Women Books

To call this my favorite Rad book is like saying "Chunky Monkey" is my favorite Ben & Jerry's ice cream. It's ALL good, my friend. But "Fated Love" has a great deal of emotional connection to it that puts it on a whole new level for me. The pace is superior, the character development is fantastic and the resolution is, well, "aww shucks." I'm a sucker for a sweet ending. I highly recommend this book on so many levels.

You know what you are getting with Radclyffe: a well-written, well-edited, multi-dimensional romance with characters dealing with disappointments or painful pasts, leading to an ultimately happy ending. This is a tried and true formula, and curling up with one of these books is a delight.

As far as specifics regarding this novel, I love it when Radclyffe uses a medical setting, because she's able to so deftly make it a realistic and interesting world. Quinn was an intriguing character with a bit of a mystery surrounding her undisclosed health reasons for leaving her surgical career. Honor was a sympathetic character in trying to deal with her grief, and balance a family and professional life. Chemistry sparked, but even beyond that the gentle way Quinn pursued inserting herself into Honor's life, her delight with Arly (Honor's daughter), the way she just couldn't help but pursue this woman despite the fact that she clearly had issues, all these elements combined to create a rich narrative.

This book sets itself apart with the realistic or unflinching way it deals with falling in love again after having lost a previous partner. The themes of moving on after great loss are represented in a variety of ways, through both Honor's grief and Quinn's coping with finding new ways to embrace happiness apart from the career she'd dreamed of having. This whole set-up was rife with believable road-blocks to happiness for our protagonists, ones it was fulfilling to follow them in overcoming. A very good read, as was expected, and a book I'll be keeping in my collection.

Radclyffe has truly done it with this one. I have only been reading lesbian romance for approimately a year now, however, I have read everything by this author. To date this book is My Favorite. Great Story, Great Characters, Great Romance.

I couldn't put it down. I read this in one sitting and have read it two more times since then. This is an excellent story. Again I love the hospital settings and the surgeons. Radcylyffe has a way of TRULY bringing her characters to life. There is no way you can't love Honor and her undying devotion to her late wife. Radclyffe does an excellent job in portraying her reluctance to pursue Quinn, but in the end you want them to be together. I also loved Arly.

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!

This book combines the Ying and the Yang. It creates a professional bonding that is so powerful it makes your heart expand for all that is good in the world.
The characters are well developed proffessional women who personify dedication and integrity.
The love for a child, a mother-in-law, and for a lost soul mate is very powerful.
I found myself feeling the heart renching discovery of memories lost but never forgotten.
An absolutely amazing read, which leaves the reader wanting more, but never questioning that these characters will live happily ever after.
Devlyn

Some of Radclyffe's most believable and spectacular books utilize her professional expertise, medicine, to great advantage. As in all of her novels, her surgical skill is in evidence with prose pared down to clean essentials; never a cliche and original images that linger after the reader has closed the book.

This book was very helpful and comforting. I lost my "Best Friend" which happen to be my Mom!! I felt I wasn't a lone going through is grieving processes. Even thu her passing has been over a year I understand now that even thu it may be a year it many take many more years to except and that is okay!! She is ALWAYS with me. Except & listen to signs 'cause they do reach out to US from beyond.. :)

I am still in the process of reading this book. I am enjoying it and the unique way it came about. It is a group of stories from different women. Every crayon in the box has contributed to this book. Red, yellow, black, white, rich, poor, middle class, etc.

I have had different "things" happen since my mother died and truly feel they are "things" she has sent to console and reassure me that I will be okay and that she is okay.

I plan to write the author with my experiences, since my mother's death, as she collects them and hopes to put together another book someday in the near future.

If you believe in psychics, mediums, and see things "outside of the box" this book is for you.

A very intersting book relating experiences women have had after the death of their mother.

A friend told me to read this book shortly after I lost my dear mother to breast cancer. It is full of inspiring, wonderful true stories of women who lost their mothers and had signs of them being near them after passing. The most wonderful thing happened to me after I finished this book a couple of weeks after my mothers funeral. I was going to church every morning at 7 a.m. for mass every day on my way to work after she died. One morning I was sitting in my usual pew in front of the Blessed Mother statue waiting for service to begin....I looked down as I knelt to pray at the pew seat in front of me and there was a feather! It was over 3 inches long - I looked everywhere else around me - no other feathers but the one right in front of me. I believe this was a sign from my mother. Please read this book - your mother is still with you...you will always be together.

