No comments about Children's Stories of the Bible from the old and new testaments.

5 comments about The Triumph of Katie Byrne.

1. This dialogue was PAINFUL to read. My 9 year-old Goddaughter can write better dialogue in her stories that this stuff! Luckily, I only paid 75 cents for the book at a clearance book sale. Save your money. Turns out this book wasn't even worth the 75 cents I paid for it!



2. This has got to be the worst book ever written. Phony characters and an even stupider plot. I am just glad I did not waste my eyesight reading it and listened to it on CD. I did not even finish it. This was disappointing as her books on the Harte family were engrossing.



3. This book would be appropriate if she were a sixth grader and this was her first attempt at writing. But she's not. She's published millions. And so, we have clear proof that selling is in no way relates to quality.
   
   If you want to know how to NOT write a novel this is the book to read. Horrifically bad, terrible, uncompromisingly awful are a few descriptive phrases that pop to mind. Let me explain:
   
   She says this is her first attempt at a murder mystery. Ok let's look at plot then. Part one: the murder. Part two: a long rambling boring section where the character is now grown and drinking tea and chatting and looking into the life of the Bronte's. (add your own umlaut there) Part three: The girl from part one in the coma wakes up and remembers who killed her friend and tried to kill her -- and this person is someone we never met in the book so far and never meet again. So plotwise, it's as unfullfilling as it is unengaging.
   
   The author's language is stilted and complimented only by the cardboard characters and wobbly settings. The story does not move forward but sags, lags, detours and flops.
   
   The author thanks two editors but what where were they? The book requires heavy editing -- an example, at the hospital a boy is going to get the jeep from the parking lot to pick up his family at the door -- it's raining. He says something like, "I'm going to go get the jeep from the parking lot," he said to them, "Because it's raining." We know he has a jeep, we know it's raining, we know it's in the lot, we know who he speaks to. Another sentence says the door was slammed 'behind him.' Uh, if you're leaving you can't really slam the door before you and get out. At other times this word pusher lapses into long passages of passive verb construction and nearly ties herself into knots with the sheer number of "was" and "had been" constructions. Names of places are hyphenated, or not (any bad editor would have at least caught that.)
   
   Another example that is the tip of the iceberg: In the first part the night is at first cold and dark (at 6:00 pm in October in Connecticut -- something that does not happen at that time there). Then there is a heavy fog. Next there is a clear view of the moon, then next there is heavy rain. She cannot even imagine a consistent weather. She has her characters packing into one night the events of a few days, and her sense of pacing and time is just as bad as her weather.
   
   Bradford cannot write. I don't care if she outsold the Bible, she is not a writer in any means or form and this book proves it perfectly.



4. Katie was the only functioning survivor of the trio of Connecticut would-be actresses to carry on with their dream of starring on Broadway. After the disaster, she's not so sure any more that she has the courage to keep on keeping on. So she takes a sabbatical to visit and study acting in England. She's not sure she will ever be "good enough" for her claim to fame.
   
   Her British friends take her on trips. In Harrogate, the old spa town with the mineral springs, they remind her of the Dustin Hoffman film about Agatha Cristie's mysterious disappearance and it was at this spa in 1926 she registered under an assumed name, Teresa, all the time following her prey. When discovered, she claims to have suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1571, the springs were all the rage for policicians, writers, singers, actors, and the royal family; even Byron benefited from the hydrotherapy of the warm waters and soothing spa surroundings. It sounded just the thing Katie needed to get prepared for a starring role in a play which was headed for New York.
   
   To prepare for her Emily Bronte role, she and some friends watched the early film of 'Wuthering Heights' which had been produced by Sam Goldwyn and directed by William Wyler. Lawrence Olivier was Heathcliff in the movie, which also starred Merle Oberon, David Niven, and Donald Crisp. These drama students were all fans of American films and especially liked 'The Third Man' with Michael Rennie (not Orson Welles) and 'The Seventh Veil' starring Ann Todd.
   
