Product Description
Jenny Fletcher had selflessly put her needs and dreams behind those of her fiancé, Hal, a man more committed to a cause than to her. On the eve of his departure for Central America, he gave Jenny what she wanted more than anything...one passionate night. It was his final gift. Cage Hendren was the opposite of his brother, Hal, in every way. The black sheep of the family, he was all rough edges, with a soft spot for just one thing: Jenny. But she'd always thought Cage was too wild and reckless...until he showed her a wildness in herself she hadn't known was there. And now that she's been led astray...she couldn't possibly turn back... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

Painful to listen to
I rely on audiobooks to get me thru my long commute.I had never read any of Sandra Brown's novels and was hoping this book would be the first of many since I like reading through an authors entire work.I was totally disapointed.The plot was weak, the characters unbelievable.....All of the action cliche and laughable. Jenny does not realize she is making love to the black sheepbrother instead of the fiance. COme on... The brothers were not twins....The grandparents rejecting the grandchild of their most beloved son.....all in the name of Christian values....
My 15 year old daughter and I forced ourselves to listen thru to the end as we thought there has to be some twist that happens = no such luck.

My 2nd Best Sandra Brown
This is my 2nd best Sandra Brown. Quite many of her books I had read. And I really love this touching love story after "Adam's Fall".

Brown does it again!!!
Sandra Brown has produced yet another best seller!! This book is off the charts and you will not be able to put it down. I read this entire book in less than one day. It is a short love story and will leave you satisfied and wanting more. You will not regret reading this book!!

My second favorite of hers!!!
I adored this book! Its so thrilling and on the edge. And the bad boy is to die for!!!

I really enjoyed this book!
I was pleasantly surprised when reading this book.The main characters, Cage & Jenny, have great chemistry and the book keeps you engaged the whole time.I have to admit I was a little annoyed by Cage's thought process on telling Jenny the truth about something that is pivotal to the plot but otherwise I thought it was a well written book and worth my time. ... Read more

Product Description

What's a Park Avenue working mom to do when her troubled son desperately needs a male role model? If she's like the gutsy heroine of Holly Peterson's astute new comedy of manners, she does what every other woman on the block does. She hires a manny.

Customer Reviews (59)

Loved it
I could not put this book down, it was incredible.I loved the main character, Jamie, and her obvious devotion to her children coupled with an incredibly stressful career and insufferable, inconsiderate husband. I found Jamie's character to be a real woman and someone who mothers can relate to, especially those who work outside the home.Yes, she lives in a posh lifestyle and is very wealthy, but she refuses to lose herself in a sea of money and hates that her husband can only think of material objects like a "six-thousand dollar William Sonoma grill."It is obvious to me that her number one concern is the welfare and happiness of her children, defying her husband when he tells her to "fire the manny,"who just happens to be a 30 year old software developer (yes, I even giggled a bit at this, but it worked well with the story). Throughout the book it was obvious that the marriage between Jamie and her husband was deteriorating and had been long before the wonderful manny, Peter, came along.Peter only helped Jamie find herself and see what it felt to be truly happy... and hey, doesn't every woman want that?I would recommend this book to anyone!

Enjoyable in spite of the shortcomings
I read the other reviews here and I have to say that I agree with most of the negative reviews, but I liked it anyway.The dialog was indeed lacking, particularly that pivotal scene for Peter and Jamie.I wanted and expected more chemistry between Peter and Jamie and I only believed it because Jamie said it was there. I had abosolutely no expectations of this book - just happened across it at the library.I was very compelled by Jamie and happy that the book turns out to be her journey toward regaining herself.I like the Jamie & Peter characters a lot, but would have like to see more interaction between the two of them.The author does a good job of making Phillip exasperating and annoying but not completely evil.All in all, it's not great literature, but I can't deny that I consumed it quickly and was absorbed while I was reading it.

Boring and weak in substance
The storyline isweak and has a lot of foiblesin manner. As for a fluffy light beach read, it's funny at times but not as witty and very slow paced. It bores me, couldn't even finish the book, although I tried my best. I simply cannot get into the head of the main persona, where she's living in some limbo world and doesn't know what she's in for, what she wants and how to get it done and so she looks to a MANNY and not her overbearing husband for help. Sucks.

Whinebag Yuppies
Jamie Whitfield, mother of Dylan 9, Gracie 5, and Michael 2, is a part time producer at NBS (a hybrid of NBC and CBS) who lives in a sumptuous apartment on Park Avenue.Her husband Philip II is a stuffed shirt and whinebag extraordinaire, going into meltdowns over trifles such as a shirt with a missing button.His sole goal is to stay quantum leaps ahead of the Joneses and to maintain his white collar, cutting edge professional facade.He is an attorney with a questionable stack of files.

The story opens with Dylan having a meltdown at his school's basketball game.He appears to be withdrawing more socially and does not interact well with peers.He won't confide in Jamie (small wonder - she does not really mention the 3 children very much and it is Carolina, their cook/laundress and Yvette, Gracie and Michael's nanny) who does the majority of parenting in that household.Dylan, however gets the most press.

Since Philip is like a 4th child and is seldom home, Jamie sets out to find a male nanny (manny) for her son.She feels he could benefit from a strong male role model.

After interviewing several candidates, Jamie literally stumbles upon a winner.Peter Bailey, a 36-year-old computer expert whose current job is teaching children chess in the park and creating a city-wide educational program on computer to improve learning is a Godsend to Jamie.

Peter immediately fits into the Whitfield household and Dylan likes doing "guy things" with him, such as going on walks and having private talks that don't include Jamie.Dylan had previously been in therapy and balked at returning because he said "feelings doctors" were "stupid" and a general waste of time.Peter is just the right Rx for this boy.Andrew Gold's 1977 one hit wonder, "Lonely Boy" could be the soundtrack of Dylan's character.

Jamie is so wrapped up in her job and does not see her home life falling around her in pieces.Peter does and makes every concerted effort to make see what is happening.Jamie has a potentially hot political story that could potentially change the course of the political climate (the story is set in 2007-2008) and does everything she can to convince the witness to stick to the story presented.

I had a sneaking liking for parts of the story, even if I didn't care for most of the main characters.Peter was the only adult character I liked.I loved it when he gave Jamie some straight talk.Jamie, a native Minnesotan looks askance at the other rich, Park Avenue socialites and goes along with things such as a ludicrous fund raiser for Faberge eggs so as to ensure Gracie a place in a top kindergarten.She, over Gracie and Michael's protests, insist that they dress in lederhosen for another child's "Sound of Music" themed birthday party.It is Peter to the rescue here, bringing a change of play clothes for the younger children as they did not like "dressing like yodelers," as he put it.

Dylan also is no fan of kiddie parties, which are really more for the parents and a forum for them to show off than they were for the children themselves.He complained that the clown and the little preschool songs "were for babies," and begged to watch TV in another room.In fact, it was at such a kiddie party that Jamie caught Philip with another woman.

Philip is a rude, boorish bigot and settling for him as long as she did did not make Jamie any more endearing.She seemed so disconnected from her children's lives that you had to wonder how much time she spent with Gracie and Michael.Yvette was raising them and Jamie was letting their childhoods slip by her.

The ending was not surprising, but I had a sneaking liking for certain parts of this book.I loved it when Jamie confronted some of the spoiled Park Avenue socialites and expressed her own distaste for ostentatious gatherings such as that stupid Faberge egg party.

Not one of my favorite books, but it does beat television.Had this story occured in the 1980s, the cast of characters would have been dismissed as a bunch of spoiled Yuppies, which they were.Tom Paxton's "Yuppies in the Sky" is the soundtrack of this book.

Simply Awful -
If you enjoy books where the heroine is incompetent, has absolutely no self-esteem, can't handle her children, can't handle her marriage, has "friends" she hates but continues to socialize with, and who answers most questions with "I...Uh...Uh", then you'll just LOVE this book.

