Mount Vernon Love Story : A Novel of George and Martha Washington Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)George Washington's father died when the future president was young. His mother was a harsh disciplinarian insuring George and his siblings behaved. George seemed to flee her whenever he could get away spending time at his half-brother's Mount Vernon home (yes - that historical home). George's first love is Sally Fairfax and his chosen profession surveyor, but war seemed to be his destiny. First he fought (unsuccessfully) during the French and Indian War and then the American Revolution.

This biography uses Washington's retirement to Mount Vernon with his beloved Patsy (Martha's nickname) as a focal point for looking back over the lives of the first president and his spouse. The book concentrates on his personal life not his public life. Thus, readers see another side to Washington. Though opinions are interspersed throughout, mystery suspense thriller writer Mary Higgins Clark provides a strong insightful look at Washington and literally the first "First Lady" that historical readers will enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

Click Here to see more reviews about: Mount Vernon Love Story : A Novel of George and Martha Washington

Click here for more information about Mount Vernon Love Story : A Novel of George and Martha Washington

Read More...

Suite Francaise Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Having read much history about the 1940 fall of France, including such indispensible first person accounts as Bloch's "Strange Defeat," I have read nothing that captures the human experience of that debacle (arguably any debacle) as immediate and gripping as Ir?ne N?mirovsky's two novellas, all that was completed of what would have been the five part "Suite Fran?aise" (her title). Characters are as real as people we know well. They are vividly and deeply etched, with a focus and an economy of utterance that belie how engrained they become in the reader's mind. Without a central narrator, through the depiction of lives that in some cases are interlocking, in others tangential, indeed in most merely coeval, the feel of a world in dissolution has never been so effectively conveyed, both the general maelstrom and the personal experience. Transcending its time and place, it reminds us today how transitory everything is, how off-kilter, unbalanced, insecure life can suddenly become, indeed of the fragility of our existence, of how supporting structures such as class, belief, position, employ, wealth, can be swept away by happenstance or a tide of events we do not fully understand or foresee. When all material support is gone, all the characters (we) have left is what they (we) find within. For some, it's emptiness and pretension which always engender brutishness. Others are surprised by habits and qualities they took for granted or were not even aware they had: integrity, empathy, resourcefulness, even the grace and generosity inherent in good manners. Riches indeed. Ironically, the novelist as well as we, have always known that brutishness is not always punished nor does virtue always heal.
This novel speaks to the heart directly and, through the heart, to the intellect. The writing is thorough and gripping, detail is probed and embelished only when necessary. Some have described N?mirovsky's writing as Proustian. I think this is so only to the extent that the emerging picture is so flavorful and complete. The writing is always flowing yet compact; I don't recall a sentence which, unlike in Proust, could be remotely described as rococo. Though the events and composition are more than half a century removed from our time, the feel is oddly contemporary, the narrative's impact immediate and timeless.

The first novella has to do with the flight from Paris and the French defeat; the second, with life in a village under the occupation. But, of course, this is as adequate as saying that "War and Peace" is about Russia and Napoleon.
Read this book and be moved.
Recommendation: skip the introduction and don't browse the appendices first. Read the novel without concerning yourself with provenance. Afterwards by all means do read everything else. You will realize what a truly remarkable person wrote the gripping masterpiece you have just read, and the love and dedication by the author, her daughters and relevant others that ultimately brought this book into being. But, it must be emphasized: the greatness of "Suite Fran?aise" lies in the work, not in the circumstances of its provenance.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Suite Francaise

Get 32% OFF

Click here for more information about Suite Francaise

Read More...

A Place Called Freedom Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)What a very fine writer Ken Follett is! Having read "The eye of the needle" many years ago, and more recently, "Pillars of the earth" and enjoyed them both very much,I just finished reading "A place called freedom".It took only 2 days as I couldn't put it down and for 2 nights, read into the small hours.An indentured Scottish coal miner, Mack McAsh, tries to force the hand of the mine owner into treating the down trodden miners with compassion and fairness. He is railroaded by the system and tranported as a convict to Virginia. This is a tale of a mans inhuman treatment and his fight fot freedom in the New World.It's a great read,well written,exciting and unputdownable.It could well have been made into an actioner movie

Click Here to see more reviews about: A Place Called Freedom

Click here for more information about A Place Called Freedom

Read More...

