Search this site    Riggs Park Author: Bache, Ellyn ISBN: 0-373-88053-7 Pages: 304 Format: Paperback Publisher: Harlequin Published: July 1, 2005 Condition: Price: USD $1.69 A story about lifelong friendships that span decades of happiness, sorrow and surprising revelations. The Lost Daugher of Pigeon Hollow Author: Cooper, Inglath ISBN: 0-373-71263-4 Pages: 304 Format: Paperback Publisher: Harlequin Published: March 1, 2005 Condition: Price: USD $1.69 Home To Family Author: Evans, Ann ISBN: 0-373-71262-6 Pages: 304 Format: Paperback Publisher: Harlequin Published: March 1, 2005 Condition: Price: USD $1.69 Oh Baby! Author: Ford, Pamela ISBN: 0-373-71247-2 Pages: 304 Format: Paperback Publisher: Harlequin Published: December 1, 2004 Condition: Price: USD $1.69 Eye of the Beholder Author: Krentz, Jayne Ann ISBN: 0-671-52306-6 Pages: 352 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Atria Published: May 1, 1999 Condition: Price: USD $2.69 Amazon.com: Setting: Avalon, Arizona, present day Sensuality Rating: 7 Perennial favorite Jayne Ann Krentz weaves a complicated tale of metaphysics and murder, romance and revenge, in Eye of the Beholder. J.L. Trask--"Trask" to friends and enemies alike--has returned to Avalon, Arizona, 12 years after his father's mysterious death, to not only fulfill his dream of opening a world-class resort hotel but also to hunt down his father's killer. There he encounters none other than Alexa Chambers, stepdaughter of one of his father's former partners, whom Trask suspects of playing a role in the murder. Alexa is biding her time in Avalon, working tirelessly behind the scenes to regain her reputation as an expert in 20th-century antiques and art after having been framed in a forgery scandal that rocked the art world a year earlier. Alexa's best chance to redeem herself is by verifying the authenticity of the Art Deco collection at Trask's new hotel. Thrown together by the project, the two find it difficult to ignore the lasting animosity of a past encounter--not to mention the passionate heat they experience in each other's company. And as Trask grows ever closer to discovering who the true killer is, dark forces conspire against him, endangering not only his life but Alexa's as well. Once again, Krentz combines elements of romance and mystery in a winning union. --Alison Trinkle From Publishers Weekly: When hotel magnate J.L. Trask returns to Avalon, Ariz., to open his magnificent new resort, art expert Alexa Chambers and the other locals in this New Age town suspect he's come, after 12 years, to avenge his father's death. Trask, convinced that his father was murdered, must deal with Avalon's charismatic guru, Webster Bell, and his many eager disciples in bestselling author Krentz's (Flash) latest romantic thriller. Alexa, who considers herself Trask's nemesisAhis accusations against her stepfather have echoed in her mind since she was 16, when she forced the furious Trask to leave her homeAbecomes his unlikely ally in the search for the truth behind his father's death. The prolific Krentz, who also churns out bestsellers as Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle, once again demonstrates her knack for page-turning plots that masterfully inveigle and misdirect readers up to a surprising denouement. Krentz here captures the intriguing perils of the art collecting world: Alexa's career as an expert on 20th-century art was nearly ruined after a forgery scandal tarnished her reputation. The Dimensions Institute, the metaphysical retreat that dominates Avalon, is another richly observed milieu. Psychics, aura readers and meditation guides hold sway, and the author treads a thin line between poking fun at so-called New Age enlightenment and lauding the benefits of introspection and intellectual pursuits. In the end, this is a well-paced thriller fraught with tensionAboth sexual and suspensefulAthat will please Krentz fans. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Along Came Zoe Author: Macdonald, Janice ISBN: 0-373-71244-8 Pages: 304 Format: Paperback Publisher: Harlequin Published: December 1, 2004 Condition: Price: USD $1.69 Waiting to Exhale Author: McMillan, Terry ISBN: 0-670-83980-9 Pages: 416 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Viking Adult Published: May 28, 1992 Condition: Price: USD $2.69 From Publishers Weekly: A racy, zesty, irreverent and absorbing book with broad mainstream appeal, McMillan's third novel (after Mama and Disappearing Acts ) tells the stories of four 30ish black women bound together in warm, supportive friendship and in their dwindling hopes of finding Mr. Right. Savannah, Bernadine, Robin and Gloria are successful professional or self-employed women living in Phoenix. All are independent, upwardly mobile and "waiting to exhale"--to stop holding their breaths waiting for the proper mate to come along. (Bernadine is married, but her husband walks out on her for a white woman as the novel opens.) They also share speech patterns that some readers may find disconcerting: they utter profanities with panache, unceasingly. Indeed, the novel's major drawback may be the number of times such words as shit , fuck and ass are repeated on every page. These women have a healthy interest in sex, while deploring the fact that most of the men they meet are arrogant, irresponsible and chronically unfaithful. Each character is drawn with authenticity and empathy, and McMillan pulls no punches about their collective bad judgment in choosing partners for romance. After many vicissitudes, two of the heroines find love, but until then McMillan keeps us constantly guessing about which members of her lively quartet will be thus rewarded. There's nothing stereotyped in her work here: it is fresh and engaging. