father, the emperor, Cam sets out to track his wayward bride down, determined to claim her for all time.

No Fear
Mousy, modern day librarian Brynda Mitchell doesn't lead a very exciting life...yet.

My rating: 3 stars

718. The Moonstone (Wilkie Collins)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
A fabulous yellow diamond becomes the dangerous inheritance of Rachel Verinder. Outside her Yorkshire country house watch the Hindu priests who have waited for many years to reclaim their ancient talisman, looted from the holy city of Somnauth. When the Moonstone disappears the case looks simple, but in mid-Victorian England no one is what they seem, and nothing can be taken for granted. Witnesses, suspects, and detectives take up the story in turn. The bemused butler, the love-stricken housemaid, the enigmatic detective Sergeant Cuff, the drug-addicted scientist, each speculate on the mystery as Collins weaves their narratives into a masterpiece of construction and suspense.

My rating: 4 stars

717. Bad Heir Day (Wendy Holden)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Becoming a writer is the dream of Oxbridge graduate Anna but a flurry of CV mail-outs draws nothing but blanks. However, when the poisonous novelist Cassandra takes her on, her luck appears to be changing. But, soon, Anna is in a domestic hell -- a glorified au pair coping with Cassandra's philandering, ageing rock-star husband. So when Anna meets the handsome Jamie, a Scottish laird who is heir to a Balmoral-style castle, she is exhilarated at the thought of escape from her grisly circumstances. Her luck, though, is about to run true to form.

My rating: 2 stars

716. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (Melissa Bank)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
After following the advice from a manual called "How to Meet and Marry Mr Right", Jane learns that in love there is neither pattern nor promise, and never rules.

My rating: 1 star

My review: This book proves the point that one should never judge a book by its cover. In this case, I found the cover to be cute so I read it. BIG WASTE OF TIME. The author tries to be profound about life and love under a veneer of chick-lit. It doesn't work.

715. The Man Within (Lora Leigh)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
He had protected her as a child, filled all her teenaged fantasies, and as a woman, he stole her heart. Only to break it. Now, fifteen months later, the news has released. The man she loves is one of the genetically altered Feline Breeds who have shocked the world with their presence. He's also her mate. The mark on her neck attests to that. The fire that rages in her heart and in her body further proves it. But he hadn't wanted her then; does he really want her now? Deceit and treachery, born in the past, now haunt the present as Taber and Roni fight to make sense of a sudden bonding. The mating of heart, body and soul as the man and the beast within merge; both battling the forces raging against the union and dominance over the woman he claimed.

My rating: 4 stars

714. Four In Hand (Stephanie Laurens)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Max Rotherbridge couldn't believe it. Along with the dukedom of Twyford, he -- London's most notorious rogue -- had inherited wardship of four devilishly attractive sisters! Including the irresistible Caroline Twinning. The eldest Twinning was everything he had ever wanted in a woman, but even Max couldn't seduce his own ward ... or could he? After all, he did have a substantial reputation to protect. And what better challenge than the one woman capable of stealing his heart?

My rating: 2 stars

713, Right Ho, Jeeves (P. G. Wodehouse)

Cover of first edition

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Jeeves has some outrageous ideas about how Gussie Fink-Nottle can capture the affections of Miss Madeline Bassett: scarlet tights and a false beard.

My rating: 5 stars

Publication information:

• 1934 (5.10.1934)
• Herbert Jenkins
• London
• Stone grey cloth & red lettering
• Title page states "MCMXXXIV"
• Dust jacket priced at 7/6
  

712. A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson)

The Southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail on Springer Mountain, Georgia

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
God only knows what possessed Bill Bryson, a reluctant adventurer if ever there was one, to undertake a gruelling hike along the world's longest continuous footpath—The Appalachian Trail.

The 2,000-plus-mile trail winds through 14 states, stretching along the east coast of the United States, from Georgia to Maine. It snakes through some of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in North America, as well as through some of its most poverty-stricken and primitive backwoods areas.

With his offbeat sensibility, his eye for the absurd, and his laugh-out-loud sense of humour, Bryson recounts his confrontations with nature at its most uncompromising over his five-month journey.