The Horsemaster's Daughter (Calhoun Chronicles, Book 2) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Picked this one up from a big display bec. it had a nice picture on the cover. Then suddenly found myself in the middle of this wonderful story, biting off all myh nails wondering if they would have to put down the horse, if Blue would ever talk again, what the big secret about Eliza was and if HUnter would ever get his priorities straight! Why did I care so much? I was there, I felt everything, I laughed and cried. Definately a great read-I will tell all my friends about this one.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Horsemaster's Daughter (Calhoun Chronicles, Book 2)

Click here for more information about The Horsemaster's Daughter (Calhoun Chronicles, Book 2)

Read More...

On Secret Service Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was only in grade school when North and South and the other chapters in Jakes' Civil War trilogy (Love & War and Heaven & Hell) were television events that would draw the older members of my family around the television--like campers around a fire listening to a great storyteller. My memories of plot and characters have since faded, but to the day I have always associated John Jakes with the Civil War. When I saw that Jakes had written a new Civil War novel I was compelled to pick it up. Absolutely epic! Jakes recreated a world that has always fascinated me, and come to think of it - it was Jakes who inspired my interest so many years ago. Detailed down to the smell, Jakes captures lightning bugs of emotion, anguish, tragedy and romance, only to have them released for his readers with the turn of each successive page. Most impressive to me was that even though the story was set on familiar ground, the perspective offered was one I had yet to experience. I am shocked that The Pinkertons and the original Secret Service have had as little historic exposure as they have. I had no idea the NY riots even took place, and watching them unfold was bearing witness to a few clouds of deception being revved up into a hurricane of the darkest human emotion and behavior.
Fantastic story! A Must Read! Highly Recommended!

Click Here to see more reviews about: On Secret Service

Click here for more information about On Secret Service

Read More...

A Dangerous Fortune Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The author, a masterful storyteller, weaves an intriguing and mesmerizing tapestry of events that surround the wealthy Pilaster banking family in the latter part of nineteenth century England. Its panoramic sweep will hold the reader in its thrall. This complex story tells of the ebb and flow of their individual personal fortunes and the personalities that are to profoundly affect them, for better or worse.
Augusta Pilaster is the scheming, socially conscious, self-appointed matriarch of the family. She is a woman who will stop at nothing to ensure that her reckless and easily manipulated husband, Joseph, and their indolent, dissolute, and lackluster son, Edward, will get and retain control of the Pilaster banking enterprise. Her machiavellian machinations, however, will eventually trigger the downfall of the family's fortune.
Hugh Pilaster, Augusta's nephew by marriage, is the Pilaster who has the brains and work ethic to take the Pilaster banking fortunes to a new level. His Achilles heel is that he seems destined to be attracted to working class women, a chink in his armor that Augusta Pilaster uses to her and her immediate family's advantage. He, too, is Augusta Pilater's unwitting pawn, until the day of reckoning comes.
Micky Miranda is the romantically handsome scion of a wealthy, unscrupulous, and power hungry South American businessman. Micky attended an exclusive school with Edward and Hugh Pilaster, when they were young. While there, tragedy struck when a mysterious swimming "accident" took the life of one of their friends, an event that was to shadow their lives in ways no one could have imagined. Micky Miranda would eventually enter into into a web of complicity with Augusta Pilaster that would impact on the fortunes of both the Miranda and Pilaster families.
This book takes the reader through all strata of English society, from the drawing rooms of the upper classes to the exclusive men's clubs and brothels that cater to exotic appetites. It is a totally engrossing and absorbing tale of love, hatred, and treachery that spans three decades. It is a story that the reader will thoroughly enjoy.
I originally read this book several years ago and enjoyed it so much that I decided to purchase the unabridged audiobook for a road trip. It provided seventeen hours of pure listening pleasure, as the narrator, Michael Page, is absolutely superlative. He manages to imbue each character with its own recognizable voice and personality. I was able to tear myself away from the car only with great difficulty, at times, as I was so engrossed by the story and its telling.
This is a terrific book. Whether one reads it or has it read to them makes no difference, as it is a captivating and wholly entertaining work of well written fiction. Bravo!

Click Here to see more reviews about: A Dangerous Fortune

Click here for more information about A Dangerous Fortune

Read More...

