Amazon.com
It's difficult to imagine a harder first act to follow than The Kite Runner: a debut novel by an unknown writer about a country many readers knew little about that has gone on to have over four million copies in print worldwide. But when preview copies of Khaled Hosseini's second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, started circulating at Amazon.com, readers reacted with a unanimous enthusiasm that few of us could remember seeing before. As special as The Kite Runner was, those readers said, A Thousand Splendid Suns is more so, bringing Hosseini's compassionate storytelling and his sense of personal and national tragedy to a tale of two women that is weighted equally with despair and grave hope.
We wanted to spread the word on the book as widely, and as soon, as we could. See below for an exclusive excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns and early reviews of the book from some of our top customer reviewers.--The Editors
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An Exclusive Excerpt from A Thousand Splendid Suns |
We have arranged with the publisher to make an exclusive excerpt of A Thousand Splendid Suns available on Amazon.com. Click here to read a scene from the novel. It's not the opening scene, but rather one from a crucial moment later in the book when Mariam, one of the novel's two main characters, steps into a new role.
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Early Buzz from Amazon.com Top Reviewers |
We queried our top 100 customer reviewers as of March 6, 2007, and asked them to read A Thousand Splendid Suns and share their thoughts. We've included these early reviews below in the order they were received. For the sake of space, we've only included a brief excerpt of each reviewer's response, but each review is available for reading in its entirety by clicking the "Read the review" link.
Joanna Daneman:
"His style is deceptively simple and clear, the characters drawn deftly and swiftly, his themes elemental and huge. This is a brilliant writer and I look forward to more of his work." Read Joanna Daneman's review
Seth J. Frantzman:
"Khaled Hosseini has done it again with 'A Thousand Splendid Sons', presenting a new, dashing and dark tale of two generations of women trapped in a loveless marriage, bracketed by great events." Read Seth J. Frantzman's review
Donald Mitchell:
"Khaled Hosseini has succeeded in capturing many important historical and contemporary themes in a way that will make your heart ache again and again. Why will your reaction be so strong? It's because you'll identify closely with the suffering of almost all the characters, a reaction that's very rare to a modern novel." Read Donald Mitchell's review
Lawrance M. Bernabo:
"All things considered, following up on a successful first novel is probably harder than coming up with the original effort and Hosseini could have rested on his laurels in the manner of Harper Lee, but as "A Thousand Splendid Suns" amply proves, this native of Kabul has more stories to tell about the land of Afghanistan." Read Lawrance M. Bernabo's review
Amanda Richards:
"There are parts of this book that will have grown men surreptitiously blotting the tears that are on the verge of overflowing their ducts, and by the time you get to the middle, you won't be able to put it down. Hosseini's simple but richly descriptive prose makes for an engrossing read, and in my opinion, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is among the best I have ever read. This is definitely not one to be missed." Read Amanda Richards's review
N. Durham:
"All that being said, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a bit more enjoyable than Hosseini's previous "The Kite Runner", and once again he manages to give we readers another glimpse of a world that we know little about but frequently condemn and discard. However, if you were one of the many that for some reason absolutely loved "The Kite Runner", chances are that you'll love this as well." Read N. Durham's review
John Kwok:
"Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a genuine instant literary classic, and one destined to be remembered as one of 2007's best novels. It should be compared favorably to such legendary Russian novels like "War and Peace" and "Doctor Zhivago"." Read John Kwok's review
Thomas Duff:
"Normally I'm more of an action-adventure type reader when it comes to novels and recreational reading. But I was given the chance to read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner), so I decided to try something out of my normal genre. I am *so* glad I did. This is a stunning and moving novel of life and love in Afghanistan over a 30 year period." Read Thomas Duff's review
Charles Ashbacher:
"This book manages to simultaneously capture the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years and how women are treated in conservative Islamic societies.... In many ways it is a sad book, your heart goes out to these two women in their hopeless struggle to have a decent life with a brutal man in an unforgiving, intolerant society." Read Charles Ashbacher's review
