The story began in 1747. St.John Thornton was known as Sinjun. The Ton called him Lord Sin. At fourteen he was wed, by the king's command, to seven year old Lady Christy Macdonald. Neither Sinjun, nor Christy, wanted the match. All Christy's brothers had died in the battle of Culloden. Christy was named laird of the clan Macdonald. She would grow up in her beloved Scottish Highlands at Glenmoor Castle. He would grow up in London and live up to the name Lord Sin.

Fifteen years later, there is unrest among the clans. Calum Cameron ruled the Cameron clan. He intended to have Christy and Sinjun's marriage annulled, claim Christy as his wife, and become Laird through the marriage. Then war with the English will begin anew. To stop this, Christy went to London as Lady Flora Randall to seduce her husband. With his bairn in her belly she could return to Glenmoor in triumph! Glenmoor would have an heir, Sinjun would never know Flora had really been his wife and he would live happily in London unawares, and Calum's plans would be thwarted.

All went as planned until a pregnant Christy returned home to Glenmoor. Then it all fell to pieces!

*** First of a new trilogy! Each will have their own story. This one was MOST EXCELLENT! Connie Mason has never let me down and is still a "A BOOK WRITING WOMAN" as my mother would say. That is her highest compliment and is seldom given. Lord Sin is as handsome and sinful as they come. Christy is more than his match too. Highly recommended reading! ***

Another 5 star book from Connie Mason! This is the first book to the new series called 'Sin'. This is about the 2nd oldest child named St.John Thorton, or as everyone else calls, him, Sinjun. Sinjun has an older brother named Julian and a younger sister named Emma. When Sinjun is 14, the King of England had made a deal to have him married to the Highlander clan's future liard, Christy Macdonald, who is 7 at the time. It's supposed to be a marriage of political convience, to keep the Highlanders 'in line'. The marriage is never consumated and the couple never sees each other for 15 years until unrest begins in the Highlands. Christy must make an heir or the troublemaking neighbor clan will cause mahor problems. She goes to London with the intention of seducing her estranged husband whom she hasn't seen in 15 years who is also known as the legendary 'Lord Sin', a notorious rake and 'seducer of women'. She doesn't want him to reconize her, so she poses as a myserious woman from Cornwall. The ruse works and everything seems to be going fine until she realizes she has lost her heart to the womanizer and he doesnt have a clue that she is his wife. This story is filled with intrigue and treachery. When Sinjun falls for the mysterious woman, he ends up also finding out who she really is, and this is when everything breaks open. Sinjun is sexy and I loved his character. I didn't think Christy was immature like some of the others reviews said. She was desperate to save her clan and the her people from ruination. It was heartwarming and full of life. It will keep you turning the pages until the wee hours of the morning. The other two books are set to come out in 2001 and 2002.

Tracy Talley~@

The story began in 1747. St.John Thornton was known as Sinjun. The Ton called him Lord Sin. At fourteen he was wed, by the king's command, to seven year old Lady Christy Macdonald. Neither Sinjun, nor Christy, wanted the match. All Christy's brothers had died in the battle of Culloden. Christy was named laird of the clan Macdonald. She would grow up in her beloved Scottish Highlands at Glenmoor Castle. He would grow up in London and live up to the name Lord Sin.

Fifteen years later, there is unrest among the clans. Calum Cameron ruled the Cameron clan. He intended to have Christy and Sinjun's marriage annulled, claim Christy as his wife, and become Laird through the marriage. Then war with the English will begin anew. To stop this, Christy went to London as Lady Flora Randall to seduce her husband. With his bairn in her belly she could return to Glenmoor in triumph! Glenmoor would have an heir, Sinjun would never know Flora had really been his wife and he would live happily in London unawares, and Calum's plans would be thwarted.

All went as planned until a pregnant Christy returned home to Glenmoor. Then it all fell to pieces!