How anyone can find a thing compelling about this story is beyond me. Why should we care about this incapable, unfit woman who is the central character of this story? Oh yeah, she hires a hunk of a Manny, lusts after him throughout, but stays married to her rich jerk of a husband until the last ten pages of the book. She belongs in an asylum somewhere, along with the author.

I know I can't get my money back, but I sure wish I could get back the hours I spent reading this drivel. ... Read more

Product Description
At the age of twenty-six, with a failed marriage already behind her, Shelley Browning decides to go back to school and get her degree. But history is about to repeat itself -- ten years earlier, she shared an unforgettable kiss with Grant Chapman, her government teacher, and now she's his student again. Shelley finds him to be as brilliant as ever, and the chemistry between them unchanged. But the sacred law of the university prohibits the kind of relationship they are longing for. If they break it, they risk losing everything; if they don't, they risk never knowing what could be. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (50)

Idiotic, No Substance
The fact that a high school teacher kissed a student made me cringe. I suppose the author justified it by having Grant feel guilty enough to leave for a while.Shelley allows Grant to kiss all over her but then stops him just when he thinks he's about to get lucky.She does this so many times, he finally stops pursuing her.But then she gets mad because he pays her no attention!At 26 or 27, Shelley was extremely juvenile - case in point, when Grant takes her to dinner, she lashes out at him for no reason whatsoever and says asinine things.

The further I got into the story the more I disliked Grant.He started out fine, but he quickly faded into the category of nonmemorable hero.And the way it ended was just as stupid as the rest of the story - with Shelley coming in to wrap everything up with words.God, I was embarrassed for her!It wasn't plausible.

I loved this story.
I just finished this book and I loved it. Sometimes in love there is turmoil and struggle. If you want a book where boy and girl meet and go skipping blissfully down the rosy path, this may not be right for you. If you like a story where there is human emotions and the ups and downs that come with being in love, this is a good read.

Decent...
In my opinion, this book was kind of stupid. The mysterious teacher in the book is kind of on the verge of stalking. The main female character is kind of annoying, as she cannot decide what she wants and stick with it. The book is unbalanced and seems to move way too quickly. I would recommend not buying this book.

Just a corny love story
This love story is sort of trite. I know a couple of really cases in which a studentfell in love with her teacher. Nevertheless you can read it but don't expect a blockbuster book. If you really want to read a paramount love story read: "A Walk to Remember" by Nicholas Sparks.

For Gosh Sakes!
I've been listening to this book on playaway at work and I found it unbearable.All of the tempting of each other, the advance and retreat, leading to eventual climax ~ I kept wanting to say 'For gosh sakes!DO IT, already!'

This book reminded me of a 'Modern Romance' magazine story, something I would only read willingly if I were marooned on an island with no other reading material available.

There was no plot other than the interplay between the ridiculous wordy Shelley and Grant.I couldn't see anything for them to overcome.

When the book spoke of his 'pulsating manhood' or her 'quivering femininity,' I must confess I laughed out loud at work. ... Read more

Product Description

THE STORY OF TWO SISTERS AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR...

The acclaimed author of Firefly Beach and other New York Times bestsellers, Luanne Rice returns to the Connecticut beach town at the center of many of her beloved novels with a spellbinding story of a love lost -- and saved -- by the power of what was always meant to be...

Schoolteacher Rumer Larkin never felt the need to stray from Hubbard's Point. Rich with legends of seafaring spirits and lost treasures, the rustic village echoes with the memories of Rumer's past -- even after those she loved have left. Many summers after Zeb Mayhew broke her heart, he returns with his teenage son, and Rumer knows her quiet life will never be the same again.

Zeb has come back hoping to reconnect with his son, with the past and all its mistakes. Suddenly facing Rumer again, Zeb discovers where he belongs. He could never forget the girl who used to climb onto his roof with him to watch the stars. Both Zeb and Rumer wonder if it's too late to do more than regret the path not taken -- or of every path leads us back to the one true love of our life...

In True Blue, bestselling novelist Luanne Rice spins the unforgettable story of a woman who must cope with the dramatic return of a man from her past -- and the fragile hope that the most cherished dreams might come true after all... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (26)

Very timely
Thank you for the book.It was shipped in a timely manner and arrived in perfect order.Thanks so much.

I've read better
Remember in highschool english class when you learned about willing suspension of disbelief?Willing suspension of disbelief is the ability to set aside any common sense so that you can enjoy the book or movie without any thoughts of "that really couldn't happen".I can read a book and enjoy it, but afterwards - some things just nag at me and over time diminish my enjoyment.

I find it hard to believe lots of things about this book.
1 - that there are people in this day and age named Zebulon and Sixtus.
2 - that an accident in space would not have been reported on the news so that it is left as some unknown traumatic event in Zeb's life.
3 - that astronauts are recognizable celebrities.
4 - that 2 people as connected as Rumer and Zeb wouldn't have talked about the misunderstanding that she stood him up to have sex as teenagers, and this was the 100% ending of their relationship.(The book makes it sound like he went straight from the woods to NY to be with Zee)
5 - that Zee would be interested in having sex with someone younger than her whom she watched grow up and was obviously in love with her younger sister.

I could go on - and trust me - reading this review will not diminish your enjoyment of the book - these items are pretty quickly apparent.

Despite these things - it took me a while to get into the book - but I did read it and enjoyed it at the time (until I started analyzing it)

Not my favorite - but certainly not the worst book I've ever read.

Great story, sloppy editing!
I've enjoyed several Luanne Rice books before. I love her beach settings, and deeply moving plots and characters. I have to complain about the sloppy editing in this one though. I'm reading along a very moving scene between Rummer and Michael reconnecting and the next paragraph it's Rummer and 'Colton' talking? I'm assuming someone zoned out while transcribing and got the names mixed up, but it sure yanked me out of the story in a hurry. Hate when that happens. I have the mass market paperback. Hopefully that's been corrected in later editions.

A Little too Blue For My Taste But..
It is a good story.It's a very simply written story.Wonderful plot, I find it a little hard to believe that two people who were so in love let themselves suffer and be seperated for so long. And a little hard to believe that Zeb would fall for the love of his life's sister without so much as a question or at least a heart to heart before the wedding. I think so much more could have been done with this story.

It is a sweet tug at your heart strings book though.Once again, one of my signature comments; a good quick weekend read.Best on a rainy weekend.

A True Blue Book
Someone gave me this book at work, and I really enjoyed it. It's a wonderful, charming love story of two people who knew each other as youngsters. It's a great beach or summertime read. I love Firefly Beach and Safe Harbour by Ms. Rice too. She wrote a true blue story with this book, and I would recommend it. I could't put this one down. LOVELY STORY. ... Read more

Product Description

A POWERFUL STORY OF A WOMAN'S SEARCH FOR HER PAST

After the death of her adoptive mother, Chelsea Kane is a woman consumed by a need to discover her natural heritage. She arrives in the New Hampshire town where she was born, aching for answers. It is while she is looking for them that she finds something quite unexpected: a love she thought she would never know.

As Chelsea gets closer to the truth, she realizes that someone is determined to stop her, first by scaring her, then by trying to harm her. The danger escalates until one terrifying night when all secrets are laid bare and Chelsea finally confronts her mysterious past. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

outstanding!
i love heroines with true strength! this is one of my all time delinsky fav's... lets get heart of the night on kindle...

One of my favorites
One of the only books I truly love, I have read my copy so much it is falling apart and I have to buy a new one.I have read other books by Barbara Delinsky, but this one, in my opinion, is one of her best.

why do authors re-package their old novels and sell as new?
I was quite upset after receiving this book to find I have had read it years before. This should be stated in the ad about the book. Although , I love Mrs. Delinsky's books, I have found her and her publishers to make this a habit!Plus I was charged to return it......