W. Boudville:
"Hosseini presents a piognant view into the recent tortured decades of the Afghan experience. From the 1970s, under a king, to the Soviet takeover, to the years of resistance. And then the rise and fall of the Taliban. An American reader will recognise many of the main political events. But to many Americans, Afghanistan and its peoples and religion remain an opaque and troubling mystery." Read W. Boudville's review
Mark Baker:
"I tend to read plot heavy books, so this character study was a definite change of pace for me. I found the first half slow going at times, mainly because I knew where the story was going. Once I got into the second half, things really picked up. The ending was very bittersweet. I couldn't think of a better way to end it." Read Mark Baker's review
Grady Harp:
"Hosseini takes us behind those walls for forty some years of Afghanistan's bloody history and while he does not spare us any of the descriptions of the terror that continues to besiege that country, he does offer us a story that speaks so tenderly about the fragile beauty of love and devotion and lasting impression people make on people." Read Grady Harp's review
Robert P. Beveridge:
"When I was actively reading it, the pages kept turning, and more than once I found myself foregoing food or sleep temporarily to get in just one more chapter. When I had put it down, however, I felt no particular compulsion to pick it back up again. It's a good book, and a relatively well-written one, but it's not a great book. Enjoyable without leaving a lasting impression." Read Robert P. Beveridge's review
B. Marold:
"While the events in Afghanistan and the wider world create a familiar framework for the stories of these two women, it is nothing more than a framework. The warp and weft of everyday life, and the interaction of the two women and their close relatives is the heartbeat of the story." Read B. Marold's review
Daniel Jolley:
"Khaled Hosseini has written a majestic, sweeping, emotionally powerful story that provides the reader with a most telling window into Afghan society over the past thirty-odd years. It's also a moving story of friendship and sacrifice, giving Western readers a rare glimpse into the suffering and mistreatment of Afghan women that began long before the Taliban came to power." Read Daniel Jolley's review
Book Description
After 103 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and with four million copies of The Kite Runner shipped, Khaled Hosseini returns with a beautiful, riveting, and haunting novel that confirms his place as one of the most important literary writers today.
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love.
Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.
A stunning accomplishment, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a haunting, heartbreaking, compelling story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love.
Customer Reviews:
Wow.......2007-10-04
I decided to read this book because I read "The Kite Runner" which I liked a lot. I saw that Khaled Hosseini had written another book which was on the Bestseller's list so I got it. I loved it from the very first page to the last word. It was one of the best books I've ever read and was extremely powerful. Everybody needs to read this!
Good, not great.......2007-10-04
I enjoyed this, just not as much as I thought I would. I prefer the author's first book.
If you're a die hard fan of the author it's worth checking out. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty good, just paled in comparison to the first.
also recommended: Cat's Cradle
A best seller? Really?.......2007-10-03
Not sure why this is a best seller. I was a little disappointed with this book. I bought it after reading all the reviews but it was a sure let down. I gave fiction a try after a while...maybe thats why? The story however sad and close to truth is very common. I have read plenty of blogs and newspaper articles with similar story line. Why the special treatment for this book?
SPLENDID service.......2007-10-03
This book came so much faster than I expected! and in perfect condition, as I ordered it new from Amazon, at ten dollars less than the walmart price, with free shipping. thank you.
Real Page Turner.......2007-10-03
Exciting story about women in other cultures. Could hardly put it down. Love does triumph.
Book Description
A colorful craft book with special sun-sensitive paints that make it easy to create one-of-a-kind patterned fabric. Comes with everything you need, including ready-to-paint white cotton bandanas.
Customer Reviews:
Fun with the sun.......2007-03-11
My kids and I had so much fun with this book. We all made aprons and then took it a step further and created blocks for a quilt with our Girl Scout troop. I was fun using rice, pasta, coins, leaves, rocks, etc. to leave a shadow in our projects. I wish I had more pain with the kit, but was able to purchase more separately.
