Romance Books

Bulfinch's Mythology - Deluxe Edition

Thomas Bulfinch

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful Classic on the Classics 5 out of 5 stars.
38 of 39 people found this review helpful.

Myths represent everything that's magical and unlikely - and yet we cannot but admire their underlying wisdom. Ever since they sprung up, man has delighted in analyzing, telling and retelling these stories, which we now see as an inextricable part of our civilization. However, and maybe because it so-well mirrors our own nature, mythology is as self-contradictory as it is timeless. Not surprisingly, those contradictions have turned the subject into another academic battleground. This could be the reason why Bullfinch's version of the myths stills stands out a century and a half after it was written: amidst a sea of dry scholarly works, it is easily the most charming and inviting compendium of mythology available.

Thomas Bulfinch, an art-loving bank clerk, had a very clear purpose when he started to write his books: he simply set out to supply the general reader with an approachable, enticing account of those ancient fables that were so often quoted or alluded to in literature. This approach ended up being very convenient. On the one hand, it gave him the freedom to purge whatever he thought to be in disagreement with "good taste", since he claimed such things were alien to "elegant literature". On the other hand, he could trim his sources down to Ovid and Virgil, who were the ones most English writers read in the first place. Because of such limitations, it may seem easy to dismiss his work as biased, quaint and incomplete; yet, time has turned what once was a book on the classics into a classic itself. Nowadays, when we read Bulfinch, we get not only a look into ancient mythology, but a delightful glimpse of 19th Century writing and mentality, too. Furthermore, Bullfinch's narrowness in approach is more than compensated by the resulting self-consistency, lacking in most similar works.

Those who fear Bulfinch might have deprived the myths of their piquancy shouldn't worry. Zeus still makes Don Juan look like a eunuch; Oedipus's story keeps all its shocking elements of incest and patricide; Queen Guenever isn't any less obvious in her feelings towards Sir Launcelot; and, on the whole, more blood is spilled than on the goriest Clive Barker novel. Though things like how the Minotaur was conceived are left in the dark, such omissions are the exception rather than the rule. Just like Galland's translation of The Thousand And One Nights hasn't lost its place as arguably the most enjoyable version of them all (even after a thousand-and-one more "faithful" translations have been published), Bulfinch's quirks aren't enough to spoil what's obviously a wonderful work. Of course, like most Victorians, he can be very pompous at times ("...and struck him a fiercely-wounding, severely-venomous, and sternly-smiting blow upon the crown of his head, so that he clove him in twain..."), but his approach is hardly at odds with the material. Overall, what one finds in Bulfinch is a source of endless, childlike wonder.

The volume is divided in three parts: The Age of Fable; The Age of Chivalry; and Legends of Charlemagne. The first one deals with Greek and Roman mythology, although it also contains a short section on the Norse gods and a dab of Easter Mythology; the second retells the stories of King Arthur, the Round Table, and the Mabinogeon; the third one goes over the romances of the Middle Ages. To illustrate the strong connection between myth and English poetry, Bulfinch has spread snippets from poems by authors such as Milton and Spenser, and specially contemporaries Byron, Shelley, and Longfellow (to whom the volume is dedicated)throughout the book.

As regards this particular edition, it just might be the most beautiful one yet. Not only is it leather-bound, with gilt-edged pages and a golden ribbon marker, but it also includes numerous maps, charts and illustrations. I was particularly taken aback by the quality of the latter, since publishers usually have the most uncanny ability to choose for each and every occasion the worst drawings available. Here, on the contrary, every one is a treasure. The Index was expanded into a classical and mythological dictionary, in an attempt to turn Bulfinch's work into better reference material - a goal it certainly achieves. Some sections were also added to "add to the rounded completeness of the work", as well as a few verse extracts that came after Bulfinch's time, which blend in seamlessly with the rest. You can rest assured that, if you are looking for a durable, good-looking complete edition of this classic, Gramercy's is the best you will find, especially if you consider its affordable price. (Modern Library's paperback is probably best if you want a copy to carry around, though.)

