Non-fiction Books

Seriously, this was one of THE hottest Blaze books. I loved the three little snippets of the sex scenes (there are other full love scenes), but wished they would have expanded off of those, they were definitely hot.

This book is a HOT HOT HOT Read... I am a 100% BLAZE reader... When I read this book I thought.. WOW!!! Roxy is a girl that is tired of sticking by the rules... She is a teacher an for this one summer she wants to be BAD!!! She drives around and finds her HOTTIE in a bar.. I do have to say that the Love scenes are one of the most graphics... No the best that I have ever read... That book is a keeper... I am going to purchase it.. I wanna be a Good Time Girl Too!!!

This one is a real Blaze !!
Roxy has always been a good girl but this summer she sets out to have a good time being bad .When Roxy sets her eyes on a good-looking , dangerous cowboy named Tom the temperature rizes up . What was supposed to be a one-night stand is soooo good , one night isn't nearly enough !! Tom and Roxy and all of their sex scenes are soooo hot !!!
It's a great book , when i start reading it , i couldn't stop ; i was up till 2 in the morning !!

Starting with the best (and hottest!) pick-up scene I have ever read, this story just kept getting better as these lovers get to know each other on more and more levels. Very well written, nuanced storyline with a dry sense of humor, a likable cast of characters, believable conflicts, and excellent dialog.

This book was steamy from beginning to end. It's one of the hottest Blaze books I have ever read. And, as regular Blaze readers would know, Blaze books tend to be very graphic and intense. I read about 4 or 5 books a week and keep very few of them, however, this book made it onto my shelf of keepers. Some of the scenes were so intense they're tatooed on my brain. Take my advice -- do not read this book right before you go to bed if you are intending to sleep. Do not read this book unless you have enough time to read it from cover to cover. It is THAT good!

This second part of the Gormenghast trilogy focuses on Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Gormenghast's youth, from schooling to his ascention to manhood. This book took me almost a year to read (one long break) - the first half of the book progresses incredibly slowly, even for Peake's normally languid pace - I just couldn't cope. I can appreciate his qualities as a wordsmith - his vocabulary is second to none but I couldn't help but think he could have shortened things somewhat- the schoolmasters' preparation to court Irma drags on and on, but her eventual marriage has virtually no importance to the main plot, and ends up seeming like a waste of time and space - 'I waded through molasses for what!'

In stark contrast, the latter half of the book contains Peake's best (I think) work of the entire trilogy, culminating in the hunt for Steerpike - which is superb. Definately a book of two halves, (bad cliche) but the reader is rewarded for their effort in the end.

These books rank with the greatest books of world literature, and only one of them is still in print? Every library in the world should have a copy of the trilogy. Anyway, here we find the story of the adolescence of Titus Groan. We are also given more depth into the other characters. I'd like to note that my veiw of Steerpike and Flay changed. When I read Titus Groan, I found Steerpike more a sympathetic character than Flay, here it is otherwise. I'd also like to mention on how the events in the previous book effect the life of Titus Groan in such a way that it seems as if it happened in real life. We see the conflict inside of him between the pride of his linege and the desire for freedom, that eventually has Titus flee the great castle. The conflict between freedom and desire for the home is carried into Titus Alone.

Having read Titus Groan (which I enjoyed immensely), I decided to read Gormenghast. This took place some 10 years ago, but the book is one I still recommend and think about regularly. I will not attempt to review it in any real detail here, but I will add one comment about the book which other reviews usually leave out. This book is the funniest book I have ever read. It is not exactly a comedy, and I do not think it is intended to be riotously funny. I still reread sections of the book as they make me laugh so much it hurts. I think the reason it is funny (but only in places) relates to Mervyn Peake's mental illness, a condition which eventually led to his tragic death. The humour is black and warped. If you were to read the whole book through, this could be missed. The sections relating to Titus's schooling are fascinating and hilarious (strychnine poisoning) - yet I believe this aspect of the book is usually overlooked. There are other reasons to recommend this book, but for me, it remains a work of (partial) comic genius.

This is a review of Gormenghast, that is, the second part of the Gormenghast trilogy (after Titus Groan, and before Titus Alone).

After a somewhat slow beginning, in which Mervyn Peake first briefly summarizes Titus Grown by drawing up a list of which characters have died or gone missing, then introduces the reader with the plethora of new characters that are the teachers of Titus, the now seven-year-old seventy-seventh Earl of Gormenghast, the pace hopefully picks up again. And as the pages turn, the story becomes more and more exciting.

