2 comments about Timeswept Brides.

1. I enjoyed the stories. Each one held enough adventure, romance, and fun for a quick escape from reality.



2. From the back cover:
   
   THE HEIRLOOM by Mary Balogh: A bewitching sapphire engagement ring leads a skittish groom to Regency Wales--where he learns there is no love like the present...
   
   A DREAM ACROSS TIME by Constance O'Banyon: When a lovely librarian chases her dream to a New Orleans plantation, she finds a faded bridal veil she swears she has worn before...
   
   MAN OF HER DREAMS by Virginia Brown: An antique wedding gown lures a Mississippi belle to the Civil War--and into the arms of a rebel love...
   
   BRIDE'S JOY by Elda Minger: Love letters in an English manor send a reluctant bride into a centure past, where she must break a curse--and return to the church on time...
   
   And my review:
   
   Mary Balogh's THE HEIRLOOM was the only story in this book worth reading. She managed to create a lovely dual romance with a touch of the paranormal in just under 70 pages, and managed to make it touching and believeable. Now that's talent! Four stars.
   
   Constance O'Banyon's A DREAM ACROSS TIME just wasn't engrossing. But then I wasn't surprised. I know this author has a big following, but her writing does nothing to capture me. And the heroine came across as weird. I just couldn't connect with her at all. One star.
   
   Virginia Brown's MAN OF HER DREAMS suffered from a rushed romance and a large dose of unreality. People in this story kept doing thing that just made no sense. For instance, the heroine's ancestor, upon finding an unannounced houseguest in the middle of the night (the heroine), just accepts the heroine's assurance that they're related and gives her a room to stay in. Uh...okay. If a person who I'd never even heard of before, let alone met, was walking around me house in a robe, and then claimed to be one of my distant relatives, I'd be tossing them out the door and calling the police, not putting them up in my guest room! And the hero in this story came across as arrogant and full of himself. I guess he was supposed to be cocky and self-assured, but he just annoyed the heck out of me. Also, there was more political struggle in this story than romance. One star.
   
   Elda Minger's BRIDE'S JOY was a story that focused more on the heroine breaking a curse than it did on romance. I just didn't feel the chemistry between the two leads, and that's vital for a good romance read. One star.
   
   As with most romance anthologies, the limited space means that the authors don't get enough room to work, resulting in a bunch of weak stories. If you find one good story, then you're lucky. In this case, one of the authors is Mary Balogh, and she has enough talent to pull off a novella.
   
   But even that story is one that you'll only bother to read once. Borrow this book from the library if you're still determined to read it, but apart for Mary Balogh's contribution, you might want to skip TIMESWEPT BRIDES altoghter.

2 comments about The Great Dismal: A Carolinian's Swamp Memoir.

1. To those who love American History will love the realistic and descriptive view of the Dismal Swamp. It is rich with events of African Americans as well, the connections the early settlers had with the Spanish, Native Indians, French, Dutch and Britsh. It describes the Dismal Swamp so well, I visualised being there myself and sharing the feelings of those worked, struggled and lived and died in the Swamp.

   It is the story of a man who shared his love for the Swamp and the history behind it. I have made plans to visit there this Spring.

   Take some time over coffee or tea and start enjoying your journey to the Dismal Swamp from the begining of George Washington personal interest in the Swamp to the 20th Century.

   For anyone who has any roots to the Southwest region of Virginia, you will be pleasantly surprised. I found one of my husband's ancestors qouted in the book.

   Holga Reyes




2. Very interesting book. I enjoyed it immensely.
   I was reared in that area and knew some of the people mentioned in the book. Now reside on the other coast.
   It was like a trip home.

1 comments about Backroad Bicycling in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains: 27 Rides for Touring and Mountain Bikes from North Georgia to Southwest Virginia.

1. This is a well written, highly interesting and fun book. The rides in here are great fun and well documented. Mr. Rogers should devote more time to sharing his in depth knowledge and expertise with all of us!

No comments about The Smithsonian Guides to Natural America: Central Appalachia: West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee (Smithsonian Guides to Natural America).

No comments about West Virginia Impressions (Impressions (Farcountry Press)).

No comments about Tidewater Virginia: A Photographic Portrait.

1 comments about The Shenandoah Valley Book: A Complete Guide (A Great Destinations Guide).

1. Unlike most travel guides,this book is warm and inviting. Almost hostess-like, Leotta leads the reader through the Shenandoah Valley with vivid descriptors of its beauty and the treasures that are hidden there. As the title suggests, this guide is certainly complete-but it is also poetic. The author presents a host of practical things to see and do while carefully rendering an artistic view of the natural wonders that make up the Valley.
   An excellent travel guide and a great gift for both those who have been there and those who have not had the pleasure yet of exploring the Shenandoah Valley.

No comments about ADC The Map People Virginia State Road Atlas (American Map).

No comments about Moon Virginia: Including Washington, D.C. (Moon Handbooks).

1 comments about West Virginia Wonder and Light (Wonder and Light series).

1. The photographs are magnificent but they could have been taken in any scenic place. I would not have known these were West Virginia scenes but for the title of the book. There are no West Virginia landmarks in the photographs to identify them as being taken in West Virginia.