It goes without saying that many wonderful books have been written on mythology, some of which in many respects tower over Bulfinch's. Nevetheless, there is something that still makes his stand out. Hamilton may be more careful about her sources and analytical in her approach; Graves may be incomparable in his deeply personal, creative interpretation (and "embellishment") of the myths; but Bulfinch is the only one that endeavors to make his love for mythology infectious and the old fables endlessly amusing - and succeeds.

The Mercedes Coffin LP: A Decker and Lazarus Book

Faye Kellerman

Amazon Price: $17.13 List Price: $25.95 Not yet published By: HarperLuxe

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Billionaire genius Genoa Greeves never got over the shocking death of her favorite teacher, Bennett "Dr. Ben" Alston Little, murdered execution-style and stuffed into the trunk of his Mercedes-Benz. No arrests were ever made, no killer charged for the brutal crime. Fifteen years later, the high-tech CEO reads about another execution-style murder; this time the victim is a Hollywood music producer named Primo Ekerling. There is no obvious connection, but the case is eerily similar to Little's and Genoa feels the time is right to close Dr. Ben's case once and for all—offering the L.A.P.D. a substantial financial "incentive" if justice is finally served for Little.

Lieutenant Peter Decker resents having to commit valuable manpower to a fifteen-year-old open case simply because a rich woman says "Jump!" Still, the recent murder of Primo Ekerling does bear a disturbing resemblance to Little's case, even though two thug suspects are currently behind bars for the Ekerling murder. Decker can't help but wonder about a connection. His first phone calls are to the two primary investigators in the Little case, retired detectives Calvin Vitton and Arnie Lamar. Lamar is cooperative, but Vitton is not only reluctant to talk, he winds up dead of a suspicious suicide twelve hours later. Plunging into this long-buried murder, Decker discovers that even though the two slayings are separated by a decade and a half, there is still plenty of greed, lust, and evil to connect the dots.

Decker's team of top investigators not only includes his favorite homicide detectives, Scott Oliver and Marge Dunn, but also his newly minted Hollywood detective daughter, Cindy Kutiel, whose help proves to be invaluable. His wife, Rina Lazarus, continues to be his backbone of support, offering a cool, rational outlook despite her growing concern for her husband's welfare and safety. Rina's worries and fears begin to build at a fevered pitch as past and present collide with a vengeance, catapulting an unsuspecting Peter Decker closer and closer to the edge of an infinite dark abyss.

A relentlessly gripping tale spun by a master, Faye Kellerman's The Mercedes Coffin races through a dangerous urban world of fleeting fame and false dreams, making heart-pumping hairpin turns at each step of a terrifying journey, where truth and justice are fine lines between life and death.

Knights of the Round Table (A Stepping Stone Book)

Gwen Gross

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Awful writing, terrible grammar, bad for children 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

In addition to the ham-handed telling of the story, the writing in these Bullseye books is just terrible. Half-sentences. Written like this. Or this. Part of the value of such books is that young readers will learn to read "chapter books." But the English and grammar in these books is so abysmal as to render them useless for this task. I was very disappointed.

Textbook example of how NOT to write sentences 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

It is hard to believe a book this poorly written could make past the editors! There were so many run-on and incomplete sentences I had trouble reading it to my daughter. I can only imagine what my second grade daughter went through reading on her own. We will keep this book if only to serve as an example of how NOT to construct sentences. There is a year's worth of grammar exercises in this book.

Editorial Review:

imagine a mythic kingdom in England of wizards and witches, fire-breathing dragons, and dreadful giants. Who can rule this magical land? Who can overcome the powers of evil? It is the destiny of King Arthur and his noble knights, who protect and serve the people of Camelot. A perfect introduction to the Arthurian legends.

Water for Elephants (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers)

Sara Gruen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1427 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Jacob Jankowski says: "I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other." At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn't always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn't a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn't write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.

Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob's life with this circus. Sara Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills, is put in charge of the "menagerie" and all its ills. Uncle Al, the circus impresario, is a self-serving, venal creep who slaps people around because he can. August, the animal trainer, is a certified paranoid schizophrenic whose occasional flights into madness and brutality often have Jacob as their object. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his reward he spends most of the novel beaten, broken, concussed, bleeding, swollen and hungover. He is the self-appointed Protector of the Downtrodden, and... he falls in love with Marlena, crazy August's wife. Not his best idea.

