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Anna-Maria C. (Cranky) - Reviews

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All That Glitters
All That Glitters
Author: Susan Kyle
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 30
Review Date: 1/22/2007
Helpful Score: 1


Characters: Ivory Keene and Curry Kells. She just won a design contest that lended her a job in his fashion company.

I'm a hardcover Diana Palmer fan, and I looked forward to a longer book from her. I loved the romantic tension developing between the characters, but I was not to keen on all the time spent away from the hero and heroine. Ivory spends a lot of time discussing her life with her girlfriend. However, the romance was so tender and engaging that I still felt very satisfied at the end.


Ask And It Is Given: Learning To Manifest Your Desires
Ask And It Is Given: Learning To Manifest Your Desires
Author: Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 67
Review Date: 8/20/2008
Helpful Score: 2


I've seen a number of videos of Esther's presentations, and I still wanted this book in my library so I can refer to it whenever I need a boost.

People commonly misdefine the concept of vibration and how like attracts like as positive thinking. This goes way beyond positive thinking. You can think positive thoughts and pray all you want, but if your underlying feeling is that of despair, your positive thoughts will get you nowhere. I've been there and done that.

This book explains the process of raising your vibration by paying attention to how you feel. A scale of emotions will give you a very vivid picture of where you are and where you want to be. A number of practical techniques are explained to help you reach the next highest level of feeling until you can sustain happiness and love, which are feelings of all possibilities.

Enjoy!


The Australian (Best of the Best)
The Australian (Best of the Best)
Author: Diana Palmer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 18
Review Date: 11/30/2005


Characters: Priscilla Johnson and John Sterling
On a cattle station in Australia, Priscilla has been pining for John Sterling for years, but he hurt her badly. Back from college in America, she is determined to have nothing to do with him.

This story unfolds with the passion that fans of Palmer's work love. Somewhat unexpected was the ufolding of the backstory in such detail, which only fueled the central conflict into a great sizzle.


Behind Closed Doors (McCloud, Bk 1)
Behind Closed Doors (McCloud, Bk 1)
Author: Shannon McKenna
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 215
Review Date: 10/24/2005
Helpful Score: 3


Shannon McKenna is one of the best writers of erotic romance. Her prose unfolds with such flair and lyricism that I can't wait to turn the page. I also love the deep inner conflicts that each character must face and resolve. It goes to the heart of McKenna's story-telling.


Betrayed by Love (Ranch Rogues) (Western Lovers, No 1)
Betrayed by Love (Ranch Rogues) (Western Lovers, No 1)
Author: Diana Palmer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 58
Review Date: 12/26/2005
Helpful Score: 2


Characters: Jacob Cade & Kate Walker. He is her best friend's uncle. She's been secretly in love with him for years, but his misconception of her as 'easy' has kept them at each other's throats. Despite that, he wants her too much to stay away, so he follows her to Chicago where she works as a journalist. Kate would rather take one night with him than nothing. His ardor leaves him insensitive to her inexperience and gives her nothing but bitter disappointment. To forget, she takes on dangerous assignments on the police beat. Jacob wants to make amends, but the night he finally summons the courage to face her, she gets shot on the job.

I love the misunderstanding and the passion that bring these two characters together and tear them apart. It's always great to see a romance hero going through hell to make up for his judgement errors and win the love of his woman.


The Case of the Confirmed Bachelor (Silhouette Desire, No 715)
The Case of the Confirmed Bachelor (Silhouette Desire, No 715)
Author: Diana Palmer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 41
Review Date: 12/29/2005


Characters: NIck Reed and Tabitha Harvey. He is a private detective. She, a professor of archeology, accused of theft. She'd loved him for years, but she knows he'll never settle. When she asks for his help to clear her name, passion overwhelms them both.

Although a classic Diana Palmer, this book didn't quite grab me like other Palmer stories. I'm still not sure why. A fun read, in any case.


The Case Of The Mesmerizing Boss (Silhouette Desire, No 702)
The Case Of The Mesmerizing Boss (Silhouette Desire, No 702)
Author: Diana Palmer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 34
Review Date: 6/30/2006


Dane Lassiter, former Texas Ranger, now owner of the Lassiter Detective Agency
Tess Meriwether, Dane's almost step-sister and secretary

More than unusually touching story when Tess's secret and life-threatening pregnancy brings the lovers face to face with the damage they've done by denying and hiding their love for each other. Diana Palmer could never go wrong for me, but when her story combines explosive passion and manages to get me teary-eyed, it's a sure winner.


Cattleman's Pride (Long Tall Texans, Bk 26) (Silhouette Romance, No 1718)
Review Date: 1/18/2006


Characters: Libby Collins and Jordan Powell.

I was surprised to find this book a lot more involved with the background situations of supporting characters and less driven by the passion between Libby and Jordan. In a tapestry of Long Tall Texan stories, this comes across as almost a reminder of all the characters that have been explored before. I wanted more of Libby and Jordan, and Palmer's magic in weaving a seduction story, and less of everybody else.


Conversation Power: Communication Skills for Business and Personal Success
Review Date: 7/10/2006


six tape audio set.


Deeper than Desire
Deeper than Desire
Author: Cheryl Holt
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 86
Review Date: 12/11/2005


characters: Olivia Hopkins & Phillip Paxton.
Olivia must marry Early of Salisbury to ensure her family's survival, but she is enchanted by Phillip, the earl's illigitimate son.

