Burr Books

I'm not sure exactly why, but some books evoke a melody that plays through my head as I read. UNDER THE BURR OAK TREE is one such book. As an old-fashioned love story, the song written by Paul Williams "Just an Old Fashioned Love Song" and words about three-part harmony and I found this was so appropriate to this story.

Three-part Harmony: Two women, two men, two love stories . . . and one loving and forgiving God. Read the story, listen to the `melody' and you'll hear the harmony - a trio of love, joy, and forgiveness.

Dennis Bates writes with great sensitivity and delightful humor. There are some laugh-out-loud moments even in the midst of extreme tension.

Kudos to you, Dennis, for writing a beautiful, sensitive and deeply meaningful love story.

I only made it through half this book before giving up. Having loved Clan of the Cave Bear, I really wanted this series to keep me captive. However, about half way through Valley of Horses and continuing well into Mammoth Hunters, the author goes from story teller to erotic novelist. The amount of explicit sex in these books should get an advisor warning on the cover. I found myself skipping the sex scenes to look for a plot that wasn't there. The love triangle was absurd and intangible. I was sorely disappointed with the direction the author went in this series.

I'm enjoying this audio book very much. It's the 3rd in the series, and is as good as the two previous books.

The Mammoth Hunters is the third installment in Jean Auel's Earth Children saga. It is an excellent addition to anyone's library.

Once you start on this series, you won't want to stop until the end of their journey, and even then you will want more.

i really like the way that the package got here in a reasonalbe amount of time. it was also ready for me to listen to when i got it

I'm 58, happily married 19 years to the "perfect" man (older than I am) but with no children of my own and thinking a lot about widowhood and what I would do if I were on my own. This book came into my life now, as I prepare to attend my 40th high school reunion (1968) with my 2 best friends from that era. We live in different states and rarely see each other. I went to our 30th reunion with one of them (last time I saw her) and the other has not been to any of our reunions yet.

This book spoke to me, as if it were written espressly for me. That is the only criticism I might have of it; I'm trying to think of other friends it might help as it has me and can only think of a one or two. Nevertheless, if you know a mid-fifties, childless, married woman, buy her this book and she'll thank you for it.

I loved this book! I've been disappointed by some of Berg's recent books, still believing her first few were the best....Joy School, Durable Goods, etc. But some of her phrasing and descriptions in this book are just breathtakingly beautiful. Of course, some of it is unrealistic, but it's a novel!! I highly recommend it!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I agree with C.L. Ferle who stated that this book relates to everyone approaching midlife and wanting or needing to reinvent themselves. The message here is that life is full of starts and stops, beginnings and endings, rolling with the punches and surviving whatever life throws at you. There is light at the end of the tunnel and better days are coming so don't give up. And I don't know of one person who hasn't needed to take comfort in that message at some time in their lives. I love Elizabeth Berg's writing style, the way she sprinkles words of wisdom right into the storyline that stay with you long after you have finished the story and I have a strong feeling that she writes from personal experience. I have just added her to my favorite authors list and I look forward to reading more of her novels. To those critics here who are complaining about the characters being selfish, the story being contrite or unrealistic or whatever other whining they are doing, sorry you didn't "get" it. It's not so much about what Betta did, but rather HOW she managed to pick herself up by her boot-straps when life as she knew it ended.

Unlike some of the reviewers of The Year of Pleasures: I did NOT find the characters (or the setting) "June Clever-ish"; I DON'T think Betta "selfish"; nor did I find the characters too "Goodie-goodie". A recent widow myself, I admired Betta's tenacity in starting a new/different life and not lolling in her grief. Death is a part of life, and life goes on.....why not LIVE it? I agree that Elizabeth Berg DOES speak to one's soul. The psychology/philosophy she "slips" into her stories adds so much to her characters and speaks volumes as to the kind of person the author is......kind, compassionate, and insightful. I discovered her less than a month ago, have read five of her novels and have two "in the wings" waiting to be read.

I was torn between reading the book slowly, to savor it, and reading it quickly, to see how the story developed. I have recommended it to many, and plan to re-read it after I finish "The Art of Mending".

I hope Berg has many more stories where her others came from......I am an ardent fan. Thank you for "hours of pleasures".

What person affter 30 years of her husband doing everything goes up to the first house in the first town she stopped at and knows nothing about, and buys it, full price, after 10 minutes of looking?

