『 South Beach Sizzle (Simon Romantic Comedies) 』 Erin Downing

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『 Potluck Supper (Christopher Churchmouse Classics) 』 Barbara Davoll

『 A Wizard Abroad (digest): The Fourth Book in the Young Wizards Series 』 Diane Duane

As always seems to be true in Duane's work, there are touches of tragedy--the fate of the gallant London teamleader Huff and his beloved mate Auhlae may make you reach for the Kleenex box. But her alternate England is splendidly imagined, and there are light moments as well, like Rhiow's reflections on the possibility of finding a mate for her widowed human, Mike. Saurian wizard Ith reappears and performs gallantly, and his and the cats' interaction with a young Arthur Conan Doyle is charming. Now, Diane, when can we hope to see another adventure of Rhiow and her team?』

(ailurophiles will love it!)
『I just finished reading the book about 10 minutes ago! What a great sequel to "Night With Moon"... it carries forward some of the unresolved feelings and events from the first book, and leaves you feeling a bit easier about them. I do disagree with some of the other reviews that found this book too drawn-out or some of the plot points contrived. The book built up slowly but steadily, not with as much action as "Night With Moon" but with more detective work on the part of Rhiow, her team, and their new allies -- more the literary equivalent of a good suspense movie than an action-hero one. And also unlike some other reviews, I didn't think the battle with the Lone One was "tacked on" or unnecessary. In fact, it was almost inevitable after the cats foil Her plans for Queen Victoria. Think about it -- if you were a selfish, vindictive Power who was absolutely sure you were going to win, and suddenly your scheme was stopped in its tracks, wouldn't you be furious and decide to rid yourself of the "obstacles" once and for all? The book even leaves room for another sequel (maybe the further adventures of Arhu and Siffha'h?) and more bliss for cat lovers. I'll be keeping my figurative whiskers attuned for it!』

(A Follow-up book from Night With Moon)
『A wonderful follow-up to the fabulous Night With Moon. I wondered at the time how Duane was going to be able to top Night With Moon. She does an excellent job of surpassing herself&the ending of "To Visit The Queen" was surprising. There are sad moments in this one, which make it a slightly more introspective book than the other title, but it has equally rapid plot&strong action plotlines. I loved seeing Arthur Conan Doyle as well. Wouldn't he love to still be starring in our literary achievements? :)』
『Rhiow, Urruah, and Arhu, the wizard cats are summoned to London to deal with a crisis in the very fabric of time. Aided by a 15-year-old Arthur Conan Doyle, the feline heroes must save the life of Queen Victoria, every Queen Victoria in every universe, and find the forgotten magic needed to restore the correct course of time... before they cease to exist.』
『"A purr at the right time can do wonders," says Rhiow, the furry, black heroine ofTo Visit the Queen,. Diane Duane's mettlesome cats can work wonders with more than their purring: they're wizards, capable of casting spells, walking on air, traveling through space and time, and speaking to humans--if they choose to. In this sequel to the bestsellingThe Book of Night with Moon, Rhiow and her team are called in to troubleshoot a malfunctioning magical portal in the London underground. Gradually, they unravel a conspiracy that threatens to twist their reality into a nightmarish alternate history--one in which Victorian England gets a boost from future science and uses nuclear technology to terrorize the world. This perfidious design rests upon the assassination of Queen Victoria, and it's up to Rhiow, Arhu, Urruah, and the London cats to save the queen.

Duane has earned an enormous following with her stories of the unending battle between the evil Lone Power and the forces of life, here championed by Rhiow and the other wizard cats. Although her stories are usually lively reads, inTo Visit the Queen,Duane takes a long time to build up to the action and burdens the narrative with large lumps of magic terminology that's more than reminiscent of computer programs or mathematical theorems. But there's a lot of fun to be had from the wheels-within-wheels universes going awry, in spotting tidbits of history, and in following the chain of events as the traitor in the pride reveals its claws.--Blaise Selby』

『 Sin 4 Life 』 Visa Rollack

『 The Camera and the Tsars: A Romanov Family Album 』 Charlotte Zeepvat

『 James II (The English Monarchs Series) 』 Antonia Fraser

『 An Obsolete Honor: A Story of the German Resistance to Hitler 』 Helena P Schrader

