Shane a 30 year old attorney best friend Leslie is murdered in the City of Memphis where they both lived. Shane and Leslie had a secret between them for 20 years. They promise never to tell. Even after Leslie's death, Shane kept their secret until the secret could not be hidden any longer. Who killed Leslie? Who is raping the schoolgirls in Memphis? These are the questions that has to be answered in this novel. The author did a great job of keeping you in suspense and making you read to the very end to find out the answers. Though there were little incidents to throw one off track if they thought they had the answer. This novel was a good start for this new author. With experience I think book two will be much better.

I bought this book from the author while at her book signing in Memphis, TN. I was somewhat hesitant to buy this book;however, I am soo glad that I did.

This book is an excellant example of true friendship. The main character Shane has just lost her best friend and is haunted by a childhood secret. Throughout this book she learns that some secrets can eat away at the very core of your happiness and that you have to let them go and give them to God. Shane is truly a friend to Leslie, Raymond, and their families. I loved the character of Shane. I would love to have a best friend like her. This book also has a mystery in it, which adds some suspence. In the end, you will never guess the long kept secret.

I highly recommend this book. It is funny, sad, suspenseful, and a quick page turner. This book is an easy read. So, go out and purchase this new book. Hats off to you Bre. Looking forward to more books.

Tainted Waters has alot going on. It's not only a mystery, but there is surely a little romance thing going on, not to mention Shane's dedicated frienship to her friend Raymon Howard. One thing I gotta say the 20 year secret in this book, is one I would have never thought of, but it's very realistic! I definitely recommend this book to everyone to read! I can't wait until the next one comes out. EXCELLENT JOB MS. SUMMERS!

I'm a huge fan of the entire ALice series and have read almost every book. The Grooming of ALice is definitley one of the best but I found parts of it a little unrealistic. I'm the same age as ALice in this novel and that whole mirror thing was weird. I mean do what you want but, well why would you go tell your father about it. I thought the stuff with Pamela and the ending were the strongest points. My other complaint though is ALice and Patrick's relationship. I'm sorry but most 14 year olds, especially if they're in a serious relationship have gone farther than Patrick and ALice. I definitly recommend this book but those of you ALice's age, will find parts of it annoying.

I thought that this book was excellent. Like the others it has a great attention to detail and new twists. I was suprised again and again. It was so good I could barely stop reading it. I would recommend that everyone who has read the Alice series reads this book.

This great story and makes the reader feel confident. It also makes the reader blush redder, as I have said in my other reviews of the Alice books. Some may feel it is inapropriate, but I disagree without hesitation. It's not gross, it's realistic. A lot of girls are kissing their boyfriends on eyelids--not all of them, but a lot--and the descriptions of certain body parts at the YMCA are--again--realistic, that is what is going to happen if you go to those kinds of classes and are in a pretty serious relationship. If anything, this book and all the others in the series are PREPARING girls for what is going to take place as they mature. That's my opinon.

5 Stars!!!

BlEsSeD bE!!!

Being a teacher myself, I didn't really think I could get into a story in which a teacher gets romantically involved with her former student, who is 5 years her junior. I decided to read it anyway since it got so many good reviews. I really enjoyed it. Just because Johnny is younger than Rachel and was once in a subordinate position (as her student) to her, doesn't mean he doesn't assert himself. From the outset, he shocks Rachel with his blatant regard for her as a woman when she's trying hard to treat him in a "younger former student" manner. He quickly makes it known to her that he's interested in sharing her bed (& always has been!).

It is refreshing to read a romance novel where the heroine is older than the hero. This was a sexy romance, but the mystery was [tame].

All in all, I'd recommend it for romance novel readers, but not mystery readers.

I'm not kidding. This man is THE sexiest man that could ever possibly have existed. All the junk that has happened to him just makes you just want to hold him REAL tight and-- Or you could do what Rachel does, just lean over and. . . .

Johnny is seriously the best hero of any romance novel I've ever read. Rachel is ALMOST good enough for him, though in my definition no one really is.