A classic
Chelsea Kane always realizes that she was adopted but her family didn't want her to know anything about her biological parents.They destroyed all the records.When her mother dies, her lawyer gives to Chelsea an envelope postmarked Norwich Notch, New Hampshire.Before she makes the decision to go to the town of her birth, she makes love with her best friend and business partner Carl Harper.

She becomes pregnant but before she can tell Carl, he informs her he is marrying the woman who is carrying his twins.Needing a place to escape to and wanting to find out about her biological roots, Chelsea moves to the small conservative village of her birth, buys into a business and meets Judd Streeter who is Chelsea's foreman on the quarry site.While the two fight their growing feelings for one another, someone in town attempts to scare her into leaving, going so far as to trying to run her over and burning down her home.

It has been over eleven years since THE PASSIONS OF CHELSEA KANE was published but classics such as this stand the test of time and remain a strong read when reprinted.The relationship between the heroine and her love is so dynamic and explosive, sparks fly off the pages.The townsfolk are an interesting group who give color and atmosphere to the plot and demonstrate that even in a small hamlet, there remains a huge gap between the classes.

Harriet Klausner

Good story about an adoptee
What a wonderful story of an adoptee and her struggle to find her birth heritage.When her adoptive mother dies, Chelsea Kane begins to commute between her position as a partner in a lucrative Baltimore architectural firm and her new position as a partner in a granite company in the small New Hampshire town of Norwich Notch where she was born.Her adoptive father strains against her doing this.He cannot understand her need to find her heritage.

Trying to please her father, she has a one-night stand with her long time friend and business partner which her father also wants her to marry.Unfortunately, they are better friends than lovers but Chelsea becomes pregnant.The day she plans to tell him is the day she finds out he is going to marry a former girlfriend.

Without telling him she is pregnant, she throws herself into the granite business and renovates a farmhouse in her birth town.But all is not well.There are those who don't want an outsider in their town.But Chelsea is determined to find her heritage.In the process, she finds a half of her she never knew existed and a man who is willing to stand beside her through it all. ... Read more

Product Description
A picture-perfect New Hampshire town hides a history of scandal and intrigue -- a legacy Annie Barnes has never shaken since growing up in tiny Middle River. Five decades ago the area was rocked by a bombshell of a book, Peyton Place, and its author, Grace Metalious, who seemed to know everyone's most intimate secrets. Now a bestselling novelist herself, Annie has come home to find answers to the strange circumstances of her mother's recent death, which leads her to uncover a shocking truth about the local paper mill. The townspeople fear Annie intends to pen a Peyton Place of her very own, and no one wants her stirring up trouble. But one intriguing man is captivated by Annie's determined spirit -- and he wants to give the people of Middle River something to talk about.... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Ho Hum
I gave up on this one. Didn't like Annie, an egotistical writer who thought the whole town revolved around her miserable childhood there.
None of the characters held my interest.

Great Story !
I loved this book.It had me engrossed from the first page. It was interesting to me as well, as someone who grew up in NH and lived through the Peyton Place era. I learned things I didn't know. Cleverly put together novel and not the usual story line.Highly Recommend this for a good read !

A Tedious Read
I normally love Delinsky's romantic books, but this wasn't a romance. It was more like a tepid mystery. Annie Barnes returns to Middle River because her sister has the same symptoms her late mother had. She hates the town and they are suspicious of her because she wrote a bestseller. They think she's there to write about their dirty secrets and they're mean to her and....blah, blah, blah. That's how the redundant book sounded. It kept plodding over previously established areas until it got tired! The only good part came toward the end during a business meeting. Annie conversing with the dead author of Peyton Place went from a quirk to an irritation. This is not a typical, but wonderful Delinsky read. I guess she was trying for a mystery. She should stick to a good romance, which is what she does best.

Looking for Peyton Place: Looking for Answers
Dreading her homecoming to the small town she hates, Annie Barnes returns reluctantly to Middle River, New Hampshire, when her mother dies prematurely of symptoms that her sister is currently experiencing. Filled with busy bodies, the town believes Annie is there to dig up a story. They believe that their town served as the basis for the best-selling novel, "Peyton Place", and that Annie had come to disrupt their peaceful lives. Little do they know that Annie has other motives: to solve the mystery of her mother's death and to fight for the health and well-being of townspeople. Annie accomplishes this and finds much more. She finds love and discovers that she actually loves her hometown.

Good Read!
I don't understand the negative reviews of this book.I only gave it four stars because Annie (the main character)got so darned whiney about her past that I felt like yelling, "Get over it!", on several occasions, but the story was good.Barbara Delinsky writes descriptions of the scenes with her usual talent, the secondary characters are quite good, I loved the love interest/boyfriend character (although not the unprotected sex they have on their first encounter--anybody ever heard of an STD?HIV?).Overall, it was a good read, although I could have survived without the mental conversations with Grace--didn't really fit in with the story and made you question Annie's mental health at times, also just kind of popped up out of nowhere without any prior mention.Good book, overall with just a few weaknesses. ... Read more

Product Description

Meet Rose Feller. She's thirty years old and a high-powered attorney with a secret passion for romance novels. She dreams of a man who will slide off her glasses, gaze into her eyes, and tell her that she's beautiful. She also dreams of getting her fantastically screwed-up little sister to get her life. together.

Meet Rose's sister, Maggie. Twenty-eight years old, drop-dead gorgeous and only occasionally employed. Although her dreams of big-screen stardom haven't progressed, Maggie dreams of fame and fortune -- and of getting her dowdy big sister to stick to a skin-care regime.

These two women with nothing in common but childhood tragedy, shared DNA, and the same size feet, are about to learn that their family is more different than they ever imagine, and that they're more alike, than they'd ever believe. In Her Shoes observes Rose and Maggie, the brain and the beauty, as they make journeys of discovery. Along the way, the'll encounter a wild cast of characters and they'll borrow shoes and clothes and boyfriends, and make peace with their most intimate enemies -- each other.

Funny and poignant, In Her Shoes will speak to anyone who has endured the bonds of big -- or little -- sisterhood, or longed for a life different from the one the world has dictated, and dreamed of trying something else on for size. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

In Her Shoes
This was a great choice. The shipping timing and price made it even more worthwhile.
Thanks Amazon,
Carol

be careful
This is not the original soundtracks, but a 5 CDs where the story is told ... Read more

Product Description
Few novelists today write with the power to move our hearts, quicken our souls, and enrich our lives like Luanne Rice. In New York Times bestsellers such as Dance with Me, Beach Girls, and The Secret Hour, she vividly captures the dramas that make all the difference in love and families. Now, revisiting the remarkable characters introduced in her bestselling Summer’s Child, she brings full circle one of her most compelling explorations of the human heart…all the many ways it can be broken…and the magic that can make it whole again.

Their lives were a tapestry woven together by love and loss, tragedy and hope. On the windswept coast of Nova Scotia, Lily and her eight-year-old daughter, Rose, are struggling to embrace a new life even as Lily tries to let go of painful memories of the past. Among the lives that will touch theirs are those of Liam Neill, a dedicated teacher living in self-imposed isolation; Maeve Jameson, mourning the loss of a granddaughter she devoted her life to protecting; and Mark Murphy, a dogged police detective obsessed with a woman who vanished years ago–who may or may not have found what he seeks in a tiny, out-of-the-way maritime village.

During this eventful summer of roses, the paths–and fates–of these unforgettable characters will intersect in ways that none of them could ever expect–and shape a future none of them could possibly foresee. For each of them it will be a time of renewal and transformation that will circle inevitably to a past left behind, a mystery unsolved, and a love reclaimed. Summer of Roses is vintage Luanne Rice–a novel that celebrates the ties of family, the passion of lovers, and the deep, unbreakable bonds that hold us together through all the seasons of our lives. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Luianne is just one of my favorites
I love her books. I am always searcing for something new. This one is a wonderful story about love, despite being in an abusive relationshipe with her ex-husband, who stalks her, controls here, has several double lives--she still finds true love, the everlasting kind. She is a mother always protecting those closest to her. Missing home, and family, she makes the journey back home; but she isn't the same scared young woman that left before, she's grown in so many ways. This is a wonderful story of love and relationships.

