768. Shattered Rainbows (Mary Jo Putney)

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction:
Catherine had saved Lord Michael Kenyon on the battlefields of Europe. Now, she is standing in his London drawing room asking him to pretend to be her mate. Catherine is in line to inherit a title, an ancient home, and heritage -- if she arrives on the Island of Skoal with her husband, who unbeknownst to Michael is dead.

My rating: 3 stars

767. Promise Me Tomorrow (Candace Camp)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:
Placed in an orphanage after the murder of her parents, the eldest child of Lord and Lady Chilton had given up any hope that her family in England would ever look for her. Marie Anne, now known as Marianne Cotterwood, has little experience with love, but cannot deny her attraction to the suspicious and arrogant Lard Lampton. When Marianne is the victim of some lethal "accidents," it becomes clear that someone is looking of her after all. Someone who does not want her to discover her true identity.

My rating: 3 stars

766. Force of Nature (Susan Johnson)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:
After 23 years in Florence, fortune hunter Lucy Attenborough has brought her daughter, Jo, home to Montana … and there is no denying that Jo is the daughter of powerful and influential Native American warrior, Jon Hazard Black (the hero of Johnson's sexy historical Blaze). Jo is not only lovely, but the ambition she inherited from her father has led her to become an engineer, though such a career is practically unheard of for a woman in 1888. Jo soon enchants Hazard's family and captivates wealthy local rancher Flynn Ito as well. Flynn is the outrageously handsome, enigmatic son of an Irish scullery maid turned mule skinner and a Japanese samurai. Like his father before him, Flynn has matchless skills both as a warrior and as a lover. Jo's audacity in inviting herself into his bed attracts him from the start, and her quick mind and responsive body soon make him realize that he never wants her to leave. But when Flynn's enemies make Jo their weapon in a range war, the lovers must decide whether there is more than desire between them ....

My rating: 3 stars

765. Galahad at Blanding (P. G. Wodehouse)

Cover of first edition

Synopsis from Amazon:
Galahad can't abide broken hearts, so when a rash of broken couples crops up -- along with a meddlesome mother and a drunken pig -- he tries to put everything right.

My rating: 5 stars

Publication information:

• 1965 (26.8.1965)
• Herbert Jenkins
• London
• Red cloth & gold lettering to spine
• Copyright page states "First published 1965.."
• Dustwrapper priced at 16/-.
  

764. Guilty Pleasures (Laura Lee Guhrke)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:
One of Daphne Wade's guilty pleasures is to watch the Duke of Tremore as he works, shirtless, on the excavation site of his ducal estate. Anthony Courtland is by far the most exciting and handsome man she has ever known, and she dreams of one day being able to speak with him without getting tongue tied.

Anthony, meanwhile, only sees Daphne as a hard worker on his excavation team. He considers her a plain young lady and says so in a careless remark to a friend, unaware that Daphne is outside the library door, her heart shattering to pieces. So Daphne decides she will not be so silly any longer. She begins to be tutored in the social graces, forcing Anthony to see the beauty who has been right in front of his eyes.

My rating: 3 stars

763. To Rescue a Rogue (Jo Beverley)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
After Darius "Dare" Debenham rescues her from a potentially ruinous late-night adventure, Mara St. Bride vows to return the favor by rescuing Dare. A year after everyone thought he had perished at Waterloo, Dare turns up in England with little memory of what had happened to him and an addiction to opium. As Dare struggles desperately to overcome his dependency, the last thing he thinks he needs is someone like sweet, stubborn Mara meddling in his life, but she is determined to bring joy and light to the man she loves.

My rating: 2 stars

My review: Boring. Immature heroine.

762. Triple Play (Rhyannon Byrd)

Synopsis from publisher:
One woman. Two men. And a passionate hunger too long denied.

It's Gabriel Harrison's thirty-fifth birthday. His quiet night at home, spent alone with a glass of Scotch and a novel, is about to be shattered.

Gabriel's best friend, Jonah, comes knocking at his door, bearing a present unlike any other — a blindfolded Denny Abbott, the lush little assistant Gabe can't get out of his mind. He aches for her with a primitive, physical lust and tearing emotional hunger that eats at his soul, and yet, he will not touch her. He will not reach out for the one thing in the world he wants above all others. For Gabriel has a secret — one he believes makes him unworthy of the "sexy sweet" Denny.

