Seasons Books

there was a little island in the ocean- and this book is about how it was on that little island, how the seasons and the storm and the day and night changed it, how the lobsters and seals and gulls and everything else lived on it, and what the kitten who came to visit found out about it.

This is a very simple story. It is of a small island in the middle of the ocean and how everything has it's place. A small kitten visits the island and learns. This is a great learning tool for children. The text and the illustrations are quite simple and quite understandable. The book leaves much room open for discussion. I like this quite little book and do recommend it highly.

WE USED THIS BOOK ON A RECENT TRIP. IT IS EASY TO READ AND UNDERSTAND AND WELL ORGANIZED. WE LIKED THE ABUNDANCE OF INFORMATION ON EVERY TOPIC WE LOOKED FOR. WE ESPECIALLY LOVED THE DAY TRIP SECTION. ENJOY.....

Having enjoyed Doris Lehman's guide to the Riviera, I bought her latest travel guide and was not disappointed. I have been to London and I was interested in reading travel advice to this great city. I like her exhaustive review of hotels and restaurants. She also rates tourist attractions telling the reader which ones are must sees and which should be visited only if there is time. She even rates those which she feels are not worth visiting (well maybe they're OK for children). I disagree with her including Madame Toussaud's wax museum in this category. I visited it and thought it was great.. much better than the museum's copies on US resort boardwalks. But, such disagreements make for interesting reading. This book is very comprehensive yet very readable. I highly recommend it.

Strong characters, good story, plenty of romance & a believable Regency setting make for an enjoyable book. I picked it up at my local used book store based on the plot summary & strong recommendation left by bookjunkiereviews. I won't repeat the details since she has done a better job than I could.

Lately, I have been reading or re-reading books where there are more than one romances. Among those read were many of Georgette Heyer's classics (some of which feature at least two romances) and Fiona Hill's The Stanbroke Girls. I must have read The Loving Seasons a long time ago, because the plot (or elements of it) seemed very slightly familiar. That did not stop me from enjoying a brilliantly constructed book.

The Loving Seasons is the story of three young schoolgirls in a Kensington seminary for young women, who are expecting to make their debuts. One of them - Maggie - has been betrothed from the seminary itself by her father - as the winner of a wager into which he tricked a somewhat callow and insecure young baron. The other two - Anne (daughter of a marquess) and Emma (niece of a lady of society but somewhat sticky reputation) - try and support Maggie as she marries almost literally from the seminary. Emma is the boldest, and Maggie the shyest and most insecure. Anne, with her large portion and her rank and connections, is expected to make a brilliant match, of course.

In the first season, we watch Maggie try to make the best of her marriage to young Lord Greenwood, even as her friend Emma nearly stumbles into social disaster by emulating her (married) aunt's manner of behavior. Anne, the third friend, is slightly confused by the fact that she finds a man of no particular fortune or position and very moderate wealth rather attractive.

In the second season, Maggie begins to achieve some happiness in her marriage, even as her husband starts to mature and realize life is different for a married man (compare his behavior, by the way, with that of the newly-married Sherry in Heyer's Friday's Child). In the meantime, Emma questions not only her thinking and previous mode of behavior, but also the motives of two of her apparent suitors. During the second season, the focus is however on Anne and her friendships, as Maggie and Emma remain outside London.

In the third season, we see Maggie having achieved some happiness as a matron. Anne makes a marriage for love and character, rather than for position and wealth. And Emma? Well, Emma makes some interesting decisions. We also see relationships developing between a young artist and a man she has been observing across the street, and between Emma's aunt and her long-estranged husband.

I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Emma's aunt and her husband, and a bit more explained about Emma's position (compared to her aunt who apparently had a large dowry or portion). But otherwise, this book was very nearly perfect. It was not really a book filled with humor, and not light reading (coming in at nearly 400 closely-filled pages). But if you like serious Regency romances, and you value the development of character and the changes that come about as a young woman matures and reassesses her thinking, you might like this book. For lovers of multiple romances, this is potentially a great read.

In short, if you find some of the more recent Regency romances to be somewhat lacking in character development, try this book. Elizabeth Neff Walker also published under Laura Matthews; her style is not to everyone's taste. For me, however, this book is a keeper.

Once in a while a reader finds a favorite author whom he/she rushes to the store to buy the newest book solely based on the author. This has happened to me with Al Blanchard. All of his books and short stories are so wonderfully crafted that I know for sure I will enjoy and relish his tales. In his latest, Blanchard has created a mystery based on murders at a public school. The wonderful descriptions of the characters, the way sub-plots are interwoven throughout the story, and the ability in all of us to relate to our school days makes this book a must-read.