fetish『 Ellery Queen's Doors to Mystery 』 Ellery Queen  Kakaku：1000 saved$10.00  Doubleday   fetish『 Bondar's Russian Readers, Annotated and Accented - No. 1 : The Queen of Spades By A. S. Pushkin 』 A. S. ; Edited By D. Bondar, M.S.P. Pushkin  Kakaku：1795 saved$17.95  Sons, Ltd.   fetish『 The Rice Queen Spy 』 『 The Rice Queen Diaries 』 『 Naked Boys Singing 』 『 The Broken H 』 『 Coffee Date 』 『 Beautiful Monster 』 John, F. Rooney  Kakaku：478 saved$4.78  Senneff House Publishers  Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Interesting connections) 『Philip Croft was an English spy until he was outed by an anonymous inside source. His identity was not the secret revealed; his sexuality was. He committed no crime, but to the ruling class of his country, his homosexuality was enough to condemn him. As The Rice Queen Spy by John F. Rooney opens, Philip is being tortured to elicit the names of other homosexuals within the agency, and is effectively reduced to a desk job to encourage his speedy retirement. When Philip finally resigns, he is a broken man. His mistreatment at the hands of his own government leaves him emotionally scarred and depressed. But with the aid of some friends, he manages to turn his disgrace into a blessing. He decides to be true to himself and live as an openly gay man, something he spent his youth concealing. He even opens a gay sauna, though it doesn't last long as romance takes precedence over profit. He travels the world, forming liaisons in spots around the globe. His favorite destination becomes the Philippines, where in the 1970s, homosexual foreigners are viewed as meal tickets to legions of teenage and underage prostitutes. Philip is labeled a "rice queen" by friends due to his affinity for young Asian men. During the early years of his retirement, plenty of willing Asian men are available to the gay aristocracy to which Philip and his cohorts belong. But as decades pass, political upheavals and personal betrayal challenge the easy promiscuity they enjoy. Eventually, the natural progression of life makes monogamy a more appealing option for the aging ex-spy. The Rice Queen Spy is a story about life stages. Even as an older adult, when Philip is relieved of his covert duties, he is much like a child raised in a restrictive home. When he is given his first taste of freedom, he lives recklessly at times, taking full advantage of his newly discovered self-confidence. It is also about self-discovery. Philip may not be as much a victim as he would like to believe. While The Rice Queen Spy is an intriguing portrait of an alternative lifestyle, at times Rooney's narrative is a bit dry and mired in details. It is helpful to have a good description of a locale to aid in visualizing the setting, but the reader does not need to know the minutiae of every single meal the characters enjoy. These specifics are conveyed more in itemized list form than in colorful description. Rooney provides an interesting twist with the inclusion of his first novel, The Daemon in Our Dreams. Though the stories are seemingly unrelated, characters from this first novel reappear in The Rice Queen Spy and the connections become evident. I have his newest novel, Clawed Back from the Dead, in my queue, so I'm eager to see if it is related to these first two in similar fashion. There are some unrealized subplots--in particular the motivations of Philip's homophobic persecutor, Sergeant Whaley--that I would love to see developed. Overall, Rooney has an elegant writing style, and the book is a vision of shifting societal perspectives. It is also an introduction to some common challenges of homosexuals. One really should read The Daemon in Our Dreams to experience the full effect, however. It is not necessary, but helpful in understanding some of the relationships and connections.』 (Life of a Rice Queen) 『The Rice Queen by John F. Rooney is the story of Philip Croft, a once spy for Her Majesty's secret service. When news of his sexual orientation was discovered, Philip was tortured brutally by the same service he worked for; by a former colleague none the less. He was forced to give up two names of other men serving in the secret service that were also gay. He was demoted from being a well known master spy to working in the library, at least it was better than the torture. Having to hide his sexuality from the service for over fifty years, it was a breath of fresh air when he got to live freely after being outed. Philip begins to tell stories about his travels to Asia in search of young men to take on as lovers. Philip is a self proclaimed Rice Queen; that is a Caucasian male not interested in other Caucasian males, they prefer Asians. Philip Croft is no longer afraid and enjoys the parties and vacations with some of his other gay friends known as the "seekers". He even decides to open a gay spa. There is a man from the past that blames Philip for the trouble he has been accused of, he wants revenge against Philip. Does that man have no decency, I guess he truly does not recall how horribly he tortured poor Philip and laughed all the while at the ex-spy's pain. The Rice Queen Spy is a novel that is quite interesting, from following years and daily life of the main character, I feel like I know him personally. I wish there were more excitement as most of the story was just repetition but once the story got going, for me it was wonderful. Especially toward the end I couldn't turn the pages quick enough to see what would happen next. Mr. Rooney has a skill for penning an intriguing gay story that will take you into the life of a very strong and honestly happy man, just wanting to live his life. I would consider this an adult novel as the first two lines spit out a string of expletives, but for the young adults maybe they would enjoy it just as well. 4 Hearts 』 (Out of the Closet and Into the Fire) 『John F. Rooney has a successful run of novels that fall into the thriller/suspense