The worst was when she phoned a friend after not speaking for 30 years and just reaquainting themselves after 2 short visits "I've got a favor. I want you to take the weekend off, fly down here, and make the girlfriend of a new friend jealous." These women are 50 years old! And then the way she treats that friend when she gets along with Tom. Practically throwing her out of the house.

What a totally selfish woman. Unbelievable.

The other worst was after only months after her absolute perfect husband died she is throwing herself at another man to have sex with him. If she her husband loved him as much as we are led to believe ... There is no way.

I guess there are lots of worst things. Like her relationship with 10! year old Benny who has girlfriend troubles. Benny's mother lets him stay at Betta's house until 9:00 and she hasn't even met him.

Blah BLah Blah. You feel insulted and stupid reading this book. "the things that bring me comfort now are too small to list (but she lists them anyway)... "raspeberries in cream. Sparrows with cocked heads. Shadows of bare limbs..." PLeeeeeeeeeeze!

I've read some of Coulter's historical romance novels, and enjoyed them, but this is not one of her better efforts. I'm halfway through the book, and am persisting only to find out the solution to the mystery. The characterizations are inconsistent--at times, characters change attitudes practically mid-sentence. I half-expect the villains to be wearing top hats, capes, and twirling black mustaches. The dialogue is amateurish and silly. I know that she has re-written other books of hers, and I think that this one needs the same treatment, because it reads like a book written by an adolescent who only imagines what adults say and do. I will probably try one more in this series to see if the books improve, but not until I "cleanse my palate" with a few other books. ETA: I have now finished it, and the ending was so contrived that it really wasn't worth my time--time I'll never get back.

I didn't read the Coulter FBI series in order, so I know that this isn't her best work in the series. I went back to this one for background information on one of her recurring characters. It is a good "light" read and shows off Coulter's strengths - characters and setting of place. I FEEL like I could drive to this town and know my way around. She has a wonderful way of making you feel the wind in your face and hear it howling around the eaves of the house. As stories go, it's "eh". I highly recommend others in the series - The Maze, Riptide, etc.

This is a readible beach book. The plot is interesting and there are a few surprizes. I didn't find any of the characters likible except for the FBI agent who is the friend of the hero.There are two mysteries going on here. One involves Sally 's(the lead female) father's death and the second one is the source of the small town of Cove's income. Some of the inhabitants of Cove are very irritating and so is Sally .
The actions that take place in this novel could never take place in real life. This is not a police procedural. It is an FBI fantasy novel. 2 1/2 stars.

I apologize for all you Coulter fans but OMG can just one of her FBI series books not follow the formula: Big strong FBI man meets damsel in distress and two weeks later decides he want to marry her and have babies? Ugh. I read these sorts of books for the suspense and the mystery which for the most part she does fairly well; however, it is so mired in the thinnest of sexual undertones that it can be hard not to discount the whole storyline.

I've been starving for good murder mysteries lately and I can't get enough of them. This book does not fall into that category. I read this book all the way through, but I wouldn't have if it hadn't been for all the crazy stuff that happened, which I guess kept it from being completely boring. It really was just ridiculous. I think it was very poorly written, somtimes hard to read/understand, and conversations between characters were too lengthy and sometimes one sided. Just a silly, silly book. Because of this, I will probably never pick up another book by Catherine Coulter.

That about says it all. If you want just the straight story, as I did (not looking for gory details, just a narrative), you've come to the wrong place. First of all, the writing was abysmal--and they *had* a ghostwriter! Imagine if they hadn't...

The excruciating details of the family's faith were belabored and preached and whined about until I wanted to scream, and I couldn't finish the book. I sympathize with their ordeal (though really, as another reviewer said, the family's naivete was almost criminal), but my sympathy started to wane as I trudged through this drivel. If I wanted to read about Mormonism, I would read some source material. Not recommended.

A great book about a family who got their daughter back from a kidnapping ALIVE! There is aLOT of their personal belief in Mormonism but well worth the read. Their whole attitude towards law enforcement is remarkable and patient! The book is a great testimony for those who have been in this type of situation.

I enjoyed the book, obviously loving parents of a teenager who maybe willingly fled from home, we will never know. What is important is that she is back, part of a loving family, and she is going on with her life. The book is obviously the parents' side of the story and it is well told, kindly written, and we have to believe that maybe Elizabeth was actually kidnapped, even though the loopholes for this are pretty deep, especially that the culprits have yet to be tried for kidnapping so it looks like they are having a difficult time to prove the case. Still Elizabeth is a young woman, lovingly portrayed in the book by her family, so let's be happy about the conclusion of the case and leave it at that.