The most interesting aspect of the book is all the circus lore that Gruen has so carefully researched. She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there's trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the "revenooers" or the cops, and losing all your hooch. There is one glorious passage about Marlena and Rosie, the bull elephant, that truly evokes the magic a circus can create. It is easy to see Marlena's and Rosie's pink sequins under the Big Top and to imagine their perfect choreography as they perform unbelievable stunts. The crowd loves it--and so will the reader. The ending is absolutely ludicrous and really quite lovely. --Valerie Ryan

Blue Christmas LP

Mary Kay Andrews

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Quick and Easy But Could Have Been Better 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is my first book by Andrews. I started out really enjoying the book, getting swept up in the charm, description of the antiques world, and the humor. However, as the book went on, it went flat.

I read lots of romances and cozy mysteries so I'm familiar with the formula. As a romance, it didn't meet my expectations. I never felt the chemistry between the hero and heroine. In fact, I thought Daniel was annoying and boring. As a mystery, it was just OK. I did like our main character a lot and her heart was in a good place helping out Apple Annie. In the second half of the book, the author's attempts at humor came off as way too over the top for my tastes. An example of this would be Daniel's family dinner.

I understand after reading other reviews that the 2 main female characters are in other books by this author. Since I have several more written by her in my stacks I will read them at some point. If I hadn't, I doubt I would have made much effort to seek them out.

Editorial Review:

It's the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to garnish her shop for the Savannah historical district decorating contest, which she intends to win. But suddenly things start to go missing from her display, and there seems to be a mysterious midnight visitor to her shop.

Still, Weezie has high hopes for the holiday—maybe in the form of an engagement ring from her chef boyfriend. But Daniel, always moody at the holidays, seems more distant than usual. Throw in Weezie's decidedly odd family, a 1950s Christmas-tree pin, and even a little help from the King himself (Elvis, that is), and maybe there will be a pocketful of miracles for Weezie this Christmas Eve.

Play Dirty

Sandra Brown

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 70 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

LOVED IT ANOTHER WINNER 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

THANK YOU Sandra for another great book. Lots of twist and turns and the tender sexual tention of the main characters terrific.

Romance-mystery 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is not the type novel I normally read, although it is well written with an interesting plot. The plot is somewhat transparent, although there are a couple twists at the end.

Griff comes out of prison having served five years for being involved in fixing ball games. He has attitude problems. He is immediately confronted with two issues, on the one hand receiving an unusual offer to perform high paid stud services, and on the other hand being stalked by a police officer who makes trouble for Griff and his few friends.

The novel started somewhat slow, and picked up a little steam along the way. At 535 pages, it is a somewhat slower read but worth staying with it until the end.

Dallas without JR! 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was a great page-turner but it lacked literary depth. I can understand why Sandra Brown is regularly on the New York Times best seller list. This book was written like a great afternoon, made for TV, story. It gives you something better then reruns or video games. Griff, The Speakmans, and Rodarte don't present much in terms of justification of their motivations. It's a great afternoon/weekend summer read if you want to relax on the beach and not intellectualize through moral questions or the human condition. Play Dirty was a quick easy read that I enjoyed over a relaxing weekend. With all this in mind, I have to say I got what I paid for and give this book 3 of 5 stars. For the price of a movie ticket I got much more then Hollywood has to offer us. I found the story was paced just right to keep me up all night. The plot contained the triple threat formula; sex, murder, and money and it promises to keep your attention. The situations, and over all plot, were slightly unbelievable but that can be overlooked if you just want a fun ride. Given that I was tired of reading bland textbooks this book provided the perfect balm. Grab a bag of popcorn and enjoy!

The Snow Bride

Debbie Macomber

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A Snowbound Christmas . . .
A Second-chance bride!

Practical Jenna Walsh has done something impratical. she's met a man on the internet and now, a month before Christmas, she's going to Alaska to marry him. Dalton Gray seems to be everything she wants in a husband -- sensitive, gallant, romantic . . .

