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