The first time I read this book, I was watching it all happen. i'ts like I was invisible. I admire Elizabeth for having the guts to do what she did. I would have fought back, but she did it the safe way, she didn't resist. Reading this book, you feel like you know the Smart family. I pray for all Missing Children everywhere. Elizabeth is the luckiest girl in the world! Mary Katharine was so cool and collected. she is amazing too. read this book!

Bringing Elizabeth Home was a heartwarming story about Elizabeth's tragic journey. I would of preferred it if Elizabeth told the story rather then Elizabeth's parents: Ed and Lois Smart. But I think that there were rumors going around about Elizabeth's story, and they just wanted to tell the world what really happened.
They are a really strong family for having to go through Elizabeth's kidnapping. Escpecially her sister (Mary-Katherine) for having to see her sister getting kidnapped, and not being able to do anything to save her sister. I enjoyed reading about the Smart's sad but also happy story.

When I first picked up this book at a used book store, I was just getting to know Linda Howard and her ways of writing. I realized that many of her books are single titles now, but Sarah's Child was a small romance novel, first of a three-book series. I began to read it that night, and couldn't put the book down. How she could be able to write a story about a woman, who not only lost the love of her life to her best friend for many years, living with a broken heart, then to losing her best friend seven or so years later.

Sarah had been in love with Rome from the moment she laid eyes on him, no questions asked. But she was the quiet one, always standing in the background, as she watched Rome, and her best friend, Diane fall in love, get married, and have two beautiful baby boys. Then tragedy strikes, and Rome and Sarah are left behind to grieve alone.

Two years have passed, Sarah is still deeply in love with Rome, and he never knows it, until one night he asks her to come to his old home to collect a few of Diane's things. After that night, they begin to unravel a friendship that turns into deep lust on Rome's part, and utter love and acceptance on Sarah's. They work out a deal to get married of convience, and they soon live happy together, only Rome forbids to have anymore children for he can't even face another child without thinking of his two lost boys. So, Sarah sadly agrees because she'll do anything to make her husband happy, including sacrificing her own need and want to have a child of her own.

But...unexpectedly after Sarah gets over an illness and she forgets to take her birth control pills, she becomes pregnant in the next few weeks. She's afraid to tell Rome she was expecting for what he might do. When she finally did tell him, he blows up, begs her to have an abortion, but Sarah refuses and cries that he will never have to do a thing for the baby. That Rome won't even have to look at their child, or even be in the delivery room. Rome agrees...and nine months later, Sarah gives birth to a little girl, Melissa aka Missy, and she is the spitting image of Rome in every way except she's a girl. For the first few months, Rome is only worried for Sarah and that she is okay, and will be okay because he loves his wife. He finally admits that his marriage to her is now about love, and he never wants her to leave him. And Sarah never will because Rome always had her heart.

Eventually, after a stressful night, Rome goes to the baby's crib, picks up baby Missy, and holds her...and during one of the most heartbreaking scenes I have EVER read in a book, this one takes the bait. Rome holds his new baby girl, and cries. Sarah knew this, but kept it from him until the next night, and Rome is a changed man. He accepts his daughter, blames himself for being such a bastard for not taking care of Sarah during her pregnancy, and of course, the book has a very happy ending.

This book was just unusual in so many ways. I haven't read a book where there is a marriage of convience then with the hero demanding there be no children between them. Only the romance. And when there is a baby, it's like all hell breaks loose and it's hard for Rome to even live once he's discovered Sarah is pregnant with his child.

Such a heartrending love story. YOU HAVE TO FIND THIS BOOK AND KEEP IT FOREVER! This is one to keep!!!!

I've actually got a first edition paperback of this one, and last week I finally got the chance to get Linda to sign it too. This was the first romance I ever read, and it's still my "fall back" book when I don't have anything to read.

