I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys hot, lesbian erotica with an s/m slant. Very entertaining, though it should have been proofread a few more times. Typos abound.

Led Astray is a long and thoughtful book, but don't let it's length scare you. It grabs and holds your attention with plenty of action, but takes the care and skill to make you intimate with not only her lead character, Kelly, but the other principles. Even some of the more minor characters are clearly developed without being tiresome or pedantic. To add spice, her erotic scenes are varied and hot, and her understanding of total power exchange thorough. This book was worth every minute it took to read, and sometimes kept me from things I should have been doing!--Penny Duff, Brandon, Florida

What a fun book! Maggie ("Molly") is brought to life in more than just a sideline to the Titanic tragedy. Even though there are talltales about her and her life, turns out she is equal to them all. The biggest surprise is the EXACT likeness Kathy Bates (Cameron's choice for Maggie in the film "Titanic") has to the real Maggie; no Debbie Reynolds in real life. The photos of her clothing and home are fabulous.

This short, easy-to-read book tells the story of the real Margaret Tobin Brown, popularly known as the "unsinkable Molly Brown". It gives impartial, accurate dates and facts about her life, and is supplemented by a good number of photos of Molly, her family, and her home in Denver, as she decorated it in 1910.

There are some images of the Titanic, on which she sailed in 1912, and a brief explanation of her nationally recognized, heroic efforts to assist fellow survivors.

The forewards to the book are written by two famous actresses, Debbie Reynolds & Tammy Grimes, who fondly remember their portrayals of her character in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" musical comedy (a fun, but outlandish exaggeration of her life story.)

This book is a fair account of Molly's life story, which, even in her own lifetime, was popularly infused with more legend than truth. Unlike the Caroline Bancroft books, which deliver catty, low blows in the attempt to cut Molly down to size, this book is objective, and does not contain any "bombshells". Until a more extensively researched book, one which compares myth and reality objectively, is published on Molly Brown, this is the best source, in a nutshell, for biographical research about her.

I read this book a year ago, and found it quite interesting. It gives a brief history of early Denver, the railroad, and politics. The book carries you to around 1993, with all the stories of crime, politics, prostitution and general social facts and fiction of the last 100 years. I recommend it to any one with in interest in such things or who may want a good laugh.

Some things never change, and Denver is one of them. Millions on an unneeded railroad spur, and billions on an overdue and over priced airport. See how it all started, and if you can make, come take Mr. Goodstein's walking tour of the same title, you won't be sorry.

With their fourth cookbook, the Denver Junior League has gone off the deep end. I own and use regularly their first three books, so it was natural for me to buy this one as soon as it came out. Alas! They've lost touch with their audience. There are too many recipes with ingredients difficult to find outside of large urban areas. And why so much focus on seafood from a group in the Rockies? Seems as if the good ladies are trying too hard to identify with the San Francisco "nouvelle" cooking crowd. This book is going into my rummage sale box.

COLORADO COLORE:
A Palate of Tastes

An inspiring collection from
The Junior League of
Denver

This colorful cookbook is an inspired collection of recipes, menus and entertaining tips from The Junior League of Denver. The entire League has a long history of showcasing local foods in recipes they test vigorously.

Compiled to compliment the "dazzling magnificence of our colorful state," Colorado Calore delivers a savory enhancement to the state's fiery Colorado sunsets -- to its magnificent Rocky Mountains. Over 2,500 recipes were considered before focusing on the book's 300 surviving recipes. From chile peppers to sugar beets, wheat to beef, these recipes represent the vast agricultural abundance that is Colorado. Below is a short description of only a few recipes in the book:

§ Figs with Prosciutto blend with crème fraiche and mint to become a tasty appetizer.

§ Papaya Salsa with peppers, onion, lime, cilantro pineapple juice and tequila make Won Ton Chips sizzle.

§ Mediterranean Salsa with artichoke hearts, tomatoes, black olives, onion, garlic and savory seasonings

§ Indian Waldorf Salad of Granny Smiths, celery, onion, lime juice, almonds, and curry powder.

§ Baked Goat Cheese rolled in flour, dipped in beaten egg and dredged in bread crumbs.

§ Spinach and Berries Salad with dill, plus almonds, butterhead lettuce, green onions strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.