genre and now he successfully uses the skills learned from those works to explore the personal life of a spy for the British MI6 (a secret service agency) whose life changes dramatically from a career of a highly respected intelligence expert to an outed gay man, dismissed from the MI6 because of his sexual preferences. THE RICE QUEEN SPY as a novel has a bit of difficulty sorting out the intrigue from the memoir aspects of the main character, taking on a bit too much exploration of the social life of men who prefer liaisons with Asian men to the point of splitting the book into two sections - spy story and social history. But it manages to come together well in the end. Philip Croft is a gentleman spy who is outed by the MI6, tortured by a surly duo into giving out the names of fellow gay confreres, and then released with pension intact to pursue a life after a career as a spy. Philip embraces his newfound freedom of expression in his visits to Asia, meeting and enjoying relationships throughout Asia where his preference for Asian men is obviously facilitated. He meets several significant lovers and spends his life between the Philippines (where his lover Reynaldo always awaits him) and his life in London where he opens a sauna with the handsome and bright Kwan to his final relationship with Cambodian Robin. Philip maintains his friendships with old friends, balancing his life with the 'business' of retirement and the joy of assignations at home and abroad. But always in the background are the stalking torturers who caused Philip's exit form the MI6. The novel takes on a special energy in the last third when an old friend of Philip's who has retired form the MI6 decides to rejoin the spying business despite his closeted gay life. This results in a misadventure that is a climactic point in the story. For all the meandering of the novel, the writing is very fine and Rooney gives the reading audience something rather unique for the genre: the aging process of Philip ranges over the events form 1973 to 2005 and not only does Philip age physically, but he also is 'aged' by the changes that occurred during that time frame, changes such as the ravaging effects of AIDS and the altered stance of the world toward gay people. It is a valuable new approach to an aspect of the gay community not usually visited. While there are many romantic adventures in the course of the novel, the language is less sensual than the reader might expect: a case of subtle suggestions rather than over the top details. THE RICE QUEEN SPY makes up for its minor flaws in the intelligent writing style of the author. It is a book that covers a lot of territory not examined before and as such is a valuable addition to the literature of the genre. Grady Harp, October 07』 (Dull) 『I found this book disappointing. I read it cover to cover and hoping that there would be a crisis, a focal point - something that grabbed my attention. The first chapter and the last chapter were exciting and interesting. The life story as seen through Philip Croft's eyes was, I my opinion, so dull I could read the first sentence in each paragraph and still not miss anything. The secondary characters were more interesting and certainly added some movement and life to the story. Their lives added colour to this story. Croft's annual trips to Asia to find his Asian paramours, Tom, Rey. Binky's love of young Asians and the places they visited were repeated ad nauseum as Philip go older. How men who loved Asians of any age could find their lust satisfied. But every year, every chapter brought the same thing to the story. Then it went on to describe Croft's day-to-day life in London (get up, have breakfast, go for a walk) The opening of his gay sauna catering to Asians was interesting and a nice break in his life. The story just seemed to plod along and every once in while we saw some of Philip's love life, his life and the lives of Binky, Sir Charles, Paul, etc. Then of course he and his friends keep getting older and more decrepit. 』 ("The Rice Queen Spy" is highly recommended reading, a novel that is as entertaining as it is iconoclastic.) 『A deftly written suspense novel that holds the reader's rapt attention from an engaging beginning to its compelling ending, "The Rice Queen Spy" is a the story of Philip Croft, a master spy for MI6, Her Majesty's premier intelligence agency, until he was outed for being homosexual with a partiality towards Asian men. "The Rice Queen Spy" traces the life and experiences of Philip, his loves, his perils, and his passage from mid-life to old age. Author John Rooney is a skilled storyteller able to create living characters, set them in a fascinating series of circumstances, and keep his reader fascinated and needing to know what comes next -- and can a victim become the victor in a world of deception, intrigue, discrimination, and convolution. "The Rice Queen Spy" is highly recommended reading, a novel that is as entertaining as it is iconoclastic.』 『This book, a gay, erotic novel, in order to depict realistically and naturally the hero's sexuality, does not pull any punches when it comes to the gay amatory passages. These sensual interludes are presented as a necessary and integral part of the novel's narrative. Philip Croft, a master spy for Her Majesty's secret service was cruelly outed and tortured for his homosexuality. He was a rice queen-partial only to Asian men, a gentle man who was betrayed by some-not for being gay, but for being too decent and naïve. This novel traces Philip's life and his loves, and is a triumphant testimony to a gay man's passage to old age. He kept his dignity and lived a full life while briefly thumbing his nose at his former superiors by opening a gay sauna in London. This book breathes life into a gay man who served his country through deception, and though his country punished him for his personal deception, he became the victor rather than the victim.』