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal: Like McMillan's previous novels, Disappearing Acts ( LJ 7/89) and Mama ( LJ 1/87), her new effort features a predictable plot, prose that often falls flat, and a narrative that lacks depth. Four African American women living in Phoenix devote most of their energies to searching for the one good black man who will make their dreams of the perfect partner and lover come true. Unsurprisingly, Savannah, Bernie, Gloria, and Robin all kiss several toads, but their trials and errors never arouse much interest. Far stronger is the author's sharp, often humorous depiction of the strong bonds among the four friends, their relationships with their families, and their community activities; readers will regret that McMillan did not develop these areas further. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Ladylord Author: Miller, Sasha ISBN: 0-312-86050-1 Pages: 382 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Tor Books Published: March 1996 Condition: Price: USD $2.49 From Publishers Weekly: Aided by magic and loyal followers, a young woman fights for her patrimony in this Japanese-flavored fantasy. Raised by the magician Wande-hari to govern in a male-dominated culture, Lady Javere qa Hyasti is named "son" and sole heir by her dying father, Lord Qai qa Hyasti, ruler of the Third Province of Monserria. Before she can take her position, Javere, who comes to be known as Ladylord to her intimates, must be confirmed by the ancient and corrupt Lord Yassai qa Chula. But to protect herself from a forced marriage, she first weds her beloved; she must remain celibate until her confirmation, however, in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy. After avoiding several traps set by the wily Yassai, Ladylord and her followers are sent to the distant south to find a Dragon-warrior's egg; their quest is fraught with both natural perils and treachery. Meanwhile, Ladylord's loyal general, Sigon the Strategist, must battle an unholy alliance, which includes Ladylord's sister, that is trying to take over Third Province. Miller is the author of one previous novel, Falcon Magic, which appeared in the two-novel mass market book On Wings of Magic, volume three of the Witch World: The Turning series. In her skillful hardcover debut, she creates a socially complex world that's as vital as it is mannered, and fills it with captivating characters who are familiar with depravity as well as with grandeur. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. The Distant Beacon Author: Oke, Janette / Bunn, T. Davis ISBN: 0-7642-2600-2 Pages: 271 Format: Paperback Publisher: Bethany House Published: March 1, 2002 Condition: Price: USD $1.99 Romantic Times, March 2002: "Well-written, with a strong and unique plot and endearing characters. The authors have an excellent understanding of the historical era." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Book Description: Anne's sorrow over her husband's death has been eased by the unexpected discovery of his heritage in the Harrow family and by her marriage to a brilliant young theologian. But Nicole is as restless as ever and has decided to retutn to North America. Should she go to the Acadian family of her childhood in Louisiana's bayous? Or should she settle in Nova Scotia near her birth parents? The American colonies are in revolt against England, and Uncle Charles asks her to go to Massachusetts to oversee his extensive landholdings. The attentions of the ship's captain during the crossing touch a yearning deep within her, but she also realizes all her loyalties are about to be tested. Is she French? Is she English? Is she a supporter of the American cause? Nicole's unique legacy will allow her to play an extraordinary role in the unfolding historic events, but will she be able to find a home for her heart? When Tomorrow Comes Author: Oke, Janette ISBN: 0-7642-2556-1 Pages: 256 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Bethany House Publishers Published: August 1, 2001 Condition: Price: USD $1.99 As Canadian men volunteer for World War II in Janette Oke's When Tomorrow Comes, Christine Delaney recovers from her broken heart and finds solace in helping her adored brother Henry settle into married life with the