§ Parmesan Sesame Biscuits made with buttermilk and cayenne pepper

§ Strawberry Patch Soup made with sour cream, whipping cream, burgundy, seltzer water and mint leaves

§ Sweet Potato Hash Browns with sweet onion and fresh parsley

§ Roasted Asparagus and Portobello Mushrooms, cooked with the magic of walnut oil, balsamic vinegar and herbes de Provence

§ Tuscan Green Beans, made savory with rosemary and garlic

§ Roasted Red Potatoes with Artichokes, onion, thyme and crumbled feta cheese.

§ Couscous made with parsley, green onions, almonds, currants and green peas.

§ Green (Spanish) Olive Enchiladas complete with onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, semisweet chocolate and Monterey Jack cheese

§ Roasted Turkey Breast with Sage Corn Bread Crust of crumbled sweet cornbread, fresh sage and Dijon mustard

§ Cranberry Salsa Sorbet made from whole cranberry sauce, a jalapeno chili pepper, celantro and fresh lime

§ Pork with Dried Plums includes sherry cooking wine vinegar, garlic, rosemary, crushed red pepper and escarole.

§ Roasted Red Pepper Sauce made from bell peppers, roasted red peppers, slivered almonds, red wine vinegar and tomato paste.

§ Mint and Scallion Soba Noodles, a simple dish with rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and mint.

§ Chocolate Valencia Pie made from semisweet chocolate chips, cream cheese, orange zest and whipping cream.

§ Colorado Ranch Cookies are made with brown sugar, rolled oats, dried cranberries, shredded coconut and sliced almonds.

Review written by Marty Martindale

This cookbook is not filled with ingredients that you've never heard of or know you'll never be able to find at your local grocery store. You can not go wrong with cooking any of the meals in Colorado Colore. It is filled with simple recipes that are full of flavor without adding to the ingredients. I highly recommend this cookbook to those intimidated by cooking and to those who love it.

I liked this story a lot, but some grammar almost kept me from reading the novel. The first paragraph seemed like a run on sentence. During the fire play scene, the tense switched from third person to second person, which distracted me. If you get past these flaws the editor should have caught, the story is a fast read and worth the struggle.

So many lesbian books are about individuals or couples or small groups of lesbians. Kate Allen brings the community into her books and gives almost everyone a small role in what is happening in the book. Naturally, this gives you more choices of whodunit, but it is the thrill of figuring it out. Alison Kane is a great character...she is not this fearless woman (Xena type). She has her strong and weak points and this makes her vulnerable. Alison Kane could be any one of us. I love Kate's Allen's books and her writing. It is easy to read and flows well. I share her books with all my friends. :o)

The fire scene is worth the read all by itself.
It takes you totally to fantasy land and then brings you back to the comedy of every day life.

All of Kate Allen's books are like this and I applaud her ability to weave fantasy, comedy, the lesbian and leather lifestyles and mystery into the everyday people that make her stories.

You can't go wrong buying Kate Allen books.

This enjoyable and candid autobiography by Denver is a good overall view of his life. I personally would have preferred it if he had emphasized his musical and film career a bit more, and he could have easily done so by cutting some rather tedious digressions such as diet and psychotherapy techniques. There are also some odd omissions, especially the small amount on his second wife and the children he clearly viewed with affection. But still it's a good balance overall, and fun to read.

In view of his squeaky-clean media image, some people find his flaws a shock, in particular his free use of marijuana and alcohol and his inner turmoil manifested in conflicts with wives and father. Yet the positive side of Denver prevailed through his inspiring music and social activism. His well-known efforts in environmental protection, ending world hunger, and promoting peace are amply detailed here. Upon finishing the book one knows John Denver well, and he seems a likable guy after all.

Anytime an individual takes the risk of putting so much of his personal life on paper for all to read, he is to be commended. Although I first came to admire John Denver in the early 70s for his music, it was his work later as a naturalist, environmentalist and advocate for children that will remain with me as well. After reading his book, I had a better understanding of the events in his life that may have lead him in this direction. A look at his video self-portrait will also help fans learn more about him and the thoughts behind some of his most popular hits.