Average customer rating:
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The Sun Grows Cold
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000BSEYH6 |
Product Description
Science Fiction. "The time: The near future. The place: America. Across the devastated landscape of what was the richest country on earth, a man and woman are running for their lives. Their enemy: the government of the United States, which has become a monstrously powerful agency for the control of every human body - and every human mind..."
Average customer rating:
- Building a dam
- Bucking The Sun, A GoodRead
- Will It Ever End ?
- Sum of its Parts
- Epic Tale- Not A Mystery
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Bucking the Sun
Ivan Doig
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
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ASIN: 0786208147 |
Amazon.com
As in This House of Sky and Ride With Me, Mariah Montana, Doig returns to Big Sky country to tell a complex murder mystery peppered with the free-spirit history of the west and the intrigue of Doig's Scottish ancestry. Through Franklin Roosevelt's W.P.A. and P.W.A., the Duff family becomes involved in the construction of the Fort Peck Dam, the largest earth-fill dam in the world. While most are happy for the work, there are others in the Duff clan that hope for the dam's failure. Mixing fact and fiction, Doig explores the hardships of labor, of Fort Peck's shantytown housing, and the Duffs' resilience to everything from Montana blizzards to rattlesnakes. When two in the clan are murdered, Scottish family loyalty is questioned and the remaining family members face their toughest challenge.
Book Description
Bucking the Sun is the story of the Duff family, homesteaders driven from the Montana bottomland to work on one of the New Deal's most audacious projects -- the damming of the Missouri River. Through the story of each family member -- a wrathful father, a mettlesome mother, and three very different sons and the memorable women they marry, Doig conveys a sense of time and place that is at once epic in scope and rich in detail.
Customer Reviews:
Building a dam.......2007-05-13
The characters in this novel are well described and true to the character of Montanans. Doig makes my heart ache for the people of a state I learned to love.
Bucking The Sun, A GoodRead.......2004-03-02
I read this because my parents were at Ft Peck in 1933 where my dad worked as an engineer. My parents were "very proper" city people. My mother talked about living in a 24' X 24' construction shack, bathing in a wash tub in water heated from the stove, and hanging clothes to dry where they froze and the ice evaporated in the dry Montana air.
This story brought their experiences to light in a unique way. The Ft Peck area in 1933 Montana was Wild West beyond my imagination. The author brings it to life, weaving a family life, the dynamics of the area, the happenings of the 1930 and a mystery into a wonderful vivid novel.
I highly recommend Bucking the Sun to anyone interested in spending a few hours in such a story.
Andy
Will It Ever End ?.......2002-12-31
Ivan Doig, as usual, writes great sentences and very good paragraphs. However, once he gets beyond 200 pages, the whole story drags. I liked his shorter books very much, and waited until I had several weeks of free time to tackle this longer work, knowing it would be slow going. It turned out to be even slower reading than I expected. Doig obviously learned a lot from Stegner about constructing long, complex sentences out of unfamiliar words ( or non-words on all too many occasions ) that have to be parsed carefully to suck out all the nuances of meaning, which works well for a short book of poetry but fails in a work of this length. After a while, the reader just wants the torture to end, but there is no way to hurry through Doig's convoluted poetry/prose. Doig's characters are at once totally unbelievable and exactly like my Scotch-Irish relatives, who are also unbelievable, or at least highly improbable in their actions and reasoning processes. In short, a book half as long would have been better.
Charlie A Allen
Sum of its Parts.......2000-12-21
A fine novel worth your time, but definitely not a mystery book. Sure the first 10 pages describe a murder scene, but there's nothing to solve. Actually, it doesn't get solved, it's lived with, and really that can be said for much of what the Duff family experiences.
All members of the family Duff are unique, as are their relationships. All are enjoyable with only the Scottish Uncle seeming a little too polished; his dialogue a little too precise. But that's a quibble because overall, Doig does very well with his characters. Throw in the dam as another major character and Montana itself, and you have a book worth your time; a great tableau of the 1930s Depression in America.
And if you know what the cover of the first Life Magazine looks like, you know Fort Peck. Doig weaves many real events into his fiction including a visit by FDR, a major dam mishap, and a visit from a Life photographer.