widowed Amber and her young son Danny. However, the Delaney family's happiness is shattered when a terrible auto accident mars an anticipated family celebration. At this crucial turning point in her spiritual maturity, Christine must decide if she is willing to give up her dreams of living in the North, and let God help her choose between her suitors to find a lifelong love. It's classic Oke here from cover to cover. Christian readers will appreciate that no matter what the circumstances, God is praised and everything works out for the best, even when things look grim. The writing is loose in spots-- characters "flush" repeatedly, and the dialogue is often stiff. Oke devotees will likely see these as minor glitches in a light, romantic novel that's penned in the tradition they've come to expect and enjoy. Readers who loved Beyond the Gathering Storm in Oke's "Canadian West" series will be more than content with this sweet sequel about the Delaney family. --Cindy Crosby Bookbrowser.com, Aug. 2001: "sure to please... boasts delightful descriptions of 1939 Canada, from cosmopolitan cities to the beautiful North. I recommend it strongly." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Coming Home Author: Pilcher, Rosamunde ISBN: 0-312-13451-7 Pages: 728 Format: Hardcover Publisher: St Martins Pr Published: September 1995 Condition: Price: USD $3.49 From Publishers Weekly: Massive in size and vast in scope, Pilcher's latest entertainment seems destined to equal the extraordinary success of her previous novels (September, etc.) as it follows young Judith Dunbar through the tumultuous years before and during WWII. At 14, Judith is sent to boarding school in Cornwall when her mother and sister leave England to rejoin her father in Ceylon and then Singapore. Facing bleak holidays with her widowed, golf-obsessed Aunt Louise, the girl is overjoyed and a bit overwhelmed when she's often invited by classmate Loveday Carey-Lewis and her glamorous and wealthy family to spend time at their estate. When Aunt Louise dies in an auto accident, Judith finds herself an unexpected heiress with the funds necessary to move easily through the world of the Carey-Lewises and their friends, such as young physician Jeremy Wells. As Europe moves toward war, Judith embarks on a disastrous affair with Loveday's rakish brother, while Loveday falls for Gus Callendar, a Cambridge-educated engineer who longs to be an artist. War finds Judith enlisting in the Wrens and dealing with both an unfinished romance with Jeremy and tragic news about the fate of her family in Singapore; meanwhile, Loveday works her family farms and makes a rash decision about her future with Gus. War's end will bring unexpected tensions as well as a suitably romantic fate for both women. This is classy, lavish entertainment from a writer whose unpretentious prose always flows smoothly, never offends and offers literate pleasure. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Come Together Author: Rees, Emlyn / Lloyd, Josie ISBN: 0-375-50232-7 Pages: 289 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Villard Published: March 30, 1999 Condition: Price: USD $1.99 He says: "A one-night stand. No complications. Just another chalk mark on the board. A bit of harmless fun." She says: "You have no idea how much I hate being on my own." They are Jack and Amy, two twentysomething singles living in London, and the central characters in Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees's joint effort, Come Together. Jack is an artist who scrapes out a living by day working part-time in a gallery and prowls the bars by night looking to "pull." Amy is a temp with dreams of becoming a fashion designer. When the two meet at a party, they spend the whole night talking; both enjoy the conversation, but while Amy starts thinking that Jack "could well be my perfect man," his thoughts run along more basic lines--he wants to see her again because "I haven't had sex for over a week and you haven't had sex for over six months. Because, Amy, we therefore have a mutual need. And, yeah, because I fancy you, too." That last sentiment is important. Though Jack starts out trying to seduce Amy into a casual fling, he ends up falling for her hard. There's only one problem: the little matter of the nude portrait he's doing of Sally McCullen, a drop-dead gorgeous blonde and former obsession. Told in alternating he said-she said chapters, Come Together is fairly predictable plot-wise, but the prose is effortlessly comical, the characters endearing, and the details of dating in the '90s hilariously spot-on. An added frisson of enjoyment comes from the fact that Lloyd and Rees became a couple themselves in the course of writing this novel. --Alix Wilber From Publishers Weekly: Collaborating as alternating male and female voices, Rees (The Book of Dead Authors) and Lloyd (It Could Be You) draw a slacker-love roadmap that allows readers of each gender to see what the other really thinks. Currently engaged to marry in real life, the