To Pleasure a Lady (Courtship Wars, Book 1) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Arabella and her sisters have worked hard to make a life for themselves since their parents' arranged marriage ended in a scandal that left the girls ostracized from society. They run and teach at their finishing school for young ladies. None of them have any desire to enter into a marriage like their parents had and are perfectly content to remain spinsters; unfortunately their new guardian has other plans for them. He intends to fulfill his obligation and find them each a suitable husband - he just hadn't counted on Arabella turning out to be such a worthy opponent - or such an enchanting one.
Marcus Pierce, the new Earl of Danvers, is well aware that finding the Loring sisters' spouses isn't going to be an easy task. He hasn't even met them yet and already he's butting heads with the eldest, Arabella. She insists that he release them from his guardianship and allow them to take care of themselves - like they've done for years. He has no intention of honoring her request, after all they are his responsibility and he does not shirk his duties.
Marcus isn't sure where he'll find suitable spouses for Arabella, Roslyn and Lillian. It would be very helpful if his friends and fellow escapees from the Marriage Mart, Andrew and Drew would be agreeable to consider marriage. He's having no luck convincing them to change their minds and certainly isn't about to get leg shackled himself. However, an unexpected appearance in his home by none other than the obstinate Arabella has him reconsidering his position. No woman has ever excited him the way Arabella does but she's determined not to marry and no amount of reasoning on Marcus's part is going to convince her otherwise.
Marcus is determined to persuade her to his way of thinking and so he issues a challenge. For two weeks he'll court Arabella and try to get her to accept his proposal. If he doesn't succeed then he'll release the sisters from his guardianship. Marcus isn't above using every technique in his sensual arsenal to show Arabella exactly what she'll be missing if she insists on remaining a spinster and he's very skilled in ways TO PLEASURE A LADY.
I just spent the whole day immersed in this story and don't regret a single second of the time I spent reading. TO PLEASURE A LADY beautifully showcases Nicole Jordan's talent as a writer. Readers will find themselves craving Marcus's seductive techniques, laughing at Arabella's attempts at evasion, and even gasping at the unladylike audacity of one of the students Arabella teaches. This book has so many enchanting characteristics that I simply didn't want to put it down and leave my `newfound friends.' TO PLEASURE A LADY is a book sure to be treasured by Regency romance lovers and a wonderful first book to what promises to be a delightful series.

Be sure to pick up copies of the next two books in the COURTSHIP WARS trilogy - TO BED A BEAUTY and TO SEDUCE A BRIDE which will consecutively available in March and April 2008.
Chrissy Dionne (courtesy of Romance Junkies)

Click Here to see more reviews about: To Pleasure a Lady (Courtship Wars, Book 1)

Nicole Jordan spins a delectable tale of wit and exquisite sensuality in this mesmerizing Regency romance, the captivating first in a dazzling new trilogy, The Courtship Wars. Marcus Pierce, a strikingly handsome aristocrat with a wicked reputation, inherits guardianship of Arabella Loring and her two younger sisters–and immediately declares his intention to marry them off. But gorgeously defiant Arabella sparks frustration–and something deeply erotic–in Marcus. After matching both wits and swords with her, Marcus concludes that this beautiful and formidable foe must be his.Having sworn off marriage and men, Arabella wishes to be left alone to run her finishing school for young ladies. To that end, she boldly accepts Marcus's intimate challenge: If he can woo and win her within two weeks, she'll take her place in his bed as his wife. However, if she can resist his considerable charms, the Loring sisters will be granted their independence. Thus an extraordinary game of seduction begins. . . .

Click here for more information about To Pleasure a Lady (Courtship Wars, Book 1)

Read More...

A Seduction in Scarlet Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Lady Portia Ellerslie is a close companion of Queen Victoria at the end of the 1800's. Victoria had great admiration for Portia's late husband and that transferred to Portia herself after his death. As a result she is put on a pedestal by the Queen and the population alike. She is widely known as the Widow of the Nation's Hero. But she's is also a young woman who was married early to a much older man and now that he's gone she has...needs. Needs that won't be met unless she does something drastic. Which turns out to be a visit to Aphrodites, a high class bordello. She is lonely and only looking for a night of anonymous pleasure with no names and no consequences. Like that'll happen.
What a coincidence that the man who walks in the club and captures her attention is the man she used to be infatuated with when she was just the young shy vicars daughter. He doesn't recognize her of course, but she knows him. But after a wild night of passion they go their separate ways. If only it was that easy. They both find that they have such a burning need for each other that it obscures their common sense and they take one wild chance after another to be together.
Marcus starts off as an idle, good-for-not-much womanizer, but quickly begins growing up and eventually realizes he needs to do something with his life, especially if he's going to have a chance with Portia. He can't ask a national icon to come away with him if he has and is nothing. Watching him grow up was one of the best parts of this book and I loved the interaction between him and...everybody. He did have a tendency to act recklessly, but he was so filled with life and humor and love that I just fell in love with him. I can't blame Portia for falling head over heels for him too.
This was also a very Victorian story, about how repressed people felt and how Portia felt she was expected to adhere to a rigid set of rules. And it wasn't just a matter of her having her own fixed rules, but of society at large demanding the same thing. Breaking her out of that mind-set was tough going for Marcus, but ya gotta give him props for not giving up.
The sub-plot with Portia's sister-in-law and her traitorously evil husband, Arnold, wasn't strictly necessary, but they did give Portia a reason to run away with Marcus and it added some tension towards the end. I did have a bit of a problem imagining that Arnold could get the Queen of England to come to the wilds of Norfolk to talk with her lady in waiting and without that much security, but I'm willing to go with it since the outcome is satifactory indeed.