Summer of Roses
My mom was very happy with the arrival as well as the book itself. Thank you.

A white rose bruises easily
Lillie flees to the mountains for safety away from Edward.Edward carbon monoxide poisons Mav, Lillies grandmother, to draw her out.

Lillie sister Sam leaves for South America fustrated with Lillie remaining married with Edward knowing about the abuse.

Patrick finds Lillie and brings her to see Mav, who is in a coma.

Rose is Lillies daughter and is staying with Liatham.

Edward discovers Rose by following Lillie.

Lillie meets Marissa, Edwards second wife.Marissa learns of a woman named Judy, who Edward punched, break her jaw and knocking out teeth.

Marissa daughter Jessica becomes close friends with Rose.

Patrick finds Sam and Lillie and Sam reunite as sisters.They sing and play the fiddle together.

Edward is revealed to be a fraud.Edward faked his Harvard education, gained a job as a broker, and married Judy.

Edward had a daughter born three month prematurely and was abandoned.The daughter appears in court and reveals she is a 22 year old law student and never receive a penny of child support.

Edward is arrested by Federal agents for child support evasion.

Legal action provides a social penality against the individual.The law will not stop the violent act; it will penalize the act after the fact.The law does not punish on the potential of violence.Lillie should have brought legal action immediately after Edward tried to push her over the cliff.Edward could charm Lillie and deescalate the danger by making her submit to his will.However, Edward would immediately become vicious and attack.The reason for attack was an intense anger and killer mentality.Edward was evil and had an insatible murderous mind.

Lillie and Marrisa had strong men to protect her.Physical violence was likely and the men were on edge against Edward.

Abuse has a weird rationality. It has twist and turns, like trading on stock market, unpredictable, and filled with ephoria and gut wrenching fear.

Physical abuse is serious.Judy had her jaw broken in three places, her front teeth knocked out, and her cheek bone broken.A man must never hit a woman.

Summer of roses
Summer of Roses
It was a good book.Need to read Summer Child first to really enjoy it more. Fast moving.

Wonderful sequel......
I really enjoyed this book after reading 'Summer's Child'.This book got deeper into Lily's life and what she went thru with Edward and it all started to come together and make sense as to why she disappeared for nine years. There a little mystery, romance, drama all going on at the same time. I love to see the bad guy get burned and I love happy endings and this book ended just that way! ... Read more

Product Description

He needed me

For nearly twenty years, those three words dictated the life of Lillian Manville. Quiet, unassuming, and overweight, Lillian did anything to please her husband, the self-made billionaire James Manville. Since the age of seventeen, she had obeyed this powerful older man's every command and in return she received a life beyond her wildest dreams. Elaborate mansions. Trips around the world. The finest jewels and the most luxurious fashions.

But when Jimmie dies suddenly in a plane crash, Lillian's pampered life comes to an abrupt halt. She learns that Jimmie has bequeathed all of his riches to his devious siblings, Atlanta and Ray, except an old farmhouse in small-town Calburn, Virginia. Lillian soon discovers a well of secrets that connect to a long-ago tragedy concerning a group of boys hailed as the "Golden Six."

Lillian's unexpected circumstances quickly transform her. She loses weight, and, with the help of Matthew Longacre, a kind, handsome local man, renovates the farmhouse and develops her own thriving business. Although Lillian's new life seems as strong as the mulberry tree firmly planted outside her farmhouse, there remain secrets that threaten to uproot the past she cherished and the future she will fight to protect. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (87)

The Mulberry Tree
I appreciated recieving the book in a timely manner and it was in top condition. I had been looking for the book and to find it on Amazon for 1 cent plus shipping was great. Thank you!

What a mess
This was the first Jude Deveraux book, and it may be my last. Deveraux takes what could have been an interesting story -- a woman rebuilding her life after she loses everything -- and turns it into something that had me saying, "That's it?!" when I got to the end.

Lillian/Bailey isn't that interesting or likeable of a main character and her relationship and life with Jimmie is not fleshed out enough to drive her reactions to his death and her actions afterward. She mentions the sex, but just weeks after his death is flirting with another man and inviting him to board at her house. Lillian ran off with Jimmie at 17, and, thanks to her own emotional inertia and Jimmie's borderline abusive treatment of her, she's pretty stunted when the story begins. Deveraux falls way short in showing much growth or maturity in Lillian/Bailey as the story goes on. Lillian spent her life with Jimmie wrapped in entitlement and smugness. They lived their lives in public, but when they don't get appropriately fawned over and poor widdle Jimmie's ego gets bruised, a reporter who gets too close to the truth about their relationship has her career ruined by a ruthless and vindictive Jimmie. Deveraux's relentless, whiny press-bashing makes one wonder if she has an axe to grind (not-so-flattering book reviews, perhaps?).

Lillian spent her marriage looking down her (ugly) nose at Jimmie's friends, not seeing that she wasn't much better. She's so thoughtless and selfish that she doesn't realize that, when mocking the "Golden Six," that those in earshot might have been family or friends of the ill-fated sextet and would be hurt by her comments.

The "romance" between Lillian and Matt is flat and poorly done. Deveraux does little to explain their attraction beyond "He's single and cute, she's single and freshly cute." Matt shows little respect for her as he paws her around others and doesn't discourage their smutty assumptions about his and Bailey's relationship. Bailey's immaturity doesn't help, either.

Deveraux wastes ink cram-jamming her story with "quirky" country characters whom she doesn't make interesting. The more interesting character of Phillip, Jimmie's attorney who risks everything including his marriage and his life to find out the truth, gets short shrift.

The big "Golden Six" mystery is a dud and so poorly developed by Deveraux, that by the time the truth is revealed, I just didn't care. Deveraux spends so much time jumping like a hyperactive flea from Bailey and Matt to Bailey's cooking to the Golden Six to the fledgling "Semi-Homemade" business that the climax and resolution are slapped together lickety-split and it flops.

If this is how Deveraux's stories usually work, I'm not going to waste my time on any more of them.

Mixed thoughts on this....
The Mulberry Tree is somewhere between a page turner and a complete dud. As others have described, the "mystery" never gets tied up in a satisfactory way and the whole premise of "The Golden Six" is just, well, stupid. And, as others have mentioned, there are too many characters to make sense of, and you find yourself either flipping back to see who the author is talking about, or you just finding yourself slugging through and deciding you don't give a crap enough to backtrack. Mostly I did the latter.
However, Devereux somehow provides enough interest to compel the reader to read more. While others were bored by the detailed accounts of Bailey's cooking and canning skills, these were my favorite parts of the book. As a avid cook, I found myself dreaming of making the same dishes that Bailey fed to Matt. It was also interesting to see the progression of Bailey's personality as she gains some independence. I was disappointed that there was no great romance between the two main characters, and that Matt seemed to be more interested in Bailey's cooking than Bailey herself.
I've read worse and I've read better. This is good nighttime reading for when you just want to shut the world out, read a few chapters before bedtime and call it a day.

Great book
I really like this story.It's not too romantic or mushy, but you still feel the love.

Great Love story
This book is a really good love story entertwined with a really nail biting mystery.The characters are well written with the protagonist having just enough emotion and wit that you can truly sympathize or empathize with her. ... Read more

Product Description

With his hand trapped in the door of a speeding car, a man struggles to remain upright as he's dragged along a deserted stretch of San Juan Road in Phoenix's South Mountain Preserve. It's the perfect place to drive a man to his grave -- literally. Starting with a crime so gruesome even prowling coyotes keep their distance from the remains, a killer begins crisscrossing the Southwest on a spree of grisly murders.