However, there are two parts of the book that are too hard to believe. 1. Rachel believes he just couldn't have committed a murder because she used to speak to him about poetry. Come on, POETS can be capable of killing! Although her firm belief in his innocence ends up being right, you still don't see how she could have thought so unless she had had highly unprofessional feelings for him while she taught him. 2. Glenda. You have to read the story to know most of what I am talking about, but also her whole relationship with Johnny. Why would he bother with her if he had any feelings for Rachel?

I almost didn't buy this book because I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a teacher and a former student being lovers. But I am so glad I read it! For me, Johnny Harris as a romantic hero ranks right up there with Dane Hollister (from DREAM MAN by Linda Howard) and Tyber Evans (from HIGH ENERGY by Dara Joy), and that is the highest compliment I can give to any author! Karen Robards did a great job of making Rachel and Johnny real human beings--insecure at times, ashamed, proud, scared, but also compassionate and passionate. Wow, great job, Karen, I can't wait to read all your books.

Like _House of Mirth, Edith Wharton's 1917 short novel _Summer _ shows a relatively aware young woman being ground up by social convention. Wharton is so linked with Henry James that no one seems to have noticed the extent to which she was a late naturalist, chronicled inexorable destruction. An argument could be made that Charity is rescued from her hereditary fate up in the mountains (the Berkshires) and that the prime upholder of convention takes pity on her plight, but _Summer_ is close to _Ethan Frome_ in more than a New England location. More pragmatic than some of those confronted with destruction in other Wharton works, Charity makes the best of her very limited options, but happiness is more fleeting than a New England summer is.

The lack of female solidarity in _Summer_ is especially striking. Lily Bart had one devoted female friend. Charity has none, and the professional woman she turns to is far and away the most vicious character in the book.

Most of the book is about the blooming of a love crossing social boundaries that I find tedious. Others, including, I think Wharton herself, enjoyed chronicling Charity's first experience of love with an out-of-towner whose life and commitments are elsewhere, but for me it is the portrait of small-town busybodies and the eventual narrow corner into which Charity paints herself (with the help of social hypocrisy and her lack of education or any marketable skills ) that are interesting.

Susan Minot's introduction is helpful in placing the book within the course of Edith Wharton's life. A particularly important continuity across Wharton's work Minot observes is that "Wharton's heroines are not hapless victims; they understand their helplessness." I am not convinced that this enables them to keep their dignity, but the awareness of their plight and the unreasonability of social judgments heightens the tragedies (in contrast to Stephen Crane's _Maggie_ to take one example).

Leaving behind the world of New York high society that is the subject of many of her greatest novels (The House of Mirth , The Age of Innocence), Edith Wharton focuses her attention on an entirely different scene: a tiny, isolated New England village in early 20th century America. Her heroine, Charity Royall, is young, working class, ill-educated, rough-mannered - in short, about as different from Wharton herself as a character can be. And yet Wharton renders her and her world with remarkable sympathy.

As always, Wharton vividly delineates the painfully constricted circumstances of her heroine's world. And make no mistake: the community that Charity lives in is almost unimaginably narrow and isolated, in a way that no community with access to the internet, TV, etc. could possibly be now, in 21st century America.

Part of what makes this novel so acutely moving is Wharton's depiction of how Charity's whole world opens up as love and passion enter her life. It's touching to see Charity's underlying sensitivity and sensuality - and her curiosity about the world - blossom as her relationship with Harney progresses, and at the same time heartbreaking to realize that, beneath her bravado, she is utterly dependent on him - because her gender, and her lack of money, education, etc., leave her with so few options.

The pleasures of this novel are many; I will limit myself to mentioning a few. Among the features of this novel which makes it so powerful and evocative are the beautifully rendered descriptions of the seasons and the natural environment. The lush portrayals of the plants, flowers, and the natural landscape highlight the erotic tensions inherent in the story.

I also admired the wonderful way each of the places in the novel - the village of North Dormer, the town of Nettleton, the mysterious "Mountain" - take on a distinctive character, and how all of them, taken together, become a microcosm of the world. This symbolism adds a resonance that gives this seemingly "small" novel grandeur and heft. Best of all, the symbolism seems like a totally natural and organic part of the story, not at all forced or strained.