This book is a must-read for those who hunger to learn about the human side of a man who, in the 1970s, captured millions of hearts through soaring music that celebrated life, love, and nature. The story shines a revealing light on John Denver. It's most interesting that he's holding the flashlight himself. What he paints is a picture of an honest and earnest, sometimes sad, man who loved music, life, his children, the earth, and his fellow man. He doesn't whitewash problems he experienced, but the reader also learns of the great environmental and humanitarian works that went largely unnoticed during his lifetime. When you close the cover on the last page, you feel as though you know the man. Now, that's what makes a good autobiography!

A mystery long on character and short on plot. The relentlessly self-deprecatory Em Hansen, again between geology jobs, returns for an even more languid run in the oil patch. Not a suspense or puzzle whodunit, these have become novels where I wonder whether Em will ever look up from her indecisions and sorrows to see the villain and dangers encroaching on her, and driving her by circumstance.

Em hardly has a case for the first half of the book, and is conflicted over accepting it from a lecherous former boss (husband to the victim) in order to help the deeply troubled teenager who is his daughter. Entertainingly diverse character elements include skewering unfriendly psychologists, hard-scrabble ranchers, a cold mother, teenage hostility, an unassertive boyfriend, many nasty men, and the clever device of dear-diary revelations. After three successful previous cases in this series, I'd think Em would be more confident and entrepreneureal by now, rather than still obsequiously begging for a job from the smarmy, patriarchal bosses around whom she still orbits.

Andrews is a skillful writer, strong on the emotional atmosphere and physical environment, but ultimately bleak. Never brisk, Andrews' stories linger on Em's exasperating diffidence, spunky whining, fumbles, and frustrating attempts to communicate and connect with opaque, mean, or joyless others. While a romantic author, Andrews never descends to romance novel cliches. After the intriguingly different TENSLEEP and its follow-ups, I found this book too easy to put down. Nevertheless, these Em Hansen novels do remain in mind long after more active stories are forgotten.

The thing I found most intriguing about the Sarah Andrews series is the way the author hooks geologic themes within a mystery. For example, Tensleep centers around the drilling of an oil well, Faultline centers around seismology.

Flesh and Bones is a wonderful story, and has some of Sarah Andrew's best character development. My only disappointment was the lack of the geologic theme.

Flesh and Bones begins with a voyeuristic look into the life of a Mariam Menkin. Mariam was a baby boomer who betrayed both her sex and the sixties to marry a "nice guy." In this work, we find scattered pieces of Mariam's diary and gradually glue together the pieces of how and why she was murdered.

The book brings us on a tour of Wyoming and Colorado as Em Hansen digs up clues in Douglas, Denver and Saratoga Springs. We meet good and bad cattle ranchers and some suspicious activities at oil companies.

If you are reading the Em Hansen series for the geological themes; you can skip this one. Even in the overall development of the Em Hansen character, Only Flesh and Bones plays a less important role than the other works. If you have limited time for reading, I would read all the other novels first.

I like Em Hansen because she is smart. I also enjoyed this book. On the downside, however, some of her behavior in this book does not make human sense -- it seem outright nutty. The author herself makes clear that this is intentional on her part in the last few pages; clearly it is an emerging factor in Em's character. While I'm not sure i believe in it, it does make the books interesting.

This book sizzled with enticement. It couldn't get to the part I really wanted between Stacy and Alison, but it was well worth the wait. Character development and actual ground work for the major plot were excellent. Kate brings you right on the set. The waiting is what makes a book good. Couldn't lay it down!

I have been enjoying this series because the books work on many levels. They are all good mysteries with excellent characters.
But Allen also looks at the various social divisions within the lesbian community and how these divisions have real boundaries around them. Of course, Allen's characters try to break down some of these barriers, but these barriers sometimes get in the way of the murder investigation, making these social divisions very real.