At first you will feel very sorry for both Sarah and Rome, and eventually you'll really dislike Rome. I understand why some people don't like this story. Like most romance's written in the 80's, Rome is your typical type "A" personality, and even through all the pain he's suffered, you'll still want to hit him. Sarah, on the other hand, is head over hills in love with him and goes through an emotional hell to stay with her man. Of course,there are also some good side characters too (Max & Derek)that give you some relief from all the heavy emotions in the book. (I know Max later has his own book, I think Derek had a short story in a book with a couple other authors). Of course, like every other romance it has a happy ending, that for me, didn't disappoint.
Goodness knows how many times I've read this story, but it still brings a tear to my eye every time that I read it. And every girlfriend I have that has read this story, loved it too.

I could not stand Rome, he ruined the whole story. I usually love most of Howards heroes no matter how arrogant because they seem to really love their women and have some redeeming qualities. Rome had nothing, and is about the worst hero I've ever read. He was mean, verbally and mentally abusive, condescending, hypocritical and more I cant even think of right now. sarah was an idiot for loving and marrying him AND having his child. uuuhhhggg!!!!

Rome starts dating and marries Sarah as a marriage of convenience. His wife and two children had been killed in a car accident. Sarah provides comfort. Throughout most of the book he mentally abuses her, getting angry and saying things he shouldn't. This story was worth reading because it was different from abusive relationships in "real life," in which one person starts out pleasant but later turns abusive.

CAUTION SPOILERS: In this story, Rome starts out abusive, and later becomes healed, nonabusive and truly loving. Similarly with the baby, he initially doesn't want it, but later becomes healed, open and loving of the baby. One part that bothered me was that they each wanted to sleep together but they thought the other one preferred sleeping alone. This was a frustrating communication problem to me, because if either one of them simply said I'd like to sleep all night together, both would have been happy to do it. I would not recommend this book to someone who is new to Linda Howard. I am glad that I read it only because I am a fan of hers and I plan to read most of her books. Also, it was different from most romance novels so I value it as a change of pace. If you're new to L. Howard, I suggest you read Mr. Perfect, Kill and Tell, Dream Man, After the Night and Almost Forever. One more thought, my favorite character in Sarah's Child was the 15 year old neighbor, Derek. Derek had a minor but memorable part in this story. Derek is as close to being the perfect person there is. He is considerate, caring, eager to help, learns quickly and seems to know things others don't. He works for Sarah in her store. When she needs some electrical work done, Derek reads up on it and competently does the electrical work. Later when Sarah starts going into labor with her child, Derek tells her that he has been reading up on child delivery so that he could deliver the baby if she needs it. Knowing him, she knows he would be excellent at it. There are two sequels to Sarah's Child. Almost Forever is about Max finding love, which I gave 5 stars. Bluebird Winter is about Derek finding love, which I gave 3 stars. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: nine. Copyright: 1985. Genre: contemporary romance.

Sarah needs to get a life. Waiting around for an arrogant SOB? What a wimp!

Mona Charen is an accomplished author ,extremely knowledgeable and has put together a factual overview of the social changes that have taken place in America (and even to a greater extent in Canada) since 1960.
By far and away,these changes have bee Liberal in concept and instituted and encouraged by Liberals.
Whether you consider yourself a Conservative or a Liberal,you have to agree that the chances in Law &Order,Racial Sensitivity,The Family,Welfare Reform,Homelessness,Education,and other aspects of Social Well Being have been Liberal in thinking.In none of these areas can one even attempt to argue that changes made have been to encourage Conservative ideals. The author examines the changes that have taken place ,shows what the results have been ,with back-up facts.You don't just have to take what she says without questioning;.You live with all these things going on around you every day.
What Charen has so well laid out is how and why these changes were made.All you have to do is to ask yourself if these changes have tended to improve society or have they led to the problems we now face.
Society faces continual struggles between Small Government-Big Government,Opportunity-Entitlements,Free Enterprise,Self Sufficiency-Dependency,Initiative-Victimization,Citizens-Hyphenated Citizens.
What ever happened to the ideas of JFK who asked?
"Ask not what your country can do for you.Ask what you can do for your country."
This book shows how much Liberal ideas have been entrenched into American Society,what great benefits were hoped for;and what has been the result.
As Liberalism,Collectivism,Socialism and even Marxism continues to expand into every area of society;will it be for the better or not?
It is worthwhile remembering that America was founded on well accepted beliefs,freedoms,self-reliance,small government and prospered and grew into the greatest country on earth where people of every stripe yearned to come. They came with only one desire ,to have an Opportunity .Opportunity has been replaced with the concept of Entitlement.This has succeeded nowhere it was ever instituted and the record is showing the same results in America.
One can only assume that for Socialism to succeed;first Capitalism must be destroyed.
As the newly elected guvernment ,under the Presidency of OBama takes over;there is bound to be further advances in Liberal ideas and solutions to society's problems. Will it become a better society or will it be more of the same--but with greater vigor?