Epic Tale- Not A Mystery.......2000-10-28
Despite the claims of some of the misleading reviews (including the Editorial review at the top of this page) this is not a murder mystery in any way. Yes, two of the characters do perish, as is revealed in the first chapter of the novel (which is not in chronological order with the rest), but this plays an absolutely minimal role in the story. While the question of who ultimately perishes does linger in the back of your mind while Doig relates the multi-faceted story of the Duff family, this is not a tale of a family coping with death. This is truly an epic story which combines interesting, developed, and, most of all, distinct characters with an extraodinarily well described setting- an enormous New Deal project and accompanying lively shantytown set amidst grand natural scenery. The result is a novel which anyone (though especially someone with an interest in or affinity for the American West) should thoroughly enjoy.
Amazon.com
In the small village of Ardmore, Ireland, Gallagher's pub is the center of the lively seaside community and the home of three passionate siblings: Aidan, Shawn, and Darcy. As a world traveler and a barkeep, the eldest brother Aidan has just about seen and heard it all, but when a quiet professor from Chicago enters his tavern, he is instantly intrigued--and certain that there is more to Jude Murray than what meets the eye.
Jude has returned to her grandmother's ancestral home to sort out her thoughts, know her heart, and "find Jude F. Murray in six months or less." After a life of deliberate security, Jude finds herself recovering from a failed marriage and a disappointing career. With the pretense of a research expedition, Jude leaves her life in Chicago and moves into the charming house on top of the faerie hill. Surrounded by the awesome scenery and relieved by the simplicity of life, Jude excuses her visions of ghosts and faeries as signs of her mental recovery.
But the inhabitants of Ardmore, and Aidan Gallagher in particular, don't dismiss these apparitions with such convenient logic, and Jude learns to listen more carefully to the messages in the world. As Aidan and Jude draw closer to each other, Jude struggles to discover, balance, and define the complex parts of her soul.
In the character of Jude Murray, Nora Roberts has created a sophisticated woman whose internal development from skittish recluse to confident lover is realistic and convincing. Carefully avoiding the "good man is a solution to all problems" plot, Roberts lets Jude and Aidan interact and develop individually, as well as together as a couple. While this modern tone is refreshing, it feels a bit at odds with the supernatural, faerie themes. As this is the first in a series about the Gallagher siblings and the faerie legend, perhaps these thematic contradictions will sort themselves out in the subsequent novels. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien
Book Description
Return to the lush green hills of Ireland, where love is touched by magic--and where the Gallagher siblings explore the depths of their fiery hearts.
"[Roberts] is at her best here" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) in the first book in her enchanting trilogy set in Ardmore, Ireland.
Download Description
An enchanting new trilogy where, in the lush green hills of Ireland, love is forever touched by magic--and the Gallagher siblings explore the depths of their fiery hearts..
Customer Reviews:
Great.......2007-07-19
I love this series... you must read it to understand. It's all about a homicide detective named Lt. Eve Dallas and how she goes about solving a case which always seems imposibble to solve at first.
Pink Novel.......2007-06-14
I tried to find a good novel, since I finished Linda Lay Shuler, and Jean Auel novels, but I fail to choose this type of pink novel, is not my type of reading.
Nora Roberts - The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy.......2007-05-14
To be quite honest, I have rated this book 5-star without reading it. Having read many Nora Roberts' books I know I am in for a treat. I have the Trilogy and I am taking the set on holiday with me to read. I know I shall thoroughly enjoy the Trilogy.
If you want me to rate it after I have read the trilogy please let me know and I will be happy to do so.
Margaret Reynolds
Perfect.......2007-03-10
This trilogy is a must read for anyone who loves a romance with a twist. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down.
Love all of Nora's romance books.......2007-02-25
You can never go wrong with a Nora Roberts romance novel and this is just one more great one in the list.