A hundred miles away, Ali Reynolds is grieving. The newscasting job she once delighted in is gone and so is the philandering husband she loved and thought she knew. When a member of the family who gave Ali a generous scholarship for her education decades earlier suddenly asks her for a meeting, Ali wonders what it can mean. Before she can satisfy her curiosity, though, Ali receives another startling call: a friend's teenage daughter has disappeared. Ali offers to help, but in doing so, she unknowingly begins a quest that will reveal a deadly ring of secrets, at the heart of which lie two undiscriminating killers....

Hand of Evil is Jance at her best; weaving a masterful story of suspense that travels over generations, revealing two very different women with the same horrifying secret. Will Ali become a victim herself, or will she escape from a deadly deceit that no amount of security -- financial or emotional -- can cover up? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Another gripping and macabre story
J. A. Jance is a prolific author.Although I have deliberately stayed away from her P. D. Beaumont series of stories, I got drawn in by the Joanna Brady stories, and subsequently the other sets of stories due to the female detectives and the Arizona setting.Although some of her tales are a bit more macabre than I really enjoy, the stories are gripping.Hand of Evil is definitely in that category.

Great Book
I love all JA Jance books but this one was even better.It was even more impresssive that the copy I received was in almost pristine condition, even at the discounted price that I got it for.

Never a Dull Moment
This is the second J.A. Jance novel featuring Ali Reynolds. She is an interesting character being a 40-year old Sedona resident who lives in a life of chaos. She has much going on, dealing with the loss of her job in broadcasting, deaths of her husband and a close friend, then her own brush with danger.

Ali likes to try and solve murders so she is kept busy with the disappearance of her father's handy-man, the young daughter of her detective friend and a woman who has some ugly secrets to share with her. So the book never has a dull moment with Ali trying to solve all these mysteries and finding the answers she seeks.

You Have To Start At The Beginning Of This Series
When I began this series, I had started in the middle and I am so glad that I have gone back to the beginning and learned about Ali and her life from the onset. In doing so, Ali has become a better over all character.

Two very different, but in some ways similar storylines, keep the reader engrossed in this very good 3rd installment of the Ali Reynolds series.

When Ali is invited to the Ashcroft home she is very curious as to why - during tea it is revealed that Arabella's nephew is threatening to steal her money and have her committed. So to save herself, she reveals to Ali that she had been a victim of abuse and with Ali's help she hopes to fend off the blackmail attempts with the truth. But Arabella is having second thoughts about the truth coming out.

That should be enough to keep Ali busy, so when her friend Dave Holman reveals to Ali that his own daughter, an abused teen, has run away, he asks for Ali's help in locating her. When she returns home, Ali takes in this lying manipulating child, but the problems are compounded when Crystal recognizes a killer and Ali's life hangs in the balance as she tries to protect Crystal, help Arabella, all the while trying to figure out who is telling the truth, who is out for their own benefit and who will take in the rhinestone cowboy outfit wearing butler. That part is really funny, but a great character has been discovered that will hopefully carry this series for many years to come.

Ali Reynolds
The Ali Reynolds series is as good as Jance's other series - JP Beaumont & Joanna Brady. As with the others the characters are people you like and care about. JA Jance write books that are fun to read with a minimum of violence, foul language & sex. She proves that these are not necessary for a good read. I find it difficult to put down any of Ms Jance's book so read them too fast and am sorry when I've read the last one in a series. I've read them all. ... Read more

Product Description
On the surface, Jordan Hadlock has it all. A great job in Switzerland and the rich and renowned Swiss industrialist Helmut Eckherdt is intent on marrying her. What more could she ask for? A clap of thunder and a pounding on her door soon give her an answer. Reeves Grant appears seeking shelter from a sudden downpour, but the real storm is inside Jordan and the passion they share that night. The next morning he disappears without a trace.Still reeling from the encounter, Jordan plays hostess at Helmut's lavish dinner party, where it is announced that he and Jordan are to be wed -- at the very same moment she spies Reeves Grant snapping pictures of the event and her new "fiancé." Now Jordan is moving toward the altar with a man she doesn't love. And working on a feature of the wealthy Helmut is photojournalist Reeves Grant, bringing with him all the memories of the emotions she felt one special night. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Unbelievably awful
I grabbed this, in audio book form, from the public library when I knew I'd be kept at home for a week while my car was being repaired.I started it while doing dishes and at first the romance was sort of fun.The dialogue, however, was really horrible...I wondered if it had been written pre-1950.The cutesiness of the conversations between the two lovers is enough to make you vomit.After listening to one disk, I put it away.

When my car was not ready on the promised day and I had run out of other entertainment I reluctantly tried this again.I stuck it out while cleaning the bathroom and it seemed just the right thing to listen to while scrubbing the toilet.

I noticed while in the library that there were other books written by this author; apparently she is popular and someone actually pays her money to turn out this drivvel.Egad!

I admit that I've never read a "romance" novel before so I guess this just isn't my thing.I sure won't read anything else by this woman!!

Not Even for Love
I have read quite a bit of Sandra Brown but found this particular book disappointing.It was way too predictable and a lot of the dialog was kindergarten.The good thing about this book is it is short.I would not recommend this book for reading.I will continue to read Sandra Brown because I know she can write better.

Product was as advertised and was promptly shipped.
Product was as advertised and arrived quickly. I will use this service again. I am very pleased.

A Cinderella-Like Story When You Consider The Odds
I don't know if it's appropriate to call Sandra Brown a great writer, I'll leave that to literary experts, but I am sure entertained by her stories.And I am going to go out on a limb here knowing what the other reviewers have said and tell you I loved this story!It was pure entertainment and made me smile.

Jordan Hadlock owns a small book store at which she lives upstairs.She's lonely but satisfied with her life, or resolute to it. Late one stormy night as she's putting up books there's a knock at her door. It's a stranger, an American in need of shelter from the storm.Jordan hesitantly takes him inside and a wonderful, if unlikely, lovers scenario plays out. The next night Jordan's fiancé announces their engagement at a grand event and introduces Jordan to a journalist present... an American journalist.

I know what this sounds like, but it was great fun, very sweet and easy to like.Mine was an audiobook and sometime in the future I plan to hear it again, something I rarely do.

Not Even For Love
I don't like romances. They are just not the genre that I find interesting. I picked up this book without realizing that it was just that. Upon beginning the story, I became aware that it was a romance, but I was already hooked. This easy read is fun to enjoy. The characters are realistic. Thrown together during a storm, they encounter that magical kind of attraction that many never have the pleasure to experience.

This is a typical romance in that it deals primarily with a couple who struggle through obstacles and misunderstandings in order to be united at the conclusion. However, I found it to be an entertaining one.
... Read more

Product Description
Acclaimed for her insightful depiction of the magic and mystery in everyday life and relationships, Luanne Rice is one of today’s most gifted novelists.Now the author of eight consecutive New York Times bestsellers delivers her most powerful book yet—the story of a man and woman forced to choose between the past that haunts them and the love that won’t let them go.

Jane Porter left the apple orchards of rural Twin Rivers, Rhode Island, years ago, fleeing memories that could tear two families apart.Now she has been unexpectedly drawn home to her mother and only sister.Dylan Chadwick has come back, too, shedding the steely exterior he wore as a federal agent in order to follow in the footsteps of his apple-farming father and forget the life he once lived.Amid this landscape of loss and renewal, a haunting story of converging lives, small-town secrets—and the magical sway of unexpected miracles—unfolds.Deeply moving and richly told, Dance with Me explores emotional connections at their very core, with keen insights into the lives of mothers and daughters, sisters and lovers that will resonate long after the final page is turned.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

Very touching; lovely imagery and characters you care about
I picked up this book last week and started reading it. I realized after a couple of pages that I'd read it before. I kept reading and am glad I did. This book was good the second time around too.