I have given this book to about four of my friends whose mothers have died. It is a compilation of stories from women of all walks of life who have experienced some sort of "visit" or sign from their mothers after their mothers have passed on. It is so interesting and so comforting. It expresses what many of my friends have experienced but hadn't been talking about. Are these visits coincidences or are we living in a dream here and the world after this is the real world? It gave me great comfort and hope when my mom died, and I continue to hear from her in so many ways.. strange bird visits.. dog visits, dreams.. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who has lost a mother, whether they were on good terms or bad. I will continue to order this book and share it with my friends. Thanks for reading!

As a 4th grade teacher, I am always looking for books to incorporate into my Earth Day unit. This is my new favorite.

Gaia Girls Enter the Earth tells the story of Elizabeth, a 4th grade girl who lives on a family farm that is in danger of being taken over by a factory farm operation to raise and slaughter 7,000 pigs a day. Elizabeth learns of powers she has to help save her own and surrounding farms, while readers learn about the environmental impact of factory farms. The message is powerful and not preachy, and is embedded in a story that will make you long to start growing your own garden and appreciate the natural world around you. The story is wonderfully vivid and suspenseful.

As a 30 year old I was hooked by this book geared towards a younger crowd. I love reading good YA and this is up there on my list. It wasn't preachy and had some great characters who were well rounded. I am totally hooked and can't wait to read the rest of the series. :)

Thank you thank you thank you to the author, illustrator and publishers of this book!!! My daughter is 10 years old and absolutely loves it. She loves to read but can be very picky about books! We happened to be at the Boston Museum of Science when the author was there and my daughter had to have a signed copy after talking to Lee Welles for a few minutes. We are very eco-concerned and I am glad to see a book that really relates to this generations problems and the fact that they really do need to start getting involved and getting there friends involved in fixing the situation NOW!!! SO again THANK YOU!!! I truly believe that this book may help a lot of young adults step up and make a difference!

My daughter (age 11) just loved the book. She felt it was very suspenseful and can't wait til she reads the next one. In this book, Harmony Farms creates a town disagreement in Avon by changing everyone's opinions on farming. Elizabeth's special powers help her when she needs them the most. Great book and keep up the good work, Lee Welles!

Elizabeth Angier is a fourth-grader who lives on a farm. She helps her parents weed the large vegetable garden, dye skeins of wool from their sheep, arrange wildflowers into bouquets to be sold at the farmers' market, and water the saplings that landscapers buy. Will, the high school boy from the dairy farm over the hill, comes over to help her dad on occasion. Elizabeth loves everything about growing up on the farm that has been in her father's family for many generations. But all this threatens to change: a company that runs "CAFO" (Concentrated Feeding Animal Organizations) pig farms arrives to woo struggling farmers into selling their farms and taking jobs with the large corporation. As Elizabeth's parents desperately research the effects of existing CAFO's on a community's air, water, commerce, and quality of life, Elizabeth herself discovers her own connection to the earth and the powers that gives her. Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, appears to her as an otter, and begins to teach her.

That's just a brief synopsis of Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth, recent winner of the 2006 National Outdoor Book Award, children's division. Although this is a fantastical novel that author Lee Welles has written for children ("ages 9 and up"), many parts of the story ring true for communities like ours. Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth takes place on a farm in upstate New York, near the Finger Lakes. Much of it reads like home, the beauty as well as the struggles.

Although I consider myself sympathetic to environmental activists, I am leary of being lumped in with folks who wear hemp and eat vegetarian because it's trendy. In sitting down to read Gaia Girls, I was a little afraid that the story would be heavy-handed on earth goddesses but skim over the true difficulties of living environmentally-aware. I am pleased to report I couldn't have been more wrong. "Three Oaks Farm" is an organic farm, but Welles makes it clear that this makes the Angier family and their products unusual for their community. They need to be very creative to be successful: they advertise their organic produce to upscale restaurants, who pre-order from the farm. Another way they make money is by selling many different products: wool, vegetables, flowers, young trees, honey. Though Elizabeth and her parents feel they live a happy life in a corner of paradise, Welles doesn't flinch from showing how fragile that existence is, and how much work it takes to maintain it.