Average customer rating:
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Japanese Nature Print Designs to Color (A Barbara Holdridge Book)
Amie Sun Ambrose
Manufacturer: Stemmer House Publishers
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0880450134 |
Book Description
Linda McCartneys delicately haunting images, made using the nineteenth-century technique of sunprinting, are collected here for the first time. In sun printing, natural sunlight is used to produce an image on plain paper treated with a mixture of minerals without a darkroom. Linda McCartney began experimenting with this technique early in her career, and the results are some of her finest photographs.
Customer Reviews:
every photo a story.......2001-10-05
Sun printing relies on natural sunlight to produce an image on paper brushed with a mixture of minerals. Linda's sunprints have a mystical & elusive quality & in this modern woman's perspective we see combinations of spontaneous poses with still backgrounds; overlays & tonal changes in cyan & sepia.
Such gently detailed, whimsical & earthy sights of a boy print or an amarylis; a castle reflected in its watery moat; a terrace balustrade casting sunny shadows upon snow; a stalwart cactus in a desert or a triad of lanterns on a London bridge; of lively faces & ancient hands; of birds & beaches & seasons' abundance. Meditative, heart-warming, peaceable pictures, some simply swatches of brush strokes offering glimpses of what her eyes had seen.
Linda McCartney's photographs always have stories to tell & make me want to talk about them!
Painting with Light.......2001-08-23
To photograph well is to paint with light: to see what the fall of light on common or uncommon subjects can reveal, and then to capture that image. Linda McCartney photographed mostly by natural light, and her effort to find a way of developing images in the simplest and most natural way fit in with her basic philosophy of life. I feel sure she was pleased with the notion of making what she called a "strong image" (a good "contrasty" photograph) with the sun's light, and then developing it with sunlight and non-toxic chemicals. At the beginning of her career, she photographed rock musicians with unusual insight--she captured the essential child in some of them: the wicked little girl in Janis Joplin, and the sweet, shy boy in Jimi Hendrix. By the time she was experimenting with the process described and illustrated in this book, she was able to photograph people with the same insight she had always had and to find a sort of classic beauty in the commonest household scenes and landscapes. There are a number of striking photographs here, all enhanced by the "limitations" of the developing method. Photos of her son James, at about the age of ten or eleven, reveal a sturdy elf who glows from within. Her portraits of famous and anonymous people capture their presences with enormous respect, tenderness, and some amusement. One of my favorite juxtapositions places a serious dog named Merdock opposite a shot of her husband peering through a magnifying glass. The dog has much more dignity. This is a book of photographs by a master of her art--she captures a rainbow of insights in earthy browns and true blues. I bought this book second hand for more than twice the price of the new edition. We are fortunate to have a new edition, and, if we like photography at all, real stupid not to buy it right now.
Book Description
During the grand opening celebration of the new American headquarters of an immense Japanese conglomerate, the dead body of a beautiful woman is found. The investigation begins, and immediately becomes a headlong chase through a twisting maze of industrial intrigue and a violent business battle that takes no prisoners.
From the Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
An ok cop tale, partly based around some American Japanophobia. Throw in the beginnings of the technology for faking video evidence, and some corporate stuff. Then there is the auto-erotic asphyxiation gone just a bit too far problem for one of the visiting business types. Naturally one of the main characters is a Japanese liasion expert, throw him together with a garden variety cop type and there you go.
Hissing Japanese people.......2007-06-24
Crichton's books are filled with action, suspense and great antagonists. So what does Rising Sun have to offer- dinosaurs, gorillas, giant glowing squid? No, we get hissing Japanese people. Of course a book with a negative portrayal of one race has to balance itself out with a good Japanese person and an evil white guy. But that doesn't stop messages like "the Yakuza are everywhere, watch the sleeves" or "all Japanese people hiss through their teeth when they get angry." The dated paranoia of the 80's and early 90's is put in perspective with sentences like "she was listening to the latest MC Hammer hit." This book doesn't stand the test of time, and to spare you the laughable climax, the Japanese business people have discovered how to use texture mapping. That's it. That's the only thing that makes this novel count as "mystery" or "suspense." One might accidentally assume it's a tense political thriller by the flag on the cover, or a smartly written commentary on Japanese society and business culture, but no, nothing in this novel is relevant, even as a casual read. On any list of Crichton books, this belongs on the bottom.