   Not only does she have to get over her disturbing past, she is running from an unhappy relationship. She devotes all her energies to the play, and is a big hit on Broadway. Her lover, Chris, turned up outside the theatre after all the fanfare was over and persuaded her he loved her more than the water forests in Argentina. She agreed to marry him and takes him home to meet the happy family. They were aware that she needed space and time away from the sadness which had plagued her after the loss of her thespian friends. Her triumph on stage and in her personal life was well deserved and earned by her perseverence and hard work. That and the fact that she was a beautiful, head-turning young woman. We all need a triump or two to get on with life after an unhappy, unfair end to a love affair.



5. Thank goodness I didn't pay for this drivel - I picked it up in the bookswap bin at work because it looked as if it would at least be readable - how wrong I was. This book is terrible in every way - the dialogue sounds horrible - particularly the heroine's mother who talks in terribly stilted language, with an occasional 'mauvoreen' thrown in to make her sound authentic! The characters are totally unbelievable - all beautiful, nice, incredibly talented/successful and Katie the heroine seems to have no faults at all. However by the worst thing is the plot - the original murder which is actually the only interesting thing which happens in the book is conveniently forgotten and the author moves on 10 years to bore us rigid with Katie's career as an actress. It is also full of plot holes - it is continally hinted that Katie herself is in some danger from the murderer but in the end in fact it had nothing to do with her. All sorts of plotlines go absolutely nowhere - Rex the supposed 'spy', Lavinia's incredible artistic talent to name but two and the resolution of the murder mystery is the absolute nadir of the book. I'm sure there's an unwritten law that the murderer in a book or film can't turn out to be someone who we've never heard of, it's totally unsatisfactory for the reader/viewer. I vaguely remember reading one of her books when I was much younger and I certainly don't remember it being this bad, but I doubt I will ever pick up one of her books again, and I feel very sorry for anyone who bought this rubbish in hardback - they have been the victims of daylight robbery!

5 comments about Emma's Secret.

1. This was my first Barbara Taylor Bradford book to read. I've heard great things about her books, but this one is very disappointing. I'm over half way through the book, but I don't think I will be able to finish it. There are so many characters that I can't keep up with who's who! Also her writing seems more like "filler" than actual fiction. I'm afraid I can't recommend this book to anyone.



2. I read the Woman of Substance and all of the other books following it until this one, which I have finally read. I thought it was done well, contrary to other opinions on here, and stayed engrossed.
   
   It begins with Evan Hughes, the grandchild of Glynnis, who is dying at the beginning of the story. She tells Evan to go seek Emma Harte, and that she is the key to the future for her. So curious as to what her grandmother means, she looks up Harte's department stores and seeks a job there. Finding that Emma has been dead for many years, she gets hired by Paula, and makes a wonderful employee. But Paula is curious who she really is since she shows a strong family resemblance to them. The secret may lie in the diaries she found buried in a storeroom of Emma's. But it takes some time before she puts the puzzle together.
   
   Linnet, one of Paula's daughter's is the one who does a wonderful job in the store, and the one, whom much to her older sister Tessa's dismay, the whole dynasty will be left to. Tessa has her share of abusive marital problems and tries to hide it well. So you have to feel sorry for her in this story, hoping she and her young daughter escape from Mark London.
   
   Also in the background here is Jonathan Ainsley, the family troublemaker and he is not through with his revenge for Paula. He is back in London, and out for trouble, monitoring Paula's every move, waiting to strike her down. It's only a matter of time.
   
   The book also flips back to Emma Harte and her story in an abbreviated version. So it goes back to the time of 1940 when Emma was young and raising her family. It speaks of her past husbands, mainly Paul of whom she grieved terribly over losing when he had killed himself. She always carried Paul with her.
   
   Then there is Edwina, the child that was Emma's "accident," and has always felt as though she never belonged. She rarely comes up in this story at all.
   
   There is many characters in the book, but in the beginning there is a tree so it is easier to follow. I am anxious to see what happens in the two sequels ahead.