Welles' writing is strong. At the beginning, I was reminded of Charlotte's Web. As I continued to read Gaia Girls, I realized I was in the middle of a wonderful new literary phenomenon. I see this book, and the series to follow, touching many as it touched me. Enter the Earth reminded me of environmental issues and earth science facts that I already know about, but made me feel more attached to them. Without being preachy, Gaia Girls helps the reader see the science behind farming methods that are good for the earth, and how it is healthy for the people who live there and those of us who eat the food grown there. With Elizabeth, we can connect to the farm, as she and the farm connect to the earth. I raced through the book, loved the story, and can't wait for more.

Author of "Hobo Finds A Home" and editor of "A Predatory Heart"

This was a fantastic and inspiring book. Aimee gives a good mix about real stories from the women she knew growing up with eating disorders as well as some new research in the field of eating disorders. Brilliant writing, and for people who feel lost like I do, this book gives a glimpse that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I will definitely read this one again.

I recommend this book to anyone with a history of anorexia or bulimia nervosa. It is well written and promotes healthy insights about one's condition, psychological predisposition and family context. I have read Caroline Knapp's book - Appetites, which I found to be excellent too. I also recommend Sensing the Self. All the others I have seen are not worth the time... This one, if not the best, is among them... Aimee Liu intertwines stories, including her own, in a way that holds you close, helping us also 'connect the dots' while reading the book. It helps us be more open in finding out about our own stories and how it matches this growing population of people with eating disorders. I found extremely useful!

As someone working towards recovery from an ED, this book is an amazing read. I can relate to the experiences of the author. Beyond that, the information (some scientific, some observational, all GOOD) she presents and her retrospective look at her previous book from the '70's, is golden information. Considering how uncertain people feel about the future after an ED, a window into what it could be like instills hope! Thanks!

'Gaining' is the best book I've read related to eating disorders. So many books out there get bogged down in the details of anorexia and/or bulimia. This is the first I have read that tells about life after all that. I'm in recovery after 15 years of bulimia, and this book was a catalyst in helping to push me into that next step of recovery. 'Gaining' explains that there is no prescribed path to health; while we are alike in many ways, we may need different things along the way to make it. Liu and the women she writes about show that reaching wellness is possible AND worth it.

When I started reading this book, just a quarter of the way into it, I was very excited and hopeful that this could be one of the best books out there on EDs because it focused a lot on recovery, and using real life examples. Reading about solutions instead of just epidemics and hopeless stats was refreshing.

The insight into people's personality traits was especially helpful. I bookmarked many passages with little post-it flags because so many things were right on.

I had to knock off two stars for one reason only--the height and weight stats of most the women she interviewed. At first I didn't notice but the more into the book I read, it became very distracting. First of all, height and weight does NOT paint an instant mental picture of what someone looks like to me, anyway. I am not one of those carnival game workers who is trained to know what that looks like. I didn't understand why she couldn't have just described them as "underweight" or used adjectives instead of stats, or whatever.

I couldn't believe it when she ACTUALLY listed the height and weight of the DAUGHTER of a woman with ED and inserted the following commentary--"far from excessive". You could almost hear the subtext after that, "but, could still stand to lose a few pounds." Instead, she lets the quote of the mother's opinion to speak what the author is thinking. And I'm thinking, how many girls who happen to weigh MORE than that and are SHORTER are going to feel when they read that? Never mind that she goes on to say how our bodies are functional and don't define who we are and how fathers can help daughters feel good about themselves--the seed of self-doubt could be planted somewhere.

I noticed she also talked a lot about her own weight numbers throughout her various life stories, as though this says something on its own. It obviously does to the author, since she had an eating disorder and weight represents what was going on in her life at that point, but it doesn't mean a whole lot to the general audience. If she said, I was at X weight at that point I would think, so? I'm sorry, I forgot to memorize your height and I don't know what that means and how that adds to the story. All I needed to know was how healthy she was, really. And it was triggering to start thinking about my own height and how it compared, and I had to consciously tell myself to stop doing that.

