This was a well told story but is lacks the steam of her newer novels. The characters are likeable and the story is well developed.

Penny was a diamond when she first had her come out. Now several years later she is laughed at and gossiped about. See, there have been several plans for her to marry but they have all fallen through. It does not matter that she is the daughter of Duke. She is worthless as a bride.

Lucas is an American who has come to England with his brother and his nephew to seek vengence for the death of his sister. She died in childbirth and they are there to see that young Harry (his nephew) gets what he deserves. Harry's father is Penny's father and Lucas after a chance meeting with the beauty decides that she is the key to bringing the Duke to heel and giving Harry the legitemancy that he deserves. What he does not count on is his feelings for Penny. This causes all kinds of problems. He has made a promise to his sister, but he wants to follow his heart. Can he do both?

Lucas Pendleton secured the map of the duke's house from a tavern maid, who assured him that the duke retired to the library after the evening meal. He spent weeks trying to gain a conventional meeting, but his letters went unanswered and his knocks unanswered. Now he intends, with the aid of his brother Matthew, to see that the duke lives up to his obligations to Lucas' family. Surprised by the duke's youth and attractive appearance, it seems odd he would slack his thirst for young women by preying on the innocent. The duke had made Caroline his mistress, and she later died in childbirth. Lucas only came to England from America to confront the duke when he found the letter Caroline had written but never sent. Now Lucas demands recognition for Caroline's young son named Harry. If the duke refuses to acknowledge Harry, Lucas intends to make the scandal public.

Penelope Westmoreland had always been the wealthiest, the prettiest, the most sought after girl, but no longer. The excitement of innocent flirtations and romances is gone. Now when she goes out, people laugh behind her back, whispering about how far she has fallen. At twenty, Penelope is past her prime. She had once been betrothed to the Marquis of Belmont, but the week before their wedding, he married his mistress instead. Finally her father arranged a marriage to a Viscount, who unexpectedly died in an accident.

Now her father has promised Penelope to Edward Simpson, who just turned sixty-three. Though he's bald and obese, he is a powerful and wealthy earl. When Edward tries to take inappropriate liberties in the garden, Penelope calls out for help. Her rescuer remains to assure her safety, even as he should be leaving to certain of his own. He gives he name, a knife to protect her, and a promise to back the next night.

Lucas carefully plans to use Penelope to win the duke's acknowledgement of his nephew. Lucas didn't realize, when he first made his plans, what a palatable, hot, sensual energy would pass between him and Penelope. Lucas is dismayed by his response to the beautiful woman. She was supposed to be the one with the tender response, not him. When he learns Penelope's wedding is moved up to three weeks, Lucas refuses to abandon her to her fate. But Penelope, though she comes away willing, has no idea of the sacrifice she's about to make, or the ways her life will forever change, for the sake of revenge.

Cheryl Holtz pens a strong, yet charming and compelling tale, weaving wonderful secondary characters into her vivid tapestry. With deft skill, she muddies the motives and complicates the lives of her characters, holding the reader's attention rapt with her machinations. This brilliantly crafted romance is Very highly recommended.

This is a great example of Holt's writing and a great example of the drier British humour. Though a few jokes may be lost to readers not yet familiar with Kurt Lundqvist this book still reads great on its own. If you can find this book and you like Holt pick it up, even if you have to go to the UK site to find it like had to.

Remeber St. George and the Dragon? Turns out the fight was fixed... and now the Dragon is back and is looking for a re-match...

In this book hilarious, Holt explores (and explodes) the Dragon myth, spiced with all of his skills and the memorable character of Kurt Lundqvist - paranormal bounty hunter.

In short -- if you know , and love, Tom Holt's works - buy this one and you won't regret it. For those of you who haven't read him as yet - this could be a good place to start.

The tragic story of Princess Charlotte, only child of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick, is more than just history, it's a tale not uncommon to today's children of divorce. Even though her parents never divorced, Princess Charlotte was a true child of divorce. She was caught between two adults who loathed each other.

Her mother, always given to excessive familiarities and eccentricities, was starved for love and lavished it in excess on her daughter. For all this, Caroline was unable to truly give her daughter what she needed, when she needed it.

Although Charlotte inherited her father's looks, she reminded him too much of her mother. As a result, George IV kept her at a distance, yet he played her for a pawn and denied her the comfort and companionship of her mother.