The 4th of July episode is a dazzling setpiece that not only gives the reader some delightful social history about what such celebrations were like in early 20th century America, but also serves to underscore the themes of desire (those sexually charged fireworks, and all those enticing, yet unavailable items in the store windows!) and of Charity's journey from village to the world, from innocence to experience.

This novel also contains some of Wharton's most accomplished characterizations. The complex, morally ambiguous Lawyer Royall is, I think, a masterpiece. (Though I'll admit I was less satisfied with the portrayal of Harney - I think Wharton lets him off the hook).

Finally, this is a book about female sexual desire, and as such it probably broke new ground in the Anglo-American novel (Kate Chopin's The Awakening is the only earlier novel I know that handles this theme with comparable frankness). What Wharton is really great at is dramatizing the paradoxes of desire: the way desire feeds itself and leaves you forever wanting more, and also how desire - the sighing, dreaming, longing - can become an exquisitely painful/deliciously pleasurable end in itself.

Ultimately, like so many of Wharton's novels, Summer is about women's choices, and it presents a remarkably clear-eyed view of a strong-willed young woman's pragmatic yet painful reckoning, as she struggles to make the best of the raw deal society has foist upon her. Charity's fate has the semi-tragic inevitability of so many other Wharton heroines, yet here the writing is suffused with a tenderness that rarely, if ever, appears in Wharton's other works. Long after I put this book down, it continued to haunt me.

I cannot deny that the ending of this book gave me quite an unwelcome shock as it suddenly verred away from the popular love story formula. However, when I actually thought about the ending I could understand why it was important for Wharton to ensure that this book had the same degree of social realism as her other books and therefore Charity and Lucius could not end up happily ever after. Although some reviewers found the ending unsatisfying I think found it more satisfying because it was realistic and therefore believable rather than being idealistic and fantastic. Also it therefore does not undermine Wharton's constant criticism of small town mentality, snobbery and narrow mindedness or Charity's independance and instinctive sense of propriety by having the good fairy come and sort out an impossible situation. If the ending had been predestined to be happy for Charity I do not think there would have been such an intense sense of suspense maintained throughout the book.

Some baseball seasons are more important than others- the 1941 season saw the twin feats of Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak and Ted Williams .406 batting average, the 1951 season saw the incredible comeback of the New York Giants and Robby Thomson's miracle home run, and the 1964 season saw the final decline and fall of the New York Yankees.

The 1949 season is a special one for baseball as well. The New York Yankees, poised to begin their glory years, would square off with a talented Boston Red Sox team and defeat it in dramatic style thanks to the heroics of an injured Joe DiMaggio.

Summer of '49 is David Halberstam's story of that astounding season. More than a simple account of the season's wins and losses, Halberstam delves deep into the background of the players and coaches. The picture that comes into focus is a fascinating look at the way baseball was played in the 1940s and 50s, when players (many of whom had grown up on small farms in the Great Depression) fought hard to win and played every day as if it were their last. While not quite as interesting as his "October 1964", Halberstam has nevertheless written a wonderfully exciting account of what baseball was like over a half century ago.

This is a book that will make any baseball enthusiast smile.