Descriptive but pedestrian account of how liberal ideas of the last 50 years have harmed citizens and society, focusing on crime, welfare and childcare issues.

The descriptive is dead on, but the prescriptive is missing: Charen makes no attempt to define a way out of the mess.

Ms Charen offers a well researched argument on how the left, regardless of thier good intentions are destroying America. She examines failed education, social welfare polices and the assualt on traditional values. She shows that liberalism is not compassionate and hurt those who liberals claim to help. A must read.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It really shows what the subtitle says it does.

I can appreciate a person's view (and everyone has a right to free speech), but there are a few items I have read by Mona Charen that I question what her motivations are. She seems to not have much respect for anyone if they are not in total agreement with her views. In fact, she goes out of her way to skew and slant information to her viewpoints.

Of some of the articles I have read from Mona Charen she seems very angry and unhappy. It seems that she is only happy attacking others. It should be okay for people to have viewpoints, but to go out of the way to be venumous in her writings is very unprofessional. It seems more and more commonplace for people to make others wrong, than to work together to make things go right.

The key is we need to find ways to make things better, even if you don't agree 100% with someone's viewpoint, it is important to respect other's views, figure out how to work together, and focus on the good things in people in stead of the one thing that's bad. I can't say much about this book, but I wish Ms Charen the happiness she's looking for.

When I ordered this book, I did so because I'd not read a mystery that was so. . .well. . .fishing-related. That doesn't sound right, but you likely get what I mean. I haven't read much of lobster boats or Maine towns (unless you count the VERY good Charlie "Bird" Parker series by John Connolly, and those don't really delve much or at all into the life and times of coastal towns). I also wanted to see if a female protagonist in such an unusual (for me) local would make me want to read more of this type of book.

So you can say that I started the reading of this book without the enthusiasm of, say, someone who loves this kind of novel/mystery.

With that in mind, you might choose to temper my impressions of the first third or so of this novel as moving very slowly and spending way too much time on the not-as-interesting-as-I-expected lobster business.

That, however, is precisely how this book felt to me at first: slow, way too informative (in a manner that didn't advance the plot or make me want to read more), and a bit dry.

It picked up, though, once someone was murdered (ain't that always the way? things get juicy once someone gets offed), and the rest of the novel wasn't bad.

I'd say the novel's "strengths" include the characters, most notably Jane and Cal, but also the regular cafe goers, who are pretty funny at times but of whom we don't see enough. The setting is nice, too, but I'd like it a lot if it didn't dominate. To me, a good story is much more important than a good setting.

If I were to offer advice to teh write of this novel, I'd say "divide up the paragraphs more so that they're not so long, and strengthen your dialogue. Just because Mainers are a bit laconic, that doesn't mean solid paragraph after paragraph of description is the only way to go."

Overall, I think I came away fairly pleased with the novel, and I may read the earlier novel in this series. But I likely won't kill myself to get my hands on it, and I won't be drooling for the next one in the series.

I've been reading more mysteries since I "grew up" from being a Children's Librarian to being a Big Boy Librarian. Usually I read thrillers (Preston/Child, Hiaasen, Thayer, Smith, Patterson) but I do enjoy an occasional series mystery (Orde, Oliphant)...and I have a fondness for any fiction set in Maine. (Comes from loving a Mainer, reading Stephen King, and watching too many hours of Murder She Wrote as a child).

My partner read the first in this series and said, though enjoyable, it was a little too heavy on the nautical details. That's one of the things that can bore me dry-eyed...but I didn't have that problem with this, the second Jane Bunker mystery. There were seafaring details, but they were peppered through out the story. I also didn't feel behind the curve having not read the first in the series. Jane's narration catches the reader up in no time on her past life.

Jane is a part-time sheriff's deputy and a marine insurance investigator in rural coastal Maine. She WAS a chief detective in Dade County Florida before she returned to the state of her birth. Here she heads out with her friend Cal to investigate (for the insurance company) some vandalism of a survey ship there to pave the way for oyster farming. "There" is in the heart of Lobster country. On the way back from that investigation, she has to put on her other hat when they come upon a lobster boat floating without captain or crew. Amidst feuding lobstering families, Native American activists, companies looking to start oyster farms and the people who oppose those companies, Jane has no shortage of leads to follow.