My rating: 4 stars

711. The Music of the Primes (Marcus Du Sautoy)

Bernhard Riemann

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
In 1859, German mathematician Bernhard Riemann presented a paper to the Berlin Academy that would forever change the history of mathematics. The subject was the mystery of prime numbers. At the heart of the presentation was an idea that Riemann had not yet proved but one that baffles mathematicians to this day.

Solving the Riemann Hypothesis could change the way we do business, since prime numbers are the lynchpin for security in banking and e-commerce. It would also have a profound impact on the cutting-edge of science, affecting quantum mechanics, chaos theory, and the future of computing. Leaders in math and science are trying to crack the elusive code, and a prize of $1 million has been offered to the winner. In this engaging book, Marcus du Sautoy reveals the extraordinary history behind the holy grail of mathematics and the ongoing quest to capture it.

My rating: 5 stars

My review: A very good review of the Riemann Hypothesis and the implications of a proof. Technical enough for mathematicians but not so abstract that it cannot be understood by laypersons.

710. The Playboy (Carly Phillips)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Rick Chandler is a local cop in his small hometown. This so-called ladies man is at the point in his life where he needs to find a wife to settle down with -- especially since his mother has taken "ill," claiming grandchildren as her final wish. The only problem is that every woman in town is throwing themselves at Rick, and he's not interested in any of them. Or at least that's what he thinks, until he pulls over Kendall Sutton, caught speeding in a wedding dress. Kendall's world has crumbled since her aunt died, causing her to reevaluate life. She also has to deal with her troubled 12-year-old sister Hannah coming to live with her. Knowing Kendall's stay in town is temporary, Rick offers to help her with Hannah if she will pose as his "fiance" to get his mother off his back. As the two join forces in this hoax, Rick tries to resist falling for Kendall as he has a penchant for damsels-in-distress. But fall for her he does, overcoming his own relationship demons from the past, and the couple may just have a shot at a happy ending.

My rating: 3 stars

709. Not Another New Year's (Christie Ridgway)

Synopsis from Amazon:
After all, this year brought Hannah Davis nothing but the memory of her wandering fiancé marrying someone else behind her back. Now, sitting alone at a bar in Coronado, California, on December 31, she decides to do something radical ... and lets a brooding good-looker take her to bed. But when a hysterical woman bursts into their room much too early on New Year's Day, Hannah realizes this guy's more complicated than she thought ....

Ex-Secret Service Agent Tanner Hart screwed up, big-time! Hoping to temporarily boot some of the ghosts from his life, he hooked up with this sexy stranger for a hot one-night stand — only to discover she's the woman he's agreed to protect ... from men just like him!

But a new year is a time for fresh beginnings. Despite the danger, the hoopla, and the hangovers, if Hannah's brave enough to risk her heart again — and Tanner's wise enough to realize he deserves it — maybe this one will be different.

My rating: 3 stars

708. Colters' Woman (Maya Banks)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Adam, Ethan and Ryan aren't looking for women. They're looking for a woman. One woman to share their lives and their beds. They don't want a casual romp in the hay, they want the woman who will complete them and they're losing hope of finding her. That is until Adam finds Holly lying in the snow just yards from their cabin. He knows shes different the minute he holds her in his arms. But before Adam gets his hopes up, he knows he has to gauge his brothers reactions. Soon its evident that shes the one. There are a few problems, however convincing her she belongs with them and keeping her safe from the man who wants her dead.

My rating: 4 stars

707. The Sign of Four (Arthur Conan Doyle)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
As a dense yellow fog swirls through the streets of London, a deep melancholy has descended on Sherlock Holmes, who sits in a cocaine-induced haze at 221B Baker Street. His mood is only lifted by a visit from a beautiful but distressed young woman Mary Morstan, whose father vanished ten years before. Four years later she began to receive an exquisite gift every year: a large, lustrous pearl. Now she has had an intriguing invitation to meet her unknown benefactor and urges Holmes and Watson to accompany her. And in the ensuing investigation which involves a wronged woman, a stolen hoard of Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian, a helpful dog and a love affair even the jaded Holmes is moved to exclaim, "Isn't it gorgeous!"