Could have been better
You could probably cut this book in half and it would be a better read. Rice spoonfeeds us the plot, she overdescribes, and she throws in sappy red herrings. If she had built up Jane's betrayal without telling us everything about it, then revealed it to us at the same time Dylan found out, it would have been more compelling (though we may have suspected where she was going). The resolution was much too flat - I didn't see how the characters got to a place of forgiveness for a betrayal that to me would have been unforgivable. I really wish I could have edited the manuscript for her.
My biggest objection to the book is the way adoption is portrayed. The bio-mom is constantly referred to as "real" while relationships with the adoptive parents (who some would argue ARE the real parents) are trivialized.
I give it two stars because I kept reading, even though I wasn't enjoying it.

A good read!
The main thrust of this story deals with a mother being forced to give up her child for adoption. "Identity is key" Jane says. "Even for birds."
Romance takes a secondary place to the themes of hurt and pain in this story. Jane and Sylvie were deeply hurt when their father walked out on his family.
Also in the background is the role of nursing homes where even a school principal or a banker or a stock broker can find themselves. But it is still possible to go to a barn dance and have some fun!
The name of this book was very well suited as in the last lines of the story the protagnist holds out her arms to her lover as music begins down below. "Dance with me" her eyes seem to say. A touching conclusion.

More subplots do not make for a better book
Dance With Me is a family saga romance that ties up multiple couples by the end.It's a story of two sisters. One is fair-haired, spinsterly and dutiful, while the other one is dark-haired, moody, and took off to live in the big city.Good daughter Sylvie has left her school librarian job to care for her failing Mom.Wilder Jane returns to the small town from the big city to lend a hand.This would be enough to make a good story, but Rice also throws in a family in conflict over selling the family farm to developers, an adopted teenage daughter searching for her real mom, and the tragedy of a murdered child.All these conflicts miraculously resolve by the novel's end.Even the mother enjoys her nursing home!The book is set in rural Rhode Island, which provides a well-drawn and somewhat unusual background for the story. This is the first Luanne Rice novel I've read, so I can't compare, but it would have been a better book if it had tried to do less, and did more with that was left.Instead, it's so formulaic that you can't share the characters' joy in their happy ending, because you can see it coming from page 1.Dance With Me is weak even for a beach read.

An Annoying Book
I can't remember when I have read a more annoying book as this one. Jane is one of the most annoying characters I've come across for awhile. I couldn't even feel sympathy for her.She is 20 when she finds she's pregnant; she didn't have to give her baby up-that was her choice. She's not 15 or 16 but old enough to make choices. Then even so people do move on and in 15 years she could have married and had other children instead of the obsession she had with Chloe. The whole book is over the top dramatic with nothing realistic. Now I'm sure most women who have to give a baby up never truly forgets and probably hopes one day she can see that child but for Jane to walk into Chloe's life when she is at the most vulnerable age is unconscionable. I didn't see Chloe as so sensitive as determined to have her own way with the whole environmental issues and etc.I believe in environmental issues but Chloe is over the top ridiculous.She's too young to even understand some of the implications.She is destructive to people who do not agree with her. I was disgusted with the language the author had Chloe and her friend use even to using the F__ word. Wasn't it interesting that the adoptive parents raised her and now walks in Jane the birth mother who is ever so cool and clear through the book Chloe takes pot shots at her adopted parents as if she has the maturity to judge them.Jane had no right to intrude in Chloe's life and I was very upset when she told Chloe who she was without having talked to the adopted parents first.That was horrible!I was adopted and I knew from the time I was a little girl and I didn't spend my growing up years pining for a mother who gave me away.IT happens!I was perhaps curious but not obsessed. I found my birth family (quite accidently-I wasn't looking) after my adopted parents had passed away.It was not all the drama portrayed in this book.My adopted parents gave me my values and education and though it was nice to find my birth family and answer some questions, it will always be the parents who raised me that will be the best part of my life.

I did feel sorry for Dylan and all he had been through and perhaps Jane could have been good for him if she hadn't lied and deceived everyone.She was supposed to be there helping with her mother and instead she was always sneaking off to see her daughter and leaving her sister to handle everything.I was just disgusted with her through the entire book and of course this being a work of fiction, the author made it all come out okay.In real life it could have been and probably would have been a disaster!

I have liked some of Luanne Rice's books like The Secret Hour, Summer of Roses, and Dream Country and some have been a bit annoying but this one was so annoying from start to finish thatit will take me awhile to try another of her books!

... Read more

Product Description

Laney McLeod's life changes the minute she finds herself stuck in a high-rise elevator in Manhattan. Fighting her rising panic, she relies on a handsome stranger to help overcome her claustrophobia. The man, Deke Sargent, is just as attracted to this beautiful and vulnerable woman as she is to him.

When the power comes back on, Deke and Laney find themselves in a passionate embrace that soon leads to a night of love in his apartment. Shocked at her own brazenness, Laney disappears the next morning. Months later, she receives an even greater shock: Deke shows up with an astounding announcement.

Unable to forget the chemistry between them, but afraid that she's just another notch on this wealthy playboy's bedpost, Laney is about to discover that her resistance to Deke hides an even deeper fear.

In Words of Silk Sandra Brown displays her uncanny grasp of the struggle between doubt and desire, caution and hope -- the quiet battle that rages deep within the human heart. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Words of Stupid
Ahh, the good ole days of yore, when all women needed was a big man to stampede into their lives and make all the decisions, wield financial superiority over them and break all kinds of laws regarding privacy and confidentiality.

What? It's no one's dream to be stalked, harassed, intimidated, and treated like an idiot? Shock of shocks!

Ahh Sandra Brown. I have enjoyed some of your work, but this is an early one, and it shows. From the fear of the social stigma of being an unwed mother, to the terrible clothing,it's all dated as heck. The 'plot' is full of the cheesiest romance elements; the rich playboy, the sekrit baby, and the scarring family drama preventing emotional availability. Peripheral details appear and then disappear when are inconvenient, and actions are given flimsy motivation chapters after they occur. For all you other women out there not eager to bear children, baby making is a huge part of the plot. The nuances of pregnancy are hashed and rehashed, the characters spend most of the time talking about 'when the baby comes' and DEAR GOD IF I HEAR ABOUT HER BREASTS AGAIN I WILL RUPTURE MY OWN EAR DRUMS.(It was an audio book).

Deke is alternately the most unbelievably nice and understanding man in the universe, and a manipulative authoritative dickwad. I would have disliked him more, except Laney was such a limp rag. I guess we were supposed to feel sorry for her, but all I felt was anger that she allowed most of this to happen. They never feel like actual people, with actual lives outside these events, but like uninteresting puppets. Deke fairs only slightly better, his apartment is more indicative of his preferences, and when he moves in we see his stuff. Laney is a complete non-entity; other than teaching Kindergarten we have no idea what she does or what her interests are and this levels her within the narrative to the baby-making-machine she fears being in the plot.

Replete with ludicrous references to body parts, the book treads water in the second act and devolves into group stupidity in the third. Alternately boring and enraging, this book gets noted as being one with the most touching I've ever read. They keep fondling and groping each other but the stupid circumstances rob it of being titillating in the slightest. Or rewarding. Or worthwhile

the worst book ever written
Words of Silk is, hand's down, the worst book ever written.Generally, I usually enjoy Sandra Brown's work, but this was just awful.I downloaded a sample onto my Kindle, and the sample seemed good so I purchased it.Money down the drain, as far as I'm concerned.A huge waste of my time. IF YOU ANY INTELLIGENCE AT ALL,DON'T GET INVOLVED WITH THIS BOOK!!

Pleased with fast service
I was happy to receive the cd. It was packaged as promised and arrived earlier than expected.The only problem was one disc was scratched.I didn't send it back because I already have this book on CD. The reason I bought this one was because one of my disc was scratched and I wanted another set. The newly purchased one did not have the same disc scratched.I didn't advise the seller because I wanted to keep the set and believe it was not done intentionally. Overall, I am a satisfied customer.

