I read this anthology in the heat of summer by a pool. I was transported to a cold frosty wonderland as each story revealed itself! I read each story and enjoyed every last one, my favorites of the five being "The Bird of Paradise" and "The Black Beast of Belleterre." Each story in this anthology was well developed with fully fleshed out secondary characters. In short stories that is unusual to find.

"The Bird of Paradise" was delightfully funny. I laughed at each twist of fate that was thrown at Miss Kate Thacker in this Christmas tale. Charles was as honorable hero as you could find. Their adventure, complete with penny pinching boss, dreadful aunt, sweet brother Randolph, Charle's fine family (mom, pop, siblings and kiddies!) plus a TURKEY kept me pensive, giggling and cheering.

"The Black Beast of Belleterre" was a typical Beauty and the Beast story which takes place beginning in Spring and culminates at Christmas. That fairy tale is even mentioned in the story! I was kept guessing until the end what "The Beast" looked like! Don't peek ahead! This story moved me from despair to elation and all within 64 pages! Ariel and James are so brilliantly portrayed that their thoughts, dreams and wishes become your own. What a beautiful story full of surprises. And I loved the motley collection of misfit animals that James had collected. I have read this one story over and over.

I think this is the best anthology I have ever read. Even if you are normally a "Regency" novel reader, you will find the Victorian times close enough to satisfy. Do not miss obtaining your own copy.

I really liked this book. It has lots of recipes for differnt wild, edible plants such as oxalis, dandelions, and acorns, to name a few. It also has an illustration of the plant, its scientific name, wwhen you can find it, and where to find it. THe only down fall is this book does not have colored photographs. Overall its a great book.

I have read and really enjoyed two other Gaffney novels recently, but I didn't care much for this one. I enjoyed her other books because the characters have a certain depth and are more complicated than those found in the average romance. The heroine in Sweet Everlasting was just too sweet, too good to be true, and I found myself somewhat bored with her and the story. I suppose I prefer the slightly darker sorts of tales, and if you feel the same way, I recommend "Lily", and "To Have and To Hold" over this one.

Never before was a book so aptly named as this one. The reason I say this is because this was the sweetest story I have ever read. It is a heart-wrenching story and so beautifully written it makes the heart ache.

This is the story of Dr. Tyler Wilkes and Carrie Wiggins. Tyler is the wealthy son of an old, aristocratic Philadelphia family. He gives up a life of wealth and privilege to become a doctor agaisnt his mother's wishes. He moves to the small town of Wayne's Crossing to take over the practice from the town's previous doctor who is gravely ill.
Carrie is a poor girl who lives in a cabin with her abusive stepfather high up on High Dreamer mountain above the small town of Wayne's Crossing. Upon meeting Carrie, Tyler is not immediately attracted to her in a romantic sense but in a professional sense. Carrie, you see, is mute and Tyler wants very much to help her bur Carrie continually refuses it. Tyler begins to think there's more to the pretty, shy Carrie than meets the eye. Slowly and little by little Tyler gets to know Carrie even though she cannot speak. Once he gets to know her, Tyler is amazed that despite her handicap and the hardships she has suffered Carrie is high spirited, kind, strong and able to take pleasure in the little things in life. Eventually, they become lovers and in spite of his attraction and gorwing affection for her, Tyler cannot turn his back on what has been ingrained in him since birth: he must marry accroding to his social status. In short, marrying Carrie would be beneath him.
Carrie wears her heart on her sleeve and it's no secret to Tyler that she loves him without condition or any strings attached. Carrie has learned early on not to expect too much from life but deep inside she can't quench the budding hope that Tyler will learn to love her as much as she loves him.