3. After I found out there were more books to the series, I went back and re-read the first three. The first is by far the best. However, it seems that some things in this fourth book are different....the characters of Alexander and Francesca have been eliminated from the story. Sure, the reasons why they are not prominent are in To Be The Best, but to dismiss them? In one story regarding Jonathan and his history with Paula, they changed the characters in the initial confrontation to him. Originally, it was Sandy, Emily and Paula. All of a sudden in this book it is Paula and her father? I wish that BTB would have gone back and read her own book before she wrote this one. There is a great family tree in the beginning of the book, but Alexander, Francesca and Patrick are not listed. At least they explain what happened to Patrick. So strange. But, I love the story of these people and will read the entire series.



4. This is the kind of book, that you feel you know these people like they are part of your family.
   Can not wait to read the next one to see what happens to my favorite characters.



5. This book has been in my stash for a long time and finally I ran out of my usual suspense/mystery type so turned to this. I have to say I mostly skimmed this book and didn't read the section of Emma during the war years, I just skipped to the last third to have it all tied together.
   Jonathan seems to have scurried off easily with his tail between his legs. I understand there is one that follows this book, but I won't be reading it. Far too weighty for me. Everyone is just too too handsome, beautiful, expensively well dressed and living the high life. I found the family tree in the beginning hard to follow. It could have been made much simpler and easy to follow drawn out on a history line showing decendants, etc like I've seen in other books.
   
   I guess you can tell I am one of the ones that didn't care for this story at all.

No comments about Act of Will.

5 comments about Her Own Rules.

1. A very fast read. Good book. Element of mystery. Always look forward to her next book



2. This book was fun to read but Barbara Taylor Bradford usually leads us way beyond the everyday realities of life. Her heroine (as usual) is beautiful and bright and is an awesome business tycoon (even though she has no education, training, or experience in these matters). She becomes a perfect mother, friend, and homemaker. Unlike most of us, her very sad past never seems to daunt her ability to rise above all. This is a perfect book for idealists.



3. Barbara Taylor Bradford really touched me with this book. I normally read mysteries, thriller, and suspense. This book held my attention through out the book. I really felt Merediths' pain and struggle. I recently saw the movie on channel 8, the producers did the novel no justice. For those who saw the movie and did not read the novel, please read the novel. This is must read.



4. I was anxious to read this book after noting the good reviews it had recieved, but was very disappointed. The entire book dealt more with the details of remodeling Inns than it did with the characters. Too much time wasted telling a story that was mediocre at best. The ending was also tedious. dead end after dead end leaving no time for a proper conclusion.



5. This is a love story with a mysterious twist. It slips back and forth from present to the past, and the heroine discovers that the sad childhood she had has more to it than she actually remembers. She was a part of history. This story has a historical basis for her sad childhood. I was intrigued and went on-line to check out the news of the subject and discovered that my memory was correctly tweaked and found articles about English children in orphanages. A great listen!

5 comments about Unexpected Blessings.

1. I only have a few books by her, but I really like her writing. The book is in very good condition.



2. This is the continuing saga of the Emma Hart. Although she has long since passed away her empire still lives on through her grandchildren and great grandchildren. I have read all book in the series and have been rivited by each one. Unexpected Blessings is about the lives of 4 of Emma's decendents. They are ambitious, fascinating & powerful women. All a credit to Emma. Barbara Taylor Bradford tells their stories like no one else could.



3. Nice storyline, I enjoy keeping up with the family goings on. Pleasant read.



4. Book in condition stated, great packaging, shipping times as stated. Will purchase from seller again.



5. This family tree continues the story of Emma Hart. In this novel, we learn what happens to four of her descendants.

5 comments about The Ravenscar Dynasty.

1. Another super, can;t put it down book. (Review may be biased, as I am a huge Bradford fan.) Book would be a great gift - asorbing story to 'just read".



2. This is my first B.T.B. book and I listened to it on audio. The narrator has an interesting voice, but it was difficult to hear at times because he almost spoke in whispers. The large family saga started out as if it had potential and I liked Edward/Ned in the beginning. After a few chapters, the meandering and somewhat repetative plot lost its focus. Edward/Ned was not an honorable hero in my opinion. He had some honorable qualities, but his womanizing and constantly having to "have" someone got old pretty fast. This book would have been far better if the author had spent more time making Edward/Ned more likeable. There were several characters who died in this book, but the emotional aspect didn't come through as it should have. I listened to the whole story, but it was an effort. I don't have any interest in reading more of the series.