Click Here to see more reviews about: A Seduction in Scarlet

Click here for more information about A Seduction in Scarlet

Read More...

Cane River Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I do not generally like Oprah Books. So when Cane River was chosen as a group read for my reading group, I was very reluctant to read it. I could not have been more wrong. A beautifully written family saga, Cane River was one of the best books I have read in recent years. Putting one strongly in mind of the book Roots by Alex Haley, this book is a novelization of the family history of Lalita Tademy. Told through the eyes of four women, all born into slavery, it shows the strength and courage of people who survive through the frequent upheavals thrust upon them.
We are introduced to the matriarch of the family Elisabeth, a slave from Virginia sold into a new plantation and taken from her husband and children. Here begins the story of the Cane River women, Suzette, Philomene and Emily. I was compelled to read every detail of their lives from slavery to freedom. I shared their heartbreak, joy, suffering and triumph, on the journey to freedom. The book paints a long lasting impression of the power of love and family. A book I will think of for a long time to come. I highly recommend you read this unforgettable book.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cane River

Click here for more information about Cane River

Read More...

The Devil Wears Tartan Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Despite the clearly Scottish-themed title, this book wasn't particularly Scottish in feel; instead it was an exploration of how a young woman, married to a man she doesn't know, begins to chip away at her husband's reserve and to try to forge a future with him.
The husband in question is the Earl of Lorne, a Scotsman who had a distinguished career in the foreign service until he was imprisoned by the Chinese and tortured. Since his return to England he has shunned society and lives alone in his castle, finding himself succumbing to visions and fearing the onset of madness. Because of his responsibilities to his title he realises he needs to get an heir and so arranges a marriage with a local woman, Davina McLaren, whose reputation was ruined by an indiscretion and who is likely to remain a spinster.
Davina isn't the shy, retiring type of young lady, however. She finds herself wed to the Earl of Lorne, otherwise known as The Devil, and yet she barely sees him. Davina is something of a bluestocking and rather direct in her speech and she tries to learn about her husband and to forge some kind of a friendship. As she uncovers his secrets she may also uncover love, and she may be called upon to fight for the future of her marriage and even the life of her husband.
I very much enjoyed this book with its central romance, initially not particularly encouraging but gradually becoming something of warmth and understanding. There are occasional nods to the Scottish setting and the Victorian era, with reference to the opium trade with China, but overall this is a romance developing from an arranged marriage. There were some rather unfortunate errors in the text, including likening a character to a chipmunk (an animal not seen in the UK) and various characters speaking American words in the Scottish setting, and the habit, oft-found in American-authored novels, of the heroine retaining her maiden name as a middle name after her marriage - something that almost never takes place in the UK. I was also not entirely convinced by some of the behaviour of the characters, certain plot elements seemed rather too unlikely and the siege of the lunatic asylum at the end felt pretty far-fetched. However this was overall a good read and Davina was a rather unusual heroine and one to whom I warmed.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Devil Wears Tartan


A man in the shadows

Some say he is dangerous. Others say he is mad. None of them knows the truth about Marshall Ross, the Devil of Ambrose. He shuns proper society, sworn to let no one discover his terrible secret. Including the beautiful woman he has chosen to be his wife.

A fallen woman

Only desperation could bring Davina McLaren to the legendary Edinburgh castle to become the bride of a man she has never met. Plagued by scandal, left with no choices, she has made her bargain with the devil. And now she must share his bed.

A fire unlike any they've ever known

From the moment they meet, Davina and Marshall are rocked by an unexpected desire that leaves them only yearning for more. But the pleasures of the marriage bed cannot protect them from the sins of the past. With an enemy of Marshall's drawing ever closer and everything they now cherish most at stake, he and Davina must fight to protect the passion they cannot deny.

Click here for more information about The Devil Wears Tartan

Read More...

