997. Pippi Longstocking (Astrid Lindgren)

Synopsis:
Pippi is an irrepressible, irreverent, and irrefutably delightful girl who lives alone (with a monkey) in her wacky house, Villa Villekulla. When she's not dancing with the burglars who were just trying to rob her house, she's attempting to learn the "pluttification" tables at school; fighting Adolf, the strongest man in the world at the circus; or playing tag with police officers. Pippi's high-spirited, good-natured hijinks cause as much trouble as fun, but a more generous child you won't find anywhere.

My rating: 4 stars

996. The Secret of the Old Clock (Carolyn Keene)

Synopsis:
After aiding an injured child, Nancy accidentally stumbles upon the mystery of Josiah Crowley's missing will. While several of Crowley's impoverished relatives claim that he had included them in his will, his arrogant relatives, seem to possess the only copy, which leaves them in total possession of the deceased man's fortune. Nancy is intrigued by the situation and begins searching for Crowley's missing antique clock, an object that reportedly contains a clue to the will's location. During her investigation, she encounters a series of obstacles, one of which is the theft of the clock by thieves. Nancy's rescue of the clock ultimately leads to her discovery of the real will.

My rating: 4 stars

995. Riley in the Morning (Sandra Brown)

Synopsis:
This romance tells the story of the passion, marriage, and breakup of Jon Riley, a popular morning TV show host in San Francisco, and Brin Cassidy, his producer and wife. Throughout the back and forth of present and past, there is the usual romance device of the secret that will only be revealed at the end.

My rating: 1 star

994. Seduced by Darkness (Jaide Fox)

Synopsis:
Bewitched by a sorcerer's vicious spell, her lands stolen, Swan is forced to flee to Shadowmere for help--and her only salvation. What she encounters instead is a danger she'd never imagined possible. Raphael, Lord of the Hunters, took her at the borderlands--mysterious, tempting ... and perilous to her very soul. For to give in to his dark seduction would be to consummate her curse ... and leave her forever the swan maiden ... and his prey.

My rating: 3 stars

993. The Wood Nymph (Mary Balogh)

Synopsis:
Heartbroken at the loss of Elizabeth in A Chance Encounter, William Mainwaring retreats to his country estate and meets the unworldly Helen Wade in the woods one day. She soothes his soul until he flees in panic after seducing her. He then faces the almost impossible task of redeeming himself in her eyes.

My rating: 2 stars

992. Bedford Square (Anne Perry)

Bedford Square

Synopsis:
A famous historical scandal called the Tranby Croft affair (a gambling case involving the Prince of Wales) is very much in the news when the body of a working-class man is found early one morning on the posh doorstep of General Brandon Balantyne. No one in the house claims to know the murdered man, but he has a valuable piece of jewelry belonging to the Balantynes in his pocket. Thomas Pitt and his outspoken aide, Sergeant Tellman, must tread lightly, but Charlotte--and especially her sharp relative Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould--aren't restrained by such social niceties. Gracie, the Pitts' smart and rough-tongued maid, is also a valued asset to the investigation, which proceeds in a satisfying, if not particularly surprising, manner to a highly dramatic conclusion.

My rating: 3 stars

991. Surrender (Kimberly Zant)

Synopsis:
If anyone had asked Anna before what she would be willing to do for money, what she'd just signed up for would NOT have been on the list. She's discovered, though, that the needy can't afford to be too picky. And, after all, what's six weeks in the scheme of things? Despite her internal pep talk, though, she discovers she isn't at all prepared for what she has to face in the mansion of ill repute-where 'no' is no longer a part of her vocabulary unless she wants to forfeit the money she needs so badly.

My rating: 4 stars

990. The Last Camel Died at Noon (Elizabeth Peters)

Synopsis:
This time Amelia, her handsome, fearless husband, Radcliffe, and their precocious 11-year-old son, Ramses, are in the Sudan, searching for archeologist Willoughby Forth, who disappeared 14 years earlier with his new wife. Rescued in the desert after every camel in their caravan dies, the Emersons are taken to a lost city where ancient Egyptian customs have been carried into modern times. There, entangled in two half-brothers' battle for the throne, Amelia and family fight for the freedom of the slave class while ferreting out the fate of Forth and his bride, and arranging to escape with their lives.

My rating: 2 stars

989. Duplicity (Nikki Soarde)

Synopsis:
Lee Saunders and Carter McCrea are friends. They work together. They discuss books and movies, their lives and their dreams. There's no detail too personal, no subject too taboo-except one. How they feel about each other. Lee loves him, has loved him almost since the first moment she laid eyes on him, but Carter is taken. He's been with the same woman for years and, with wedding bells tinkling in the distance, Lee has resigned herself to a fate of platonic friendship and lively fantasies. And then everything changes. Carter's girlfriend unexpectedly breaks it off and, devastated, Carter looks to Lee for comfort. Finally Lee's fantasies are fulfilled-in myriad ways she never dreamed-but her world is still far from perfect. Despite the break-up, Carter's ex isn't through with him. She has another agenda where Carter is concerned and works diligently to see it through to completion. Lee fights to hang on to what is hers, but encounters some surprising obstacles along the way and realizes that no one in her life is exactly what they appear to be. Not even the man she loves.

