Chastity Cummings and her brother Henry continue the family tradition of holding a house party at their estate. Among the guests is a former suitor of Chastity's. Somewhat afraid that he will renew his suit of six years ago, she is nonetheless dismayed when he claims that his love was nothing more than an infatuation and that he would like to offer her a marriage of convenience.

This story is primarily the tale of a house party and all of the responsibilities required of a hostess. From that angle, it is quite interesting. What do you do when one of the guests brings along her three pug dogs who proceed to annoy and destroy wherever they go? A sister-in-law whose demanding requests and thoughtlessness cause trouble for the guests and servants alike? An older gentleman who importunes the housemaids? An aunt who reminds Chastity at every turn that she is nearly past her last prayers? A temperamental chef who threatens to quit if his talents are not properly appreciated?

But alas, what this book is NOT is a romance. At no time does Chastity say or even think that she is love with anyone. The romance at the end seems almost tacked onto the rest of the story as an afterthought. The explanation for Chastity's refusal of Jeffrey's proposals six years ago--that she was young and afraid of his passion--just doesn't ring true. Although I like the portrayal of the hero as a faithful admirer and a well-mannered gentleman (not a rake), he just didn't have the kind of appeal that one expects in a romance. I found myself preferring Chastity's brother, Lord Cummings, over him!

The heroine herself seems a bit cold and reserved for a romance novel. Her feelings toward the hero appear only a tad warmer than those toward another attentive guest, whose presence seems to be primarily for the purpose of making the hero jealous.

Not one of Ms. Buck's best efforts.

Miss Chastity Cummings and her brother Lord Cummings are holding their annual house party at Chester, their family's estate. Neither of them is looking forward to getting married anytime soon, but they nevertheless uphold their late father's tradition. Chastity is somewhat surprised at learning that a former suitor, Jeffrey Halston, will be attending. But it was many years ago that they were an on-dit, and Jeffrey is widowed now, and no doubt much changed.

Ms. Buck does very well at peopling the house party and the novel--the other brother and his catty wife; the widow who is after Lord Cummings; the widow's poor relation; the assorted friends and acquaintances. Unfortunately, this is to the detriment of the primary characters. We see much of Chastity, but Mr. Halston doesn't even show up until a quarter of the way into the novel. THE CHESTER CHARADE is not so much a romance as the story of one particular house party. In many ways--the lengthy converstations and gossip, the slow pace, the everyday details--this book reminds me of the works of Jane Austen. However, I do not care for any of the characters (except for the poor relation). Their sniping insults, rudeness, and dislike of each other made me set the volume aside many times, finally for good after Chapter 7. For readers who wish to see the not-so-polite side of Regency society, THE CHESTER CHARADE is a good choice. Other readers, however, might wish to try Ms. Buck's FREDERICKA'S FOLLY or TEMPTING SARAH instead, or one of Signet's other regencies.

Kimberly Borrowdale

A pleasant read, but Ms. Buck has some homework to do. First let me mention her command of English, or lack thereof. At times we know what word she meant, even when she apparently does not. Unexceptional, for example, is not the same as unexceptionable, nor is credible, at all the same as creditable. After a few of these, one begins to wonder what she does mean. Then, dear Ms. Buck, allow me to offer a piece of advice: there is no surer route to tedium than to tell everything. The Chester houseparty went on for weeks, but after a few pages detailing who sat beside whom to no apparant purpose, most readers must be willing to pack up and go home. That said, I ought to allow that there is a credible love story here, a young woman has jilted an unexceptionable young man whom, much to her credit, she now comes to regard with quite exceptional tenderness. What I found exceptinable, was the amount of tedium en route.

This is one of the hippest, most up-to-date German phrasebooks on the market...which is unfortunate, because it also contains more errors than any other book written by Germans about the German language that I've ever seen (and I've seen plenty). Typos (p.47: 'reffen' for 'treffen'), mismatched paradigms (p.41: 'to have' used for 'to be'), mismatched phrases (p.68: 'with child/pensioner' confused with 'concession'), factual errors (p.50: 'ab' called a preposition; p.51:'anstatt' and 'trotz' listed as acc./dat. prepositions), uncorrected computer glitches (p.36-38: 'ibt' and 'ebt' for 'isst' and 'esst'; 'wei' for 'weiss') and organizational gaffes (a footnote on p.62 referring you to p.62) are just a few examples. There are also misleading definitions due to the differences between British and American English: A 'chemist' is defined as a 'Drogist', which is fine if he works in a British drugstore, but a chemical scientist is a 'Chemiker/in'.

I caught about 46 such errors. On the other hand, the book is more fun to read than the typical phrasebook and has all the useful cultural info and quirky personal insights that mark the Lonely Planet series. Still, when there are so many minor flaws, you've got to wonder about the whole product.

Bottom line: I'd recommend it only if you can have a qualified German teacher proofread it for you before you use it.

If you learned German in high school or college and know the vocab and grammar but don't know how to find a cigarette or a club (without sounding stupid), go ahead and buy this book. It will provide phrases that you never learned in high school but will be invaluable while you're traveling around German-speaking countries, especially if you're young and hip. If you don't already know German, buy something with fewer typos. There must be a typo on every 4th or 5th page in this book. (Although I haven't actually counted.)

Two notable phrases from this book:
"Where can I find lesbian club?"
"I'm still a groupie after all these years."

