Review:Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin set off on a secret mission to recover the islands off Madagascar for Great Britain. Lots of naval action, but, as always, the main appeal is the interaction between the two protagonists, the description of life on and off the ship and the glimpse of English history that goes beyond the action of Book 4 in this series. Read more

Review:I discovered Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels years ago after hearing a story about them on NPR. "Desolation Island" is the fifth novel in the series I have read. While the 19th century English naval jargon is at times distracting, the characters are engaging and the stories filled with excitement, intrigue and modest romance. O'Brian delivers intelligent nautical tales filled with history, heroism and humanity.

To increase my enjoyment of the novels, I purchased a companion editi... Read more

Review:Disappointed when this book arrived to see it had a deckle edge.
I have wanted to build a collection of hardback copies of the Aubrey/Maturin novels and ordered the first 6 volumes to find they all have the tatty page edge that to me looks very cheap and nasty.
WIll look on UK websites in the hope I can find better quality product. Read more

Review:This was advertised as a used book, but the condition was fine! If I have one complaint it would be the shipping costs. I ordered three books at once and all were delivered in the same USPS envelope. In spite of that, I was charged three different shipping charges. Read more

Review:I LOVED the introduction of Holmes to Watson as flat mates. Very interesting to hear Watson's initial take on Holmes personality, etc. Great imagery of London.....the part 2 section was unexpected (and a bit long) but the story returned home in the end. Read more

Review:Sophie wakes up one morning and her husband tells her that he has found someone else and he is divorcing her.
He has a plan. He will sell the house, he and his new junior girlfriend will move to an area near the junior girlfriend's family and Sophie will have to move too. Because Harry, their little boy, will have to be near his Dad.
Sophie has a wonderful inner life. The reader is carried along with her thoughts. At times her thoughts are absolutely funny, and at others they are very ... Read more

Review:I have never read anything by Sophie Kinsella before, but was drawn to this novel by the premise. Being a classic film buff, the entire time I was reading it I kept envisioning it in my head as a 1930s or 1940s movie. To me it has all the charm of "Blithe Spirit" or "Topper" and I could clearly see Sadie as the free-spirited ghost flitting about in her Twenties' garb, refusing to leave until she had her precious necklace, much to the dismay of her earthbound great-niece. Too bad directors lik... Read more

Review:Amy Snow, a novel published earlier this summer, makes for a great escape. One of this novel's blurbs reads: "An abandoned baby, a treasure hunt, a secret. As Amy sets forth on her quest, readers will be swept away ..." Pretty accurate, I'd say.

Wealthy heiress Aurelia Venneway finds a newborn baby naked in the snow. Without a thought to propriety, she bundles the little girl under her cloak and rushes into the parlor.amy snow Lady Venneway is cold and distant; she's just lost yet another... Read more

Review:This is a light and funny collection of one novella and several short stories. I prefer the depth of novels, but if you’re looking for quick, short reads, this is fun.

Moyes is able to give intriguing glimpses into her characters’ lives in very brief tales. In a couple of the stories, married life does not seem appealing at all. The short story Holdups is particularly funny, but there are a lot of hilarious lines throughout the book.

There isn’t a ton of depth here, but it was defi... Read more

Review:tHIS IS mILTON'S CONTINUATION OF pARADISE lOST. pARADISE IS REGAINED UPON cHRIST'S ENTRANCE ON THE EARTH. iT BEGINS WITH cHRIST;S BAPTISM wHERE sATAN IS PRESENT AND WHO FOLLOWS cHRIST INTO THE DESERT AND TEMPTS HIM TO SHOW HIS POWER BY TURNING THE STONES INTO BREAD. i USED IT IN CONNECTION WITH THE SEASON OF LENT AND THE FORTY DAYS Christ fasted in the desert. Read more