What Gabe doesn't know is that the gentle Denny has a backbone of steel and the sheer determination of a woman in love. With Jonah leading the way, the three embark on a provocative, sensual assault to shatter that infuriating wall of ice surrounding Gabriel's heart. Before the night ends, Denny is determined to melt his resistance and make the "Ice Man" burn.

My rating: 4 stars

761. Two Men and a Lady (Cricket Starr, Lynn LaFleur, Michele Bardsley)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble:
And Best Friend Makes Three -- A teasing remark from his best friend sends Eric McFarland ten years back in time to his college days, when sex was wild and plentiful. Now happily engaged to Brenna West, Eric has no desire to be with any other woman. When that best friend, Keith Dillard, pays a visit, Eric decides to turn Keith's teasing remark into reality.
Lady's Choice -- Lija is a woman on a mission...to get at least one night of fun in before she has to marry someone she doesn't really want. Gehon and Jackon are Zelion warriors working as space traders, and meeting Lija is a dream come true ... sort of. Zelion men can only be fertile with their "true mate" The good news is that Lija is a true mate. The bad news is that she's the true mate for both of them and Zelion warriors aren't real good about sharing.
Saving Sarah -- A couple marred by tragedy indulges in a night of passion to redeem their marriage - and the lost soul of the handsome ghost who shares their bed. But the evil that almost destroyed them all a year ago still lurks in their lives, and it wants revenge ....

My rating: 3 stars

760. Bad Boy (Olivia Goldsmith)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Tracie and Jonny are just buddies complaining to each other about their lousy love lives until Tracie decides to remake Jonny as a red-hot lover -- and then falls for him.

My rating: 2 stars

759. Confederates in the Attic (Tony Horwitz)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz returned from years of traipsing through war zones as a foreign correspondent only to find that his childhood obsession with the Civil War had caught up with him. Near his house in Virginia, he happened to encounter people who reenact the Civil War--men who dress up in period costumes and live as Johnny Rebs and Billy Yanks. Intrigued, he wound up having some odd adventures with the "hardcores," the fellows who try to immerse themselves in the war, hoping to get what they lovingly term a "period rush." Horwitz spent two years reporting on why Americans are still so obsessed with the war, and the ways in which it resonates today. In the course of his work, he made a sobering side trip to cover a murder that was provoked by the display of the Confederate flag, and he spoke to a number of people seeking to honor their ancestors who fought for the Confederacy. Horwitz has a flair for odd details that spark insights, and Confederates in the Attic is a thoughtful and entertaining book that does much to explain America's continuing obsession with the Civil War.

My rating: 4 stars

758. Out of the Silent Planet (C. S. Lewis)

Synopsis from Amazon:
It is an account of the voyage of Ransom, a linguist, to the planet Malacandra (Mars), where he learns that Thulcandra (Earth) is called the silent planet because there has been no communication from it in years. The spiritual being in charge of the latter, having been corrupted, has essentially cut Thulcandra off from the other planets. Ransom is ultimately sent back to Thulcandra with the two earthlings who had kidnapped him and brought him to Malacandra.

My rating: 4 stars

757. A Zoo in My Luggage (Gerald Durrell)

Synopsis from Amazon:
Fans of Gerald Durrell’s timeless classic My Family and Other Animals will love this hilarious tale, which finds him as an adult still charmed by his beloved animals. A Zoo in My Luggage begins with an account of Durrell’s third trip to the British Cameroons in West Africa, during which he and his wife capture animals to start their own zoo. Returning to England with a few additions to their family — Cholmondeley the chimpanzee, Bug-eye the bush baby, and others — they have nowhere to put them as they haven’t yet secured a place for their zoo. Durrell’s account of how he manages his menagerie in all sorts of places throughout England while finding a permanent home for the animals provides as much adventure as capturing them. For animal lovers of all ages, A Zoo in My Luggage is the romping true story of the boy who grew up to make a Noah’s Ark of his own.

