Hello, and welcome back! The summer is slowly drawing to a close here--school begins in about a week and a half, which means the house will be quiet again soon, and I'll have more uninterrupted time to devote to reading and writing. In the meantime, I'm nearly through the August releases and ready to start on the September books.

The Devil's Necklace (Mira) by Kat Martin leads things off this time out. Grace Chastain hasn't any idea why Ethan Sharpe takes her prisoner on his ship, but the outcome isn't what either of them would have hoped, nor certainly what either of them planned. Ethan is a man of the times, and Grace proves a difficult wife on occasion. This one is an easy read, light and not too complicated, despite the thread of intrigue running through it. It's earned three and a half of Cupid's five arrows.

Home at Last (Signet Eclipse) by Jerri Corgiat is next, with Mari O'Malley forced to come home to the little town she hoped never to see again. Her plans for a short stay are complicated by the family she can't escape, and by Andy Eppelwaite, an old childhood friend who's grown into an interesting, if infuriating, man. Mari starts off quite selfish and self-centered, which is not endearing, and I didn't love her sisters' stories previously, so this one was a difficult read for me. You almost need a character list to keep track of the family members from previous stories, another thing that doesn't endear this one to me, and there is an awful lot going on. I don't think I'll ever be a fan of Ms. Corgiat's, an unfortunate fact, despite her 'hometown and family' stories. Perhaps it's a voice thing. Who knows? I just can't like this one, so it's getting only two arrows.

Another reminder to check out our reader survey and get your responses to me by August 31, 2005. The more replies, the better!

And until next time, happy reading!