Greenlaw does a great job juggling her mystery threads and tying them together. I look forward to future volumes in the series. Jane's thriftiness can grate a little...but it makes her more human. Any fan of Grafton, Paretsky, Jance, or Stabenow should be right at home.

Whenever I get a new book, I give it 100 pages to hook me in and get me interested before I decide to commit to the time to finish it. This book failed to grab me and I feel bad about that because it seemed like it would be an interesting book when I first picked it up. I normally love mysteries with a female main character.

I may pick up the earlier "Jane Bunker" mystery to see if that catches my interest and gets me more involved with the characters. Then I will revisit this book and see if my opinion changes.

This is a well written-suspense filled book - You sometimes don't want to put it down-As a fishing boat captain-WOW- As a mystery writer-WOW-This is a writer to follow on all her future mystery tales and I hope there will be more coming in the near future.

Jane Bunker's second outing outside of Miami - we are still left somewhat wondering as to why Jane has returned to her home state of Maine from Florida, where her mother had retrreated with her as a child to live. Luckily she is able to remain in her comfort zone on the water - the Atlantic Ocean - and around boats - even if she has left the police force. But you may be able to take the cop out of the force, but not the force out of the cop.

Jane and her friend Cal, an old local salt, happen upon an abondoned lobster boat running in circles in the middle of a run. They'd just investigated a vandalism claim on a boat for an insurance company in Jane's new position as a marine consultant. Jane's old instincts can't help but kick in and she finds the disappearance suspicious and the reactions of the family unusual. Cal, typical of the locals, dismisses what isn't his business and moves on.

When Jane is called in by both of her bosses - she's also a deputy for the local sheriff's department - she's more than happy to comply if only to satisfy her curiosity. Little does she know how deeply the feelings run in the small lobster community - even when she discovers that it may have nothing to do with the bottom feeders she already knows about...Fisherman's Bend (Jane Bunker)

Shannon Drake's Come the Morning is Scottish Romance at it's best. Shannon has the ability to weave a beautiful story rich with people and history.

Mellyora and Waryk are two very different people with ideas of what their own lives will be like until a King decides otherwise. King David of Scottland wanted Laird Waryk, his champion, to hold Blue Isle since the laird had passed leaving no heir, and Waryk clearly deserved it. Mellyora being an only Daughter to a recenty deceased Laird meant either it went back to the King or he married her off to whoever he chooses to hold the land. Mellyora was not able to accept it to say the least and made havoc for Waryk who slowly won her over but could never truley trust Mellyora after all she had put him through. Ulric a Viking from Waryk's pass uses this against them so that he may claim Mellyora and Blue Isle, through it all Waryk realizes that Love is worth it no matter the past and Mellyora accepts her feelings for her Scottish Laird.

This was a pretty fast read and fun. Only problems I had were that the constant disappearances/abductions/escapes got to be like an old time Saturday afternoon serial. Also, as usual, there was too much exposition for my personal taste.

On the positive side though the characters, particularly the hero, were very well done and the dialogue was clever and believable. Also, for me, the era depicted is always exciting.

I am a great fan of Shannon Drake and think she is one of the very best medieval romance writers. However, this book, I believe the first in her Scottish series, is the worst of the five. I agree with reviewers who note there is too much history. I skipped pages and pages at times in order to keep up with the central story. Another problem is far too much "suspense," including kidnappings, escapes, attacks, battles, etc. all at the expense of romance. A lot of the dialog and many scenes are deja vu from other novels. The heroine is immature to the point where she seems stupid. And the love relationship fails to sizzle. Furthermore, in this novel, as in many other medievals, there is too much bathing. From what I know, people did not have daily baths in those days, no matter how wealthy and spoiled they were. I find that Knight Triumphant from the same series is a much MUCH better book.

I decided to check out my first Shannon Drake novel, COME THE MORNING. I enjoy gripping plotting, history and political intrigue with the romance, and I thought COME THE MORNING fit the bill. Not so much though, the tempestuous romance in the first part was fun, and there's some intrigue but nothing substantive. COME THE MORNING doesn't do a good job with settings either. Drake has a tendency to veer off into some historical discourse for pages on end which doesn't seem relevant to the story at all, and unfortunately, she does it often. She doesn't really make the historical backdrop mesh with her story and romance all that well and often times, we find belabored essays on various histories or genealogies. Having strong Scottish roots herself, author Shannon Drake's love for Scotland is evident. The light-hearted romance is fun though, and unlike other books I've read, COME THE MORNING heroine's scathing, belligerent attitude towards our hero was actually enjoyable.