The study of the German language is a personal hobby of mine, though I have never received any formal education on the subject. For any casual speaker of Deutsch, like myself, this phrasebook should prove to be invaluable. While it does contain numerous errors, the sheer volume of material covered easily offsets the book's grammatical oversights. For the price, it provides what I consider to be an impressive level of immersion, especially for those of us who have never had the chance to visit Germany or Austria.

Nothing much went on in this book and the characters are not explored very deeply. When the Hero declares his affection, my thought was "where the heck did that come from? Oh, I guess we're getting to the end of the book". A suitable book for younger readers. A tame kiss is as racy as it gets.

This title doesn't say very much, and neither does the book, in my opinion. I love books -- reading is one of the joys of my life. As a published author, I also know how hard it is to (1) - get a book published, and (2) - read reviews of that book. The reviewer almost never sees a book the way the author does, and that old saying about 'having a book published is like walking down the street naked' is only too true.

But if the book really disappoints, is it fair for the reviewer not to say this? Should the book be given all sorts of terrific accolades, if it doesn't deserve them? I don't think that's being fair to anyone - reader or writer - any more than a mean-spirited review is fair, when the only result can be allowing the reviewer to think "oh! how wonderful and clever I am!"

I kept hoping this book would wake up - come to life - do something different, perhaps. Unfortunately, it never did. It is NOT awful, not by any means: it just isn't wonderful, either. There is very little emotion, and almost no sexual tension. In fact, there's very little romance, although there is a wedding being planned at the conclusion of the story. But two more distant lovers would be hard to imagine.

There is a crochety grandfather, who wants to dictate to his family; a set of girl twins, now nearing eighteen, who were unfortunately separated at a very young age, and have just discovered each other; and the grandfathers godson, returned from the wars. All of this could have generated so much more pizazz. I've read other books by this author that brimmed with life and activity. Unfortunately this one just sort of sits there. Patiently waiting for something, I know not what. Godot, maybe.

I am a fan of the outdoors and nature literature. I bought this audio book hoping it would make for interesting listening during my commute.This tape comprises some very cheesy stories that mostly revolve around stupid men shooting things (with lame sound-effects to boot). One particularly assinine adventure involves a man who is a "photographer" awed by a majestic moose. He brilliantly decides me MUST have a close up photo of the animal, no matter the cost (including the cost of the mooses' life!)The jackass sneaks up on the moose, and the moose charges at him, and then he shoots it to death.
"Ah, yes.. that was quite and adventure, and I got the most spectacular picture as the moose charged. Thankfully, I had a second to grab my rifle." the narrator reads in wise, gravely sounding voice, oblivious to the fact that he just DESTROYED the animal that captivated him. But it'll live on forever in a photo! Ya right.
Avoid this tape if you value intelligent nature stories. If corny sounds and hunting are a passion, then go for it.

The author is obviously a highly skilled pilot and has extensive experience. His recounting of the progress in the airline industry is very interesting. I bought the book expecting to read about progress in dealing with the problems encountered in adapting new technology and adjusting to the obviously over crowded skies. While the author states (over and over) that both are very real problems, he does not offer much in terms of what is being done to address the pilot's ever expanding workload. He seems merely intent on convincing the reader that the industry and the FAA are out to get the pilot. This book is not so much a study of human factors as a pilot's complaints about an industry that probably somehow just became something he no longer cared to be a part of.

I'm not sure of the market for this book. It's too general to be of use to technical staff and provides too much detail for management or an end-user. Seeing as this is the author's second SAP book - I was expecting more.

Soldier in Buckskin is a good portral of the life of Kit Carson. However i think there are many more entertaining westerns out there. But still a good story.

My biggest problem with this book besides no maps and scant detail on hikes is this... No pictures! Notta, nil, nothing. This book desperately needs a major revision.

A disappointing hiker's guide to Utah. Lists lots of hikes, gives a 1-5 dificulty rating, 1-10 "appeal rating", length of hike, location, cursory instruction to get to trailhead. Hikes are organized by 6 regions in the state. The hike's description lacks info on altitudes (Does it climb 600 or 6000 feet? Does it start at 6000 feet so I need a coat?) The book's only map is a state map showing location of all the hikes - no individual maps of trails or roads to trailheads. Almost every hike suggests where you should go to buy a topo of the area. Why repeat this boilerplate for every hike? The trail descriptions don't explain the reason for the appeal rating. (Is it great red-rock vista, or a nice stream, or just developed campsites that make the hike a "7"?)

This book is so bad its funny. I don't understand how it got published.

Logic would tell you that the first book in an adult western series would be carefully selected and carefully edited so that readers would come back for more. Logic would be wrong in the case of Rowan's Raiders, the first book in the Scout series. Our hero's actions defy logic as completely as the publisher's. The Scout sleeps soundly or daydreams while wolves, bears, Indians and outlaws approach withing striking distance. (The only times he is alert to approaching danger are the times when nymphomaniacal women approach his camp.) Fortunately, for the Scout, he escapes the wolves, bears, Indians and outlaws because he is equipped with magic matches which are able to start improbable fires under any circumstances, a magic knive which cures bulletholes and arrow wounds, and an immortal horse. It also helps that the bad guys keep forgetting to kill the Scout despite being presented with many opportunities. The height of absurdity is reached when the Scout stumbles upon the rough hewn log cabin of the filthy outlaws and finds it empty, even the bathroom. Our intrepid author doesn't explain what a bathroom is doing in an outlaw hideout in the Dakotas in the 1870's.

Too many references to Vol.I for the information. Reads like a childrens story.