This is a beautiful, emotional love story full of twists and turns and breathtaking romance. Ms. Gaffney makes the characters come alive in such a way that you feel as if you personally know them. I am almost tempted to say this is my favorite Gaffney romance. However, having read most of her backlist I can't pick just one because all of her books are so radically different from one another. I guess they're all my favorites, each and every one. If you love romance, do yourself a favor and pick up this book or any book by this brilliant author. :)

Another beautiful love story by Gaffney - one of her very best and most poignant, I believe. Carrie is impoverished and lonely, a lovely mute whose silence harbors a dark secret. Tyler is the new town doctor, sensitive and kind, lively and intelligent. Carrie responds to Tyler's kindness with shy, yet unabashed adoration, but Tyler fights his growing attraction for this young innocent. Of course she doesn't belong to his social class, but the scruples Tyler struggles with are more complicated than mere social convention; Carrie is fragile, innocent, damaged, and mute, and it would be morally reprehensible of him, he believes, to succumb to the passionate feelings she sparks within him and take advantage of her seemingly uncomplicated trust. What Tyler isn't aware of, however, is that Carrie's heart is strong enough for the both of them. A very tender and memorable story.

This work is for me, a long-awaited compendium of some of the best literature in both English and Chinese on Chen Taijiquan. Although this is not an "instructional" book per se - the book has no photos breaking down technique - this work is a must for the serious Taiji boxer. Understanding Taiji principles and theory is crucial to finding success in the art. And for Chen Taiji practitioners, it's absolutely essential.

To that end, this book manages to capture the plethora of thought ever published on the science of Chen Taijiquan, including a very nice historical summary. Standout chapters include clear explanations of Chen Taiji's "Ba Fa" or eight powers, Chen style push hands, and a decent explanation of the proper execution of "fa jing" (power issuing) ever to appear in English for the laymen.

As a longtime Chen Taiji boxer and writer on the subject, I particularly appreciated the authors' use of many quotes from famous Chen Taiji masters. Translated passages include quotes from: Chen Wangting, the style's founder; Chen Changxing, the compiler of the "Lao Jia" (Old Frame) and teacher of Yang Luchan; Chen Zhaopei, the beloved master that singlehandedly revived boxing practice in Chen village during one of China's most tumultous periods; Chen Zhaokui, the highly skilled son of the famed grandmaster, Chen Fake; and Chen Xiaowang, the current standard bearer. Also, the work contains a few diagrams with translations from the respected Taiji master and author Gu Liuxin and the noted Chen family boxing scholar, Chen Xin.

So needless to say, I highly recommend this book. I would have given it five stars if, for all of it's comprehensiveness, the work contained more photos of the masters without as many pictures of the authors. Regardless, I congratulate them on producing a landmark book on Chen Taijiquan, while raising the bar on martial arts literature in English. Great job!

The most concise and well structured source of tai chi boxing history and roots I have read to date. This book makes the direct connection between tai chi and it's martial functions by serving as both a bible for the chen stylist and a source of heritage for any tai chi enthusiast, beginner or master!

This book outlines the Chen Tai Chi system as well as providing a great source for this history and general tai chi principles. The authors are practitioners who went many times over the 2 year course of this project to study with grandmasters Chen Xiaowang (whos picture is on the cover), Zhu Tiancai, Chen Zhenglei, and other notable but less well known master from Chenjiagou village. Most of this information is available on the internet or in other books but one must be willing to spend the time searching for it. Trust me I've spent the time looking for it and read most all of the English language books (style independent) that I thought had merit (by merit it mean that within the first chapter of the book I could tell that they knew something and that there pictures didn't look like they were about to fall over just standing their). Their is also a small amount of material that I found to be new (a few of the more detailed points in body posture section). This book doesn't teach specific forms and thus people practicing different styles of tai chi can greatly benefit from the discussions of body requirements and history from an undiluted source. If you are looking for Chen forms videos purchase only those produced and performed by lineage masters. Some of the most note worthy of these Grandmasters are chen xiaowang, zhu tien cai, chen zhenglei, and wang xian. As of this revision of the review, amazon does not carry anything performed by a lineage master. ...

