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This is the first book in the "Born In" trilogy of the daughters of Tom Concamman.  Mave                  Camcamman is an angry and  very bitter woman who takes her disappointments and resentment out on her two daughters, Maggie and Brianna. Maggie fights with her mother, Breanna is the peace keeper.  Born in Fire is Margaret Mary Concannon (Maggie) Story. She is both comforted and torn apart by her family.  Maggie is a glass artist. Her work attracts Ragan, the owner of Worldwide Galleries and he is determined to display Maggie's art. On their first meeting the sparks fly and the attractions begin.   The spotlight is not what Maggie wants, but the promise of financial independence convinces her to accept Rogens offer.  This is a sizzling romance with emotions and relationships that are like a tangled web.

This is the debut novel of the Cynster Family. "Devil's Bride" has many, many things to recommend it. There is the mystery element of the very first pages, the very sensual meeting of its hero and heroine and then the betting book....Both of the main characters are headstrong and arrogant and stay that way through the book. With names of the Bar Cynster cousins like: Scandal, Vane, Demon, Gabriel and Lucifier who could not like this very humorous book.  The hero, Devil, falls for the heroine (Honoria) immediately but because she has her plans laid out for her independent self she refused to marry the Duke, even if it means she might be ruined after their compromising situation. This sets in motion a number of things that all come to pass during the passage of the pages that one can't seem to put down once you start reading.

I for one (a new devoted fan) likes how this author knows how to set up and carry out a sensual scene, develop a wonderful cast of side characters and create an overall great read. Can't wait for more Cynster cousin sequels.

This spin-off from Lord of Scoundrels, which by the way is also a must read, is so very good you hate to come to the final page. The main characters are so bent against each other that there is only one thing left to do which is: meet, fight, seduce each other and fall in love.  Lydia Grenville is a 28 year old, just a few inches under six feet tall and is mind numbing beautiful with a less than lady like occupation, checkered past and of questionable lineage. Vere Mallory (about six feet six inches, built and not to hard on the eyes) is the notorious Duke of Ainswood, which has to keep us with a long legacy of hell raising ancestors. When these two meet, sparks fly, the ton tongues wag and one hilarious contest of wills sets off a winner take all contest. During this race our hero and heroine finally come to terms with each other plus add in the great characters from the Lord of Scoundrels it makes for a terrific historical romance.  This book is very humorous, sensual, has a terrific cast of characters. This author is very good with her one liners of humor.

This is Nicholas Sparks’ firs novel based on a story about his wife’s grandparents. It is a wrenching story of love found, love lost and found again that will bring you to tears. At first I thought it was another "Bridges of Madison County". Not true. The story is much wider and deeper in scope. The setting is rural and the author paints a vivid picture of the North Carolina countryside. It is essentially a two-person story that spans their lifetimes. The end has an expected twist. It is a very tender story, so have your favorite tissue close at hand. It’s short, but powerful.

Victoria Storm is the heir to a fortune and the darling of New York Society. She has grown up with everything money can provide. "Boring " (I should be so bored). Then excitement comes into her life with Mitchell Storm and his man who mooned the guests at her charity ball, for goodness sake.  Mitchell Storm is the Chief of the Clan Storm.  Unfortunately, Mitchell hasn’t any money, his castle has a leaky roof, he is in debt and his Clan of Scots are depending on him.  Mitchell comes to America to find his cousin Victoria and ask for her help searching for a family treasure. The search takes them to the Isle of Storm, gold and romance.

This is Nicholas Sparks’ second novel and I had great expectations when I began to read it. A journalist finds a tender love letter to a deceased wife in a bottle as she vacations on Cape Cod. She schemes to meet the man who wrote the letter. She does and they fall in love: but he doesn’t know that she has found the message. Two thirds of the way through I felt the story was falling apart.  I was right and you won’t like the ending. Romance readers prefer happier conclusions to love stories.

When her mother shows up at her door with a two year old boy, Julie Cochron wonders how far  her mother will go to get her married off. The bathroom scenes are priceless. I laughed out loud at least three times. 

Cotannah Chisk-Ko is banished from her Texas ranch home to the Choctaw Nation where she must learn to behave like a proper Maiden of her tribe.  Walks-With-Spirits desires Cotannah. But her restlessness upsets serenity (that’s not the only thing about her that upset him) Oh My, does he dream and want her. When Cotannahs flirtatious ways put her in danger of being hurt, Walks-With-Spirits must fight for his like.  After the Thunder is the last book in the Choctaw Indian trilogy, and was not one of the best Indian romances. A so-so read.

This one stretches credibility a bit, but if you can suspend disbelief, it’s not a bad read, although Archer breaks a fundamental rule of writing - being too didactic. Sure, she’s right that working conditions in the sweat shops in the last quarter of the nineteenth century were horrible, but she beats the reader over the head with it, which takes away some of the charm from the love story of Harmony Harper, survivor of a terrible sweat shop fire, who leads the Wild Child Gang of robbers, the wild children being seven young, and I do mean, young, girls orphaned by the same fire. Thor becomes their captive when they use his huge body to escape enemy fire during a robbery. Later the question might better be "Who's the hostage?" Thor has a nice, socially-conscious family, maybe a bit too socially-conscious given the period.