My rating: 3 stars

988. The Bridges of Madison County (Robert James Waller)

Synopsis:
When Robert Kincaid drives through the heat and dust of an Iowa summer and turns into Francesca Johnson's farm lane looking for directions, the world-class photographer and the Iowa farm wife are joined in an experience of uncommon truth and stunning beauty that will haunt them forever.

My rating: 1 star

987. Stranger In My Bed (Julia Keaton)

Synopsis:
Facing spinsterhood and with no prospects of a husband in sight, Melantha yields to her needs and dreams about a secret lover who comes to her at night and gives her passion. It was innocent enough until her desires to 'live' the fantasy lured her into recording her secret fantasies in her diary . And until the thief stole into her room and took her diary ... and then her innocence. And then her heart....

My rating: 3 stars

986. Callander Square (Anne Perry)

Synopsis:
Murders just didn't take place in fashionable Callander Square, so Inspector Pitt's well-bred wife Charlotte couldn't resist finding out why one had. Suddenly there she was, rattling the closets of the very rich, listening to backstair gossip, and unearthing truths that could push even the most proper aristocrat to murder....

My rating: 3 stars

985. A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray)

Synopsis:
Gemma, 16, has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother’s death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls’ academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left wi! th the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order.

My rating: 2 stars

984. Black Silk (Sharon Page)

Synopsis:
Maryanne Hamilton had expected to be shocked, but the wanton orgy she finds in Mrs. Master's salon makes her wonder if she has walked into hell. Desperate to escape, she comes upon the master of sin himself — Lord Swansborough. Fascinated by his nakedness, she longs to touch every inch of his long, hard body. And when he bids her come near, she quickly surrenders to his wicked promise of carnal pleasure and sensual ecstasy ....

My rating: 4 stars

983. Stripped Bare (Lena Matthews)

Synopsis:
When visiting an adult bookstore for a bachelor party, Professor Brody Kincaid is shocked to see his former student Missy Haddan working at the counter. He's wanted her for a long time, and Fate has finally brought them together. Missy knows he's out of her league, but when Brody offers to teach her to play poker, Missy can't resist. When the ante is upped and her heart is on the line, Missy is willing to risk it all on a game of chance, but anything could happen when jokers are wild.

My rating: 3 stars

982. Passion (P. F. Kozak)

Synopsis:
A highwayman comes riding… Lost in her books, shy and beautiful Pash is free to explore her fascination with sexy rogues. Her wickedest fantasies are of bold, sensual and powerful men, who release the passions she keeps locked deep inside…and the fear…

Her new riding instructor seems to have stepped out of her wildest dream. Ivan is masterful…handsome…and a very experienced lover. His invitation to a world of forbidden pleasure is irresistible…and Pash says yes ....

My rating: 4 stars

981. Nauti Boy (Lora Leigh)

Synopsis:
Having served in the Marines for eight years in order to fend off the advances of the seductive Kelly Benton, Rowdy Mackay returns to his native Kentucky, where he meets a very changed Kelly, whose ability to trust men has been shattered by a stalker's attack.

My rating: 3 stars

980. Bluegate Fields (Anne Perry)

Synopsis:
When an upper-class boy is found violated and dead in London's most dangerous slums, Inspector Pitt is shocked. But when the Waybournes, the boy's family, refuse to answer the police's questions, Inspector Pitt begins to wonder what secrets they were trying to hide. His wife and helpmeet, Charlotte, is determined to find out--even it if means tearing down the facades of an oh-so-proper family ....

My rating: 3 stars

979. The Daughters of Cain (Colin Dexter)

Oxford University

Synopsis:
After Dr. Felix McClure, an Oxford don, is found stabbed to death, all clues point to a former employee of the college, Edward Brooks, as the murderer. But when Brooks also turns up murdered--with the same knife that killed McClure--the case challenges even Morse's considerable mental prowess. He discovers that Brooks was a drug dealer who peddled his wares to Oxford students, abused his wife and daughter, and kept a secret--and substantial--bank account. The motives for murder abound, but all the prime suspects seem to have ironclad alibis. Morse ponders, aided by his favorite vices, nicotine and alcohol, and finally offers up the solution to the convoluted case.

My rating: 3 stars

978. All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)

Synopsis:
Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only he can come out of the war alive.

My rating: 5 stars

977. Sin Club (Rachelle Chase)

Synopsis:
Night after night, his voice goes out over the radio waves, helping the lovelorn and the heartbroken. But Dr. "Love" takes his advice one step further, urging his listeners to take their lives into their own hands--and pursue what they desire...