Words of Boredom
I usually like Sandra Brown books but this is one exception. Words of Silk is one book that just couldn't keep my attention. I can't count the number of times my mind wandered, and during love scenes too! That's just sad. The book did start out good and I thought it was a good premise too, it just didn't pan out well, and went downhill...fast.

The two main characters, Laney and Zeke, aren't very likeable, you can't even call them a hero or heroine. Zeke says later in the book that Laney can't see reason, when he is the one that can't in his dictatorship mind. Then Laney infuriates me with what she does next! Ugh! Maybe infuriate is too strong a word for characters I don't even like.

I would have stopped reading, but I hate to leave a book unfinished, and there is always the hope that it will get better, too bad it didn't.

If I were you I'd skip this one, get one of Ms. Brown's far superior books instead, like Eloquent Silence, the Switch, Tomorrow's Promise, Above And Beyond or even Sweet Anger. If you absolutely have to read this, I'd suggest getting it at the library, you'll be better off.

just OK
This book seemed very familiar to me, perhaps beause I read it when it was first released 20 years ago, or more likely because this storyline has been told before in countless other romance novels. I found it to be dated, with a domineering and chauvanistic leading man who is a master at manipulating the woman he wants. She's not as strong as she tries to come across, and lots of annoying verbal sparring passes between them, making the book kind of stressful to read. I usually savor treasured early novels written by current mainstream authors, and I generally love to read Sandra Brown's books, but this one really didn't capture my interest or my heart.
... Read more

Product Description

J.A. Jance's new series, begun in the New York Times bestseller Edge of Evil, continues with a powerhouse tale of suspense.

The highway from Los Angeles to the Palm Springs desert is parched, unforgiving, and deadly. In the suffocating stillness of a car trunk, a man -- his mouth and hands bound with tape -- awaits his fate. What possible enemy could be bitter enough to commit such a heinous crime? And when will the monster make another move?

Ali Reynolds is traveling that same blistering, lonesome highway, looking forward to putting her past behind her. But her cheating husband is in a hurry for a divorce, and the television network who wrongfully dismissed Ali for the sole sin of being over forty will face her in court as well. So Ali must return to the scene of these crimes. As she passes the site of a horrifying accident, she thanks goodness it's no longer her job to report the news. Until she finds out the news is her own. . . . For the victim is Ali's cheating husband, and soon she'll find herself the prime suspect at the center of a terrifying web of evil.

A twisted and lethal drama of heart-pounding suspense, Web of Evil asks the question: If hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, just what punishment could that fury unleash? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (53)

Not a bad story........
......but not the best by Jance by far.I think the blogging and emails do add to the story, but this story just went on too, too long.There is one thing I really take exception to - the reference to Columbine.It had no place in this story.Comparing Ali hiding under a table to those kids hiding under tables was tacky.The kids didn't have a glock with them like Ali did.I live in Colorado.I know kids who were there.The reference to Columbine was in extremely poor taste.Shame on you, Ms. Jance.

A web that quickly falls apart...
The first half was pretty good and kept me thinking, but the last half was really bad and nearly left me labotomized.I was actually angry when I finished the last words thinking "How could it end so, so...lamely?".

This book is not a total waste of time because the "evil" in the title does come across, most devilishly.Although there are far better books to sink your hours in to.

Sorry, JA.This read was a minor stinker.

Forget the blog!
I read all of the Alison Reynolds series, and found the whole blogging part just annoying.It was like the writer was trying too hard to show she was up on the latest computer fad and was just wholly uneccessary.Same thing with Patricia Cornwell in her early Kay Scarpetta books.Most people know computers these days, we are not impressed that you do too.It's overkill.

Boring!
We started listening to this on CD in the car and were so bored that we had to stop. Ali was just not an interesting character. She seemed like a two-dimensional paper doll rather than a real person I could feel sympathy for. We'll be skipping this series.

Another Great Chapter in Ali's Life
Ali Reynolds is finally putting another chapter of her life behind her.She is heading to Los Angeles from her home in Sedona, Arizona, to finalize her divorce.But when her husband doesn't show up for the appointed court date things get a little curious.Turns out Paul Grayson was kidnapped from his bachelor party, yep, the cad was going to remarry the day after the divorce was granted.Not only was Paul abducted, but he was bound, placed in the trunk of a car and left to die on a railroad track.

Since the divorce was never granted, that leaves Ali to be the grieving widow, that not quite being her style she sets out to find who and what was behind this ghastly act.

As Ali keeps the reader of her blog updated, we slowly see the story and Ali's role in it slowly unwind.With great twists and an unpretentious cast of characters,Jance leads the reader to a thrilling conclusion that leaves you wondering what can Ali get into next.Thankfully, this is only the second book in the series, so it won't be long until I can delve into Ali's world again. ... Read more

Product Description

A new and chilling tale of suspense from the New York Times bestselling author of Hand of Evil

On a dating site, singleatheart.com, bored housewives can find romance with married men looking for sex without strings. But these "married singles" are flirting with more than just their vows. At the heart of this seemingly innocent service, a vengeful computer hacker is playing games with people's lives...and deaths.

Ex-television journalist Ali Reynolds just wants a break from excitement. In the midst of a remodel, the last thing she expects is a murder investigation that will stop the construction on her home. But when the savagely murdered body of stay-at-home mom Morgan Forester is found, Ali's contractor Bryan is the prime suspect. Bryan swears he has nothing to do with his wife's murder -- but as the investigation progresses, Ali seems to be the only resident of Sedona who believes him.

Determined to prove Bryan's innocence, Ali unknowingly lands herself directly in the path of a calculating killer. In a world filled with encrypted computer traps and life-threatening lies, will Ali be able to decode the actions of a ruthless man determined to destroy women -- before he uses his wicked website to find her? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (59)

BRAVO
J.A. Jance is on her game with "Cruel Intent." Great story line and unique, exciting ending. This is a must read or a must listen if you prefer audio books. With this book she also proved that blasphemy and 4-letter words are not needed or necessary to write an incredibly suspenseful story. If you choose to listen, Karen Ziemba tells the story instead of just reading the pages. Do not miss this one! You won't be able to put the book down or turn off your CD player and you will look around every corner as you join Ali Reynolds in a mysterious journey.

The cover for the book on CD that I listened to stated incorrectly that Ali has twin daughters and that blame is properly laid at the door of Midwest Tape LLC, "a wholly separate and distinct company from the publisher," who repackaged the book on CD. Shame on them!

Buy it! Read it! Listen to it! You won't regret it and you will probably want to revisit it from time to time.

Not her usual fare
First in Jance's Ali Reynolds' break-off series, Jance sticks her neck out with one of her characters from her other series in a murder mystery that seems to have the first time blues.The plot is iffy without the character development already set - and all of this is even more obvious when set against Jance's other series'.

Reynolds' is having her house fixed when her contractor becomes a murder suspect after his wife becomes the victim of a serial killer.Ali has to put everything on hold before the holidays to clear her contractor if she wants anything done.So things are a little far-fetched with amateur sleuthing but there was a serious lack of focus on the mystery, with more attention paid to the setting of it all.

Well Crafted Mystery
This is my first J. A. Nance novel. I found it to be a well crafted book; but since she gives you the killer's viewpoint right from the start, there did not seem to be that element of mystery one normally expects in a detective type thriller.

The author does an excellent job in describing the stress placed upon her protagonist, Ali Reynolds who is coping with massive remodeling project, a controlling mother and a son and his fiancee who seem to be putting her last.

Finding herself with conflicting emotions, her anxiety is compounded by the fact that her remodeling contractor's philandering wife has been murdered. The contractor becomes a suspect and then is charged with the crime after the real murderer has engineered an elaborate frame against him.