*** First of a new trilogy! Each will have their own story. This one was MOST EXCELLENT! Connie Mason has never let me down and is still a "A BOOK WRITING WOMAN" as my mother would say. That is her highest compliment and is seldom given. Lord Sin is as handsome and sinful as they come. Christy is more than his match too. Highly recommended reading! ***

connie mason's stlye of passion and action has never failed to keep me interested in her work. Her books vary across a wide range of historical time periods, creating a nice variety. "My lady vixen" seemed like two books in one to me, one i felt uneasy about and disliked and the other i really liked.

"my lady vixen" is actually told in two books and it's best to view the book this way. our hero, adam foxworth, is a nobelman who is hell bent on revenge and sees alexa ashley as his instrument to achieve this revenge. Kidnapping her and forcing her to become his mistress starts this unique, if odd, tale off.
this work travels across the atlantic several times as Alexa and Adam meet and part several times. The fox, a pirate fighting the british, vies with adam for alexa's heart.

As i said i felt like this was two entirely different books in one work. adam foxworth wavers continually through this book from a loving, aminable person to a vicious, coldhearted jerk. He repeatedly attacks alexa sexually with a few disturbing scenes that are played down to a huge degree which left a unrealistic flavor in the book. The "plot twists" are not particularly earth shattering or original. you see them coming miles away.

The general storyline is interesting and keep me involved in the book but alexa's stint as vixen was probably the most interesting part of the book. before that she is so weighed down and domnated by various men even i felt like screaming. i think a great book is in here somewhere but it's so bogged down by weird character reversals that it's hard to find.

for a fun read on some lazy afernoon i give this a thumbs up but for being a book i'll keep around for awhile i have to say check out something else.

I love this book. I have read it and reread it many times. This was one of the first Connie Mason books I ever had the good fortune to read and I'm so glad I did. Connie makes her heroines wonderfully strong and her heros just as strong. The characters compliment each other and the supporting cast makes the book come together. I like the fact that there is always a struggle which the lovers must overcome, It seems to make them appreciate thier love more.

This book is actually written in two sections. In the first we meet our hero Adam, who is very bitter over what our heroine's father did to his many years back. He is out for revenge. He kidnaps Alexa, placing her aboard a ship captained by the Fox, who is a masked man and he ends up taking her innocence. He leaves her to Adam who also beds her and leaves her in ruins and then leaves her in England while he goes back to his life in America. Alexa is ruined and now pregnant and Mac, Adams friend takes her to Adam. They marry but soon trouble begins. Adam is actually the Fox, who has been aiding the American's in thier fight for freedom from Britian and Alexa is taken prisoner as a traitor for harboring the Fox. She is rescued by the Fox and is totally suprised to find that the Fox and her husband are the same man. She decides right then and there to aid her new country and fool Adam/Fox as well. He leaves her again and she becomes the Vixen. This is where the second part of the book begins. She trains to fight and sail and soon has her own ship and is terrorizing the British as the Vixen on her ship "My Lady Vixen" When the Fox and the Vixen finally meet it is explosive. But the story doesn't end there. There are more troubles ahead and it will take a long while before the two lovers to find happiness.
I would recommend this to book to anyone. Keep up the good work Connie!

I thought this story was so great I couldn't put it down until finished.

After reading this book for a project in AP Psychology, I found that Robert Johnson's much-vaunted connections between mythology and the psychology of men are ultimately incoherent and insubstantial. The underlying concepts may be reasonable, if difficult to follow, but Johnson fails to achieve a solid connection between said concepts and his metaphorical writing. His writing style relies heavily on excessive repetition and oversimplified platitudes which insult the reader's ability to comprehend basic metaphor, and his constant implication that Christianity is an absolutely essential element of all masculine psychology is deeply offensive. Carl Jung has written numerous works on this same subject which are more intelligible and avoid the incomprehensible web of mythological allusions Johnson uses which bewilder and alienate the reader. In brief, Robert Johnson's 'He' is a waste of trees and effort.

1 out of 5 stars because Amazon does not offer the option to assign 0.

Robert A. Johnson took me on a journey through my inner world. I read it several times, and review it periodically. The book is short and concise, yet leaves me wondering exactly where I am on my journey.

Robert Johnson is a life changer. I have read everything he has done several times. HE and SHE should be a required read for everyone. I recommend you read the book on your own sex first so that you become familiar with Johnson's style before prying into the opposite sex's mind. :) If you find some of the other self help books too trite and not very thought provoking, Robert Johnson is for you!

