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