The Story.

Heroine Mellyora MacAdin, Lady of the beatific and verdant Blue Isle, has just lost her laird father to death. King David of Scotland summons her and his champion Laird Waryk de Graham to Stirling for plans of his own during a tumultuous time when Scotland's borders are in conflict from England down south and the Vikings to the north. Unbeknown to either Mellyora or Waryk, King David plans to arrange their marriage to solidify Blue Isle during a time of conflict. Mellyora seethes and resents giving her home to a complete stranger and attempts numerous escapes only to have Waryk capture her time and time again.

The story with Mellyora & Waryk's rather tempestuous encounters is rather fun. There's some intrigue and fighting in the second half.

The story is rather light-hearted and overall, not bad at all. I may check out some other books by Shannon Drake in the future.

This was a terrific story. Realistic battles, several great characters, drama, romance, excitement, and triumph.

Waryk de Graham is a young fledgling warrior. He enters his very first battle at his father's side. When he awakens from an injury to his head, he finds his father lying dead beside him. The rest of his family lies dead as well. He is the last of the Graham name. Filled with rage, he pulls himself from the ground, grabs his father's sword, and runs to attack his enemies in surprise. He manages to kill most of them, as King David arrives with troops to help. David sees that Waryk has the potential to be a great champion. He knights Waryk there on the battle field. Waryk is now Sir Waryk de Graham, Laird Lion. He pledges his life to David's service, determined at the same time to use his father's sword to bring down the rest of his enemies.

Years later, with his father's sword in hand, Waryk has earned his king's respect. King David decides to reward Waryk by giving him a vast estate, complete with a beautiful heiress for his bride.

Mellyora MacAdin is the daughter of a former Viking warlord. Her father, Laird Adin, had long ago changed his ways and become one of King David's loyal lairds. However, he raises his daughter in the Viking tradition of teaching women to battle along with their men. Mellyora is a woman who can handle a sword against men who would attack her, her home, or her people.
When Laird Adin dies suddenly, his daughter travels to David's court in hopes of keeping her father's land, known as Blue Isle. David has already decided that Mellyora will marry Waryk, making certain that her Viking relatives can not seize the property. Mellyora escapes from the king's castle. She decides to run to her uncle's camp and ask him to help her keep Blue Isle long enough to convince the king that she is capable of defending it without a husband. While running through the forest at night, a man grabs her and questions her. When he discovers she is running from his king, Waryk makes a plan to bring her back to the castle. In the midst of his plan, he discovers that she is the woman intended to be his bride.

Over the next weeks, Mellyora and Waryk battle for control of her land and life. When the king makes it clear that he will give Blue Isle to Waryk, with or without marriage, Mellyora had no choice but to agree to marry him. Now they must work together to save Blue Isle and it's people from a secret enemy, the son of one of the men Waryk killed as a boy. This enemy, Ulric Hallsteader is determined to take Waryk's wife and land. He finds ways to attack while disguising himself as Mellyora's uncle, Daro of the Vikings. If he can cause war between Waryk and Daro, he can weaken them both. This will open Blue Isle for attack.


There were numerous terrific characters in this story. They made a truly magnificent tale. There are many men and women to root for, and plenty to fear. This keeps the story exciting and it makes putting the book down very difficult. (Hence the dark circles under my eyes after reading into the early hours of the morning.) The romances that develop are gripping and deep. While reading, you feel the joy, frustration, fear, and determination of the characters as if you were living it yourself. This is a characteristic that makes the difference between a good story and an excellent story.

My only disappointment was the fact that there were several pages of unnecessary history and background. I found myself skimming through these paragraphs to get back to the plot. However, the story was enthralling enough to make up for it.

With the exception of those victims of the Parson Weems School of Hagiography it is instructive to read the uncharacteristically wide and evenly divided range of criticism of this book and, I gotta say, almost all are correct. Although Burr was certainly not a "Founder" (Title Hyperbole!!) in the strict sense, he was certainly a "player" and truly one of the more fascinating and complex characters of the early Republic.