It was disappointing that for all the self-awareness and sensitivity the author brings to the subject, this detail escaped her attention. I don't think she meant anything malicious about it, of course, just a sad side effect of how an ED mind operates, unfortunately, even after the harmful behaviors have ceased.

(if the author had any input in the ironic cover art--a photo of a bone-thin model in a joyous leap in a sheer dress on the beach--this would get two stars, especially because there is a whole chapter devoted to how media images equate thin women to success, health, and happiness)

The author, Debbie Gisonni, a fifteen-year veteran of the high-tech industry had it all. Then she lost her mother, father, sister and favorite aunt, all within four years. After four more years of ever-increasing success and responsibilities, Gisonni quit her job and spent some time soul-searching.

The end result is that she started Real Life Lessons; her own company devoted to making life easier and happier for women and became the goddess of happiness. With this book, she shows the rest of us how we are our own goddess of happiness and how we can be more happy.

Your journey to happiness begins with a quiz to determine your current level of bliss. Then, in very short, 1 or 2 page chapters, Gisonni shows you how to capture even more happiness for yourself. Each chapter ends with five ways to practice the chapter's lesson or skill and space for writing your own related affirmations.

Gisonni has some great suggestions for all of us. Much of it is what you've probably heard before, but she presents it in a straight-forward, simple, easy-to-incorporate way in just a few short pages. For example, in the chapter on Play, she shares with us how her husband encouraged her to swing in the park and she had a great time rekindling a childhood joy. Then, she encourages us to play--buy a hula hoop! Her "five ways to play" list includes revisiting your favorite childhood games and do one each week. For me, that would probably include swinging, lip-synching to The Partridge Family, climbing a tree, making mud pies, and jumping rope. I might need to train for a few months first!

The Goddess of Happiness has so many ideas for us: slow down, stop the noise, choose joy, lighten up, indulge, simplify, accept your life, be rich, ask for help and many more. I read through this book all at once first, and now I re-read chapters every day, sort of as happiness reminders. Because I know happiness is a choice, and yet, sometimes, life makes you forget for a minute. With this handy little guide, you can build your own happiness from the ground up, or renovate what you already have.

THE GODDESS OF HAPPINESS is a treasure...easy to read, inspirational and it constantly reminds me...that I am a Goddess with all my happiness right inside of me ready to share with those around me. This book is every bit as delightful as its author. Last fall, I had the pleasure of meeting Debbie! THE GODDESS OF HAPPINESS exudes her warm, charming and optimistic outlook on life. I bought this book for my two daughters and hope to gift it to all of my dear friends on their birthdays.

This book is trite, full of cliches, and has nothing new to offer an intelligent reader. If you seek inspiration in your daily life, check out "Living a Beautiful Life" by Alexandra Stoddard.

I'm a pretty cynical (but content) person in general and tend to pooh-pooh the "how to be happy" genre of books probably because of my gritty, punk rock past, but, darned if The Goddess of Happiness didn't help me get through a really heart-wrenching breakup. I'm forever grateful. Now, whenever I need a little lift, I simply open the book to any page and read a little bit. I haven't lost my edginess, but my heart's a little softer. Go figure.

Reading the Goddess of Happiness is like sipping chocolate in the morning. The texture of Debbie Gisonni's stories (you can almost see her writing with a smile) bring out the spirit of indulgence we feel and often submerge due to the pressures of the day. She'll show you how to enjoy chocolate without the guilt, how to get moving without a big exercise commitment, and how to count your blessings even when you face stumbling blocks. A quick read, a fast way to smile.

I just finished reading A Heart of Devotion. This book is causing me to take a 2nd look at my relationship with the Lord! There are times we get so caught up in being a "good Christian" we forget about the human side of us. It is often easier to judge instead of understanding others'dilemmas/issues. It's a book that makes you think, reflect and decide what has been working in your life and what hasn't. If you want to be uplifted and inspired read this book. It is a testament to falling down, getting back up and thriving!

This is the BEST fiction novel that I have ever read!!! Tia McCollors did an outstanding job! As a young Atlantan woman, I felt a deep emotional connection with the main character, Anisha, who like me, can sense a deep calling towards entreprenuerial endeavors. I love that McCollors connected common life situations in the novel with it's corresponding scriptures in the Bible without being over-the-top religious (it was a classy approach and smooth enough not to scare anyone away). This book gave me hope and inspired me to keep being the Christian I am, no matter what life throws at you, even through the pains of love, heartbreak and torn relationships. I recommend this book to all single, God-fearing, Christian women who inspire to follow the perfect will of God while battling the many obstacles that this un-so perfect world throws us each day.