First - a warning - there's a very specific reason why this book, which ordinarily would warrant 5 stars, only get 4, and that's because it's printed on very cheap paper, in black & white and with a very soft and fragile cover.

There. Grumbles out of the way, this is THE place to start for those curious about the saga of the X-men, but can't be bothered to search out the original comic books in second hand stores and feel intimidated by the massive amount of other titles readily available.

Another thing, this really should be called "The Complete X-Men, vol. 1", not the "Essential", because this is the entire "modern day" saga, starting with Professor Xavier assembling the "new" team of X-men.

It's well deserved that this version of the X-Men became a leading force in modern comics, as Chris Claremonts writing, which was excellent throughout his entire spell with the series, for the first time brought focus to the STORY. Sure, there were good stories written within the field of super-hero comics (DC were better than Marvel, in my opinion), but this was the first time quality of writing became as much a tour de force as quality of drawing.

Later on, Claremont drew upon the (then) formidable talents of John Byrne, more or less re-defining what super-hero comics were about.

The fact that Claremont also managed to make all the characters, supporting cast included, come alive within the confines of the genre, rather than just including a card-board-cut-out supporting cast, stands as a testament to the quality of the series.

Long live the X-Men.

I never knew all of what happened in the first of the comics, never knew who came from where and who started out with who. Things like this were cleared up after reading these. I was disapointed however to find that none of them were in color.

Being an X-Men fan i have read more current issue and still follow the X-Men from issue to issue but i wanted to read the early Claremont issues. Sure they are in black and white but to me the art looks better. The only draw back is the quality but i am not going to take a star from this book cause of this. In this volume we got great tales from the

!! Spoilers !!!

Death of Warbird, Cyclops and that fight with the demon, the birth of Phoenix, the steven Lang sentinels, a journey to the savage land and Japan, a duel with Magneto and several other great tales.

Just to let you know the other three volumes are great but I will write three other reviews for each one....

But if you are new or old x fan pick this up!!!!!

In the tradition of books about friendship, the author Patrica Gaffney explores the relationship between four women in The Saving Graces. And we as readers watch as four women bond together and face life at its best and worst.

The group, which is named for an injured dog they find on the side of a road, finds themselves first meeting at a book club and shortly afterwards becoming social friends. Sevevral times a month they meet to discuss their previous and ongoing experiences and relationships. Married, divorced and single, they share details of their everyday lives, their romances, their memories, their goals and even the books they read. As the days turn into years, the women find themsleves growing and changing in many ways due in part to the strength they gain from the support of one another. Then when one of the members faces a potential tragedy, the true strength and love of their friendhips are not only tested but threatened.

Gaffney, known primarily as a romance writer, offers her readers the opportunity to be enveloped by these frienships. It is a worthwhile read and one which I enjoyed.

After reading almost all of Patricia Gaffney's books, I have to say, her first contemporary is truly a work of art.

The Saving Graces is a novel of friendship. Calling themselves the Saving Graces, Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel meet twice a month for dinner to talk about life, love, marriage, careers, achievements and disappointments.

Emma, wanting to publish her first book and in love with a married man. Beautiful Rudy, unsure of herself and afraid to upset her manipulative husband. Lee, the 'normal' one who is desperatly trying to have a baby. And Isabel, divorced and battling the battle of her life. Cancer.

This story pulled me in from the beginning and made me wish I were part of The Saving Graces. I laughed, I cried (hid from my husband because I didn't want him to see me!) and most of all I fell in love with the four of them. I truly didn't want the story to end. Don't wait for the paperback. This book is one that you will truly enjoy and read over and over again. Loan it to your best friend. Maybe you'll start up a 'Saving Graces' of your own.

After reading almost all of Patricia Gaffney's books, I have to say, her first contemporary is truly a work of art.

The Saving Graces is a novel of friendship. Calling themselves the Saving Graces, Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel meet twice a month for dinner to talk about life, love, marriage, careers, achievements and disappointments.