My rating: 4 stars

Publication information:

• 1890
• Spenser Blackett
• London
  
• Red cloth with black lettering & designs
  
• Black endpapers
  
• Issue points:
• Contents page reads '13' instead of '138'
• 'wished' shows as 'w shed' on page 56

706. A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Everyone in town thinks Meg Murry is volatile and dull-witted, and that her younger brother, Charles Wallace, is dumb. People are also saying that their physicist father has run off and left their brilliant scientist mother. Spurred on by these rumours and an unearthly stranger, the tesseract- touting Mrs Whatsit, Meg and Charles Wallace and their new friend Calvin O'Keefe embark on a perilous quest through space to find their father. In doing so, they must travel behind the shadow of an evil power that is darkening the cosmos, one planet at a time. This is no superhero tale, nor is it science fiction, although it shares elements of both. The travellers must rely on their individual and collective strengths, delving deep within themselves to find answers.

My rating: 3 stars

705. Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (P. G. Wodehouse)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Bertie Wooster is under attack. Jeeves disapproves of his new moustache and "Stilton" Cheesewright is threatening to tear him from limb to limb. Will Jeeves display the feudal spirit as crisis dawns?

My rating: 5 stars

Publication information:

• 1954 (15.10.1954)
• Herbert Jenkins
• London
• Red cloth & black lettering
• Copyright page states "First published ..1954.."
• Dust wrapper priced at 9/6
• US title: Bertie Wooster Sees It Through
  

704. Mischief (Amanda Quick)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
For the first time in her thoroughly independent life, Imogen Waterstone needs a man. Not just any man, but Matthias Marshall, the infamous Earl of Colchester, feared for his implacable will and nerves of iron. Who better to help her foil a fortune hunter?

My rating: 3 stars

703. Pastures Nouveaux (Wendy Holden)

Published as "Farm Fatale" in the US

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Country life doesn't prove quite so simple for the sophisticated city folk in Pastures Nouveaux, best-selling author Wendy Holden's hilarious "comedy of country manors". Although some of the rural inhabitants are poor as church mice, the majority are not and all pursue the same recreational activities (money and sex) as their urban cousins.

The belle of the country set is Rosie, a freelance illustrator, who (originally) is not desperately seeking a man, marriage or babies. In fact, natural beauty Rosie doesn't seem to have a problem with men at all. Although she has a partner (Mark is an arrogant journalist whose work involves dishing the dirt on the famous), he is quite obviously unsuitable for such a nice girl. It doesn't take long (page two) before Rosie thinks there must be more to life. So when Mark is given his own column about, wait for it, the travails of sophisticated city folk who move to the hilariously simple "country", she is soon romping with a very mixed set from the nouveaux-riches Samantha and Guy to a farmer fatale and a mysterious millionaire.

Thanks to her previous jobs on national newspapers and up-market glossies, Holden slickly draws her caricatures of urban types from the single-minded financiers, for whom extra-marital sex is a hobby, to their stick-insect, interior design-obsessed wives to vacuous, celebrity-sniffing media types. Champagne D'Vyne, Holden's posh-totty socialite and star of previous tales, even makes a cameo appearance (as herself, nach).

My rating: 3 stars

702. Sarah's Seduction (Lora Leigh)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
On a hot summer night six years before, Brock August showed Sarah Tate a passion that would nearly destroy her. But fear and innocence drove her from his arms and into a marriage she neither wanted, nor found happiness in. Now Sarah is free and she wants that night she lost. One night, a few stolen hours to know the heat and passion of the man she never forgot. But Brock has other plans in mind. A secret, a passion, a desire his brothers share. A desire Sarah will be unable to deny. That is, if she can escape the dark designs of the stalker intent on destroying the August men.

My rating: 4 stars

701. The Greatest Lover in All England (Christina Dodd)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Rosie survives as a street thespian by pretending she is a boy and staying one step ahead of the law, but when she has to play Sir Rycliffe's wife in an arranged marriage, his kisses threaten her composure.

My rating: 2 stars