To be truthful, I was reluctant to buy this book because of the S&M aspect of it but Kate Allen makes it funny! Allison Kaine is a cop whose vacation was ruined because some friends bowed out on her. Ever the optimist, Allison is determined to have a miserable week and goes off to sulk at a park where she meets Stacy, the goalie for a lesbian soccer team. The two of them hit it off and find that they both like to quilt. What Allison finds out rather quickly is what Stacy does for a living - she is a dominatrix giving women their S&M fantasies for a price. Allison is a bit confused by all of this and tries to find out what she can about it. Stacy is upset when she finds out Allison is not into leather - she is tired, as she says of giving lessons in S&M 101. However, their attraction to each other is undeniable. Meanwhile, while all of this is going on, several lesbians have been murdered, all of whom were clients of Stacy. Allison doesn't want to think Stacy is involved but her cop's mind can't let go of the possibility. Kate Allen is witty and funny and doesn't just have a go at S&M but also new age lesbians and back to nature lesbians and with all the people involved and everything going on, it still manages to make sense in the end. A good read and the ending is very exciting.

... I would have never purchased this book.
I love the idea of giving my little 2 and a half year old a universal approach to tales and stories from all over the world. I new Rudoph qualified. I had no idea that there was a monster in the story; note that it was the one thing that impressed her, and she asked me what it was.
I wouldn't suggest it to anyone that wants to introduce the idea of Santa Clauss to their child.

I was very impressed with this book . . . a beautiful book, wonderfully illustrated, containing the original story, which did not have the Abominable, or Herbie, or Yukon Cornelius, like the later movie. I remember as a child in 1951 listening to the original story on 78rpm records put out by RCA and have attempted for years to find the original story. Although I did notice some subtle differences in the words . . .the original referred to Rudolph's, er, "forehead" (Santa was too polite to call it a big red nose) . . most of the text stayed true to what I had memorized. Definitely a book not only for children, but for us baby boomers who remember the original. A must-have to hand on from generation to generation.

Yes, the other reindeer make fun of Rudolph's red nose. (I would hardly call this bigotry.) That is the point of the story: Rudolph overcomes adversity and the other reindeer learn to accept differences. Even the elves learn to accept a dentist and the misfit toys are given to boys and girls who love them. Maybe the USA reader should have watched (or read) until the end of the story instead of making snap judgements like all of the other reindeer.

OK... I saw the cover art and immediately though "REALY lightweight gay-themed beach read..." (And the guys on the dust jacket are really cute, and it's about hustling, so the cover's fantasy quotient is high...)

As far as summer reading goes, it's not going to be making your high school's required reading list anytime soon, but this is a remarkably tight, well put together, fun read.

To avoid spoiling the plot (and there is one), let's just say that this novel ISN'T the bodice-ripper it's made out to be on the cover (it's just not that steamy). Instead, it's a well-crafted little story. Chris Kenry's writing flows really well. The plot's hardly byzantine, but it does hold the reader's interest. The characters are memorable (and even more rare, likeable), and the novel's themes are well developed.

One complaint: There's some non-essential historical detail that doesn't seem to always fit the chronology correctly, which an editor probably should have caught or cut.

This is a good, fun read... HIGHLY recommended as a fun fiction treat.

Gay fiction desperately needs more books written in this lighter genre and style. Romance. Intrigue. Fascinating characters. Gay fiction tends to fall between two extremes: highly literary and extremely x-rated erotica. Robert Rodi, Doug Guinan, and Chris Kenry all work in this fun fiction tradition and I just can't get enough of these kind of novels. I read the erotic stuff and the literary stuff but these fun 'beach books' are the kind of escape that a hard working gay professional NEEDS from time to time.

Chris Kenry's book is a great read! The characters are unique, the story is solid, the premise is intriguing (what gay man hasn't dreamed of being a hustler in fantasy alone?), and I could certainly empathize with Jack and his rug-pulled-out life. Congratulations to a welcome new author. Just keep it well written and fast paced and I'll buy and read them all.

Ah, what a great business prostitution is! You've got it. You sell it. You've still got it. Chris Kenry has it, too. What an incredible first novel. The clever plot, the memorable characters, and the witty tone would seem to be the work of an established professional writer. Poor Jack, our narrator who has always depended on others take care of him, suddenly finds himself with no visable means of support and an enormous credit card debt. Not only does he find the solution to his financial problems in the world's oldest profession, but he finds love along the way. More importantly, Jack grows into an admirable character. This is a book that will have you laughing one minute and worrying about characters that you have come to love the next. When one hates to have a book end and wonders about the future of the characters, one has found a really good book. Chris Kearny has vaulted onto my list of favorite living writers.