In his second Steve Asher mystery, The Mad Season, Blanchard sharpens his craft while losing none of the charm of the first. The story is more of a whodunit than Murder at Walden Pond, but Blanchard still centers the story with his reluctant, appealing sleuth Asher. Blanchard also has a gold mine of a setting: a public school. Is there any place in the world as people intensive as a public school? They are places of shifting loyalties, lifelong friends, career long grudges... and there is a shaky hierarchy of superintendents and principals trying to impose order on a world that is intrinsically messy. Blanchard not only takes you back to school but lets you delight in the chaos.

Well, what can I say? I am a huge fan of Devlin O'Neill's and thoroughly enjoy reading his stories.

After reading A Maid for All Seasons Volume 1, I felt that Devlin is becoming a remarkable writer. He has a passion for writing erotic stories, especially in the `spanking' area.

All I can say is that this is one very addictive erotic book. Once you start reading it, you will not want to put it down. If you like to read about `spanking' well this is definitely the book for you.

Keep up the good work Unc... I look forward to reading A Maid for All Seasons Volume 2.

Chapter by chapter, volumes 1 and 2 just get better and better and I can hardly wait for volume 3! I'm torn between wanting to read on and on past my bedtime (uh oh!) or limiting myself to one delightful chapter at a time. If you've ever found a spanking story arousing -- or have wished to be involved in adult spanking -- this is the series for you. The spanking activities and reactions of all involved are quite realistically presented and the characters grow and achieve more depth throughout the series. The author really does understand the female point of view, but I can attest that it comes from his being a wonderfully bright and funny, safe, sane, and consensual, experienced male top who definitely knows how to spank a bottom!

I have always followed this series by Devlin and he is an excellent writer. I love his characters and the way the spankings of the brats are written. It makes the reader feel like they are in the room with the characters and they can feel what they do. You can feel the warmth and the love of the characters as they blend in and interact with each other. I hope Professor Devlin will continue to write this series and more to come since I so enjoy them.

I have all of the Maid's volumes and have enjoyed each and every one of them. I love the way Devlin writes about the brats and quick response and his descriptive writing allows me to feel like I'm there. Of course I may be prejudiced since I thoroughly enjoy his writing but if you want a great series to read and are into erotica, buy this series.

Devlin keep up the great work!!!!

I've come to relate to this little book and its 'sayings'. It shrinks the basic ideas we all think about down to size in a few choice words.

This book is a gem. Martin's epigrams are true and authenticfor him -- and when I read it, I see the similarities not only for myown lifetime, but the subtle victories and sometimes crushing defeat and pain that invariably comes when any of us attempt to live a unique life without guarantees of the outcome. One of my favorite Martin epigrams: "Not one of us is less delicate than the other; we simply shatter in different places."

This warm and emotionally poignant tribute to love in all it's shades is well-worth reading. Mr. Landau brings out the nuances of love and it's emotional growth at all the many stages of life. I not only read this for myself but bought several copies for the significant people in my life.

my wife recently passed away and this collection of poems helped me with the sadness I felt and gave me the comfort of another man who went through the same journey- I came away with an appreciation of the time my wife and I spent together and I was comforted by the similarity of my emotional reaction to such a major event in my life and in the authors life--I would highly reccommend this book to any one trying to cope with the loss of a spouse

The Money Tree offers an alternative view of what is really important in life. Money begets greed is juxtaposed with the enduring rhythms of nature. What is true comfort? What has lasting value? The story spins an answer by following the main character through a calendar year and illustrating her simple pleasures against the backgroud of a strange tree.
The illustrations are magical and the story is timely. One of my very favorites- every 'child' should read it.

This is a great book for putting things in perspective. The main character has a tree in her yard which produces money. She becomes the most popular person in town. Everyone comes to her house to gather it's leaves. By winter she is becoming tired of her greedy neighbors. She cuts the tree down and uses it for something purposeful: to keep warm.

The enchanting tale of Miss McGillicuddy and the unusual tree that grew in her yard. It has a such a strange shape,and grew so fast. One day she realizes that the leaves are dollar bills, how strange! Miss McGillicuddy seems strangely unaffected by the money in the tree, she goes about her normal life. She is relieved that strangers come to pick the dollars off the branches, saving them from breaking from under the weight of the bills. As the seasons change, people are still trying to find money from the tree, which bemused the woman. As winter comes, she has the tree chopped down for firewood. Miss McGillicuddy is jusy as happy and content as she was before the magical tree grew. This book will spark any child's imagination. A wonderful story by Sarah Stewart, matched with delightful illustrations by David Small.

My 20 month old loves this book and asks for it to be read again and again. She now uses the exclamations in the book - "hooray," "fun," "pretty." She is delighted that Minka plays hide and seek but leaves his tail sticking out for her to discover! "Hip, hip hooray for fall!"

It's Mouse's first fall season in Lauren Thompson's MOUSE'S FIRST FALL, and Mouse is pleased: falling leaves are different colors, fun to play in, and encourage him in new simple play activities. Buket Erdogan provides fun, easy drawings to accent this simple tale of a little mouse's playful Fall encounters.