Decent Mystery, but Too Preachy for its Own Good.......2007-06-04
Michael Crichton wrote RISING SUN in 1992, when Japan was considered a big economic threat to the United States. Since then, Japan's economy has fallen into a long-term recession, and it has sold back many of the American properties it purchased over a decade ago. Japan is still a serious economic force, but it's no longer the economic bogeyman it used to be.
There's a decent murder mystery in RISING SUN, but this novel is essentially an excuse for Crichton to express his fear of Japanese business practices. Much of the dialogue in this novel is stilted, and is merely a front for Crichton to express his view that the American way of doing business is outdated, and cannot compete effectively against Japanese methods. Many of the characters are nothing more than caricatures designed to push this message.
Crichton makes some interesting points in this novel, but he is not particularly subtle. He basically makes the same points again and again, through one repetitive chapter after another. This novel starts very well, but it eventually wore itself thin with all the doomsaying and preachiness.
RISING SUN is an interesting read, and a clever thriller. But I wish Crichton had spent more time on characterization and plot, and less time on his agenda.
Crime Scene Japanese Style.......2007-02-19
Pete Smith is a Lieutenant in the Special Services Division of LAPD assigned to liaise between the Japanese and Americans when the need arises. He is called to the scene of a murder at a Japanese corporation and finds that the officials there are less than forthcoming with the investigation. Aided by a retired Special Services Officer, John Connor, Smith realizes that there are many cultural differences between Japan and America that he must master before he can hope to solve this crime that undoubtedly involves corporate officials at the highest level. What he does not anticipate is that the guilty will stop at nothing to keep their tracks hidden, including striking at Smith where it hurts the most - his family.
Crichton starts out this novel as a standard detective yarn about catching a murderer, but it quickly evolves into a dissertation, almost agenda driven, about the differences between Japanese and American cultures and the pitfalls associated with not taking the Japanese seriously. The information about how Japan is taking over corporate America was interesting, but the opinion often heavy handed. This took away from the plot of the mystery to the point of distraction at times. I felt as though Crichton had an agenda to push and it was not even a little bit subtle. Certainly he is entitled to his opinion, but I was left a bit disenchanted that he attempted to mask the opinion in the pages of a novel that suffered for it.
Rising Crichton.......2007-01-04
This is Crichton's best suspense novel. No questions asked. I read this about 3 years back, and I kind of forgot what the book was about, but I DO remember grabbing hold of the book until the very end... I'm not much of a suspense fan, but I still found this book worth reading.
Average customer rating:
- Great Story!
- The world's most annoying family and one beautiful romance
- One of the steamiest books I have ever read!
- Good, but...
- This book is hot!
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Desire in the Sun
Karen Robards
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
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ASIN: 0786211385 |
Book Description
Historical RomanceLarge Print EditionRaised a gentleman but cruelly betrayed and enslaved, Joss San Pietros fate now rests in the gentle hands of Lilah Remy, the beautiful pampered daughter of a wealthy planter. But their true destiny awaits them in paradise where, shipwrecked and alone, they face desperate trials and dangerous truths and the yearning of passionate hearts that demand surrender to forbidden love.* Explicit
Customer Reviews:
Great Story!.......2007-07-30
I loved this book so much. I think it's one of my all time favorite books. This is the first Karen Robards historical romance that I've read. I couldn't put it down. I really loved Lilah and Joss, their story made me cry a couple of times. My favorite part of the book was when they were on the deserted island. This book has a great plot, a lot of adventure and two great leading characters. I don't think I'll ever forget this story. I loved the ending! Such a perfect ending to a great story. I can't wait to read Ms. Robards' other romance novels.
The world's most annoying family and one beautiful romance.......2005-12-05
First of all, I despised the prejudice in this novel. But, yes it was a lot tamer than what ACTUALLY happened during that period.