This novel is a good blend of suspense and romance. A movie producer, Sy Spencer, is murdered on Long Island and his former wife, Bonnie, who is living in anonymity in the Hamptons, becomes the chief suspect. A seasoned detective, Steve Brady, is the chief investigator and becomes romantically involved with Bonnie. Before long, Steve is laying the case and his career on the line for her. I like Susan Isaac’s novels and I am never disappointed in her characters or in her plots. Good read.

The Night Remembers                                                                                                        Kathleen Eagel                                                                                                       Contemporary                                                                                                                              By Dorothy Dodd-Watson                                                                                                          ***

Angela Prescott is hiding in Minneapolis from an abusive former boyfriend. She is a schoolteacher working as a waitress.  Tommy T.is a 12 year old street kid who adopts Angela and becomes her protector. Tommy's mother has disappeared and his brother belongs to a street gang. Tommy T. takes care of himself and does a real good job.  Jesse Brown Wolf works as a handy man, but by night he walks the streets and sleeps in a cave in the park.  Tommy T. names the night walker Dark Dog and knows where Jesse lives. One night he runs to Jesse's cave for help when a gang member hurt Angela.  This is a real different read, most unusual story and certainly not one I would put on the keeper shelf.

Shades of a Desperado                                                                                                        Sharon Sala                                                                                                        Contemporary/Time Travel                                                                                                         By Carol Grajales                                                                                                                      **1/2

This is a silhouette intimate moment time travel. Well, sort of. They only travel 250 pages. Rachel has flashbacks about two characters out of the old west named Dakota and Mercy. She is Mercy reincarnated and the man of questionable character that she meets in Razor Bend. Oklahoma turns out to be Dakota. Boone McDonald, is in reality a DEA agent and is involved in the subplots which keeps the story moving. He is clueless about the reincarnation thing, but falls in love with Rachel anyway. It’s a fairly good read. I like Sharon Sala’s longer books better.

Fields of Fire                                                                                                                            Carol Caldwell                                                                                                                    Ireland                                                                                                                                          By Joan Newcomb                                                                                                                       **

Mediocre. Enough Said.

 Dark Eyes                                                                                                                           Colleen Corbet                                                                                                                   Colonial America                                                                                                                         By Joan Newcomb                                                                                                                      ****

Never jot down the names of three characters, tell yourself you’ll remember the story, then deliberately leave the book behind on the train when you get off in Edinburgh! Especially when you wait a week to locate the notes and then sit here trying to review it. Oh well, here goes. Caroline was married off to a handsome young lord who liked men and boys better than his wife. His sexual advances to her were rare., impersonal, painful, and brutal. The cad decides to do away with her but the hired killers kidnap her instead and sell her into indentured servitude in the Colonies. When the sixteen year old slime of her owner tries to rape her, he falls and is killed (yes!). She escapes and ends up at the isolated cabin of settler Zachery Pitt. Zachery isn’t having a very good day himself, badly mauled by bear, he barley (OOPS, Make that Barely) crawls back to his small house. In the meantime, Caroline has found his baby daughter almost dead from lack of food. What is notable about this one is the dialogue and Zachery’s determination to teach Caroline that sex can be beautiful. He succeeds.

 Sleeping Beauty                                                                                                                  Judith Ivory                                                                                                                            Victorian England                                                                                                                         By Dorothy Dodd-Watson                                                                                                          ***

James Stoker wins fame and fortune by exploring Africa. He meets Mrs. CoCo Wild, an older, wiser woman with .....? "reputation". James could care less about Co Co’s past and sets out to win her for his lady love.  Victorian society gives the couple trouble but true love wins with a sleeping beauty kiss and some help from Queen Victoria.  This was not a romance to recommend. Just so-so.

Mediocre at best, although I like the Black Panther.

Shadow Of The Storm                                                                                                            Debra Dier                                                                                                                          America 1865                                                                                                                               By Joyce Peach                                                                                                                         ****

Miss Sabrina O"Neill fell in love with Ian Tremayne when she was but 13 years old. She was spying on him from a tree in her aunt's garden when she was visiting her in New York City. Falling from the tree Ian manages to catch her and she lands on him instead of breaking her neck. She then informs Ian that he should wait for the "right woman" meaning herself before he marries.  Nine years later on a river boat going down the Mississippi River with her father she once again meets Ian. For revenge for everything that was lost to them during the Civil War she helps her father fleece Yankees in poker games with marked cards. Her father has set his sights on Ian. Sabrina refuses to aid her father this time.  They meet all over again and fall in love. Believing Ian's words of love and marriage she surrenders her innocence to him but their happiness is short lived. Before Sabrina can tell Ian about what she and her father do to Yankees, Mac informs Ian about the marked cards. Ian, feeling used and betrayed, confronts Sabrina and tells her she was just a game and didn't mean any of his words of love and deserts her.   Sabrina then seeks revenge. She goes to New York City and enters the glittering world of high society with the help of her aunt. Ian notices her in her masquerade and sets out to find out the real reason she came to New York. Then the real battle of wills sets in between the two. During this battle several attempts have been made to kill Ian.   I recommend any of Debra Dier's previous books. She can spin a mystery, suspense and love story without any boring pauses.