One Sin At A Time...

Bored with a dull lover, determined to settle for casual sex, too focused on the sex lives of celebrities to worry about her own--Jessie, Sharice, and Alyssa are ripe for Dr. Love's advice. But Jessie's erotic striptease is observed by the wrong man--until she realizes that hunky new neighbor Nick is exactly the lover she needs. Making a spur-of-the-moment booty call, Sharice unknowingly dials a wrong number--but the mouthwatering man who answers touches all her hot buttons in just the right ways. And Alyssa finds that being the "perfect date" to the powerful, and powerfully sensual, Tony is easy when he reveals the raw desire simmering just beneath her little black dress...

If sinning is wrong, they don't want to be right.

My rating: 3 stars

976. Wildcard (Cheyenne McCray)

Synopsis:
After four years abroad, Trace MacLeod has returned home to her family's ranch in southeastern Arizona. Everything in her life is going just the way she planned it—a home in London, a brilliant career, and she's practically engaged to a gorgeous English gentleman. But when Trace meets Jess Lawless, the cowboy turns her perfect world upside down. He's a wildcard…an unexpected, unpredictable wildcard who could win the game's hand instantly—or wreck it forever. Everything about him is virile and sexy, dark and dangerous. Definitely dangerous, and definitely not part of Trace's carefully arranged hand. From the moment Jess Lawless sees the sensual strawberry blonde, he knows he's got to have her. He manages to corner the green-eyed woman, and is intrigued by her combination of sophistication and innocence, boldness and shyness. Even when Trace tells him she's taken, Jess doesn't let that stop him. He's determined to make her his.

My rating: 3 stars

975. My Pet (J. W. McKenna)

Synopsis:
Annette couldn't explain why the idea of a strong man taking her and bending her to his will aroused her so. Perhaps she was just "wired" differently than other women. When she began exploring her submissive feelings online, she came across "Mr. Paul", an alleged Dominant and trainer who lived in another state. As they began chatting, Annette found in his responses the answers to her own long-unanswered questions. He seemed the perfect Dom—not cruel or abusive, just firm and strong and masculine. She went to visit him—and met another strong man. Master James evoked similar responses in her. Now deep in her training, she finds herself torn between two men, the aloof and enigmatic Mr. Paul and the sexy and strong Master James. One of these men may steal her heart - or she may be destined to be sold to the highest bidder at auction! Annette opens her soul to the experience of total submission and finds her heart's desire.

My rating: 3 stars

974. The Thirty-Nine Steps (John Buchan)

Synopsis:
Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But then a murder is committed in his flat, just days after a chance encounter with an American who had told him about an assassination plot which could have dire international consequences. An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland where he will need all his courage and ingenuity to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.

My rating: 4 stars

973. A Dangerous Beauty (Sophia Nash)

Synopsis:
Eight years ago one kiss from Lord Sumner, the Duke of Helston's heir, ruined Rosamunde Baird's life. She refused to marry him and was cut socially by her family and polite society. Now a widow in dire financial straits, Rosamunde once again finds herself flirting with scandal when she accepts an invitation to stay with Merceditas St. Aubyn, the dowager duchess of Helston. As the patron of the "Widows Club," the duchess's one goal is to help her ladies find the happy-ever-after endings they deserve, and she believes Rosamunde's future holds a romance with the current Duke of Helston, Lucifer St. Aubyn. But Rosamunde is determined not to destroy her carefully cultivated, quiet new life by even considering an affair with the devilishly tempting "Lord Fire and Ice."

My rating: 2 stars

972. Hidden Agendas (Lora Leigh)

Synopsis:
Tough-as-nails Navy SEAL Kell Kreiger is the best there is at searching, rescuing, and taking no prisoners ... yet even the rush of ever-more dangerous missions isn't enough to satisfy him. Haunted by a tortured past, Kell seeks distraction in a secret world of dark intimacies. But when Emily Stanton, the one ray of light in Kell's shadowy existence, is pursued by a ruthless drug lord, the rules of the game suddenly change -- and Kell will have to go deeper undercover than he ever imagined ....

My rating: 3 stars

971. The Rules of Seduction (Madeline Hunter)

Synopsis:
Alexia Welbourne, although virtually penniless and living with relatives, is, as her name suggests, wellborn. But hard times have made her pragmatic, so when Lord Hayden Rothwell arrives unexpectedly, she expects bad tidings, and, indeed, he claims that her cousin, Timothy, has been stealing money from investors at his bank. But Alexia believes Timothy when he says that Hayden has brought the family to ruin. Frustrated and feeling guilty, Hayden offers a job, then a relationship, then marriage to Alexia. She feels she has no choice, but she is honest enough to admit that the physical aspect of their relationship is enjoyable and finds it difficult to reconcile what she has been told about Hayden with what she sees.

My rating: 2 stars