Delilah Remy falls in lust with the mustachioed lothario, Jocelyn San Pietro upon first glance and is completely infatuated by his shameless flirting and tender kissing after one magical walk. Oh, bother he's 1/8th African, and property of her (crazy) great-aunt! Lilah has to forget about that, but. . . Her crazy-aunt has him beaten and sold, thus leading Lilah to beg her (crazy) fiancee into purchasing Joss "for her (yes, again he is: crazy) father" (more like for some serious sexin' on Miss Lilah's part). Joss wants to wake up from this horrible nightmare, after all he is an English business man and the impressive captain of his own ship, that just happens to be of a mixed background. So? Why is he forced into this world?
After a shipwreck things get steamy (and banter-y) as Lilah falls in love with her proud and intelligent slave boy and Joss, sans the mustache and any proper clothing can't help but be touched by the pampered princess' courage, compassion, and enticing body parts. Then, her father and yes, crazy-stepmother join the picture with the fiancee in the backing and annoy the hell out of me. But, it isn't the unbearable annoyance of horribly written characters, more like the annoyance of taxing, repressive, somewhat one-dimensional individuals (we only view them through Lilah's dimensions, except for the fiancee). Although Lilah loves her family with a tender loyalty and they are only viewed through her rose-impaired vision, however Robards makes it obvious that they're manipulative and selfish creatures (even though Lilah bypasses that fact until the very end, she constantly longs to believe in their goodness).
This one is a definite keeper. Villains you love to hate (not very engaging though), interesting leads, and amazing chemistry. My favorite from Robards.
One of the steamiest books I have ever read!.......2004-12-28
This was so great!! I read it over and over again! Ms. Robards is a terrific author. I am in the middle of To Trust a Stranger right now and it is wonderful!! I started reading her books because she is from Louisville Ky. which is onlu a few min. away from where I live and I think that her books are well written and contain great plots and story lines. I suggest that evryone needs to read her books if you are looking for adventure and romance!!
Good, but..........2004-03-31
5 stars? I think not -- Oh, I liked it, but I don't feel I want to read it again & again, the way I do with my keepers. I thought there could have been more depth to the characters & their situation. Joss having African-American blood WAS a BIG DEAL in those days after all. I thought that fact was completely rushed into, and then his grandfather dying was all too quick, though it moved the plot right along! But WAY too fast. In fact, the whole book felt rushed; the author rushed into the revealation about Joss; rushed him into slavehood; rushed the shipwreck; rushed them into making love...I wanted more tension & suspense. It was OK, but not great. It's a good read, but not a keeper.
This book is hot!.......2003-04-08
out of all the books I have read by Karen Robards, this must be one of the best. The plot was an intricate one, weaved around a handsome rake with a chip on his shoulder, a beautiful lady who has a temper, isolated beaches and a tempestuous love on the sunny island of Barbados...What more could you want, really?
Books:
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Workflow: The Digital Photographer's Guide (Tim Grey Guides)
- Alfred Stieglitz: Photographs and Writings (Alfred Stieglitz)
- American Government: Continuity and Change, 2006 Edition (Paperbound) (8th Edition)
- At Home in Mitford/A Light in the Window/These High, Green Hills/Out to Canaan/A New Song/A Common Life (The Mitford Years 1-6)
- Atomic Ranch
- Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light in Theatre, Live Performance, Broadcast, and Entertainment
- Baby Scrapbooks: Ideas, Tips, and Techniques for Baby Scrapbooks (Memory Makers)
- Bangalore Tiger
- Bites
- Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D Digital Field Guide
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Adobe PageMaker 7.0 BASICS
- The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage
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- Photography and the Art of Seeing: A Visual Perception Workshop for Film and Digital Photography
- Sol-Gel Science: The Physics and Chemistry of Sol-Gel Processing
- The Killing Zone: My Life in the Vietnam War
- Wild L.A.: A Celebration of the Natural Areas In and Around the City
- Nitric Oxide And The Kidney: PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
- Absence in the Palms of My Hands: & Other Poems
Water for Elephants: A Novel
The Kite Runner
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Suite Francaise