During the reign of Edward I, rebellion is a Norman way of life, but some nobles like Lynx de Warenne remain loyal to the English Crown. Lynx is like most peers, living for the next battle. However, he knows that he must produce an heir, but he believes that he is incapable of siring a child. Following royal orders, Lynx secures Scotland's Dumfries Castle. The castellan, Jack Leslie, learning of Lynxs's fears, proposes that the new lord of the castle handfast with his youngest daughter Jane. Lynx agrees to the arrangement that makes any child born during the year and a day of the handfast legitimate. If by some chance Jane gets pregnant, Lynx plans to marry her anyway to make it legal under British law. True to her Celtic beliefs, she wants nothing to do with the Norman warrior. However, she reluctantly accepts for the sake of her family. The newlyweds engage in a battle of wills as the Scottish lass leads her English Lord on a merry chase, determined to make him earn her love.  Any fan of Virginia Henley will read this book from cover to cover. She proves once again why she is a great writer of historical erotic romance. The story mixes erotic sex and history in a manner that will definitely please you. Always a keeper.

Lord of Scoundrels                                                                                                             Loretta Chase                                                                                                                     Regency                                                                                                                                       By Konnie LeRoy                                                                                                                        ****1/2       

I loved it! Jessie (whose tongue should be registered as a lethal weapon) is a 27 year old virgin "femme fatale". Dain is a confirmed woman-hater who intends on teaching her a lesson. HA! Great dialogue. First one of several tie-ins.

Mrs. Beatrice Poole journeys to see Leo Drake, aka the Mad Monk of Monkcrest, at his bachelor country home armed only with a former prostitute as her companion. She seeks Leo out for he is an authority on antiquities and ancient legends.  Rumor has it that the dangerous Earl of Monkcrest is believed to dabble in the supernatural. She needs his help in finding the Forbidden Rings of Aphrodite to locate a fortune in hidden treasure. She needs this treasure to help aid her cousin so can marry the man she loves. She feels that her Uncle Reggie was killed for the information regarding the rings.  Leo agrees to help Mrs. Poole because five minutes in her company is all it takes from him to realize that never has he met a woman more stubborn, more infuriating or more likely to rescue him from boredom than this lady. As the couple risks their reputations and consequently their lives, they find a more valuable treasure; a deep and abiding love for each other that was never present with their first spouses. Somewhere in the netherworld of London a villain lurks waiting for the lovers to unearth the Forbidden Rings which could mean that when they do that day might just be their last.  Anyone who is a fan of Amanda Quicks books will love this story of a very bold widow and a very enigmatic scholar as they are drawn into a brew of mystery, danger and love.

Hawk's Woman                                                                                                                      Janice Reams Hudson                                                                                                            Texas 1870                                                                                                                                By Dorothy Dodd-Watson                                                                                                         ***

Abby May McCormick and Hawk become friends as children when she decided to teach a half-breed boy to read until the day they made love as young adults for the first time. Abby and Hawk kept their feelings secret until they can get married.  Then one night after seeing Abby on the way home, he was ambushed, beaten and reported dead. Abby leaves Texas and returns a widow with a child.  After four years Hawk returns and claimed Abby's father ranch the Circle M. (He believes that Abby's father responsible of the attack on him) as his own. Soon Hawk and Abby are struggling with new and old feelings.   This is a good western with realism and two unlikely lovers.

Once upon a time, he was the most successful and notorious thief to roam London. He was so feared that his name, Nightshade, was never even whispered by the dregs of society for fear he might make an unannounced appearance and turn his wrath on the whispered.  Since he had not been seen in years, most people breathed a sigh of relief praying that he was indeed dead. However, out of nowhere, he returns, seeking that a missing aristocrat, a Miss Primrose Dane be found and brought to him.   Primrose, a teacher of poor children, did not return from one of her frequent jaunts into the slums. Her family hires Nightsade to find her, discreetly of course, so that no scandal will occur. She had witnessed a murder and saw the murderer.   Thinking her to be a dried up spinster he soon realizes his mistake. She also finds out that he is more than just a disreputable felon. An attraction flares up between them, but before they can explore any relationship, they must deal with an enemy that wants to see them as an unsolved murder statistic.   Suzanne Robinson readers love the hero as he struggles between two worlds and two identities while trying to better himself. One can visualize Primrose as the feisty woman trying to straddle her silver spoon upbringing bringing together two different worlds and two different people. If you should care for struggles in your historical romances read her series: Lady Gallant, Lady Defiant, Lady Valiant and Lord of Enchantment.

When his son dies, Shane Howard, a half Irish and half English aristocrat, decides it is time to visit his Irish roots in an attempt to understand the conflict. When he arrives in Ireland, he hides the fact that he is the Marquess of Sherbourne, an absentee landlord despised by his tenants, known as "His Devilship".  Shanedoes not know that his agent, Oliver Radnor, has been skimming the profits and letting Shanes tenants do without.  When Shane meets the widow Kathleen McNamara by almost running her down with his horse there is a spark between the two of them. He doesn't tell her his true identity because she informs him that "His Devilship" murdered her husband. While going fishing one day he meets Kathleen's young daughter and strikes up a friendship with her and soon finds himself unable to do without either of them.  His eyes are soon opened to the problems of being an absentee land owner and begins to correct the problems. All though Kathleen returns feelings for Shane he also realizes that he loves Kathleen for her feisty independence but at the same time is terrorized by the fact that that same spirit will end their relationship once she uncovers the truth about his identity.  Once again Marlene Suson displays why she is one of the best historical romance writers around. You can enjoy a terrific story line, secondary players that bring alive a story of conflict between the plight of the Irish under English rule. She writes a very passionate romance between Kathleen and Shane that can sit you on a fence between happiness and misery until the last page.