Even her grandmother, Queen Charlotte, and her spinster aunts looked upon her with critical eyes, finding fault in any behavior that reminded them of her mother. It's no surprise that Princess Charlotte developed a nervous stutter and lived down to their expectations that she'd be a graceless reminder of her mother. In the British royal family, one can see all social pathologies and human foibles writ large.

Charlotte found happiness in the end but died giving birth to a stillborn child. Her death set the stage for another princess, one who would become Queen Victoria. Once more, Jean Plaidy makes history easy to read and clear to the casual reader.

I enjoyed the depth of "behind the scene" of a Royal family. The secrets,lies,and royal problems were of great intrest to me. I enjoyed this book greatly.

As stated, in this book Frank Blake, the GRANDSON of Whip Holt, gets his day in the sun, becoming the main focal point for the rest of the series.

This novel does a fine job illustrating the rise of socialist ideals in the 1890's, showing how Frank Blake could easily be turned by socialist thought into rejecting his upbringng, and then showing his folly in doing so.

The brother on brother conflict was wondefully done and this book is far better then could be expectted.

Recommended, especially for those who are interested in the history of socialism in America.

I haven't finished the book yet, but just had to respond to the first synopsis you have printed, which is the same as on the back of the book itself. Frank Blake is NOT the great-grandson of Whip Holt! He is the GRAND son period. Frank's mother is Cindy Holt Blake who is the daughter of Whip Holt -- right? That makes Frank her son the grand son of the whipster. How in the world could something this simple get past the final editing process? There are lots of inconsistancies in the Holt books -- the Wagons West and Holt Dynasty series, both. Like on the family tree printed in the front of some of the books it shows Claudia as having two husbands -- wrong. She was a widow when she married Sam Brentwood. Then came Sam and then Mr. Locke. The stories are very enjoyable, but come on editors remember who did what to whom and when.

Phillipa Carr continues to astonish readers it makes you read to the very last page.

"Song of the Siren" is my favorite PC book. Carlotta is an interesting heroine, and I wasn't bored with her as I was with Priscilla. (Priscilla was too dull.) I didn't like the ending (Carlotta dies) but then, I guess it made her more of a legend. Philippa/Victoria Holt makes the characters and setting very alive.

Much as they did for Trinity, White Wolf has begun putting out mini-books touching on specific aspects of Aberrant. These books offer a quick overview of their topic and are designed to help a GM explore a specific idea.

With the rise of Aberrants, it didn't take long for every religious group to have an opinion on the superhuman creatures. The Church focuses in on the religious side of things... from Aberrant worship to modern day witch hunts.

The book is Copyright 1965. The fact that it is still in print says a lot about it. It must be a well-regarded standard text. The preface says that the book evolved from notes for a two-term course presented by the authors to grad students at the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

The book contains chapters on Review of Fluid Mechanics, Constant Density Inviscid Flow, Singular Pertubation Problems, Effects of Viscosity, Thin Wing Theory, Slender Body Theory, 3D Wings in Steady Subsonic Flow, 3D Thin Wings in Steady Supersonic Flow, Supersonic Drag, Use of Flow Reversal Theorems, Interference and Nonplanar Lifting Surface Theories, Transonic Small Disturbance Flow, and Unsteady Flow.

The book looks to be a very complete and very mathematical treatment of subsonic and supersonic aerodynamics. Unfortunately, the math was well beyond what I remember from my long-ago calculus classes. It is probably a 4 to 5 star book for its target audience.

A good examination of the means and motives for Alexander of Makedon's conquest and colonization of Bactria. This is best read as the prequel to his excellent "Thundering Zeus : The Making of Hellenistic Bactria." Recommended.

I am taking a french class and got this book to study with. It puts all the information together in a very good way that is easy to understand. They keep brining up things so you can't forget it. The practice book that comes with it helps a lot. I would recomend this book to ANY student or teacher in the French course.

Una muchacha inglesa (Catherine) regresa a Inglaterra despues de terminar sus estudios en Francia. Conoce a un joven aristocrata (Gabriel Rockwell), se casan, y se van a vivir a la antigua y misteriosa mansion de la familia de el. Los Rockwell reciben a Caterine con frialdad, y poco a poco ella siente que algo terrorifico la envuelve, la persigue...y quiere escapar de ahi.