This book gave me the healing i needed....i'm in the same situation. It is so ironic how great this book is, i am in love with this book, and recommend it to every single woman...

A Heart of Devotion was the most important book that I've read in the past two years. It is a MUST READ for any woman in her twenties, who is struggling with the her personal choices and desires, and is looking for the keys to having a heart devoted to God. I tell you, I NEEDED THIS BOOK when I was in my twenties.

It is the story of Anika and Sherri, who are best friends and inseparable until one of them, Anika, starts dating Tyson Randall. These ladies had intimate relationships with God, and were good accountability and prayer partners, but the issues of life sidetracked them. The story is one in which these young women attempt to get back into God's will and fulfilling God's purpose for their lives.

This was a unique and compelling story, very much in step with what I as a young woman went through in my twenties, and I am sure young women today are going through the same tug of emotions. The author efficiently hit on a variety of common problems: the choices we make, the consequences of those choices, and praying and waiting on God for answers and for direction.

If you are a young woman in her 20's, this book is a must read. Trust me, it will change the way you think about life and what you are currently going through...

Go get this book. You won't regret it.

This book was right on time for me. I finished it this morning and had a hard time letting go. I would love to see this book have a sequel. My soul was ministered to by reading it. I'm a true lover of christian fiction. I so want a HEART OF DEVOTION right now. I'll be incorporating many of the scriptures into my life. I gave it 5 stars because the author did an excellent job applying scripture. There were some parts of the story that I would have like to see develop a bit more, and for that I'd rate it a 4, but overall a 5. Good Job Ms. McCollors.

I have been meaning to read Hitty: Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (illustrated wonderfully in what I assume is pen and ink by Dorothy P. Lathrop) for a rather long time. Several years ago my mother bought me a reproduction Hitty doll by Robert Raikes (big deal carver of dolls and bears though he no longer seems to be making Hitty dolls).

After buying the doll, and doing a bit of research, we found an edition of Field's novel with the original 1929 text and illustrations. There is another, newer, edition with updated text by Rosemary Wells and illustrations by Susan Jeffers. The newer book came out, I believe, to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of Field's original novel. I never read this version, actually sending it back upon realizing it was an adaptation, but other reviewers' outrage at the changes suggest I was right to do so. If you haven't guessed already, Hitty fans are numerous and loyal.

Hitty, amazingly, was real. Hitty.org is but one site dedicated to chronicling the life and history of this amazing doll. The site includes the picture of a Daguerreotype actually mentioned in the novel as well as a variety of other interesting photos and well-researched facts.

As the subtitle suggests, Hitty is already a centenarian at the start of Field's fictionalized account of her adventures. Safely ensconced in a New York antique store equipped with quill and paper, Hitty decides it is high time to begin setting her story down for posterity. What follows is a children's novel that truly deserves the Newberry Medal it received in 1930 for "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

Hitty begins her life as a lucky piece of mountain-ash wood carried by an old peddler. In exchange for lodging during a particularly bad Maine winter, the Old Peddler decides to carve his piece of wood into a doll for the family's seven-year-old child, Phoebe Preble. Hitty and Phoebe have their share of adventures during their time together. More, it might be argued, than one doll could manage (including a section that reads very much like part of Moby Dick geared to a much younger audience). But, as readers realize soon enough, Hitty is no ordinary doll. As the story progresses, Hitty passes through many hands and a variety of owners. Like most things, some owners prove better than others in the same way that certain events of Hitty's life are more worthy of space in her memoirs than others.

When you realize that this book is from 1929, well before any other doll novels were published, it becomes clear that Hitty is something special because Field did it first. At first, I thought the novel might come off as dated since it was written so long ago. But I was happily proven wrong and found that the text stood up to my modern standards as well as Hitty's chemise survives her first century. Many of the insights that Hitty expresses throughout the book remain very accurate to this day. Hitty's calm demeanor and buoyant spirit also help to make this doll downright lovable.