While the first two Alias books were fun, exciting, and action packed, this one is a drag. Sydney goes to a "spooky" castle to discuss the problems of a fictional European country with several organized crime figures. Sydney doesn't do much when they start being bumped off one-by-one. The story isn't very original and there isn't much action to this book. I am sorry to say it is a disappointing addition to the series.

I love Alias the show and the books. Yes it is true that this one is a little different from the show and other books but I think that is a good thing. This one has a bit of a mystery inserted into it, that kind of reminded me of those oldfashioned mysteries. I think it was trying to be like clue or Murder on the Orient Express on purpose. I don't want the books to be exactly like the show. The same old missions would get boring. Also this one was more of a grownups book while the other ones were very teenager. If they want grown ups to read these books they will do more like this, or even more grown up like a longer Robert Ludlum story. This one still had the young college parts. But it did have funny parts with Francie and a good one with her dad (in memory). I think the Alias books should keep surprising us just like the show does.

Alias is a top-notch show. I was worried these books wouldn't live up to ther show. They really do. Any details coveres on the show are thoroughly maintained in the book. Plus, you get to hear Sydney's inner voice and what she's thinking. Very cool.

I highly recommend the entire series.

But not funny enough to laugh out loud on every page. There actually ARE helpful hints, but you wouldn't know where they are unless you read a serious book first. Overall, I liked it and it was quite amusing in some places, but the sence of humor the author has is predictable and old-fashioned.....in other words most of his humor goes along the lines of "we're guys, we're stupid, and we mess up everything". The funniest thing in the book is the part about how the chances of pregnancy being inversely proportional to the desireability of pregnancy. If you are a knuckle-dragger, buy this book. If you are not, its still ok, but there's really no need.....you can get these kind of jokes at the water cooler.

Who is this Mason Brown and why has the reading public been denied his genius until now? I got this book as a gift after my wife and I announced our pregancy, and I have been yucking it up ever since. Your wife probably has a copy of THE GIRLFRIENDS GUIDE TO PREGNANCY, well, this is the man's version, and without all the boring biology stuff -- it's like reading one of those National Lampoon magazines from back in the 70s - back when P.J. O'Rourke wasn't taking himself quite so seriously. Ha Ha Ho Ho is all I have to say.

a funny laugh out loud book that is in no way helpful to the expectant father or mother, but it's not supposed to be. it's a gag filled, witty little telling about the pitfals of pregnancy when you're the guy-no helpful hints, no useful mantras which is what makes this book unique. Instead of going for the deepak chopra, new age metaphysical spin to fatherhood and pregnancy this books takes the unique, twisted, SNL-the great years, Second City approach. A great gift for any expectant dad!!

I have read a couple of books by Connie Mason, and usually I like most of her books, especially the older ones. This book was not very interesting, some of the love scenes were pretty good, but her trademark sensuality seems to be missing from her books now a days. I did not find anything remarkable about the novel.....though I finished reading it pretty fast.

This is the first book I have ever read by Connie Mason, and after reading this novel, it certainly won't be the last! The storyline was certainly not boring. It kept you reading. Dominic is a sexy, gallant and arrogant man. Rose is a spitfire who learns temperance through her love for the "Dragon Lord". I loved the book and reccomend it to everyone who like historical romance.

Now here's another Connie Mason book that'll definitely keep u on your toes. It's fast and absorbing. The characters were desirable even the secondary ones. Dominic and Rose are both pridefull in their own rights. They're confident, tough, spunky and arrogant. Yet both are also loving, patient and gentle. They always find themselves in the battle of wills, they clash many times but unconsciously both were looking forward to the challenge of taming each other and the process was an enjoyable read. Some of Roses antics and stubbornness were a bit off but the consequences were exciting which made this book even more compelling. There is definitely lots of challenge in their relationship, aside from the nervy political dilemma of loyalty vs. righteousness, Dominic's conniving ex-mistress, Veronica is one of my favorite parts. Her character was well done. She's the added heart wretching spice in this book. Oh, as always in all of Ms. Mason's work, the lovemaking scenes sizzles!