The book is obviously well-researched although I'm not sure if it adds anything substantially new. The style is curiously bland and many of the arguments self-serving. After I read Isenberg, I reread my old copy of Gore Vidal's, "Burr". Written in 1973 when Burr's reputation probably could use some rehabilitation, I suspect now, that it was based on substantially the same scholarship. That having been said, those with little knowledge of the subject and an open mind would be well-served to read Isenberg for background and Vidal for style. Her praise for her subject being no more than Chernow for "Alexander Hamilton", she is not as good a writer.

A brief thought to add to the other many reviews.
Isenberg has done a brilliant job of difficult research.
Sadly, in the readability department, it is sorely lacking.
And, as far as objectivity goes, it strives too hard to drive home the author's desired theme of lifting Burr's reputation - at the expense of the other players.
One example: On page 93 when speaking of (Scty of Treasury) Hamilton's paying 6% interest on State Debt, the author neglects to mention that according to many other records, Hamilton himself did not gain personally, while other speculated on the expected results. Also lacking is any mention that Hamilton was driven by the need to get the States to support the Federal Government which was by no means solvent or on firm ground.

I finished this interesting take on Aaron Burr which seems to contradict other biographies. Ms Isenberg portrays our "would be 3rd President" as a victim of smears by most politicians of the day. The VP is just an innocent man that is not only disliked everywhere he goes, but also a Republican from a Federalist state.

After the selection of Clinton as VP of Jefferson's 2nd term Burr seems to disappear. The book explains that he was exploring and traveling like any other normal retired person. In fact, most historians agree that he was plotting to overthrow Mexico and then the United States for revenge the way his Government and Jefferson treated him. This is where the book starts throwing factual history out the window and starts making a lot of assumptions to make Burr appear to be the victim once again.

Either Aaron Burr was the unluckiest guy in the world or this book is making a lot of false assumptions. It is sad in that similar to maybe Barry Goldwater, this was a brilliant guy with potential and we'll always wonder . . . what if? Had he been selected as the 3rd President how different, if at all, would America be? No Louisiana purchase, no Lewis & Clark expedition, no War of 1812, no University of Virginia, no James Madison as President . . . . we can only wonder had this unlucky man; Aaron Burr, been selected (he was elected and tied Jefferson) President of the United States.

I enjoyed this book and the new information I learned about one of history's great characters. Burr knew all the founders and played a part in our early history. The epilogue to the book was correct: All these men were simply men and they were not doing historical things all of their lives. Another point: The politics of 2008 is not much different from 1800.

Why did I dislike this book? Let me count the ways.

1) In her attempt to rehabilitate Aaron Burr, whom she clearly sees as an early supporter of feminism and a visionary reformer, Ms. Isenberg violates her own rules, She states that we must judge histroic figures against the standards of their times, not ours. She then analyzes Burr's career through the prism of the rampant self promotion of our era instead of the reticent standards of the federalist period.

2) Isenberg puts herself inside the mind of Burr with sentences such as if Burr had known X he would not have done Y. This type of speculation belongs in the realm of romantic fiction, not scholarship.

3) Making a case for Burr, Isenberg paints him in the best possible light while placing all of Burr's contemporary critics in the worst possible light. According to her, George Washington was easily mislead by his aides. Alexander Hamilton was insanely jealous. As for John Adams, Isenberg knows that when Adams wrote about the favorable actions of anonymous members of Congress, plural, Adams had to be writing about that paragon of virtue, Aaron Burr. Why the articulate and forthright second president could not praise Burr by name, had such praise been warranted, is not explained.

The last straw was Isenberg's narrative about Burr and William Eaton. If all one knows of Eaton is from this book, he or she will come away with the impression that the Barbary Coast War immortalized in the Marine Corps Hymn was a sordid private land grab conducted solely to enrich said Eaton. That's because Isenberg relates Eaton's life story without mentioning the reason for his expedition in North Africa was to stop the Barbary Coast rulers from sanctioning piracy against American ships and the taking of American hostages.

4) Much of the book suffers from a near fatal lack of context. For example, Isenberg clearly thinks it is to Burr's favor that he and his wife were avid students of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. She fails to note, however, that during Burr's political career many of his contemporaries associated French political philosophy with the excesses of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon's empire. Thus she makes political opposition to Burr's ideas appear to be based entirely upon personal enmity instead of practical concerns that the new American Republic should not also fall into chaos and dictatorship.