Following his triumphant African expedition, Sir James Stoker has become the darling of High Society. At last, this coachman's son achieves fame, fortune and the Order of the Bath from Queen Victoria. He is also scheduled to receive the title of  Earl and all its estates but he is about to throw it all away with his growing affection for a famous Parisian courtesan by the name of Nicole "Coco" Wild. She is 37 years old and is just about 8 years James's senior. Around London Coco is known to have "the Pillow of Diplomacy".  From England to France this fair hero plots his seduction. Coco is flattered by his youthful charm and gallantry. Although she is tempted she rejects his advances. After repeated chance encounters he finally breaks through her defenses and becomes her lover. Finally realizing the she loves James their association threatens his reputation and his chances for his  becoming an Earl, his friendship with his mentor (the father of Coco's son David) and even his life amid threats of greed, betrayal, treachery and political machinations.  I like the way Judith Ivory gets her point across without being heavy handed and beating the reader over the head. It is a nice even read of seduction and love story. The author shows that you can still find love and happiness if you are willing to stand up and fight for it.

The Vow is a book to enjoy. The novel brings to the reader laughter, wittiness and just the right amount of emotion to the second chance at marriage and the reclaiming of love between a child and parent.  Ammabel McKeige returns to Parable, Nevada after 12 years to see her husband, Gabriel, the son, (Nicholas) she never saw grow to adulthood, and the home where her baby daughter died. Ammable has come back to ask for a divorce, but Gabriel will not give her the divorce because he still loves her; she returns the love. Ammabel and Gabriel make love, worry over Nicholas’ rebellion, make love, worry about Nicholas' outlaw friends, make love, worry about Nicholas’ older woman lady friend, make love, worry about a Englishman who isn’t what he seems, and make love.      "Very Good"

This is another one of those books I've had for a while. Boy, am I glad I finally decided to read it. It's a genuine charmer. Heiress Zoe Smith has fled her husband's home, fearing a murder charge. Desperate to escape the hangman's noose, she ends up in a boom town in New Mexico. Nothing in her pampered upbringing prepares her to survive there, but she does, even though she loses more money improperly laundering her customers' clothes and even though her food is inedible. Despite all this Zoe not only survives but proves herself a good business woman. If only she can fight her growing attraction to the local sheriff, one Daniel Whittaker, who takes one look at her limpid blue eyes, her generous curves, and her sultry smile, and is doomed. For a woman who has grown up being thought of as plump and plain, this is quite surprise. But in a town where men outnumber women 300 to one, standards of beauty are different than Zoe thinks. Not so, Daniel, the romantic, who embodies her with all the traits a lovesick swain can conjure up. The dialogue is charming; the town's characters a joy, and a cow named Molly certainly deserve their own stories.  This is definitely worth reading.

Half-breed Blade Lonewolf is fulfilling a promise to his dead wife; he will go through with the adoption of orphaned Penny St. John, one of the children arriving on the orphan train. He doesn't expect opposition to the adoption but without his white wife, the minister in charge won't let him have Penny. The day isn't going well, and it gets worse, when Elise St. John, Penny's older sister, coerces him into an arranged marriage. Desperate to be with her younger sister and close to her thirteen year old brother who is being adopted by another rancher, Elise will do anything. Life hasn't gone well since the death of their parents; their aristocratic eastern grandparents turn the youngerchildren over for adoption and tell Elise to make her own way, not an easy task for a young woman who has never cooked, cleaned, or done chores in her life. And now she's married to a man who doesn't want her and is fully confident she's too citified to survive on his small farm.

Dominic Kirland has spent most of her life in a convent. A summons from someone the nun's claim has paid for her stay there, sends her west, where she loses her money and the letter of introduction. Cowboy Luke, a sardonic, plays his cards close to his chest guy, reluctantly agrees to take her to the cattle ranch of baron Toma Colfax, a man he obviously dislikes. What Domini finds is the original dysfunctional family from hell, a mother who hates her younger son, and a brother who is a slug.

This is a keeper for people like Dorothy who are running out of shelf space but still can't get rid of the special ones. The heart of this book are complex characters set in the dirt-hard, prairie-fire reality of life in a Texas which cuts no slack. Eliza Beaudry is the daughter of sharecroppers; she dreams of a wider world out there; the hard life, the endlessly, grinding poverty, living in a one room shack with dirt floor, a father aged by his labors, a half Comanche mother who is not accepted by the townsfolk-Eliza dreams of a world free of these grim realities. She sees in traveling through gambler Cole Wallace her escape; she's wrong, of course. Cole has his sights on a society girl in Dallas; Eliza is just a momentary distraction he forgets the moment he leaves town. Two months later he is rudely reminded of her when her father tracks him down, shotgun in hand, and orders him to marry his pregnant daughter. But it is Cole's shy brother Aaron who becomes the unwilling bride groom. Enough said. Read it for yourself.