Emma, wanting to publish her first book and in love with a married man. Beautiful Rudy, unsure of herself and afraid to upset her manipulative husband. Lee, the "normal" one who is desperatly trying to have a baby. And Isabel, divorced and battling the battle of her life. Cancer.

This story pulled me in from the beginning and made me wish I were part of The Saving Graces. I laughed, I cried (hid from my husband because I didn't want him to see me!) and most of all I fell in love with the four of them. I truly didn't want the story to end. Don't wait for the paperback. This book is one that you will truly enjoy and read over and over again. Loan it to your best friend. Maybe you'll start up a "Saving Graces" of your own.

My second Gaffney, not as good as Lily , but well worth the money!

and will not let go. Patricia Gaffney has written a beautiful, tender, romantic tale of two seemingly star-crossed lovers set in
1890's America.

Alex Mckie is an architect and has been hired by obnoxious nouveau riche Ben Cochrane to build an opulent mansion in flashy Newport. Alex has misgivings about building this ostentatious palace named Eden but he's a driven, ambitious man who's on the rise and he'll put aside his personal qualms about wasting his talents on this monument to bad taste.
Sara Cochrane married Ben at a young age in order to flee an alcoholic mother and an unhappy life in England. Ben married her because he thought marrying a peer of the realm would help him attain his ultimate goal: entrance into New York's exclusive high society. When Sara's title failed to gain them entry into the exclusive circles, Ben blamed her for the failure and needless to say the marriage turned sour. Sara could not leave Ben because of their son, whom Ben had no use for except as a weapon to keep Sara in her place.
When Alex and Sara meet, it isn't love at first sight. He's intrigued by her and wants to take her to bed, she dislikes him. This will change when Ben sends Sara to supervise the building of their home for the summer. Alex and Sara develop at tentative friendhip which soon evolves into something more complex. Sara is determined to ignore these feelings for her sake and the sake of her child, whom she's determined to protect agaisnt the reality of his parents marriage. Alex is not so willing to cooperate, he finds that he's falling in love with Sara and her son and suddenly his driving ambitions and his plans for the future are no longer so important. What's important is the seemingly impossible love and unquenchable passion that he and Sara feel for each other. Only she will not leave Ben for fear that he might take her child.

The angst and helplessness felt by Alex and Sara because of the impossibility of their love is heart wrenching.But what makes this a great story is that the reader can see Alex's evolution from an ambitious, young-man-about-town into a caring, responsible, loving man who's willing to give up all of his dreams and ambitions for the love of a woman. Like all of the other books I've read by this author, this is an extremely well written romantic tale. Highly recommended. :)

This is a wonderfully tender and swoon-worthy romantic novel. Sara is in her eighth year of marriage to monstrously unkind Ben, who uses their son as a pawn to keep his wife by his side. Sara nobly sacrifices all her naive young hopes/dreams of married bliss for the sake of young Michael.

Fueled by egomania and desperation to make the society papers, the wealthy Ben hires Alex, an up-and-coming architect, to construct "Eden," a ludicrously lavish home meant to impress. Almost immediately, Alex senses Sara's unhappiness and unsuitability as a wife to the obnoxious Ben. What begins, for Alex, as attraction to and curiosity about this troubled woman, gradually changes to an all-consuming passion and unrequited love. Sara, of course, develops similar feelings for Alex, but struggles to keep such emotions at bay - her son's and her very own life depend on it.

The two are thrown together as Ben quits town on business, leaving Sara to oversee the construction of Eden. Alex soon makes his feelings known to Sara, but endeavors to maintain a platonic relationship, as Sara wishes. There are beautiful moments of Alex slipping -- telling Sara she's lovely, whispering her Christian name just for the sheer pleasure of hearing it, fervently pressing her hand to his chest in entreaty for being unable to keep his feelings silent. All the while, all-consuming passion brims beneath the surface.

Alex is a magnificent hero - gallant, protective, caring and sensitive, and equally masculine.