Irma Prunesquallor's party, and then her romance and the way the whole affair eventually backfires on Wellgrove, although it does not push the plot further, were fun to read. Titus's growing love for his sister Fuchsia, and at the same time his attempts at shunning both the physical prison that is Gormenghast castle and the mental cage that is its sacrosanct ritual, attempts that lead him into the mysterious forest where lurks the Thing, and to the grotto where Flay has taken shelter, were passionating. Finally, Steerpike's mischievious, murderous ambition, and the others' suspicions that gradually turn into evidences, and the memorable chases in the shadowy maze of the fortress that ensue, were purely mind-boggling.

Mervyn Peake's characters are so complex that in the end you like the ones you despised and hate the ones you loved in the first book. His words give life to such an amazing imagery, it vibrates and dazzles, it's intoxicating. This is magic.

It's not really possible to review Gormenghast out of context with the other two books that sandwich it: Titus Groan leads you into the world of Gormenghast and Titus Alone makes you wonder how Gormenghast, the place, exists.
This second volume continues to follow the adventures of the murderously ambitious Steerpike, the maturity and self-awareness of Titus Groan, with some colorful side-trips into a courtship, the revelation of a creature completely antithetical to all that Gormanghast stands for, and a natural disaster that heightens the intensity of the conclusion.
I would heartily recommend starting with Titus Groan (it seems the only available edition has all three volumes in one), and working through them in sequence. But make sure you avoid all the scholarly apparatus that follows Titus Alone until you've finished all three: there are a few spoilers there.
As for the comparisons to Tolkein, I'm afraid I don't see it: they as different as can be. This is not a hero's quest and where it does come down to good versus evil, it's more to do with survival: the world of Gormenghast is a world of murk and shadows, with no clear delineations or values. Titus Groan's self-awareness and the choices he makes are what drive the story. In The Lord of the Rings, there's a sense of destiny to the decisions and actions: Gormenghast is much more personal, with Steerpike's ambition, Sepulchrave's sense of duty, Flay's vigilance, Titus's maturity all helping to propel the action.
Now go read this monster.

In "The Greengage Summer" five English youths have their vacation trip to the battlefields of France derailed when their mother develops a disabling illness due to an insect bite. While she is in hospital, they stay at a hotel run by two sour proprietors and peopled by an eccentric cast of characters. Each of the youths pursues his or her interests (painting, photography, etc.) while exploring the hotel and the grounds nearby. They befriend the handyman Paul, a young man with a perplexing past, and bond with their temporary guardian, Eliot, whose background, they eventually discover, is even more disturbing. In their summer stay, the children also stumble upon a mystery. As they collide with a foreign adult world, they receive an education, but not quite the one their mother originally intended.

The Grey children are taken to France by their mother to visit the battlefields of WW1 in the hope that it will make them less selfish. However, she is taken ill as soon as they arrive at their destination, the hotel Les Oeillets, and the children find themselves bewildered and frightened in a strange land with a barely conscious mother. They are befriended by Eliot, a charming and enigmatic Englishman staying at Les Oeillets, who sorts everything out. With their mother in hospital, the children are free to explore this strange and exotic new world, so different from the dull suburban English town they have come from. They get to know all the people at the hotel, Mamzelle Zizzi, the beautiful but slightly haggard proprietor, who is clearly besotted with Eliot, Madame Corbet, grim and unsmiling, who equally clearly detests him, and all the rest of the staff. They make friends with Paul, an orphan who is an overworked drudge in the kitchen, but dreams of some day owning his own lorry. The story is narrated by Cecil, thirteen years old, who observes everything, especially the growing attraction between Joss, her exquisitely lovely elder sister, and Eliot. As Eliot spends more and more time with the children, Mamzelle Zizzi's jealousy grown, until it finally explodes one night in a scene that terrifies and bewilders the Grey family. The children try to retreat from the scary grownupworld to their safe childhood idyll, but it is too late, the happy atmosphere is poisoned. As Eliot's behaviour grows more mysterious,and Mamzelle Zizzi continues to simmer with jealousy the story heads inevitably towards disaster. All the characters in this book are fascinating, from secretive, sexy Eliot to the drudge Paul, and you feel totally involved in their lives. The atmosphere of a French summer is so vividly described, you can taste the greengages the children stuff themselves with, and smell the eccentric French plumbing. A gripping and poignant story of lost innocence, this book is based on actual events in Rumer Godden's youth, and is quite unforgettable.