The first of this threesome was My Steadfast Heart, about Colin. This one is about Decker Thome. When the three brothers' parents are murdered, they are sent to an orphanage and later adopted out, none of the three knowing where the other two are. In the first one, Colin and Decker are reunited; in this one, Decker, a former pickpocket, has worked his way up to sea captain for Jonna Remington who makes no secret that she disapproves of him and his careless ways. Both are actively involved in the Underground Railroad; neither has a clue that the other is similarly engaged.

The Old West is disappearing but writers like Stephanie Winslow keep the mystique alive with their dime novels, novels which, in Stephanie's case, have enabled her to live an independent life. She has come to Arizona Territory in search of more inspiration for her writing and what she gets is Clint Tanner, a slightly tarnished hero; okay, rusted. Are you happy now? Their first meeting is not under auspicious circumstances; he mistakes her for a whore, slaps her on the rump, and then kisses her passionately. For Clint who complains that an honest gunfighter can't make a decent living any more escorting a proper Easterner on a tour of the West is the nadir of his professional career. After all, he has a reputation to uphold.

I've liked other novels by Holm better than this one which is okay, but nothing distinctive. Camry Parker has come West to be with her father, a widower, who has left her in a posh girls' school for years. When she arrives unexpectedly, she finds her father's finances a mess; moreover he gives her two weeks to find a bridegroom or he'll find one for her, and the one man he finds is Nick Treistead, an ordinary, hard-working miner. For Camry who is used to nice things, daddy's choice is unwelcome. Besides Nick has a way of annoying her.

How did I miss this delightful story of a modern young American who inherits an English castle only to find it inhabited by a 700 year old ghost and his mates? And nothing prepares her for Kendrick de Piaget, who has spent those years pushing her ancestors into insanity and suicide. Geneva knows things aren't going to go well when Kendrick bursts into her room, an arrow sticking out through his chest, covered with blood. But Kendrick has some surprises waiting for him, too. Geneva refuses to run screaming for her life and even engages in serious conversations with him when he creeps up behind her prepared to stab her. It's bad enough waiting to die but the least Kendrick could do is either get it over with or get out of her way as she sets about ridding the castle of some of the most distasteful furniture restorer Geneva has ever had the misfortune to see. Killing the lady proves more difficult than Kendrick anticipated, especially when he gets a good look at her pajamas, fire engine red long-johns with bunny slippers. It's enough to frustrate an experienced house-hunter who wiles away the hours watching American football on the telly and then presumes to try to teach a San Franciscan the finer points of the game. A most delightful book. Best one I've read since I got here.

This must be part of a trilogy on the seafaring Baron men, with this one about Matthew Baron, the younger of two brothers; the other two are his brother Jared and their cousin Alex. Matthew falls in love with missionary daughter Rachel Todd, who has nothing but contempt for a man who is trading in opium. Entranced by the young woman who throws champagne in his face to emphasize her disgust for his business practices, Matthew vows to marry her. With a backdrop of the short opium war between China and Britain, Rachel and Matthew find each other. I think I'll like Alex's story the best so if it isn't already out, I hope it's on its way.

Wow! Two special books in one, the first by Kurland, the second by a new writer, Kathleen Nance. Count on this lady staying around. Zoe Caiderone has learned to depend only on herself. An early marriage to a self-centered artist who cut and run when she got pregnant with their daughter Mary, has made her determined to fend for herself and she's done so, first as a teacher and now as a computer software creator with her own struggling business. Her nine year old daughter believes in magic, as does her neighbor, business partner, and best friend Emna. When Mary decide to conjure up a genie, they get far more than they bargained for.  Zoe gets Simon a Dijon, who doesn't appreciate the ridiculous stories humans have spread about his Idnd. Trapped by sorcerer's spell and the betrayal of his beloved, Simon has to serve seven more masters before he regains his freedom. But Zoe, who does not believe in magic, refuses to make her three wishes.

Lord Ranald Lindsay's wife's mysterious death at the home of a hated enemy has left him bitter and hungry for revenge and answers to his wife’s death. Meredith Tanner, a lady in waiting to good Queen Bess, is the victim of a boyish prank which ends with her in the hands of Ran who determines to use her for revenge against Sir Jasper Wickham. His plot backfires when Queen Elizabeth hears of the abduction and orders him to marry the lady.

This okay historical has an 18 year old orphan ending up in a brothel for an evening's fun. Dr. Peter Woodward, a psychiatrist seeking to drown his love problems in a night of debauchery, realizes she's a young 'again, chews out the madam, and sternly orders that the girl be sent home. Later, the head nun at the orphanage brings her to him for treatment. Too many glaring inconsistencies for me to overlook. At one point it appears Price is going to make past lives a big part of the novel but it isn't handled well. There are some nice bits of dialogue between the doctor and his teenage patient, but certainly not enough to carry the novel.