My Wicked Marquess Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let me preface this by saying that after thinking it over I would actually rate this 2 stars, but amazon won't let me go back and edit my star rating.
You have no idea how excited I was for this latest book by Foley. Finally, the "Spice Trilogy" was over--which I did not enjoy much-- and we could go back to the usual high quality work I was used to from her.
Now this story started out good, but then the whole plot took a very odd turn and almost started to seem like it was going towards an angels/demons/supernatural theme. It definitely was not what I expected nor wanted. I was duped. Perhaps she's trying something new, but it just did NOT work for me. It seemed a little cliche. "The Inferno Club", "The Demon Marquess", "The Patron Saint of Newcomers"?! UGH, come on! I take it back--it wasn't a little cliche--it was about as cliche as it gets.
That wasn't even the worst of it. I would say a good 1/3 of the book was solely dedicated to setting up the next installments--which I have no interest in. Normally in romance novels the main plot is the romance and the sub-plot is the mystery/action. This novel was the exact opposite. The love story seemed to end so soon and then it just started to ramble on and on with the whole "axis of evil" plot. I could barely finish it and have to admit that towards the end I began to skim through some of it. Even in the epilogue the last 6 pages of the story isn't even about the main characters, it's a plug for the next book! It just seems so odd. Her books are never like this. What happened!? Did she even write this book? Foley was one of my absolute favorite authors. Now I don't know what to think.

Click Here to see more reviews about: My Wicked Marquess


To restore family honor the Marquess of Rotherstone faces his most dangerous mission—finding the perfect bride . . .

To London's aristocracy, the Inferno Club is a scandalous society of men no proper young lady would acknowledge. But though they are publicly notorious for pursuing all manner of debauchery, in private they are warriors who would do anything to protect king and country.

The Marquess of Rotherstone has decided it's time to restore the family's good name. But as a member of the Inferno Club, he knows there is only one way to redeem himself in Society's eyes: marry a lady of impeccable beauty and breeding, whose reputation is, above all, spotless.

Someone quite unlike Daphne Starling. True, she's temptingly lovely, but a jilted suitor has nearly ruined her reputation. Still, Max cannot resist her allure—or the challenge of proving London's gossips wrong. He would do anything to win her hand . . . and show that even a wicked marquess can make a perfect husband.

Click here for more information about My Wicked Marquess

Read More...

Vigil: A Novel (Wsp Readers Club) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Vigil is an interesting and beautifully written novel. Although you may think this would be a disheartening story, it was not. Yes, there is sadness, but is also a story about happiness, friendship, and family. Each character is carefully developed with Ana as the one moral constant in the family. Eventually she is influenced by the immorality of the family members and conflict occurs.
The story was captivating as Ana reflects back on her life starting as a child in El Salvador hiding from soldiers. As she tends to her dying love, she reflects on her memories of her mother and childhood friends to her life as a postulant. I enjoyed Vigil for its rich descriptions and interesting characters. It was a romantic novel without being a typical "Romance" novel.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Vigil: A Novel (Wsp Readers Club)

Get 22% OFF

Click here for more information about Vigil: A Novel (Wsp Readers Club)

Read More...

To Distraction (Bastion Club) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I read all of Stephanie Laurens books, and will definitely read the next, but she has done better work and I really hope the next one is better. If I were to catagorize this volume, it would be a bodice ripper. Her hero is "male", "primitive", even "dangerous". To the point that I started counting the number of times she used the words. Eventually even that got old and I would just turn the page to get on with the story. Her heroine is "intelligent", "capable" and "independent", yet justifiably afraid of this dark large Alpha male :shiver:. Yeah right!
I agree with the other reviewers who felt that the book was 100 pages too long, most of it used for the tripe above. It almost felt like she was stretching it.
However, it does wind up nicely with two interesting little cliff hangers at the end. But at least the one about Dalziel seems to be tossed in as if she just remembered it. Apparently we will see the real villian of this place somewhere else as it seems she still has work for him.
If you have read her other novels, including Captain Jack's Woman, then this is one for you. But if you are just starting, I'd start elsewhere.

Click Here to see more reviews about: To Distraction (Bastion Club)


The gentlemen of the Bastion Club have proven their courage while fighting England's enemies, but nothing has prepared them for dealing with that most formidable of challenges: the opposite sex.

Deverell, Viscount Paignton, is in desperate need of a wife. Unmoved by the matchmaking "herd,” he seeks help from his aunt, who directs him to a lady she vows is perfect for him. Dispatched to a country house party to look the lady over, he discovers her not swanning about among the guests but with her nose buried in a book in the library.

Phoebe Malleson is tempted to distraction by Deverell, but marrying him isn't part of her plan. Moved by an incident in her past, Phoebe has a secret cause to which she's committed. Unfortunately, telling Deverell to go away doesn't work, and he quickly learns of her secret. But someone powerful has her cause targeted for destruction—and her in their sights. Phoebe must accept Deverell's help…though the cost to them both might be dear—and deadly.

Click here for more information about To Distraction (Bastion Club)

Read More...