Field's prose is wonderful. Even though I knew Hitty was safe in the antique shop, each new peril left me fearing for Hitty and in a state of suspense until I found out if she had survived. The people that Hitty passes during the course of her first century are equally well-realized in the text. In terms of classic children's literature (especially for a younger child), I can't think of many better examples.

If, you want still more Hitty, you can check out Gail Wilson's website. This very talented (and expensive) doll makers features her own version of Hitty available both ready-made and as a kit.

hitty....oh what fun we had reading this together as a family. i certainly did not know what i was geting in to when i started reading it aloud. very well written book; descriptive; memorable. after reading each chapter we wanted to rush to the library to find out about the place she had been. we also cooked a few things from different countries. we did not have a plan; it was so spontaneous; i think that is what i loved about it so much....learning at its best. my older children, after five years still remember vividly certain paragraphs. and we all smile thinking about how much fun we had reading this book together. i can hardly wait to read it to the younger ones. recently i purchased it for my shelf. it is certainly a keeper. copywork, narration, cooking, art, geography/history, a little science, etc... a years worth of curriculum in one book. all you need is a math book and your set. honestly, each chapter is like a springboard and it should not be hard to find a topic to learn more about. make some happy memories, read hitty aloud to your children. they will love it! (and you will, too...)

Many may remember Hitty from decades ago; I was introduced to her just a few years ago. Hitty: Her First Hundred Years is a wonderfully written, beautifully illustrated "children's" book that should be on everyone's reading list, regardless of age.

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, as originally written by Rachel Field in 1929, is delightful. The story follows the adventures of a doll, carved by a peddler from a piece of mountain ash, as told in her own words. From being proclaimed a "heathen" goddess on a South Seas Island, traveling with a snake charmer in India, being alternately a fashion plate and a demure Quakeress in the midst of the Civil War, Hitty and her story are truly captivating. Rachel Field has given the world a wonderfully exciting and deeply touching glimpse at history through the eyes of this remarkable doll. The charm of this old fashioned story is enduring, powerful enough to endear itself to each new generation of readers that discovers it.

This book was interesting and fun to read. Ride along with, the doll, as she tells her life story. Watch as she goes from one owner to the next. This book is an adventure to read. Hitty has seen so much you forget she is a doll. This book pulles you in like a vacuum cleaner. You'll love it when she travles to New York. You'll jump out of your seat when she goes whale hunting or when she gets stuck in a tree. There is a couple of settings but it doesn't jump around. The message that i got out of the story is live life to it's fullest I would recomend this book to preteen girls that like history and fiction. This book was fantabouls!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe this one got such great reviews. It is a one catch phrase book, total waste of time and money.

I'd give anything to find a man who actually had some N.U.T.S!!!! PLEASE read this book if you're a man and give a copy to every man you know!

Don't wait! I found this book by chance in a local bookstore. I've begun to grow up a lot since reading it. It's been very helpful in clarifying a lot of issues about myself and my relationships, and understanding what I want and how to get it. It's all about standing up and being the man I want to be. Wayne's book has got me on that road. Unlike so many other self-help books, N.U.T.S. is focused on what men need and how to bring it into action. Onward to being the man, husband, father and son I want to be!

Got this book a couple of days ago and I'm really digging it! It's really on point with everything I've seen so far ... strong, straightforward, sensible, and very pragmatic. Great insights, great reminders, great tools, and probably the best book I've seen for men in the last 20 years.

Very accessible and highly recommended for any man bugged by that nagging feeling that he's settling for less from himself than he wants and deserves.

I have read and re-read Wayne's book and have now given copies to five close male friends. We all agree the information in this book is invaluable and has helped us to better understand how to get what we want out of our relationships, while helping us get what we need as men to grow and prosper. The book is well written and makes for an enjoyable read. Many times I find myself re-reading a chapter or reviewing the "Tools", "Tips" or "Bettermen Actions" for practical advice on handling a situation.

In short, this book is a quick read which will have a great impact on you and your relationships. I highly recommend this book due to its direct and no non-sense approach. Based on the many responses from my friends, I can see Wayne and this book heading for prime time TV in the very near future.

Enjoy!