My rating: 5 stars

756. All Things Bright and Beautiful (James Herriot)

Synopsis from Amazon:

The world's most beloved animal doctor delightfully continues where he left off in All Creatures Great and Small with new adventures through the Yorkshire dales-- and a whole new menagerie of memorable patients.

Young James, now married and working as a small-town vet, encounters a cast of extraordinary characters as he makes his way through the Yorkshire countryside tending to sick cattle, pregnant ewes, ailing dogs-- and their eccentric owners. As always, Herriot's warmth, humor, and singular view of life make us laugh and cry, as we marvel at the everyday miracles he creates.

My rating: 4 stars

755. The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life. And Death (Gene Weingarten)

Synopsis from Amazon:
When every hiccup sounds like the call of doom, each stomach pang hints at incipient cancer, and a headache means it's time to firm up your last will and testament, The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life. And Death. provides just the relief you need. Gene Weingarten has spent his whole life immersed in the eclectic details of bizarre symptoms, self-diagnosing every minor ache as a potentially deadly disease. Weingarten examines:

• The mind of a hypochondriac
• How your doctor can kill you
• Ulcers and other visceral fears
• The snaps, crackles, and pops of your body that spell disaster
• Things that can take an eye out
• Interpreting DocSpeak

Blending the neurotic anxieties of Woody Allen, the folksiness of Garrison Keillor, and the absurdist vision of Dave Barry, Gene Weingarten conjures up a hilarious prescription for the hypochondriac that lurks inside all of us.

My rating: 5 stars

754. The Two Towers (J. R. R. Tolkien)

Synopsis from Amazon:
The Fellowship was scattered. Some were bracing hopelessly for war against the ancient evil of Sauron. Some were contending with the treachery of the wizard Saruman. Only Frodo and Sam were left to take the accursed Ring of Power to be destroyed in Mordor–the dark Kingdom where Sauron was supreme. Their guide was Gollum, deceitful and lust-filled, slave to the corruption of the Ring.

My rating: 5 stars

753. The Thurber Carnival (James Thurber)

Synopsis from Amazon:
James Thurber's unique ability to convey the vagaries of life in a funny, witty, and often satirical way earned him accolades as one of the finest humorists of the twentieth century. A bestseller upon its initial publication in 1945. The Thurber Carnival captures the depth and breadth of his talent. The pieces here, almost all of which first appeared in The New Yorker, include selections from such beloved classics as My World and Welcome to It, The Owl in the Attic, The Seal in the Bathroom, and Men, Women and Dogs. Thurber's take on life, society, and human nature is timeless and will continue to delight readers even as they recognize a bit of themselves in his brilliant sketches.

My rating: 5 stars

My review: A great collection of Thurber's writings. The selections from My World and Welcome to It are hilarious, on par with P. G. Wodehouse.

752. Third Girl (Agatha Christie)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
Three single girls shared the same London flat. The first worked as a secretary; the second was an artist; the third who came to Poirot for help, disappeared convinced she was a murderer. Now there were rumours of revolvers, flick-knives and blood stains. But, without hard evidence, it would take all Poirot's tenacity to establish whether the third girl was guilty innocent or insane ....

My rating: 4 stars

Publication information:

• 1966
• Collins Crime Club
• London
  
• Orange/red cloth with gilt lettering
  
• Dust wrapper priced at 18/-

751. Promises Keep (Sarah McCarty)

Synopsis from Amazon Canada:
Being kidnapped into a bordello has a way of changing a woman's focus. On the day Mara Kincaid escapes the Pleasure Emporium, she vows to start living for herself. Rebuilding her life isn't easy as the town isn't fond of reformed fallen doves, but she's a Kincaid and Kincaids are known for their stubbornness. She's successful right up until the notorious ex-marshal Cougar McKinnely comes into town. As big as a mountain, dark as sin, and wearing a reputation as deadly as the knife strapped to his thigh, McKinnely is a man who knows what he wants. By rights, Mara should be shaking in her shoes when he approaches her. But when the powerful half-breed turns his dark gold eyes on her, it isn't fear that has Mara trembling, but rather an overwhelming desire to be the kind of woman Cougar needs to satisfy his deepest desires.

My rating: 4 stars