When the dog bites, when you're feeling blue, simply get a copy of The Greengage Summer to gorge on its luscious and heady prose. Godden is a timeless writer and I'm fairly sure this started life as 'adult' rather than 'children's' fiction - for all the worth of those meaningless categories. I guess the teen reads didn't exist then and this seething, hormonal coming-of-age novel captures the very essence of that moment when knowing youth casts its spell without being able to foresee the consequences, for it to appeal to younger readers, but I wonder if the hindsight of growing-up add another layer or three. The prose is limpid, laden with resonance and the characters are wondeful. I can smell and see the summer and its dangerous allure. Nicely tragic too (in that noone actually dies, but the consequences of playing with adult-hood are suitably dire!). It is a book I turn to time-and-again and recommend unstintingly to anyone who'll hear me out.

This is one of those books I've bought again and again. It's a beautiful coming-of-age story set in the French countryside. I first read it back when the earth was cooling, and I have no idea what became of that original copy. I bought it again as an adult, loaned it to a friend and never saw it again. I recently bought it yet a third time, a used copy on Amazon, and this one I'm not loaning out.
Greengage Summer is a delicious melange of mystery, romance, travel writing, and character study. I'm surprised it's no longer in print, because I truly think it's a classic. It started me reading everything Rumer Godden's written. I like her writing tremendously, but Greengage Summer is her best.
When Mum is confined to bed in a small French village, her children are left on their own in the pensione. It's mainly the story of the oldest daughter's blossoming toward maturity, but it's more, much more, than what appears on the surface.
Read it, and loan it to a friend - but be sure you get it back!

A former "diplobrat" who grew up abroad, I identified with Godden's description of a child's first encounter with France. The effect of their foreign adventure on each family member develops along with an excellent plot (not usually Godden's strong point). Even better than the character descriptions is the evocation of French country life at its most seductive -- "next best to being there."

Great as usual, If you've bought the previous ones, there's no reason not to have this one. I you haven't, what are you waiting for?!

Excellent production. Seeing old movie clips is fun but I really hoped that WB would release twelve "Order of the Phoenix" photos instead.

The calendar was ordered by mistake. I actually wanted the day-by-day calendar. I didn't realize the error until it arrived in the mail. The customer service guy was very courteous and helpful. He showed me how to return that calendar so I could order a new one. Thank you...

I think this desk calendar is one of the best I have seen. There are so many pictures( one for each week). I love Harry Potter and been a fan since day one, so this calendar took my dedication to Harry Potter to the next level. I use this calendar for work to write down my times I am working. It has pretty big spaces to write stuff down. Maybe around 1-2 inches tall and maybe 6 inches across. I think this is a most have for those Harry Potter fans, like me, who need to keep organized.

This is the second calendar (I also bought the 2006) and I love it. My parents were even impressed with the quality of paper, that is used in the making of the calendar. Just wish they had included more pictures of Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore.

Another one of our family favorites from the series. We especially like the humor in Snow Glory and the story of the Kittens. We have nearly all the Henry & Mudge stories. This one is on our top 5 list.

These are such wonderful books about a boy named Henry and the frienship that he shares with his big 180 pound dog Mudge. Nice Illustrations and easy to understand stories. They are great books and my 9 year old nephew loved these when he was in second grade. I bought some of these for him when he was 7. Now my son Ramon who is 7 loves them too.

In Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble you'll see how kids sometimes don't listen to their parents even when they want to. When Henry doesn't listen to his mother's advice about the Morning Glory will he able to fix the problems it causes? Find out why listening to your parents is important when you read this book. If you are the kind of kid who doesn't listen to your mom then this is the book for you. Check out other books in the Henry and Mudge series like Henry and Mudge and the Best Test.

my son needed to read by himself. his teacher told me to get him the henry and mudge books. he really likes to read these

This book is great!!! I think one of your children would give it 5 stars. The kittens are very cute.

This was a fast-paced read. I loved the characters and the story

After reading the 7 reviews praising Donna Clayton's, Her Dream Come True, I decided to get the book. I had great expectations! Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. In my opinion, the story lacked action, it was slow moving, and .... I was bored. I did not care for the heroin's (Hannah) personality, I felt she was weak, and I thought some scenes were silly.