As an American history buff who has long admired the books of David Halberstam ("The Fifties", "The Best and the Brightest"), I would argue that the "Summer of 49" is one of Halberstam's best works to date. I was visiting a friend's house when I noticed a copy of the "Summer of 49" on his bookshelf. My friend, a passionate baseball fan, told me what the book was about. Although I'm not a huge baseball fan (growing up in North Carolina and following the Duke-Carolina rivalry gave me more of an interest in college basketball), I was enough of a fan of Halberstam that I borrowed the book. And, was I pleasantly surprised! Even if you're NOT a big baseball fan you'll still love this book if you're at all interested in American history. Instead of focusing on ERAs, bases stolen, and the other statistics that would appeal only to baseball buffs, Halberstam focuses on the human side of a great sports rivalry - the New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox. And in the "Summer of 49" he gives the story of one of that rivalry's greatest moments - the breathtaking, down-to-the-wire showdown between Joe DiMaggio's Yankees and Ted Williams's Red Sox. As always, Halberstam evokes a sense of nostalgia for the past that's almost overwhelming - reading about DiMaggio's health problems, or William's running battles with the vicious Boston newspapers, or Ellis Kinder's bitterness at Red Sox manager Joe McCarthy - you get the feeling that you're right there with them. When I finished I felt awed by DiMaggio's quiet pride in winning the pennant and World Series after all of his difficulties in 1949, and a genuine sadness at the emotional devastation the Red Sox felt after coming so close two years in a row, only to lose in such cliffhanging finales. If you enjoy Halberstam's style of writing, and you enjoy reading about a golden age of American sports (even if you're not a baseball fan) then you'll LOVE this book. A great read!

"Take me out to the ballgame..." One might find themselves singing the endearing, catchy tune after reading, Summer of '49 written by Pulitzer-prize winner, David Halberstam. The reader is drawn into the baseball universe in a time when it truly was "America's favorite pastime." The era Halberstam captivates is a time when young children played outside the stadium in hopes to catch a glimpse of their favorite players. It was a time when even Red Sox fans cheered for DiMaggio when he was back in the game after recovering from an injury. The era was surrounded with the glamour of baseball in the purest sense. There was something captivating about being at the game, cheering for the team while eating peanuts and hot dogs. From the New York Yankees greatest player, Joe DiMaggio to Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox and the less famous names in between, Halberstam pulls us into the good times and hardships that came with being on two of the most successful teams of the sport. As readers, we are attracted to everything about this great sport because Halberstam makes us care about the individuals and the teams contributing to its success. The great players portrayed in this book not only shape baseball, but are a major aspect in shaping part of US history in the 20th Century as well. Halberstam brings the players to us and makes us appreciate their hard work and love of the game. This book is about excellence, the joy of being a part of a team. We see the importance of not just being good, but being better. Better than you thought you were or what others think you can do. It is about human nature and the nature of baseball.

This romantic tale of faerie magic was a wonderful book. Yes, it had a slightly more leisurely pace and more description than is "politically correct" these days, but to be honest, I found it to be a refreshing change of pace. It was almost as if the author was gently seducing me into the story and boy, once she had me, I didn't want her to let me go! Before I even realized it, I had read huge chunks and was nearing the end. Aside from being a powerful and beautifully written romance, it was also a great female wish fulfillment story. Who wouldn't want to leave behind the hustle and bustle of modern life to live in a charming cottage and eat fairy cakes with Maybelle while being wooed by the gorgeous "gardener" next door? Laurel and Dane are both on a search for self, but in the process, they find each other and that's truly the greatest magic of all. So grab a hot cup of tea, curl up in a comfy chair, open ONE SUMMER'S NIGHT and prepare to be enchanted!

Upon finding herself on the threshold of adulthood, 21-year-old Laurel Carrington realizes that she doesn't know anything about herself, except that she doesn't want to continue in the path laid out for her by her scientific father and long-time boyfriend. When she receives a letter from a famous painter known for her mystycism and elusiveness, she does the first impulsive action in her life and moves to Fallingstar, Vermont to find herself.
This book is a wonderful story mixing fantasy and contemporary romance, interweaving each character with mystical quirks and qualities set to a magnificent setting of fairy-laden woods and misty mountains. The main characters of Laurel and Maybelle Starr practically dance off the page, each complimenting and changing the other for the better. Laurel slowly emerges from her restrictive scientific cocoon to realize the magic and wonder of nature and fantasy, while Maybelle becomes more human upon deciding to share a secret she has kept for 21 years.
The romance between Dane Walden and Laurel is rocky, yet satisfying as it evolves from suspicion to wonder, as each changes and delves into the fairy tale writing itself around them.
For anyone who is a fan of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," this is the book for you, full of mischief, love, wonder and delight in the human spirit and the magic that can only be found in the land of the fey.

