This was my first (and probably my last) Pride and Prejudice "sequel". I like McCullough, but I am not sure if she should have ventured into this one. Of course it's well written, and not a bad story (although she did lose me when [SPOILER!]she brought in that religious cult business), but... it just didn't really work. Some of it was [sort of] realistic. Some of it was totally "out there". As a whole, I think this one sort of turned me off Austen rip-offs for a while.

A chilling novel about Anna Anderson - the most famous Grand Duchess Anastasia pretender. Very well written with lots of suspense. A great read!

I may be somewhat biased about this book because I assisted the author a little in his reasearch while he was writing it. But... trying to be as objective as I can be, I think that this is a very good biography of the life of Grand Duchess Elisabeth of Russia (formerly Princess Ella of Hesse Darmshtadt). I don't like the title, because it implies that this is a religious work as opposed to historical, which is what it really is. Otherwise I do recommend it to those who are interested in Russian royalty or Russian prerevolutionary history in general.

I know this book was a huge sensation and a best seller for who-knows-how-long.. But honestly, I don't really understand why. I thought it was mediocre and predictable, with minimal potential to keep you reading. The only reason I read it all the way through was because I kept hoping for some "surprise" at the end, something that I didn't already figure out... It never came. In the end, I was really mad that I wasted my time and really glad that I didn't actually spend any money on it. I can sort of imagine why some people would really like it but I was not one of them..

I don't know if I buy into every single theory this book presents, but it was certainly an entertaining and somewhat educational read!

Excellent post-WWII Soviet fiction. This author has a realistic, yet gripping style, and will keep you turning those pages! Depressing subject matter but well worth reading...

I am not a big graphic novel reader, but I read this one back in the early 90's (?), when it first came out. I was VERY impressed! Some years later I heard they were making it into a movie and that one of my favorite actors will star in it (Patrick Stewart). The movie has since been made and came and went (minus Patrick Stewart), without me seeing it, but this graphic novel is here to stay. The only thing I regret is lending my original edition to a friend who then proceeded to lose it!

I don't know why, but for some reason I was expecting more from this book. Each chapter is dedicated to an individual doomed female royal, but the writing is sketchy and in the end you really don't learn much. It could be a good book to read if you just want to pass an hour waiting somewhere, but that's about it.

Some interesting arguments, but nothing completely original or much beyond what the title pronounces. I read it to balance out the Bart D. Ehrman books I have been reading (he is the cleric who changed his mind and became an agnostic). In my opinion, the latter is a lot more compelling.

Swift is an absolutely brilliant satirist and this classic should be a must-read for everyone! Written with humor and lots of creativity, and still timely, almost 3 centuries later! I have read and reread this one, starting from age 10 - when I hardly understood the underlying satire - into adulthood, when I understood it very well.

Read this as a kid, almost at the same time as I saw the movie. Ira Levin has a special gift for psycholocal thrillers, and this classic novel is probably the best example of this.

I read this first Faye Kellerman Decker/Lazarus mystery novel back in high school and loved it. But for some reason I did not go on to read the rest of them until much later : about 7 years ago. I rediscovered Faye Kellerman accidentally, and remembering the plot of that first book (all this time I could not remember the author or the title) and how much I liked it, boy was I glad when I came across another title from the series and recognized it! I have since read every one of Faye Kellerman’s novels and have been a huge fan. Her work is different from many others in this genre in that it is almost completely non-formulaic: every story is fresh and new, and the characters, as well as the plots, are realistic and well developed. Not to mention the fact that I believe that this was probably the book that started my life-long love affair with a good mystery novel!

A pretty good history of religion, from paganism to the three modern Abrahamic religions. The book gives a good understanding of the progression through the ages without being too dry...

First of all, the book has way too much evangelical preaching for my taste. I skipped a lot of that. But the main thing that is frustrating about this book is this: how is it possible that NO ONE: not the mother, not the father, nor the sisters or the boyfriend, nor close friends, NO ONE realized that they had the wrong girl there? Especially, since according to the book itself her face was not extremely bruised and looked "almost normal". I mean yes, the girls resembled each other somewhat, but they were not identical! Is it possible that no one would recognize that they had the wrong person there? Someone they had seen only recently, not years ago? I find that extremely hard to believe.

This rare biography about the more obscure Queen Isabella (not of Spain), the consort of Edward II of England. Well researched, well written and sympathetic to the subject - for a change. Alison Weir has not disappointed me yet!

Based on the true story of Vicky Morgan and Alfred Bloomingdale's affair (with names changed) - and the former's murder- this is Dominick Dunne at his best!

One of my favorite Dunne novels. A fictionalized yet factual third person account of the OJ Simpson murders and the events surrounding it. Another Dunne gem!

A collection of some of the most interesting famous and infamous cases which the author followed and wrote about in the past. Very good!

When I started reading this book, I thought, finally a Cook book that is not just a variation of the formula of all his previous titles since The Coma! It has something for everyone: biblical history, murder mystery, alternative medicine conspiracy, fatally ill baby, Catholic Church conspiracy, even a bit of romance - sort of. What more can one ask for? It starts out with a bang, but about 3/4 of the way it just sort of just... well.. sputters out... It's almost like the author just lost interest and decided to just end the book in some way... The result is something that could potentially have been a better version of the Da Vinci Code, but just fizzles out. Too bad, because it had a lot of potential!

A good combined biography of the three Grey sisters. While there are a lot of books out there on Jane Grey, information on her two younger sisters is scarce. The author dedicates more or less equal time to all sisters.