Gaffney paints a vivid and enjoyable landscape of a young America (1890's) and it is quite evident she has done her research, yet the descriptive narrative is never obtrusive or ill-fitting in the story.

Of all of Gaffney's novels that I have read to date, I recommend "Another Eden" most highly (a difficult choice, indeed, but there it is.)

Happy reading.

I know HBO did the video of this book, but they don't have it listed among their videos/dvds to sell. Was it ever put to that format?

To the person who said there was too much adult humor to use for high school speech cuttings, I disagree. My coach had my partner and me do a cutting from Anette and Gina and it worked a lot better for us than our first cutting did-but it was humorous and not dramatic. There were a few things we cut out, but overall, i think a lot of the book could be used! Makes me laugh every time I read it.

This play, while taking the time to celebrate the joys of feminism, never takes itself too seriously. It points out that, yes, even feminists have their quirks and flaws. But to classify it only as a feminist work is limiting -- yet that's what many try to do.

This book is a collection of hilarious skits that make fun of life while celebrating it at the same time. The stand-outs: Syvvie and Maddie, a section about two older Jewish women who decide to fill their extra time by taking some "women's studies" classes at the local University -- only they believe women's studies to be things such as how to sew or making a delicious casserole; Kris and Jeff, a date between an insecure frat boy and a ditzy blonde; and Period Piece, a selection that -- well, you'll just have to read it for yourself.

Even if you're not a feminist, this play will still make you laugh. I cannot give it a high enough recommendation. If you liked Saturday Night Live in the good old days, then you'll love this play!

While I can't complain about the style of the book, I will complain about the characters. At every point where the hero has to decide if he should trust the heroine, he believes the absolute worst of her, not once but three times. Each times he humiliates her worse. On the last couple pages he admits he was being a jerk, but we're never really given any evidence that he really reformed. Each time after he humiliates her he feels bad, then he ends up doing it again. The end just looked the same way. Unfortunately it felt to me like Lily had entered into an abusive relationship, not a loving romantic one. Want a great Gaffney, try Wild at Heart or her To Love and To Cherish trilogy, but unless you like *really* domineering males, pass this one by.

I read a lot of romance books...a lot. As a classical Literature major in college, however, I have come to demand quality in the books that I read. I am tired of characters that fall in love with a lustful glance, or dialog that make the hero/heroine seem ingenuine, false, and complete idiots. I want real people -- compelling storylines, and writing that leaves me riveted and craving more. Not many authors can do this, but Patricia Gaffney can. "Lily" kept me riveted to the very end. The characters were well sketched out and thier dialog was emotional and believable. The story was great (although I might have written the ending a little differently). I won't bore you with a synopsis, but this book was one the best reads I had this summer. Buy this book -- you won't regret it.

I've been in a reading slump lately . . . picking up and discarding several books/genres that couldn't hold my interest. But "Lily" has me back on track again!

Yes, Dev (the hero) is tortured and sometimes cruel, and yes, sometimes Lily is a bit too trusting, but, wow!, this is one luscious love story! Truthfully, it made me cry a bit, and there's only been a few others have ever accomplished that.

This is definitely a dark, violent romance with the heroine misused by several secondary characters. But no matter how they try, they can't break her spirit. Lily always holds out hope that Dev will admit his love for her and avenge her wrongs. (Oh, how trivial my troubles seems when stacked up next to hers!) And Devon is tortured and confused but eventually redeems himself (or does Lily redeem him)?

What a tome; what a tale - just a really excellent book by one of the most talented historical romance authors to ever draw breath! (Glad to share your name, Ms. Gaffney.) What more can I say? Read this book!

Another favorite Gaffney is Wild at Heart, whose story has a really fresh premise. Now, how will I find another book to read that won't feel stale by comparison? I know, I believe I have "Sweet Everlasting" on my TBR pile. Sweet victory!

Well after reading so many "dark" comments about this book I truly expected it to be so overbearingly DARK that I almost didn't purchase it.