I find Miss Clayton's romances to touch on real matters that women of our generation face. This book made me cry and laugh. Only a writer with a compassionate heart would chose a subject like this and spin a great romance out of what could be sorrow. A definite "read-again". I'll keep this one on my "special shelf". Thank you , Miss Clayton for another special story. I can't wait for her next one.

That's all I have to say

Hannah Cavanaugh is coming home to meet a special sister she hasn't seen since childhood, determined to take care of her. While Hannah tries to sort out her sister's needs, she has to deal with her own needs as well -- her growing need for Adam Roth, Tammy's neighbor and informal guardian. Adam and Hannah seem at odds about everything that's important -- what Tammy needs, what's important in life. The one thing they can agree on is they're totally wrong for each other. So why can't they seem to maintain their distance?

For lovers of traditional romances, Her Dream Come True is for you.

This book is so well written, that I wished Ms. jones would write more. Thank you, and write faster.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - the plot line, the romance, the characters were all very enjoyable. My only gripe with the book is that it seemed strangely similar to "Perfect" by Judith McNaught. This didn't ruin the book for me, but I don't think the book came across as "original."

This book is excellent. You can't put it down, it has the perfect blend of romance and action, and it's one you'll re-read next year! Get it!

This book is excellent. You can't put it down, it has the perfect blend of romance and action, and it's one you'll re-read next year! Get it!

Ms. Jones has taken a tried-and-true romance plot and given it her own special magic. HOT ON HIS TRAIL is a must read and I can promise you that once you start, you won't be able to put it down. Then when you finish the book, you'll be asking for--make that demanding--stories for Shea's three intriguing brothers, Boone, Dean and Clint.

Toni Blake's fastpaced, spicy Temptation is truly a HOTBED HONEY! Throughout this page-turner, Ms. Blake's wonderful writing talents shine through in her first Harlequin Temptation. She spirals readers on a high-speed roller coaster ride, from the brink of disaster deep into the throes of heated passion and endless love. From strong, well-developed characterzation to snappy dialogue and heart-tugging emotion, booklovers will read HOTBED HONEY in one sitting because they won't be able to put it down. As a former book reviewer, I am very impressed and eagerly awaiting Ms. Blake's next Harlequin Temptation.

I have to wonder what goes through editor's heads when they slap a title like Hotbed Honey onto a book, at least a book that has nothing to do with beekeeping and garden horticulture, but I'd heard enough good buzz about the book to know I should not judge it by the title.

Max Tate and Kimberly Brandt are quite a pair, a pair with a history that didn't have a happy ending. The two had worked together previously as private investigators and had developed a red-hot relationship "off the job." Things seemed to be going well until for some inexplicable reason, Kim blew their cover on a job, resulting in both of them losing their jobs. Rather than allowing her to give her side of the story, Max severed all ties and neither had seen the other for three years, until fate threw them together once more - again working together as P.I.s

Max finds Kim to have changed, toughened up, but still won't cut her any slack as far as the previous disaster. A couple of times, I wanted to reach out and smack him for the hurt he was causing her by his snide remarks and his callous, cold manner. From the beginning, the author depicted Kim as one smart lady, one who would not simply 'walk off a job' without an excellent reason. I found a lump in my throat at several points in the story when I could 'feel' her hurt that Max didn't care enough to ask her for her side of what happened. They put their past and present feelings aside and manage to work together in harmony as a married couple to catch the suspected jewel thief, until Max realizes that old love doesn't die, but simmers on the back burner. I'll admit I was glad to see him suffer suitably. ::: grin :::

What transpires is a clever, hot & harrowing resolution to all their problems, including Kim's side of the botched job, that will leave you breathlessly satisfied. I liked the book so much I've hunted up Ms. Blake's back list and look forward to her future releases. This author is definitely one to watch.

Toni Blake's fastpaced, spicy Temptation is truly a HOTBED HONEY! Throughout this page-turner, Ms. Blake's wonderful writing talents shine through in her first Harlequin Temptation. She spirals readers on a high-speed roller coaster ride, from the brink of disaster deep into the throes of heated passion and endless love.

From strong, well-developed characterzation to snappy dialogue and heart-tugging emotion, booklovers will read HOTBED HONEY in one sitting because they won't be able to put it down.

As a former book reviewer for Romantic Times Magazine, I am very impressed and eagerly awaiting Ms. Blake's next Harlequin Temptation.