As she heads home to Wilmington, Delaware on her twenty-first birthday, Laurel Carrington wonders about her future. Tomorrow Laurel graduates college and the pressure from her loved ones to meld her life into their image of her is very strong. Her father wants her to join him working at a research lab while her boyfriend wants to marry her. Neither path seems right to Laurel.

A third avenue surfaces when renowned artist Maybelle Starr offers Laurel an opportunity to study art under her in Fallingstar, Vermont a special place filled with magic. Five years ago, Maybelle attended the Delaware Art Fair where she enjoyed Laurel's works. Over the objection of her father and her boyfriend, Laurel accepts the opportunity to learn under Maybelle's tutelage.

In Vermont, Laurel struggles with her mentor's teaching method. Laurel also finds herself attracted to the estate's caretaker, "just" Dane, who fears the newcomer will hurt Maybelle. As Laurel and Dane become acquainted, they fall in love, but any long-term relationship remains threatened by the outside world and Maybelle's secrets.

ONE SUMMER'S NIGHT is an entertaining adult fairy tale. The story line is fun as Mary Alice Kruesi paints a special place where love thrives even when the mundane outside world intrudes. The lead couple is a wonderful duo and the support cast from both inside and outside of Fallingstar adds depth and conflict to the shaky, but loving relationship between Dane and Laurel. From the start, Ms. Kruesi has shown she has the right stuff and is second to none when it comes to enchanting her audience.

Harriet Klausner

It seems strange, looking back over the decades, to think that America seemed so close to perfect. The war was won, everyone had a job, family values ruled, and the Dodgers were in Brooklyn.

What more could you want? Off-hand I can think of any number of things, beginning with an end to racial segregation, but at least in that respect the Dodgers showed the way.

It must have been some lucky fate that guided Roger Kahn over the Brooklyn bridge all those years ago. He could have written a series of articles and forgotten all about the time he spent with the Dodgers. But he didn't. He revelled in the team, got to know the players, manager, staff and owner. The way the dynamics worked, the internal politics, the inside information.

And then he recalled those golden days for us, along with the players, years and years later, in what has got to be the best baseball book ever written. We look back through his eyes, and the eyes of those boys of summer, at a magic moment in America's history.

Were they just doing their jobs, those golden boys? Just throwing and hitting a ball around? Or were they conscious of their role in history? Do we read things into this book that weren't there? Do we see that season through misty watercolour memories of the way we were?

Up to the reader, I guess, but for me, I go back time and again to Brooklyn and that great team, so superbly described by Roger Kahn.

If you love baseball (and who doesn't?) then you must read this book. To understand what once was, and will ever be so long as summer comes and young men gather to throw a baseball around a diamond.

To use a bit of a cliche, saying that is just a book about baseball is like saying Moby Dick is just a book about a whale. The Boys of Summer deals with one man's different perceptions of baseball players over time, as they change from demigods to mere mortals.

The book starts with Kahn's recollections of childhood, when the Brooklyn Dodgers were heroes. As he reaches adulthood, he is lucky enough to get an opportunity to report on his favorite team, and he learns that these players are more flawed than they seem at a distance. In the second half of the book, it is years later, and Kahn sees what retirement has done to the players.

There was a time that baseball was the dominant sport in the U.S., and there is something sad in seeing these idols - worshipped by kids and adults alike - forced into mundane existences by age. There is more: a lot of insights into racism and various players reactions to integration in baseball.

This is a great book about the Boys of Summer, those Brooklyn Dodgers who played great ball from 1947 to 1957. For fans of baseball, this book is a must-read.

Kahn's bittersweet remembrance of the 1952-53 Brooklyn Dodgers and his late father is more than a baseball book, yet it's one of the best baseball books ever written. Kahn puts the reader squarely in Ebbets Field in pre-urban decline Brooklyn. I was just as moved by the updated (circa 1971) look at the ex-players, an omission in too many other books. Kahn's 1998 effort "Memories of Summer" adds illumination. Anybody who liked the movie "Field of Dreams" should read this book. "The Boys of Summer" is a classic about baseball, and about life.

reading for every aspiring author (and some professional ones too). Maybe then we readers would be spared some of those atrocious, embarrasing books that are being published nowadays (and become bestsellers too!! Who buys this dreck???) Anyway, the point of that rant is that Mary Balogh has produced a gem of a book, a true keeper in every sense of the words.