writing couple have created West London Bridget Jones-wannabes Jack Rossiter and Amy Crosbie, who rival their precursor in list making and neurotic fretting, if not in charm: each has a sardonic, unapologetic edge that makes them less endearing than Bridget. At 25, chronic office temp Amy hasn't had sex for months. Struggling artist Jack, 27, sees his single life as "a state of siege" (his rule of thumb: don't give up complete no-strings-attached sexual freedom until your "Uberbabe" comes along). The two meet, talk all night, immediately go off to obsess about each other. Amy's judgment of Jack by "vital statistics" makes us wonder about the depth of the mutual attraction, but as one watches them endure every possible relationship pratfall and misunderstanding, the emotional ante rises for a happy-ever-after. Their biggest blowup is the most interesting, if only for its current-events echoes: does Jack's "accidental fellatio" count as infidelity? Gen-Xers will find all of their culture and conflict in these pages?honesty, jealousy, vacations from hell, condoms. Anyone over 35, however, will be as dismayed as they are entertained by the jadedness and naivete of the characters' concerns. Agents, Vivienne Shuster and Jonny Geller. Rights sold in Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Finland and Greece; film rights to Working Title Films; author tour. BIRTHRIGHT (large print) Author: Roberts, Nora ISBN: 0-7394-3378-4 Pages: Format: Hardcover Publisher: PUTNAM Published: 2003 Condition: Price: USD $2.49 Book Description: This Large Print Edition, prepared especially for Doubleday Large Print Home Library, contains the complete, unabridged text of the original Publisher's Edition. The Right Man in Montana Author: Rolofson, Kristine  ISBN: 0-373-25812-7 Pages: 218 Format: Paperback Publisher: Harlequin Published: November 1, 1998 Condition: Price: USD $1.69 See Jane Die Author: Spindler, Erica ISBN: 0-7783-2053-7 Pages: 384 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Mira Published: June 1, 2004 Condition: Price: USD $2.29 From Publishers Weekly: Jane Killian almost dies when she's run over by a motor boat in the opening pages of the latest mildly entertaining but formulaic romance thriller by Spindler (In Silence; Dead Run; Bone Cold; etc.). This disfiguring event still haunts Jane, even though extensive surgery has reclaimed her beautiful face and she's married to "smart, charming and James Bond handsome" plastic surgeon Dr. Ian Westbrook. Then one of Ian's patients, Elle Vanmeer, is found dead in a hotel room, and Dr. Ian becomes the chief suspect after an initial investigation by Dallas police (led by none other than Jane's sister, ball-busting detective Stacy Killian). To make things worse, an unknown stalker begins sending Jane notes indicating he's the guy who ran over her with the boat--"I did it on purpose. To hear your screams"--and now he's back to finish the job. More women are found dead, and even Jane herself has moments of doubt about her husband's innocence. There are other suspects; in fact, virtually every male character at some point appears to be the guilty party. Plucky Jane takes it on herself to prove Ian's innocence, and with help from her dog, Ranger, and sister Stacy she unsurprisingly succeeds. newmysteryreader.com "Shocks, stuns and entertains with each and every page." Dating Game (large print) Author: Steel, Danielle ISBN: 0-7394-3258-3 Pages: 628 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Doubleday Large Print Home Library Published: 2003 Condition: Price: USD $3.29 Lone Eagle Author: Steel, Danielle ISBN: 0-385-33537-7 Pages: 408 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Delacorte Press Published: April 10, 2001 Condition: Price: USD $2.49 From Publishers Weekly: Nobody ever said love was easy, but in Steel's latest romance, it's a perpetual uphill battle. From the moment beautiful, enormously poised 17-year-old Bostonian Kate Jamison meets handsome, much older Joe Allbright just before Pearl Harbor at a debutante party, she's desperately in love. Joe is smitten, too, but he is deeply committed to his career as a pilot he's already an ace, associated with Lindbergh. The two try to pretend they can just be friends, but passion flares between them on the eve of war. When Joe returns from Europe, after years in a German prison camp, everyone expects they will marry, but Joe cannot commit and Kate moves on. She goes to New York, marries a college friend and has a son; meanwhile, Joe establishes an airplane-building empire. Still, they can't forget each other, and when they meet up again, even social mores can't keep them apart. Their roller-coaster relationship takes many more dips and turns before Kate finally realizes what she must do to make it work: "let him come and go, and appreciate him." Her surrender may gall some readers, but she and Joe are engaging characters, and Steel's expert plotting keeps the novel moving at a good pace. Forecast: This eagle will sit in its aerie atop the bestseller list. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Sunset in St. Tropez Author: Steel, Danielle ISBN: 0-385-33546-6 Pages: 240 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Delacorte Press Published: June 25, 2002 Condition: Price: USD $1.99 From Publishers Weekly: A long-planned vacation in St. Tropez goes wrong in any number of ways in this latest platinum-frosted amusement by Steel. Three pairs of friends in their 50s and 60s decide to spend a month together in the south of France, but before the trip, tragedy strikes two of the couples. Judge Robert Smith loses his beloved wife, Anne, and Diana Morrison discovers that her obstetrician husband, Eric, is having an affair with a much younger patient, though Diana's "minor cosmetic surgery... had knocked ten years off her age." John Donnally, an irascible investment banker, and his French wife, Pascale, a former ballerina, try to do what they can to keep everyone's spirits up. The friends eventually convene in St. Tropez, but the house that looked so perfect in the marketing photos is far from what they expected, and it takes Herculean effort by Pascale and the eccentric caretakers to get it up to snuff. Robert has a new love interest visit, though it is only seven months since his wife's death, and she, to the chagrin of the ladies, is an actress many years his junior. Will the friends' relationship survive these changes? The answer is a foregone conclusion, and the frills and froth of the packaging can't quite conceal the silliness of some of the goings-on, but Steel fans will lap this up. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal: When Robert Smith's wife dies, some longtime friends decide to spirit him away for a little vacation. They just didn't expect the villa they rented to be such a dump and that Robert would arrive with a gorgeous young film star in tow. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. The Klone and I Author: Steel, Danielle ISBN: 0-385-32392-1 Pages: 240 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Delacorte Press Published: June 16, 1998 Condition: Price: USD $1.99 Evidently, Danielle Steel has been kidnapped by a mad scientist who clamped her into some gizmo that fused her brain with that of Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. While Steel's umpteenth novel, The Klone and I: A High-Tech Love Story, boasts her typical trappings--a divorced heroine, a cruel man, a sexy man with big money, and lots of shopping with brand-name tags conspicuously attached--the book is also the wackiest bit of self-indulgent sci-fi since Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic. The Klone and I starts out normally enough: after a 13-year marriage, Stephanie, 41, gets dumped for a busty young bimbo. "She was gorgeous. And I felt nauseous," Stephanie reflects--though she admits that things hadn't been going well, what with hubby living off her trust fund and their having sex every six months or so. Realistically, their farewell hug goes like this: "My nose ran on his tie, while ever so cautiously he held me, kind of like a bank robber with sticks of dynamite taped all over his body." Then, one day, on an impulsive trip to the Left Bank of Paris, Steph steps into one of those cool old French elevators with Peter, a hunk in a button-down Oxford shirt and tasteful khakis. Romance! Ritzy places! In fact, he takes her to the Ritz! Alas, Peter must Louvre her and leave her for a business trip out West. So Peter sends Paul to keep her company. Paul is a dead ringer for Peter, because he's a kind of clone created by Peter and his clever biotech company. He's called a "klone" to distinguish him from a conventional clone, which is a mere replica of its original--this "klone" may be a physical copy of Peter, but inside he's had a major id upgrade. As always with Steel, the clue is in the character's clothes: from his high-heel gator boots to his zippered zebra jumpsuit, the decidedly non-buttoned-down Paul dresses like a psychedelic kaleidoscope. But when Paul drops that leopard-satin G-string, watch out! It's quadruple flips in flagrante delicto, with our heroine (and, the next morning, her chiropractor) coming out on top. Though Paul deplorably guzzles Chateau d'Yquem by the case and crashes Peter's Jaguar into snow banks, he's actually even more brilliantly empathic with Stephanie's kids than stuffy Peter is. What's a mother to do? Is Steph robbing Peter to play with Paul? How will the ménage à trois affect marriage plans? Does Steel know that her comic tone (though not her subject) actually slightly echoes that of Betty MacDonald's classic comedy memoir The Egg and I, whose title she alludes to? Is the author a convert from fiction to sci-fi, like Doris Lessing? Will the real Ms. Steel ever reappear, or has her mind been psychedelicized? --Tim Appelo From Publishers Weekly: The subtitle, "A High Tech Love Story," need not frighten Steel's loyal fans. More fanciful than technologically snappy, this novel (her 