Well I must say that I'm glad that I did. The plot is one that is incredible. The Hero is such a unlikeable person from the start of this, his reasons for helping the heroine out are purely selfish. It was nice to picture the evolution of this Heroine though she had become invisible even to herself that to see her transformation, was one of the better parts of this book as well as the transformation of the Hero.

I don't wish to say to much about the storyline the other reviews on Amazon does justice to the plot but I must say this definately a Keeper.

Happy Reading

Four years after first reading it I this still love this book just as much, and ther romance website AAR has done a survey of its readers on their favorites among Gaffney's novels, and this book came in in #1. Updating my review from March of 1999, which 20 of 22 people found helpful:

This is my favorite romance novel; it is also one of the darkest love stories I've ever read. An extraordinary book unlike anything you'll ever read, "To Have and to Hold" is beautifully written and breaks new ground for the romance genre, but is not for those who like their romances sweet. It is the middle book in Gaffney's Wyckerly trilogy (begun in "To Love & to Cherish" and completed with "Forever & Ever") but it also stands on its own. This was the first book of Gaffney's that I read and I immediately looked for the rest of them; none of them were anything like it, although she's a wonderful writer.

The hero is by far the most complex and morally ambiguous character I have seen in popular fiction outside of Anne Rice's vampire books. Rachel and Sebastian meet after she has been released from ten harrowing years in prison for a crime she did not commit and is about to be sent back to prison for vagrancy. Sebastian is bored, previleged, and beginning to cross the line from decadence to corruption. He rescues her at the hearing and offers her a position as his "housekeeper," meaning mistress. She accepts out of desperation.

Sebastian soon finds himself obssessed with his reserved housekeeper and responds by tormenting Rachel psychologically and sexually. Just when I was afraid to read anymore the story did a stunning 180-degree turn (I don't want to give it away). Suffice it to say that "To Have and to Hold" is dramatic, suspenseful, harrowing, intensely erotic, and deeply moving. You have not encountered a love-hate relationship in a romance until you've read this one. What's more, the quality of Gaffney's prose is far above 99.9% of the authors in the romance field.

To quote Susan Elizabeth Phillips from the back cover: "An emotional roller coaster, complete with a dark, tortured hero, a complex heroine, and sex scenes so charged...I was riveted."

This is my favorite romance novel; it is also one of the darkest love stories I've ever read. An extraordinary book unlike anything you'll ever read, "To Have and to Hold" is beautifully written and breaks new ground for the romance genre, but is not for those who like their romances sweet. It is the middle book in Gaffney's Wyckerly trilogy (begun in "To Love & to Cherish" and completed with "Forever & Ever")but it also stands on its own. This was the first book of Gaffney's that I read and I immediately looked for the rest of them; none of them were anything like it, although she's a wonderful writer. The hero is by far the most complex and morally ambiguous character I have seen in popular fiction outside of Anne Rice's vampire books. Rachel and Sebastian meet after she has been released from ten harrowing years in prison for a crime she did not commit and is about to be sent back to prison for vagrancy. Sebastian is bored, previleged, and beginning to cross the line from decadence to corruption. He rescues her at the hearing and offers her a position as his "housekeeper," meaning mistress. She accepts out of desperation. Sebastian soon finds himself obssessed with his reserved housekeeper and responds by tormenting Rachel psychologically and sexually. Just when I was afraid to read anymore the story did a stunning 180-degree turn (I don't want to give it away). Suffice it to say that "To Have and to Hold" is dramatic, suspenseful, harrowing, intensely erotic, and deeply moving. You have not encountered a love-hate relationship in a romance until you've read this one. What's more, the quality of Gaffney's prose is far above 99.9% of the authors in the romance field. To quote Susan Elizabeth Phillips from the back cover: "An emotional roller coaster, complete with a dark, tortured hero, a complex heroine, and sex scenes so charged...I was riveted."