After his older brother's untimely death the notorious Kit Butler inherited the title of Viscount Ravensberg (sp). His family, aghast at Kit's exploits in London order him home immediately to take his rightful place as the heir to a powerful earldom and also to fulfill his duty by marrying a bride chosen by his father and producing heirs. Kit, already estranged from his family, balks at his family's command and decides that he will find his own bride and marry on his own terms not his father's. He will even go a step further and instead of choosing someone completely unsuitable as his family would expect he decides he will choose the perfect lady.
Lauren Edgeworth is the perfect lady. She has devoted her whole life to perfecting the art of being a lady. She thrives on prediction and takes comfort in routine. In short, Lauren Edgeworth is a dead bore (or so Kit thinks) therefore she is the ideal woman for his plans. Lauren surprises him by agreeing to be his fiancee in name only until he can find a bride not of his father's choosing. In exchange, Lauren wants Kit to give her a summer she will never forget. He readily agrees. At the end of Lauren's perfect summer she will break off the betrothal and move to Bath to begin the life a respectable spinster. However, for Kit this was easier said than done because he was not prepared for the other side of Lauren. He finds himself captivated by the woman hiding behind the icy facade, apparently afraid to come out. Since Kit is not one to resist a challenge he is determined to bring that woman out. In the process he finds himself caring far too much for his "pretend" fiancee.
Lauren, on the other hand is determined to leave at the end of the summer with her heart intact. After her first wedding was scandalously aborted (see One Night for Love) Lauren is convinced she will never be able to love again. However, she is not made of stone and very soon she finds herself hopessly drawn to Kit. His devil-may-care attitude fascinates her and the pain she glimpses behind his laughing eyes and happy-go-lucky attitude brings her dangerously close to falling madly in love.

Balogh has outdone herself with Kit and Lauren. Never before have I read a book with characters that were so perfect for one another. Kit is an absolute joy to read, his charm and endearing ways had me sighing over and over. Also, the dialogue sparkles and the developing relationship between Kit and Lauren is belivable and incredibly executed. I have said before that Balogh is the closest one can get to a modern day Jane Austen and this book just reinforces my opinion. In short, this is an incredible book and I cannot recommend it enough. :0)

As a long time reader of historical romances, I'm embarassed to admit that this is my first book by Mary Balogh! And it won't be my last. An absolutely lovely, warm and poignant story and a highly recommended read!

Stubborn and reckless Christopher "Kit" Butler, Viscount Ravensberg, refuses to succumb to his father's plans for him to marry the fiancee of his deceased older brother now that he is the heir. Determined to do things his own way, he plans to return to the family seat with a bride of his own choosing - one that is beyond reproach. But where to find such a creature? And more importantly, how to woo and win her (especially with his wild reputation)? When his friends suggest a candidate, and a wager is made, Kit is off and in hot pursuit of his quarry.

Being left behind by those she loves has been Lauren Edgeworth's greatest sadness and continuing fear. At the age of three, her mother left her and just the year before, she was left at the altar. She's always been proper, dutiful and perfectly behaved so that no one will ever want to leave her again. Her self-esteem has taken a devastating hit leaving her feeling unattractive and unwanted. So when rogue Kit Butler begins to energetically and enthusiastically pursue her, she knows that something is up and calls him on it.

A contrite Kit confesses his plans to Lauren, apologizes for using her, and moves to leave when she does the unexpected. She agrees to become engaged to Kit in exchange for a summer of adventure. Once the summer is over, Lauren will then break the engagement and retire to a quiet life alone in Bath leaving Kit the option to marry where he chooses. But the reality of what they've agreed to is much more complicated than either had planned and both wonder what they've gotten themselves into. Feelings start to develop and not just between Kit and Lauren. Kit's family comes to love Lauren and she them, making the charade even more painful. And while Lauren is resolved to help Kit reconcile with his family before she leaves, Kit is equally determined to give Lauren the most wonderful summer of her life in the hope that he can convince her to become his wife for real! Just a wonderful book!