42nd, after The Long Road Home) grafts one scientific wrinkle onto the usual romance. Stunned when her feckless husband declares that their companionable but passionless marriage is over (then sues her for alimony and child support), 41-year-old Stephanie spends the next year improving both her body and her self-respect. During a trip to Paris, she attracts a suitor; Peter Baker is a fellow New Yorker and everything Stephanie's been hoping for. After a chaste but exhilarating evening together, Stephanie is sure that she'll never see him again, but he tracks her down in the Hamptons and they fall in love. An executive at a company specializing in bionics, Peter has been working on a secret invention. When he travels to California on business, his creation, Paul Klone, turns up at Stephanie's door. Paul is a physical replica of Peter, but the resemblance ends there. Whereas Peter favors Oxford shirts and khakis, Paul is a fan of Versace's most outlandish creations. Although she has been pleased with Peter's lovemaking, Paul's triple back flips during sex leave Stephanie singing the body electric. When Peter becomes jealous of Paul, things get sticky. Presumed Guilty Author: Gerritsen, Tess ISBN: 1-55166-299-X Pages: 251 Format: Paperback Publisher: Mira Books Published: September 1, 1997 Condition: Price: USD $2.29 From the Publisher: Miranda's ex-lover is found murdered. She had a motive and the opportunity. After being arrested for the crime, Miranda is shocked to learn she's been released on bail--bail posted by someone determined to remain anonymous. Is someone trying to help Miranda? Or is someone trying to manipulate Miranda and draw her into the dark and secret world of a murdered man, where everybody's presumed guilty? Biography: Tess Gerritsen is a physician and an internationally bestselling author. She gained nationwide acclaim for her first novel of medical suspense, the New York Times bestseller Harvest. She is also the author of the bestsellers The Mephisto Club, Body Double, The Sinner, and Gravity. Tess Gerritsen lives in Maine. Visit her website at tessgerritsen.com. Author biography courtesy of Random House Publishing Group. The Long Road Home Author: Steel, Danielle ISBN: 0-385-31956-8 Pages: 397 Format: Hardcover Publisher: Delacorte Press Published: April 1, 1998 Condition: Price: USD $2.69 Amazon.com: At age 6, our heroine, lovely Gabriella Harrison, a rich kid on Manhattan's Upper East Side, "looked startled much of the time, like an angel who had fallen to earth, and had not known what to expect here." What Gabriella gets is a mother like Lucifer and a father who slips out to sleep with Italian prostitutes while Mrs. Harrison is busy breaking Gabriella's spirit--and sometimes her bones. Gabby's tormentor makes the real-life moms in Mommie Dearest and Mommy Dressing look sweet. Gabriella gets a better break when her parents divorce and dump her in a convent. She meets a sensitive, older man with a deep, dark secret, and pretty soon they've got some steamy erotic secrets in common. Unfortunately, he's a priest, and troubles erupt that are too much for any confessional to contain. Soon Gabriella is living on the East Side again, only this time in Mrs. Boslicki's boarding house, where the richness in people's hearts makes up for their relative material poverty. A kindly, retired Harvard English professor resembling Einstein nags her into trying her hand and purging her demons as a writer. "When I say you have talent, young lady, I mean it," says Professor Thomas. "They didn't hire me at Harvard to grow bananas." Will Gabriella have the courage to confront her talent? Can she face her past at last, conquer the future, and land a man to share it? Hey, is this a Danielle Steel novel or not? --Tim Appelo From Publishers Weekly: Scandal, betrayal and treachery do little to animate this dreary saga from the prolific Steel (The Ghost). By the time she's six, Gabriella Harrison has known nothing but torture at the hands of her battering mother, Eloise, a socialite who hates children, especially her own. Gabbie's alcoholic father is incapable of dealing with the madness that rules the mansion and soon escapes with another woman. Then Eloise decides she's tired of mothering and abandons 10-year-old Gabbie at St. Matthew's convent. Gabbie blossoms at the nunnery, where she finds unconditional love from the sisters, a talent for writing and, later, illicit passion in the arms of a priest. When discovered, the affair leads to the priest's suicide and Gabbie's eviction from the convent. Always one to make lemonade of life's lemons, however, Gabbie assuages her grief with new friends, a new lover and her burgeoning talent as a writer. Still, tragedy tails her like a lost puppy, and her monstrous mother casts a long shadow over her triumphs. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.     BUY4LESSBOOKSBUY4LESSBOOKSBUY4LESSBOOKSBUY4LESSBOOKSBUY4LESSBOOKSBUY4LESSBOOKSBUY4LESSBOOKSBUY4LESSBOOKSBUY4LESSBOOKS Buy4LessBooks Free Classified Ads