I also enjoyed the political conflicts of this book concerning the MAGNA CARTA & King John Lackland. He's so overbearing, false-hearted & devious. His betraying ways is so unpredictable that it scares the heck out of me! He is capable of almost anything and have the power to achieve it too. This is the added thrill to the story.

I notice a slight anachronism in terms of the dialogue but it's not excessive to distract me. I manage to by pass that flaw only because overall, this book is both sugar and spice. It's fast, funny, exciting & heart warming. One you shouldn't miss. Thank you, Ambrangel for suggesting this book to me.

"The Beginning and the End" is the story of the Kamel family in mid-1940's Egypt, left in poverty by the death of the father. Left to fend for themselves are the mother, Samira, her daughter Nefisa, and three sons, Hassan, Hussein and Hassanein. Hassan is a ne'er-do-well, a thug and drug dealer who lives on the margins of society. Hussein is a fundamentally decent individual, quiet, hardworking, caring and empathetic. We like him a lot better than his younger brother Hassanein, an arrogant, conceited go-getter and social climber who carves himself out a promising career in the military and doesn't care who he tramples on to reach his goals. The tragic figure in this family is the daughter Nefisa, cursed with a homely face that makes marriage an unlikely prospect, and doubly cursed with a rampant sexual appetite that has no sanctioned outlet whatever for an unmarried woman in a muslim society. Hassanein has no problem dumping his fiancee at the drop of a hat when he decides her family isn't of the class he aspires to belong to; he will disown his brother Hassan rather than be connected to petty criminal. But he's brought up short against his sister's descent into prostitution, and his solution shows him in all his appalling soullessness. "The Beginning and the End" shows us a family and a society torn apart by the conflict between tradition and modernity, especially in its depictions of a society in which women's lives are so circumscribed that they have nothing to look forward to except a marriage that may never materialize. Mahfouz is not a very profound writer, but his sympathy for his characters, including the most degraded, is evident; he empathizes, never moralizes, and shows us a convincing picture of a family in torment. I thought the translation was a good one; it's not stilted or overdone and it flows easily from one chapter to the next. Mahfouz has given us in this book an intriguing story of a family divided against itself.

It is so fascinating to read these reviews. How differently we all see things. I do appreciate some of the commentary here, such as those who spot problems with the translation and see overt politicizing from Mahfouz in this work. However, this book so captivated me, and the writing style is easy and fluid (I hate convoluted writing, and this is not like that at all). From the opening pages to the end, I was riveted by the plight of the Kamel family as they struggled through a life of poverty and humiliation in Cairo after the passing of their father/husband. Each of the characters just made my heart ache, and this was especially true of Nefisa. Poor Nefisa! And what courage she had, really. She deserved such a better life, as they all did.

This is a classic tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. I really recommend it, and look forward to reading the Trilogy, which is waiting for me on the shelf.

This is a tale of a family, that sees troubles and disappointments from the beginning of the book. It is peopled with characters you have read about before, like the good for nothing brother, the sexually repressed daughter, the striving and ambitious son, the poor yet proud mother. Yet the story is woven in such a way as Mahfouz only can, so the tale, ordinary as it may seem about a poor family's never ending misfortunes and humiliations, continues to engage you from the first page to the last. If you haven't yet tried Mahfouz, you can start with this book. As a writer, he is a realist that ranks right up there with the best of them.

I do NOT find this book limiting; when searching for decorating style of the SW; there is so FEW out there, it is refreshing to find one that covers such a broad area of the SW. I LOVE THIS book...Normal decorating books have so LITTLE of this area and for those of us who LOVE IT, the book is wonderful. REFRESHING and NOT CUTESY! At present I live in the Midwest of America and it is so limiting to NEW ideas so often. Our local library had this book, and I was searching to see how many others were out there, not many... so I MAY end having to OWN this book.

Thank you for carrying this as well as several others pertaining to this area of the USA.

This book is filled with history and ideas for living. It's about regular houses inhabited by regular people, but the flowing writing style and beautiful photos make you feel rich.