In the years after Culloden, Scotland was a grim place to be, with Scots forbidden to have arms, wear kilts, play bagpipes and, in many cases, keep the lands that had been in their families for centuries. Relations between the Brits and the Scots was tense, bitter, and treacherous. The people were paying double taxes, first to the British carpetbaggers and secondary to the rightful owners of the land, many of whom had joined Bonnie Prince Charles in exile in France. Diana Maclean's family have lost everything and are reduced to living in a small cottage, courtesy of a family friend. When her mother is imprisoned for daring to cut down trees on the property she once owned, trees desperately needed for fuel for the estate's people, Diana disguises herself and breaks her mother out of prison, meeting Rory Campbell, one of the despised Campbell clan and a justice of the Scottish courts. The theme of love against clan loyalty is not a new one but every time I read about it, I never fail to think of how little we learn from history and how often artificial barriers keep people from each other. Diana would try the patience of any man not as loyal to Bonnie Prince Charles and her clan as she is and Rory walks a thin line between his official duties, clan loyalties, and justice.

Sera is the third in a line of ruling women who are entrusted with their kingdom from the despicable Rails, as rotten a father and son pair of degenerates as you'll find anywhere. To protect her from their evil, Sera is spirited away at birth to a desolate wasteland populated by the only people able to survived there. She grows up knowing that it is her destiny to regain the kingdom that is her birthright. To do that she needs the protection of the man known as Death's Shadow, a man who once carried out the deadly missions of the Ralls. At the end of this 1995 release, Barbieri hints that she may resurrect one of the villains and give us stories about some of the other characters. I don't know whether she's actually done that or not. I liked the first part of the book better than the second part.

If it weren't for the vampire hero that I'm not sure Dorothy would approve of, I'd have to say that this is one of Dorothy's breast-heaving, purple passage love stories, not in the sense of distastefully explicit sex scenes, but an even more intense treatment of the love between the orphaned actress seedling to gain acceptance and a vampire who lives in the theater where she performs. Cartier admits that the inspiration for the story of Marcus and Gabriel came from watching Davis Gaines' performance as the Phantom of the Opera. Having seen him in the LA production, I can understand why her creative juices were stirred. Marcus is probably the most appealing vampire I've come across in a long time and Gabriel is a feisty, stubborn, and determined heroine, a cut above the rest.

Ten years ago Rae Faith fled her home, after repelling the attempted rape by her drunken stepfather. With her is her dead sister's infant daughter. She has made a life for herself with Lassie and a husband who is gone more than he's home. Her world crumbles when she learns that he is not only dead, but a bigamist. Breathing down her neck is Dallas Calhoun, his brother-in-law, who wants the fortune John Warrent stole from the family company. He expects Rae to be a conniving, blackmailing slut; the woman he finds is nothing like he imagined. One of the strong points in the story is seeing two people dance around their attraction to each other in the midst of huge problems that are sure to keep them apart.

This is one of those books I've picked up several times, scanned the description on the back, then replaced to be read when I ran out of books. Mistake! I liked this one a lot. Dr. Sara Killian became a doctor to please her father; she's good at her profession but neither it nor her private life bring her the happiness she is looking for. Dallas Lord, a world famous rock star, comes into her lifebriefly, then is tragically taken away, leaving major questions about theirrelationship. I liked the characters very much, especially Dallas, partly because as a teacher, I've met him many times. Very nice story.

My bias against anthologies is that they usually contain one good story, one or two okay stories, and the rest are usually a waste of the reader's time. Not so with this collection. From Roberts' story of a gifted photographer whose supernatural experiences in childhood were seen as potential mental illness and who now finds himself in Ireland dealing with a real witch, the same person who haunted his mind and his dreams when he was a childhood, to Tessarina, a head-strong princess who should have spent more time learning to embroider and less time in male pursuits, the collection is a fun read.

Set in the period when rumblings of rebellion were being heard throughout the Colonies, this story of widowed Elizabeth Lawrence, owner of a powder mill, and rebel Irishman Patrick O'Brien, shows the gap between landed gentry and the common folk, even in the emerging nation, also the presence of bounty slavers hints at the war that will break the country part less than a hundred years later. Elizabeth and Patrick are nice people whose are clearly meant to be together, fighting or making love.

I had some serious problems with this time travel western. First, once modern day Blossom Ann Murdock, orphaned tabloid joumalist, falls into a painting and back into those days when the buffalo gals came out at night, whatever that's supposed to mean, she ends up in the arms of her rescuer, War Cry, a full blooded Pawnee army scout, and he's calling her 'kid?' I don't think so; in fact that becomes only the first of the problems I had with some of the dialogue Gentry used. It just sounds too modern in too many places. I give Gentry credit for diligent, and interesting research, but this story has so many holes in credibility, you could drive a Harley Davidson with a sidecar through them. I did enjoy reading Blossom's early-on comments as she tried to convince herself that this was all a dream, a Western romance novel come to life, so she might as well make mad, passionate love with War Cry (and I hate that name). Maybe it was just my mood but I couldn't suspend enough disbelief.

Tory Singer dislikes and mistrusts rich people, in particular an unscrupulous businessman named Jonathan Krey, so she breaks into his home intent on stealing from him to redress some of the wrongs he has done to ordinary people. Mack Randolph, a lawyer and rancher by day, masquerades as the Midnight Bandit with one goal - to find evidence to bring Krey down. When he catches Tory breaking into the Krey Mansion, he is both irritated and intrigued. One look at her has him panting though. He tries to get her to stop her reckless behavior; she thinks what's sauce for the goose-- Fair.