On the flight to Fairbanks, she has the misfortune to sit beside Reed Kenner, who obviously isn't sensitive, gallant, or romantic. However, he's not impressed with her plan t marry Dalton, a man he detests (for good reason, as Jenna later finds out). So Reed takes it upon himself to change her destination -- and her marraigae plans.

Which is why Jenna ends up at Reed's cabin in tiny Snowbound, Alaska. It's currently a one-woman town (and the other woman's out of town. That leaves Reed, a bunch of eccentric old men, a few grizzly bears -- and Jenna. Kidnapped! And then there's a blizzard. The two of them alone, stranded in Snowbound . . .

Hmm. Maybe she'll be a Christmas bride, after all

The Summerhouse

Jude Deveraux

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 137 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

What if a woman could go back to the beginning and rethink her choices for love and life? When Leslie Headrick, Madison Appleby, and Ellie Abbott first met, they were in their early 20s and the world lay before them with its infinite possibilities. Now that they're about to turn 40, they reunite for a weekend at a summerhouse in Maine where they share the details of their lives during the past 20 years. Each woman has serious doubts and questions about the path she chose to follow, but none of them suspect the startling opportunity they're about to be offered to relive those choices and change their futures.

Thought-provoking, entertaining, and downright delightful, Jude Deveraux's The Summerhouse deftly develops the individual stories of the three women in fascinating detail while maintaining the overall focus on the central tale. The ties of sisterhood and shared experience that bind the three resonate with depth and clarity--no wonder then that Deveraux is a perennial favorite with readers. There is little doubt that this volume will join her lengthy list of bestsellers. --Lois Faye Dyer

Sword of Rome

Constance O'Banyon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

exhilarating ancient Egypt romance 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 9 people found this review helpful.

In 47 BC Lord Ramtat, leader of the nomadic western desert tribes sends his adult sister Adhania to the court of Queen Cleopatra so that she can be properly trained as a lady. Also at the ruler's castle is Marcellus, who fell in love with her when they met during a warrior's games in the desert.

The Queen pays Marcellus the Roman VIP a high honor when she assigns Adhania to live amidst Marcellus' household. He vows to keep his newcomer safe, but wonders how he will keep her from him as his desire for his guest remains obsessive. However, he may dream of Adhania being at his side forever butMarcellus knows the law does not allow them to marry. Although he struggles with his attraction, he does not neglect his duty; he has learned that someone has planned a devious scheme to kill Julius Caesar; his vows to uncover the identity of the wannabe assassin leader.

The sequel to the exhilarating ancient Egypt romance LORD OF THE NILE stars the sister of the hero of the first story. The sense of time and place through interwoven tidbits lead readers to believe they are in BC in the desert and in Cairo. Adhania and Marcellus are star-crossed lovers, who pray they can find away to become a couple, but besides the legal taboo the assassination scheme to kill Caesar must be prevented or all hell will break loose. Constance O'Banyon provides a strong historical romance that transports the audience to the time of Cleopatra and Caesar.

Harriet Klausner

It Only Takes a Moment LP: A Novel of Suspense

Mary Jane Clark

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 50 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Eliza Blake, host of the top-rated KEY News morning show, has witnessed tragedy and danger in her career. But nothing the accomplished professional has experienced has prepared her for when her seven-year-old daughter, Janie, is snatched from summer camp. The country's viewers are glued to their television sets, anxiously awaiting the news that their favorite morning-television personality's little girl has been found.

With each passing day, the FBI and local authorities track down every lead: A profile of the kidnapper's most likely characteristics is developed, every fan letter written to Eliza over the last six months is scrutinized, every sex offender registered within a fifty-mile radius is interviewed, and psychics from around the country appear on Eliza's doorstep offering their help.

But Eliza isn't going to sit around and wait for answers. She and the rest of the Sunrise Suspense Society—brilliant producer Annabelle Murphy, cameraman extraordinaire B.J. D'Elia, and psychiatrist Dr. Margo Gonzalez—will band together to outwit a cunning criminal whose shocking motives threaten to snuff out a terrified little girl's life.