Cheryl Holt weaves hot historical tales, and this one is a great read. I'm not a fan of two many subplots featuring additional characters, but in this case, they come together beatifully.


Donavan (Silhouette Romance, No 843)
Donavan (Silhouette Romance, No 843)
Author: Diana Palmer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 17
Review Date: 6/25/2006


Fay York and Donovan Langley.
She is rich, and he hates debutantes. Only things are not the way they seem.
Innocence, violent passion, and heartwarming tenderness, just like I expected from Diana Palmer.


Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting : The Astonishing Power of Feelings
Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting : The Astonishing Power of Feelings
Author: Lynn Grabhorn
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 20
Review Date: 1/20/2006


Incredibly empowering.


How to Be the Almost Perfect Husband: By Wives Who Know
How to Be the Almost Perfect Husband: By Wives Who Know
Author: J. S. Salt
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 6
Review Date: 4/22/2006


A complement to How to Be the Almost Perfect Wife, by the Husbands Who Know. Both books make a great gift.


How to Be the Almost Perfect Wife: By Husbands Who Know
How to Be the Almost Perfect Wife: By Husbands Who Know
Author: J. S. Salt
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 7
Review Date: 4/22/2006


A complement to How to Be The Almost Perfect Husband, by the Wives Who Know. Both books make a great gift.


Hunter's Moon (Tale of the Sazi, Bk 1)
Hunter's Moon (Tale of the Sazi, Bk 1)
Author: C. T. Adams, Cathy Clamp
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 190
Review Date: 2/12/2006
Helpful Score: 5


What a surprise! These authors create a paranormal romance world very similar to Sherrilyn Kenyon's in all its abundance of shapeshifters. I have to admit I prefer Hunter's Moon to Kenyon's stories.

In a refreshing departure from current convention, the authors chose to tell a story from the hero's point of view in first person narration. Tony happens to be a hired killer, and his latest client, Sue, wants him to kill none other than herself. However, he is also a werewolf, and something about this lady's scent gets right under his skin.

Scent features prominently and quite originally in describing a werewolf's ability to recognize emotion. At times, it may even become too much, but I was quite taken by the complexity of Tony's awakening to his own feelings. Rather potent concepts of energy exchange make for quite a climactic final battle.

I also appreciated that we are introduced to a world of shapeshifters through the perspective of a hero who is himself knew to being a werewolf. Tony's relationship with Sue brings his new powers to the fore. The more he lets himself be drawn to her, the more of his powers come into play to challenge his course of action, the deeper he is taken into a reality populated by paranormal beings as varied as people, and with just as many rules. I love the way the authors used the concept of wolfs mating for life to deepen Tony's internal struggle rather than make the plot predictable. Even though I knew I was reading a romance and that they always end happily ever after, I was curious and riveted right to the last page, where I could hardly wait for the next installment, Moon's Web.


Lady Love (Silhouette Desire, No 175)
Lady Love (Silhouette Desire, No 175)
Author: Diana Palmer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 11
Review Date: 12/9/2005
Helpful Score: 1


Characters: Merlyn Forrest Steele and Cameron Thorpe.
She is an heiress tired of men wanting her for her money, so she goes incognito as an assistant to a romance writer, whose son Cameron Thorpe is the living, breathing embodiment of a dark and brooding Jane Austen hero.

I love the sparks between these characters, and the twist that forces the hero to convince his intended to marry him because she may already be pregnant when she is dead set in denying it.


Lifestyles of the Rich & Flatulent
Lifestyles of the Rich & Flatulent
Author: Thelma LaBacus
Book Type: Paperback
  ?
Review Date: 6/25/2006


A cartoon collection.


Love by Proxy (Silhouette Desire, No 252)
Love by Proxy (Silhouette Desire, No 252)
Author: Diana Palmer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 24
Review Date: 12/27/2006


Amelia Glenn and Wentworth (Worth) Carson. Location: Chicago. She is trying to make it on her own far away from her sheltered life in Georgia. He is a construction magnate too soured on relationships, but his ailing grandmother takes Amelia under her wing and won't let her go.

I'm such a Diana Palmer fan that she could never go wrong with me. I love how the build-up leads to a passionate night of love and subsequent complications.


Love on Trial
Love on Trial
Author: Diana Palmer
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 28
Review Date: 11/27/2005


Attorney Hawke Grayson and reporter Cyrene Jameson.
Although the relationship doesn't proceed to intimacy and its entanglements like some of Palmer's signature stories, I still got a Diana Palmer fix I needed.


A Man for the Night (Harlequin Blaze, No 64)
A Man for the Night (Harlequin Blaze, No 64)
Author: Miranda Lee
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 22
Review Date: 9/14/2006
Helpful Score: 3


Josie Williams needs a date for a highschool reunion. She hires an escort, except Callum McCloud is not an escort. He's only standing in for his kid brother, and he wants to make Josie's every sexual fantasy come true.

I've expected more 'blaze' from a Blaze book, but this story's juices took forever to start flowing. Much of what was supposed to be plot was backstory filler or ever worse, retelling of the information already told through backstory. Characters spend more time chit-chatting about themselves than actually being involved in the drama of romance. I'd hoped that when at last the characters started having sex, that would make for the story's flaws, but no such luck. It took more than half the book to actually get to sex, which ended up being circumspect and too brief. More time is spent on retelling what happened in the bedroom after it happened than actually letting us be witness to it. And, the author seems to have gone out of her way expressing homophobia every chance she got. Quite a disappointment.


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