This book introduces the Bedwyn siblings (Freyja Bedwyn was the woman Kit was supposed to marry) who will star in 6 upcoming books. They are arrogant, proud and sound like fascinating subjects to follow and I look forward to their stories.

The was my 1st Balogh book and I didn't know this was a series until now & I don't feel like I missed out by not reading the one before this. The author did a good job of catching the reader up through different scenes of flash backs, memories, etc. And some readers might say it has the same plot as other regency storys but there was a difference for me. The heroine (Miss Lauren Edgeworth) is strong, respectable, loving- she's not this wimpy creature that spreads her legs in the first pages of the book to find love or because she's been told to. The hero (Kit Viscount Ravensberg) is a typical rake with a past that he has been trying to escape from, but there is another side to him that through time and a special relationship with Lauren (not one of jumping in and out of bed) he reveals. Now don't get me wrong- Lauren and Kit find their love together and have their special moments but their relationship is NOT based on that. I literally felt their pain at times. And though I know there is going to be a happy ending-I still worried at times about their getting together. I especially appreciated the ending. ... But Balogh carried it on out and I felt so very satisfied with I finished the book. I was truly captivated by the story and hated to put it down til the end.

Now I have told you all this and not even told you about the story, I'll try to be brief...
Miss Lauren Edgeworth was left at the alter under unusual circumstances a year ago by the one love of her life. She has been trying to get on with her life in seclusion but her family says it's time for her to get out. She has learned during her childhood that one is accepted and loved when one does what is expected to do- so she has turned out to be this prime, proper, beautiful, somewhat dull person. She is 26 years old- yet to be married and ready to accept a life of being single. She arrives in London to visit family and is talked into attending a few parties of the ton. Though it has been a year she is sure her
ex-wedding will still be the talk of the ton.

Kit Viscount Ravensberg, a rake living a wild life in London, has been summoned by his father to return to the estate to wed his elder deceased brother's fiancee (who 3 years ago was Kit's love- yes, I could see problems there too!) and take on family responsibilities. Not having spoken to family members on 3 years- Kit is still rebellous and decides he is going to rebell by bring home a fiancee/or bride of his own choosings. But who will have him with the reputation he has gained for himself?

Lauren and Kit become acquainted, they strike up a bargain to become betrothed for the summer only - Lauren is to accompany Kit home and be his respectable fiancee long enough to show the family he can make acceptable decisions such as picking a bride (helping Kit be reunited with his family) while Kit becomes her fiancee to get her family off her back (showing Lauren a memorable summer to last her a lifetime as a spinster. Lauren goes on a voyage of self-discovery finding freedom while Kit accepts the traumas of the past- that he can not always be the hero. And together they find that love doesn't mean dependence. I'm TELLING YOU, IT WAS A GREAT STORY!! and you'll love the ending.

This was my first lesbian romance book and I read it in 2 nights and I wasn't the only one judging from the reviews! This book I could definetly relate too. The passion and the explosive emotional scenes described by Gerri Hill were fascinating! I wanted more of Jo and Kelly, I felt like I knew them! This book is absolutley the best book I have read! My girlfriend is reading it now and she can't even put it down! I felt so at home with this book and it helped that it was set in Austin, Texas because that is where I am close to! You will love this book!

I am so happy I bought this book, it was my first lesbian novel but definitely not the last. I loved both characters especially Kelly Sambino whom I thought was great and very understanding about the whole situation with Jo. I think the way she stayed by Jo`s side even when she rejected her so many times was just amazing.

The story was awesome!! The sex was just hot, hot, hot! the minute I finished it I borrowed it to my girlfriend. I think Gerri Hill wrote a wonderful book...

I was trully touched by this book. I laughed, I cried, and I was left craving more. I'm not a book reader at all, but once I started reading this book, I was hooked. I couldn't put it down, and I didn't until the very last word even though it was 3:30 in the morning.