There is reading material and there is cherishing material, this book is definitely placed in the latter category. Ms. Cooper is a master storyteller. She is fearless in her writing, unafraid to follow her OWN heart and her OWN rules. Ms. Cooper uses more twist and turn than a California highway. She tells stories with her own country grammar and country charm.

I simply enjoyed the stories. They were funny at times, dealing with real life situations.

J California Cooper was magnificient in this book. She talks about love, lost, lonliness, and happiness. She also tells how even though life is consistantly taking you through hard times. Theres always a rainbow at the end of your journey.

If you think this book is excellent, poignant, funny, truthful, etc. listen to the 'books on tape' version. The various narrators bring this excellent work to life. I borrowed it from the library (several times) and love it every time. Classic lines like when the guy tells his wife he's leaving to find the life he's missed he says 'that's it in a nutshell. She looked at me like I was the nut in the shell." Don't miss this book.

This is my favorite book in the world. J California Cooper is my favorite author in the world. The characters in her books have a triumph of the spirit. Her words invite you into the lives of the people in her stories. She captures your heart with real life lessons and common sense. Most of all, I love her honesty. Life is best served warm, with tears, smiles, and truth and she serves it up just right.
The best gift given is that which is a part of you. So, in that spirit, I've given this book away to so many people that I have lost count. Last October I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Cooper at a book signing here in New Orleans and she was gracious enough to sign my copies of her books; (I own and have read them all). What a Blessing her words are! Read Homemade Love, and all of her books, and you too will become a fan for life.

HOPE was by far my favorite book in the series. When Hope Kallahan leaves Michigan to meet the man she has agreed to married, she begins an adventure the likes of which she could've never imagined. When her stage is robbed, she is kidnapped and presumed to be the daughter of a senator. Her bumbling captures refuse to believe her when she tries to identify herself and she soon realizes she is dealing with a hopeless band of misfits. Though "Grunt" seems to be the only sane one in the bunch, he too tries her patience as she schemes to escape and get word to her betrothed that she is on her way. When Hope falls ill and is carried away by "Grunt" her suspicions are confirmed. "Grunt" is non other than Dan Sullivan, a government agent that has infiltrated the hapless gang that keep stealing government payrolls. As he tries to get Hope to Medford, they meet obstacle after obstacle. When weeks turn into months, a bond forms between them that neither of them is willing to admit to. Hope feels a responsibility to the man she has agreed to married even though she has never met him, and Dan feels it is his duty to see Hope safely to her destination.

I loved this story. While June and Faith were enjoyable, this one was captivating. Although the list of mishaps that befall Hope and Dan seems a bit outrageous, you are willing to put those feelings aside and enjoy the bond that begins to grow between these two people. A great book with great characters.

This book follows the story of Hope Kalahan, the last of the mail-order-bride Kalahan sisters to meet her husband. It is truly a fun and suspensful adventure (if a little on the predictable side).

The story starts with Hope, daughter of a deceased minister, listening to a senators daughter spouting memorized scripture on a stagecoach. (It is here where you learn of Hope deficiencies in remembering her fathers bible lessons!). Miss Ferry and her companion leave the stage early due to illness and Hope continues to meet her betrothed.

Enter Dan, aka Grunt, government agent and infiltrator of the Davidson gang, wanted for robbing stages carrying army payroll. (Might I add that he is, as every romantic hero should be, handsome as can be?). Well, if the gang leader didn't have plans to kidnap Miss Ferry for the senators ransom money!!

Mistaken for the senators daughter Hope is kidnapped and delayed from her betrothed for 2 months!! What happens during those 2 months? You should read and find out. It is a perfect romantic/comedy/adventure book!!! Full of all kinds of unbelievable events that are sure to leave the betrothed mans mind in a spin.

It is fun watching Hope evolve from a self centered girl into a compassionate woman. It is wonderful watching Dan observe these changes all the while respecting her promise to her future husband.

I simply loved this book. It has to be my favorite of the first three. I loved the other two but I absolutley read this one from cover to cover in one sitting. I could not put it down!

I absolutely loved this book and I was sad when it ended. This book isn't predictable like the first one and the character development is great. This book really drew me in; I just couldn't put it down. I really recommend this series.

The book was in the condition it said, it was a pretty slow delivery though took almost 2 weeks to get to me.