I do like Druids, especially female Druids. Blythe comes from a long line of Druids on her mother's side, although her father chooses to ignore their special talents. She falls in love with Roger Debrett when she is still too young to wed. When he weds another, she is heartbroken, although her Druid mother reassures her that they will be together; she just has to be patient. Roger makes a disastrous choice of brides and pays for it with her repeated infidelities; when she dies after he has threatened her in front of the queen's court, he ends up in the Tower of London (in one of the better suites I'm sure, since he's a favorite of Elizabeth's). The queen wants to releases him but is afraid of the backlash of public opinion unless there is some way to show open support for him. A marriage between Blythe and Roger is the answer his friends come up with and so a reluctant Roger weds the young woman he has no intention of ever loving. A year of marriage, a divorce, and discovering who the murderer is are on his list; a wife who walks her horse around his home to bring good luck, who teaches his little daughter to worship trees, and who spins delightful stories of fairies, is not on that list.

The Scots have always been their own worst enemies, fighting and stealing from each other, even before Culloden. The Laird of the Forbes clan wants an end to the clan feud with the MacAuleys so when the old laird sends him to England to locate his only heir, a daughter whose mother took her there when she was an infant.  Leith is determined to do his bidding, so determined that when he discovers the infant dies, he blackmails Rose Gunther, a nun-in-training, into masquerading as the lost daughter. Rose reminds of Maria in Sound of Music, totally unsuited to be a nun, absolutely perfect to be the lusty wife of a Scottish laird, even if she persists in thinking the church is her life. Spirited dialogue and an engaging couple.

You may have read an earlier one about the parents of Cole Coltrane, Travis and Kitty (Love and GIGU). Sounded as if the parents' story was even more tumultuous than the son's. Anyway, Travis had a daughter who was taken from him from a vengeful aunt. He has never heard from her again, despite the many letters and money he has sent for her maintenance. Now he has split his considerable wealth between son Cole and the absent daughter, a daughter who will continue to be absent since she's a pious little critter who has joined a French nunnery (yuck!). The lover of her aunt, seeking to recoup the family fortune, blackmails her maid into pretending to be the absent heir. Unwilling but with no choice if she wants to save her crippled younger brother, Briana masquerades as the heir, and travels to America with the aunt's lover. Both the aunt and this creep are positively loathsome creatures. Trust me on this. Poor Cole. It's not that he's greedy about the money, but his sexual attraction to his half-sister is giving him fits.

I like McKinney so I don't know how I missed this '91 release. Aurora Dayne was dumped in an orphanage by her thief father; now, at eighteen, it is the only security she's known. But when the opportunity comes to work for a titled English lady who lives in the Caribbean, Aurora jumps on the chance, dreaming of an exciting life. She gets more than she bargains for when she discovers there is no titled lady, only Vashon, the dragon man, who has lured her into his trap because he believes she holds the secret to his quest for the Star of Aran, a legendary emerald. It isn't the emerald that matters to Vashon, it's the emerald's pursuer, his stepbrother who stole his estate and sold him into slavery. Aurora turns out not to be the milk and water, whey-faced girl Vashon anticipates. Both get more than they bargained for.

Her husband's death has left Tempest Whitney in a tenuous position; her land can barely support her, her father is a drunk, a villain named Creedy intends to get her and her land, and a stranger has just declared that he is her long-absent husband.  Buck Maddox is a loner who served two years in prison for her husband's crime, is estranged from his own family because of his guilt about the rape and death of his wife, and wants no ties. But his promise to a dying man leads him to impulsively save the young widow from a forced wedding she so dreads. The strength of this story is how Raddon gives us these two wary souls, terrified of involvement, yet needing each other. Angel and Ethan, Tempest's children, immediately grab Papa Buck's heart and refuse to let go.

Dang! Don't you just hate it when you almost finish a book before you realize, beyond a shadow of a doubt as they say in court, that you've already read the dammed thing? Well, that's what happened with this one and it really was not until the next to the last chapter that I knew. Anyway, this isn't a bad book, all in all, not one you'd pick to read again, of course, but not bad. Armande de Le Croix is a man on a mission of revenge. With his wealth, looks, and title, he has the English fawning all over themselves, all save widowed Lady Phaedra, who just knows he's not what he pretends to be, not that Phaedra is in any position to throw stones since she writes inflammatory tracts about England. Despite the fact that we have two people with secrets, we know that these two who clash so harshly are going to end up in bed together, and they do, but not without lots of trouble.

Not especially well-written but definitely a bit boring. Don't bother.

Oh boy, this is definitely one of Dorothy's 'I'm-going-to-have-a-coronary' ones, but tastefully done. Tiffany Courtiand can never please her stern father who wants a conventional daughter. To punish her for her free spirit, he sells her beloved horse and sends her to France for finishing. When Clinton Barencourte, the duke of this and that, sees her he decides she's the wife for him, whether she wants him or not. He sets out to seduce her physically, rouse her passionate nature, and force her to learn to love him, whether the young lady wants to or not. My, is this one determined man. This has to be the beginning of a series, since Clinton has four tasty brothers just waiting for their own stories.