3. First of all, I only gave this book one star because no stars wasn't an option. This is one of the most badly-written books I've ever had the misfortune to waste money on! I nearly slipped into a coma trudging through it. I got sick and tired of reading about how tall, handsome, irrestible and perfect Edward was and the gushing descriptions of his daughters weren't much better. I think BTB had about a hundred ideas for this book and couldn't decide which one to use so she just went with all of them. It was a mess. I was glad when it was over. Unfortunately I had bought the sequel at the same time so felt obliged to read it just in case it was an improvement - sadly, it wasn't. But that's another review. Don't waste your money.



4. Barbara Taylor Bradford at her best once again. No one seems to write family dynasty stories like she does! Bravo. I hope this continues to be a series of books of at least four or five.



5. I couldn't put this book down. I thought it was well written, and was very said at the ending only because the story was over with. Barbara made her main character totally believable and I was rooting for him throught out the book. I had no trouble keeping people straight and understood completely why sometimes the main character was called Ned and sometimes Edward. This is a great book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

No comments about Being Elizabeth.

5 comments about Just Rewards.

1. With Just Rewards, BTB has managed to write the worst book of Woman of Substance series! Emma's Secret and Unexpected Blessings lacked a certain punch and certainly rewrote the history of the first 3 books. However, the characters in those 2 books were at least likable.
   
   In this book, Linnet appears to be a unbelievable snob - pretty much turning up her nose at Evan's sisters because they're adopted (People without the noble Harte/Oneil/Kallinski) blood aren't as good as everyone else.
   
   Evan's mother, father, and grandmother love Evan much more than her adopted sisters. Apparently, Evan's sister was a 'foundling' and has no chance of being as good as a Harte.
   
   Evan is shocked that her father would feel that he is cut out of her life! However, she allows her 'in-laws' to plan her whole wedding, ends up having a secret ceremony in which she is more concerned that Paula and Shane attend than her own parents.
   
   Paula, who used to be one of the smartest business women in the last 30 years, has all of sudden become one of the dumbest.
   
   In the past, BTB made her heroines a bit too perfect - but at least down to earth. Now, we're supposed like people that seem to be insensitive snobs.
   
   Also, this certainlly doesn't appear to be the LAST book of the series...



2. I took a Library copy of this book on a trip with me and left it at the airport. I later checked and it was not turned in so I had to replace it. I did finish the book and it was great, which is why I decided to take it with me in the first place, something I don't usually do. I just take a paperback for that reason in case it gets lost. Thanks



3. I really did enjoy this continuing saga of the Harte family and their ever-thriving Harte-empire.
   
   Evan Hughes is preparing to marry her cousin Gideon Harte, and is pregnant expecting twin boys. India Standish is going to marry the artist Dusty Rhodes, and she is also pregnant with their first child. And Tessa, Linnet's sister and true rival in the Harte business is deeply in love with the famous Jean-Claude. They just become engaged in the book when Jean has to travel to Afghanistan to fight in the war, and Tessa is worried sick when he is suddenly reported missing over there.
   
   Johnathan Ainsley is still after revenge for Paula for cutting him out of the family will. On the day of Evan's wedding he sets a bomb in the church and blows a big hole in the wall. Paula had a feeling that Johnathan would find a way for revenge at the wedding, so they wisely moved the time or the whole family would have been killed.
   
   Linnet wants to modernize Harte Enterprises with many new exciting ideas, however her mother Paula, of whom is the boss of course, doesn't fall for this at all. Paula has never wanted to change the business from her grandmother Emma Harte's foundation. And Linnet was still trying to push these ideas on her mother in the office one day when Paula has a sudden aneurysm and is taken to the hospital very quickly. Paula has a very long recovery after this and may not be able to work again.
   