Being that the story took place in my home state made it all the better for me. No one but a Texan can trully understand a Texas Summer. ;)

I was able to identify with Jo from the start. She so desperately wanted to love Kelly, but wouldn't allow herself, until she couldn't take it any longer. I had a young woman persue me just like Kelly did Jo. I finally submitted to her a couple months ago, and they have been the happiest of my life. When I was done with the book, I immediately sent her an e-mail and told her that I loved her.

This is a book that I will cherish for a long time. You will love reading it. Ohhh... and the love-making scenes were HOT! How Ms. Hill was able to capture the desire before the actual love-making scenes is beyond me. I was just as hot as Kelly and Jo were. And how she described the scenes is just amazing. She made it so soft, slow, and sensual. It wasn't all raw and fast. I loved it. And you will, too.

Reading and discussing Hubbard's small classic, "A Message To Garcia" should be a pre-requisite for anyone about to work anywhere for a boss. Much is written about leaders, and this book helps to fill the huge gap in what is written for and about followers. The few minutes it takes to read this book could change the rest of your life. I first read it back in 1985 and I re-read it frequently.

Hubbard's inspiration for his "preachment" was an obscure but important event in the 1898 Spanish-American War. President McKinley needed someone to quickly deliver a message to an insurgent general somewhere in the jungles of Cuba. An army officer was recommended and McKinley personally handed the message to this officer with the mission to deliver the "message to Garcia." This officer's unhesitating acceptance of his mission with no superfluous questions and his subsequent completion of the mission is Hubbard's definition of an invaluable subordinate.

Hubbard's lessons of initiative (doing the right thing without being told) and loyalty to yourself, your boss, and your organization (doing the right thing when told only once) are timeless and well told. Hubbard spoke to all leaders and subordinates when he wrote, "It is not book-learning young men need, nor instruction about this and that, but a stiffening of the vertebrae which will cause them to be loyal to a trust, to act promptly, concentrate their energies: do the thing -- "Carry a message to Garcia.""

This is a lament that people cannot be counted on to get a job done. One man could; and he did deliver a message to Garcia, no matter what. The whole book was written in a matter of an hour or so and has sold tens of millions of copies. I have used it to inspire a weak employee and am considering giving it as a present to my best 150 clients.

It's one of the inspire book i ever read. I strongly believe it's not outdated, in fact the clear message is very relevant in today world. I.e. Good manager give a clear Objective (E.g. Send a message to Garcia), and the person in charge should not giving excuse, no delay, and no "blaming why me". Ask question if there is any thing you need further explaination. (In Rowan's case, no) Then Figure it out on how to accomplish it.
Now day, there are too many people like to say this is not accomplishable and that not workable without having a try, without even "a Think". Many are giving too many excuses.

In addition, personally i think, this book is not only should be given by employer to employee, employer himself also should learn the lesson. I.e. One of the reason that Rowan can successfully deliver the message is because, His "employer", after given the objective, They fully delegate the task to Rowan, They did not care for the detail, They did not pretend to be smart to teach Roman on how to do it, They did not interfere, They trust Rowan, and give Rowan all the neccessary authority to make decision. Just imagine if all the important decision that Rowan make have to get approval first then only can respond. Do you think The Message can be successafully delivered?
I hope Employer also have to bear this in mind before blaming your employee for not that responsible and self-motivate as Rowan. Think first. Think do you really trust your staff, Think do they have all the neccessary authotiry to make decison, think that did you did your job good enough as a employer...?

Furthermore, ensure the Objective that you give is meaningful to your employee, let your employee have that kind of feeling of important. Sure when Rowan recieve the task, in his mind he would say this :" WOW, this seem chanllenging, this task is important, i must accomplish it otherwise we would lose the battle. And they are giving this such a important task to me, they trust me, I must do it RIGHT!"
Right?

Finally, Don't forget Positive feedback or recognising that President give to Rowan. Remember, People will only doing things for two main simplified reason, i.e. pain and pleasure. This also a part which should we learn. Off cause i doesn't mean Rowan doing all this just for his own pleasure, but at least it's a part of it.