MY HOME IS FILLED WITH SOUTHWEST DECORATING. THIS BOOK NOT ONLY GAVE ME ENJOYMENT, BUT HEPLED ME CONFIRM WHY THIS STYLE IS SO WARM AND ENVITING. IT ALSO GAVE ME NUMEROUS REFRESHING IDEAS IN ADDITION MY OWN DECORATING FLARE BOTH INSIDE AND OUT!

This is the third Connie Mason novel that I have read and I found this one kind of boring. The plot was a little drawn out. This novel was pretty good, but Connie Mason has done better. For example, my favourite is The Dragon Lord. I highly recommend this novel, except that all others after may come as a disappointment. As I have mentioned, this novel is good but please take a look at The Dragon Lord by the same author. It is much, much better!!!

Connie Mason lives up to our expectations with this one!! Guy and Bliss where great characters, I couldnt put this book down, read it staight thru. Cant wait for Connie Masons next release.

This is my first Connie Mason book, but it definately won't be my last. I stayed up all night just to finish it. A wonderful read of adventure, villians, heros, and passion. I was rooting for Bliss and Guy with the turn of every page. I vacation to the Carribean every year and could just visualize the pirate life Connie describes. A real page turner and a definate keeper. Keep 'em coming Connie!

First, of all I must say that this book is a godsend. I've been trying to piece my way through the Oeuvres Completes for some time now, and having Jugurtha, the Prologue and some of the other earlier texts from 1866-1870 in English is a great pleasure. Possibly the only thing necessary now is a translation of Akakia Viala and Nicolas Bataillet's 1949 "La chasse spirituelle", which is in some French editions. However, despite the wealth of new material which Mason's translation gives us, I find it is still lacking when compared to Fowlie's. The decision not to print the original French texts on the facing page was a great error, and despite some very excellent renditions of the poems (particularly Memoire), Mason still does not have Fowlie's sense to leave the poems as they are and let the words speak for themselves. However, alongside Louise Varese's translations of the prose & of course Fowlie, most probably, this will come to be seen very shortly as one of the three indespensible Rimbaud translations that we have available in English.

Having been an avid reader (and admirer) of Rimbaud for the past 6 years, I have to say that I prefer these translations to Fowlie's and countless others. I'd like to qualify that statement by frankly admitting that I do not like the translator. His introduction is arrogant, prickly, and self promoting. Mason seems bent on convincing us that every image ever created of Rimbaud, the passionate and vicious young poet from Charleville, are all simply projections and fantasies. While I've obviously seen this from many translators concerning many figures, Mason pulls it off with more pretentiousness than usual. "I don't want the reader to come away with his or her own Rimbaud," he says. As if that were possible:as if it were not part of the creative process to take away our own impressions of a poet or artist. Truth be told, there is very little ambiguity as regards the interpretation of Rimbaud's life: it was a vicious search for the absolute through any means necessary, sadly abandoned through poetic burn out. Mason's form of analytical pomposity is nothing other than the desire to destroy the passion inherent in Rimbaud's life and works by casting doubt on his memory and talent. That said, the translations are catastrophic and deserving of praise, "The Drunken Boat" in particular. The poems speak for themselves. In short, listen to Rimbaud, not Mason.

Some unnamed reviewer up above claims "There have been no fully satisfactory translations of the brilliant modernist forerunner Rimbaud." Whoever wrote that clearly didn't read Wyatt Mason's new translation of Rimbaud's complete works very carefully, because it's a lot more that satisfactory: it's beautiful. While the Wallace Fowlie translation (the blue one) is dependable, it's nothing more than that. It's good if you read French pretty well and need some help. But if you want to try to experience Rimbaud's poems in English as Poems, Mason's work is the only time I've found myself reading along and finding that he's caught both the meanings of words and the feeling of the poems (my mother is French, so I have read Rimbaud in the original). Mason's introduction is also, far and away, the best brief essay on Rimbaud's life and art imaginable, and it also talks really interestingly about translating poetry, and how he's gone about it. This is also the only edition available in English that contains everything Rimbaud wrote. The others, even if they say they're complete, don't come close. Neither do the other translators. I can't recommend this book enough.