Toni Blake puts forth an entertaining and gripping read in her first Temptation. Max Tate and Kimberly Brandt have worked and loved together before, and it didn't end happily the first time around. Now they both have another chance--for Kim to prove her skills as a PI, and for Max to realize it didn't really end for either of them. A tight, emotionally rich story with heavy sexual tension and just the right amount of suspense. Anything less would be disappointing, anything more would be overkill. Ms. Blake has hit her mark dead on.

Read this one in the bathtub with a bag of Dove chocolate Promises. After the water's cold and nothing's left but foil wrappers with cryptic proverbs, you'll still get that warm, satisfying feeling from the book in your hands.

Hotbed Honey is a super Temptation by talented new author, Toni Blake. I really enjoyed the high level of sensuality, and the witty give and take between two PI's reunited after their romance crashed and burned along with one of their cases a couple of years before.

In this high-intensity romance, meet Max Tate, owner of a private investigation agency, in need of an attractive, experienced investigator to pose as his wife for a few days. He gets the surprise of his life when Kimberly Brandt shows up to play the part. With time as an issue, Max doesn't have much choice but to accept Kimberly's services. Her desire to reestablish herself as a capable professional in Max's eyes elicits Kimberly's agreement to work with Max on his latest case. Distrust, jealousy, and lingering attraction complicate the assignment as Kimberly must cozy up to a sleazy jewel thief and catch him in the act.

Danger and suspense add to the excitement as Max and Kimberly set out to get their man. There's plenty of clonflict along with great characters and riveting dialogue to carry the reader along to a satisfying conclusion where the bad guy gets his due, old hurts and misunderstandings are resolved, and Max and Kimberly form a partnership for life.

The sign of a truly good children's book: fabulous illustrations, fun and interesting to read, parent-friendly, time-less. Every time I pull out this book, my 14-month gathers up all her stuffed cat toys and we read it together. There are lots of opportunities in the book to use different voices to bring the cats to life. This is one of our favorite books and will have a special place on our bookshelf for years to come. I think even dog people would like this book.

Great book for any cat lover

author of "Hobo Finds A Home"

My daughter checked this book out at school.
She loved it so much, and hated to return it to the library, so I ordered it for her for Christmas.
What a great story about liking cats with awesome illustrations to go with it.
I highly recommend it for anyone, cat lovers or not!

I concur with the consensus on here. Like the other Kimberly, I checked this book out for my 2 year old daughter at our local library. After 4 renewals from the library, I had to get this one.

The artwork is fabulous and the rhyming text is easy for a young one to memorize. Our daughter now "reads" the book to us reciting "Sing a little ditty, cats!" A must for cat lovers as it shows how much personality cats truly have.

We also love the opening page which has a list of colorful characters such as Lord Buttons, Pickles Jones, and Nacho Grande. We have to pick out which cartoon kitties look like our two real ones.

Loads of fun for your little one! Highly recommend!

The author and artist of this work must indeed like cats as there are hundreds(?) of drawings of these fury little creatures in this work. This is certainly a book that I would add to my young child's library as the pictures are endless, and surprisingly all different. The colors are great and the artist, Pamela Paparone, has done a wonderful job with her subject. You can read this book with your child over and over again, and each time, both you, and your child, will see something new with each reading. The text goes well with the art. The colors are quite eye catching as the entire layout of the book. Recommend this one quite highly.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Gilmore's books and this one is a favorite and a keeper. Gilmore has a skill in her descriptions of not only the characters, but the scenery as well. I felt like I was there and the art of producing a story of plumbing the depths of the character's secrets is superb. I never felt a boring moment while reading this. It is also a book that is hard to put down and when the final ending came, I felt sad that my trip had ended. Bettye Johnson, award-winning author, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls.

Very nice book. With a touch of spirituality, action and the charm of the Burmese country life 50 years ago. One of Gilman's best books.

Dorothy Gilman is one of my favorite authors. So when this was the choice for our book club I was delighted. Somewhat different from her other books, this was still a wonderful book. If this is your first Dorothy Gilman book you also need to read Tightrope Walker and Thale's Folly, those are great books.

I read this book about 15 years ago and loved it. Recently, during a reading slump (I've re-read my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories one too many times), I decided to branch out and try other mystery writers. I've never read any of the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries, but I will now. Loved the mystique and adventure of this story; hope her other books have a similar flavor.

I have now read all of Dorothy Gillam's books. Was so glad to get this copy. I am pleased with the book. Thanks.