Convinced that her contractor is innocent, Ali joins the Internet dating site which catered to straying partners and thusly becomes entangled in a dance with the killer.

As previously mentioned this novel is extremely well crafted and I would read more from this author.

Jance does it again!
I've read a few of J.A. Jance's "J.P. Beaumont" books, but I've never read anything else by her.That changed when I picked up Cruel Intent, her latest Ali Reynolds book.Taking a chance, I cracked open the book on my last vacation, wondering what to expect.One day later, I put it down fully satisfied (keep in mind that, on vacation, I did more than just read).I had a lot of trouble putting it down to do other things.

Ali Reynolds, an ex-television journalist, is working on her latest project: fixing up and rebuilding a house that she inherited in one of the previous Reynolds novels.Her contractor, Bryan Forester, seems like a really nice guy.Naturally, that makes him the prime suspect when his wife is brutally murdered.Reynolds stands by her opinion of Forester as the authorities close in.Her attempts to find out what really happened take her to a site for lonely married people, called singleatheart.com, and puts her square in the sights of a sinister hacker who enjoys the game of "Love 'em and Leave 'em," though in his case he makes sure the women leave everybody else as well.Will Ali become his next target?

Cruel Intent is another of Jance's page-turners, with a plot and prose style that keeps readers glued to the page.As with most established mystery/suspense series, Jance has populated Ali's world with a bunch of quirky and well-written characters, from her on-again/off-again sheriff boyfriend to a computer security expert/hacker who joins her in the quest to track down what's behind SingleAtHeart.Of course, she has family issues, and her parents are the quirkiest characters in the bunch. Throw those ingredients into the pot, add the spice of an insane villain, stir gently, and you've got a winning concoction that will please most mystery readers.

The book is definitely a "suspense" novel rather than a mystery, as we are introduced to the villain quite early in the book.The joy of reading the book is to see how the villain is working and how Reynolds is able to outmaneuver him.I like these types of books, because it allows you to see the dance of two opposing sides as they both try to succeed in their goals.

My favourite character, as I'm sure Jance intended, has to be Ali's mother.She's nosy, stubborn, blunt, never afraid to open her mouth even when it's best to shut it, and a fabulous baker.There's no problem in the world that a good pie or other kind of food can't solve, and it's her solution to most problems.While she's mostly comic relief, she shows near the end of the book (and perhaps more often in the previous Ali Reynolds books) that she's quick on the uptake and very intelligent too.She catches on to Ali's plan immediately at the end of the book, and I gained a new respect for her after that.It's nice when the comical characters also show a dash of brains as well.

The only problem I can really mention about Cruel Intent is that everything's a bit too coincidental.Admittedly, this is a problem with many suspense novels, and even mysteries, but it just went a bit too far this time around.It's just a happy coincidence that Forester's wife is the one who has been cheating on him and ends up murdered, and that he's working for Ali, who happens to be a former journalist who will stick her nose into somebody's business if she can help.She just happens to have a computer savant as a friend helping with her Internet security, and she also just happens to have a cop as her sometimes boyfriend.

Another small problem, and this is more just my feelings about this genre in particular, is that I'm getting a bit tired of the independently wealthy protagonist in these types of novels.It seems that every book I pick up, the main character can just go off on a whim, or thrown down $100 without even thinking about it.Of course, being independently wealthy also allows them to have their days all to themselves so they have the time to butt into other people's business.I know this is a staple of the genre and will not go away, but it's frustrating sometimes.

Overall, Cruel Intent is a great read for fans of the suspense genre.Jance's prose is excellent, I love the characters she has created, and the plot hangs together pretty tightly.It will keep you reading long after you feel like you should have turned off the lights.

Originally published on Curled Up With a Good Book© David Roy, 2010

Home remodeling is murder
The prolific Jance opens a new series here, featuring former TV journalist Ali Reynolds, trying to remodel a home in Sedona, Ariz.
Everyone knows remodeling can be tough ... but not everyone finds their contractor the prime suspect in the murder of his wife, Morgan. Ali doesn't think Bryan Forester is guilty, even though Morgan was known to be sleeping around.
The widowed Ali soon discovers a website for "married singles" like Morgan. It might turn out to be a very dangerous investigation.
But the best thing about a Jance book isn't just the plot, inventive as it might be, but the characters and relationships. Here we meet Ali's son, a teacher, and his girlfriend, a wounded veteran of the Iraq war. Then there's a young computer genius and the butler she inherited from the house's former owner.
The book is exciting and fun, just what we've come to expect from this author.
... Read more

Product Description
Calwyn has lived all her life among the priestesses of Antaris, tending to her bees and dreaming of the mysterious world beyond the Wall.Then she discovers a man lying unconscious within the Wall--Darrow, who tells her of the fear and hatred that hold sway in the Outlands, where the magic arts of chantment are disappearing. They journey together to cities of golden stone and seas ruled by blood moons, gathering other chanters to them.For it will take an unprecedented unity to stand in the way of Samis, a ruthlessly ambitious sorcerer who seeks to become Emperor of all Tremaris.

Reminiscent of such classic novels as A Wizard of Earthsea and The Hero and the Crown, yet set in an utterly original world where enchantment is worked by singing, THE SINGER OF ALL SONGS stands out from the choir of new fantasies for the warmth of its vision and the beauty of its voice.Amazon.com Review
Aussie author Kate Constable has brought a music inspired fantasy to the States that is on a par with celebrated works like Edith Pattou's East, and The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman. In The Singer of All Songs, young Calwyn is a Daughter of Tarsis, an order of priestesses who have mastered the ice call--a singing power over cold and frost. She lives with her sisters behind an enormous wall of ice that separates their small valley from hostile neighbors in the tensely divided lands of Tremaris. This seemingly impervious barrier is breached by a wounded "Outlander" named Darrow, who comes to the priestesses with a wild tale about an evil Sorcerer named Samis who has sworn to learn the Nine Chantments of the separate lands of Tremaris so that he can rule them as the powerful Singer of All Songs. When the elder priestesses dismiss his rantings and ord! er his sacrifice to the Goddess, Calwyn becomes determined to save his life and join his quest. Together, the two new friends travel into dangerous territories, assembling a rag tag crew of comrades along the way who agree to help prevent Samis from mastering the Nine Chantments. Constable has bewitchingly reinterpreted pagan lore for a new generation, and Singer will easily find an appreciative audience amongst devotees of Tamora Pierce and Garth Nix. Although the pacing of the novel is decidedly measured in places, it only helps the reader appreciate the author's rich characterizations and imaginative settings. Young fantasy fans will find much to sing about in this first installment of a planned trilogy. --Jennifer Hubert ... Read more

Customer Reviews (33)

Great Teen Read
I bought this for my very independent 13-yr.-old.She ate it up! A successful birthday gift. Mom is happy.

LOVE IT!!!
I loved these books the series last 3 books and I enjoyed going on adventures with our main character and her friends. This is a book my daughters will read and enjoy.

Singer of all Songs
A bit predictable, but a nice book to read during class when the teacher's lecturing about something boring.

The Singer of All Songs
One of my friends told me that this was one of the best books she's ever read, but I'd definitely have to disagree. This was just an average, okay book. It definitely had some interesting qualities, like Calwyn's strong feelings for Darrow and an ending that would leave most people wondering about what could happen. But I just think that the whole story was a bit predictable and it seemed to drag on forever... Then again, I'm very selective about what types of fantasy books I like and dislike.

Your standard fantasy story done fairly well
teen girl/novice priestess
feels trapped
gets in trouble often with harsh priestess
runs away with mysterious older man/wizard
crush on him
dresses like a boy
fighting evil wizard who used to be good wizard's pal
rag-tag band of adventurers with different powers
captured by pirates
escape
travel through the "waste"
tired of eating stew
to the city of the ancients
their battle seems hopeless but then . . . ... Read more