   And to make all matters worse, Angharad Hughes, Evan's sister is engaged to the evil Johnathan Ainsley. No one can trust Angharad as she is a malicious person and has a jealousy that is awful in the family. Elayne, Evan's other sister is directly the opposite, and a very nice person.
   
   The only thing preventing me from giving the book five stars is the author's singling out of Angharad and Elayne because they were adopted. They were not even included in the family tree at the beginning of the book, AND called "The Adoptees," very often when mentioned which I thought was prejudiced. Bradford also used the word "fondlings" when she spoke of them at one point in the story, and that seriously made me angry.
   But other than that, it was a wonderful story and Bradford did an overall great job.



4. Nice storyline, I enjoy keeping up with the family goings on. Pleasant read



5. I loved A Woman of Substance, but reading this book, I felt like the author was phoning it in. No real plot development -- the bad guy is mean and sinister, does nothing that affects anybody, and then apparently dies. Big deal. And the characters lacked dimension -- the good guys were lovely and honorable and admirable, and the bad guys were laughably sinister and evil, like cartoon characters. Read BTB's earlier stuff and don't waste your time with this one.

5 comments about The Heir.

1. As I said in my review of The Ravenscar Dynasty, I bought this book at the same time and even though I didn't like the first book, I read this one partly because I'd spent money on it and partly just in the hope that it might be an improvement and become a story that I could get intrigued by. It wasn't and didn't. The story jumped around, with big chunks of time being explained away in a few trite sentences and was unsatisfying at best. The last few chapters were nothing short of complete rubbish. It seems BTB may have been writing a book about the Tudors at the same time and somehow she's got some of the pages mixed up. Oh, either that or else she just couldn't think of anywhere else for the (alleged) story to go but she still had a few pages to fill up so she created tall, wonderful, handsome, perfect Edward/Ned's descendant Henry/Harry, who somewhat predictably and yawningly has inherited Edward/Ned's looks but who blatantly morphs into Henry VIII. Seriously. This handsome wonderful-looking bla bla bla etc etc etc man marries a Spanish woman called Catherine, his brother's widow of course, and they have a daughter, Mary. Then he marries Anne Bowles (a little bit like Anne Boleyn only different) and they have a red-haired daughter called Elizabeth (what else?) and then he moves on to Jane Selmere - no, not Seymour, Selmere (by this stage I was feeling really really irritated) and she gives him the long-obsessed-over and almost-despaired-of heir, called, predictably, Edward. (I was surprised that Jane didn't die of childbed fever a few days after the birth). All of this nonsense was squished into a few hurried pages at the end of the book. And there the story ends for now. Thank goodness. I'm inclined to think that the original manuscript may have been written on toilet paper and should have been used accordingly.



2. this books is so cruel with all the early deaths of so many that it is hard to read and then try to sleep at night, got rid of so many that she had to just mention a lot in a one line sentence, so she could get to the rest, and ended it so sad and unnecessary that I don't plan on reading any more of her books. was tragic to small children,I knew early on she was going to get rid of all male boys before grown but did not expect so cruel. and then the heir(bess) had to die real young also, and it just continued



3. ANOTHER WONDERFUL SERIES OF BOOKS FROM MS. BRADFORD. IHAVE ENJOYED EVERONE OF HER BOOKS. I READ THE FIRST IN THIS RAVENSCAR DYNASTY AND THIS ONE WAS JUST AS GOOD . GTRAT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I COULD HARDLY PUT IT DOWN



4. Barbara Taylor Bradford should retire. I went to her booksigning in Florida. She is attractive and personable, but her talk was boring and so is her most recent book, The Heir.



5. I'm a big fan of Ms Bradford, but this book failed to deliver. She got off to a great start, but then began jumping decades - which is OK, but her transition was poor - killing off key characters between pages, and introducing new ones - and handling both type events as if we knew who they were and what had happened. And most disappointing to me was that the book just stopped more than ended. Very frustrating, and a waste of a weekend read. Maybe she had a contract to deliver and just ran out of time.. who knows. But I can't recommend. The two stars I give is generous.