Jacy Kimble has blamed Trevor Fallon for the destruction of her family. Now living in penury, the last person she wants to see again is escapee Trevor Fallon. Unfortunately, he's the only person who can help save her brother from the hangman's noose. This is an okay read. Just nothing especially memorable.

You have to like MacRorah Douglas. She knows how to stir up things in her small southern town. Her reputation was made while she was still a child, and she's done little since then to improve it. With her parents' miserable marriage haunting her, she vows never to put herself into bondage like her poor mother, and the legacy she inherits from her makes her vow possible. But just because she doesn't intend to marry doesn't mean she shouldn't experience desire, now does it? At least that's what she impulsively decides one day when she puts up an advertisement offering to audition men for the role of her lover. Men who have grown up with her recognize Rory is up to one of her old schemes, but they send a slightly drunkYankee, Courtiand Adams, to answer her ad.

This is the first of a new series for Blake (98) and I like it already, about the Benedict Clan of Turn-Coupe, Louisiana. The second will be Luke. My guess is she'll go in reverse; the modern Benedicts, then back to earlier ones she alludes to in this book. Regina Dalton comes to town, ostensibly to appraise the collection of Victorian jewelry that Kane Benedict's grandfather is thinking of selling. In the middle of a serious lawsuit pitting his grandfather against a huge corporation Kane, an attorney, is rightly suspicious of Regina. Their first meeting is rather memorable, involving as it does, a casket, a kiss, and a slap. "Regina Dalton snapped awake the instant the coffin lid closed."

Stella Cameron                                                                                                                 Breathless                                                                                                                                    By Joan Newcomb                                                                                                                        * * * *

Oh boy, is this a steamy one. Angel has intruded on the island getaway of the fabulously wealthy Sinjun, using the guise of her career as a journalist as a way to get revenge against the man she thinks is responsible for her mother's suicide. Sin has problems of his own - three attempts on his life - and he doesn't need a small, blonde, big mouthed journalist to add to his woes. For the reader caught between the who dunnit plot line and the sizzling attraction  between protagonist and antagonist, this is a quick and compelling read.

I don't know if I've read this one already or whether it was a movie. Somehow, I keep seeing Bette Midler in one of the roles, but since it has a '97publication date, go figure. Anyway, this one is hard to catergorize so I'm leaving it here. Three women meet in divorce court; their common experiencemakes them bond immediately, and since their divorces they vacation together each year. The 'Three Blonde Mice' are on a cruise ship when one overhears a ship to shore call where a hired Idlier is discussing his mission on the ship.  A ex-husband wants his ex-wife dead. You're going to like this one, from the tall-thin, cholesterol-phobic heroine, to Simon the widower who is an unusualhero, to the assorted cast of characters that haunt cruise ships in search of romance. A fun book.

Amelia Rawlins has been on the run for eight years with a new name, a new identity, and no past. Now it is time to go home to New Mexico, to the ranch her grandfather willed to her, to carry on the work he loved. But the past isn't dead and the threats begin again. For a woman who has rarely let anyone get close to her since she was a teenager, Burke Tucker and her new neighbors Caroline and Mark are formidable people, their friendliness frightening to a woman who learned early that she was dangerous to people she loved. A good suspense/romance.

I liked this book. Parts of it reminded me of a film "Star-something' Beau Bridges did a few years ago. Two aliens, one quite human in appearance but created in a lab to become a warrior-traveler, the other Kric cat-like in appearance, a scientist by occupation, get stranded on their investigation trip to earth. Fleeing from government agents, they end up holding Laura Malek, her grandfather, and son hostage, as they wait for rescue. Very enjoyable.

In 1814, a desperate Caroline Trent knows that she only has to survive six more weeks. If she can remain single for the next month and a half, she can then inherit her fortune on her twenty-first birthday. However, her greedy guardian Oliver Prewitt has already decided that Caroline is going to marry his son, Percy. On his fathers orders, she shoots Percy in the shoulder when he tries to comprise her. They come to the only solution possible, Caroline must go into hiding until she comes of age. Borrowing money from Percy she leaves her guardian's house in the middle of the night.  Blake Ravenscroft is trying to capture the French spy, Carlotta de Leon. The war office has had Oliver Prewitt's house under surveillance for the last two weeks. The night that Caroline leaves her guardian's house Blake thinks that he has finally captured the ruthless spy. Little does he know that it is Caroline. She sees this as a golden opportunity to use him as a cover from her odious guardian and does not tell Blake the truth about who she really is. He learns the truth when his war office comrade, who is the only who knows what Carlotta de Leon looks like, informs him he has the wrong woman. He can't help that his attraction toward this obstinate woman has started to grow and that she reciprocates those same feelings even after one mishap after another befalls them. If they survive Oliver and the French spy, this adventurous pair has a lifetime of loving to share.  The lead characters do battle with each other, their emotions and a dangerous spy. Throw in a snappy mouthed Marquis as a best friend, a trustworthy staff and the antics of Caroline who constantly throw Blake off his stride and you have a very entertaining historical romance read.