This is the third Woodiwiss book I've read and after reading A Rose in Winter and Shanna I was excited that this book may be just as enjoyable, mysterious and romantic. I was wrong. I read many reviews giving this book it's praise and I can't say I heartily agree. From the beginning, the book seemed promising...Heather being a slave to her aunt and uncle, living in filth & ridicule and hoping some handsome prince would come to rescue her. Seems like a fairy tale in the making, but when her "knight in shining armor" took the form of a rapist (and not just once, but a few times) I knew instantly the story wasn't what I expected, but I read on in hopes of some grander scheme from the author to turn the readers view around.

Brandon, the (oh so tall, dark and gorgeous) sea captain, who took Heather's sacred virginity and was forced to wed her (against both of their wills) was all but the hero in this book. He was cold and downright mean to her many times! Making fun of her, laughing at her, berating her and even doing so after he witnessed the horrible way she was treated by her only living relatives! I thought then he'd turn around and start to treat her kindly....HARDLY! I'm all about the dashing, assertive man, but this went a little too far. I had a hard time liking him throughout the book because of his cocky demeanor, and not the sort you want in a Hero, but the sort you detest in a villian. For a while I couldn't decide which he'd turn out to be. Because of his pride, Brandon decided he wouldn't give Heather anymore of hisself (his manly self) because if she wanted a husband, a husband she'd get without the luxuries of marriage.

Heather wasn't my favorite heroine either. She was skiddish, meek, cowardly and without a real voice. Calling Brandon master. Lordy bee! But don't forget she was the most beautiful thing in all the land, and we were told of it only on every other page. Watching Brandon fight against himself to not take his marital rights was anything but sexy from this lover of historical's perspetive. It was so redundant...him watching her bathe, him fastenting her dress over and over, enough already...we get it...he needs sex! This went on for OVER 100 pages mind you. Oy! I was wondering if I should continue but just then the book actually became more interesting...

When they arrived at the Carolina's I began to enjoy the book a little more. More redunancy played out...the staring, the wanting, his anger toward her started to ebb into something more personal...blah, blah. But what I enjoyed most was the secondary characters...Hatti (the maid), Louisa, the scorned ex fiance who would try anything to break up their marriage, Jeff the loving, humorous and kind brother of Brandon... and a few others. It seemed as though I enjoyed the secondary characters more than the main ones. The one thing I really enjoyed about Brandon was when he gave Louisa a proper set down by taking up for his wife, but even that seemed too long over due.

Another thing that irked me was when they finally professed their love... it never seemed like love at all but pure animal lust. It was kind of forced. Sigh, oh well. You can't knock all of them out of the park. I gave this book 2 1/2 stars based on the fact that I read it all and found certain parts entertaining, but aside from that it was dull and I found myself skipping through pages and dialogue just to reach the end. I may get flamed by the die hard fans, but I read a lot and this book could have been majorly edited, scaled down and woven more neatly. Just my opinion. I will not read this again, but still have high hopes for Woodiwiss and will try another.

My mother was recently cleaning out her house and gave me a box of books. This was one of them. I'd read it a long time ago as a teenager, and I remember that I liked it then. So I picked it up one rainy afternoon to read it again.

I hated it this time around. I agree with everyone who says Brandon is a schizophrenic bully. If there's a more unlikeable "hero", I don't know who it is. And Heather is a vapid airhead without a shred of backbone.

Now, I understand that this was written in the early 70's and that it was a first in romance writing. Times were different then, and maybe some women would have agreed with a wife being a man's chattel. But is it necessary for the hero to rape the heroine? Worse, he's verbally, mentally, and emotionally abusive to her after their marriage until she gives him what he wants. How she fell in love with him is beyond me--and we never see that progression. One minute she hates him after one of his infantile temper tantrums and the next she's vowing her undying love for him. For his part, Brandon never seemed to truly love her, either. He just cared about her looks and the fact that he "owned" her.

I lost count of how many times Heather was raped or nearly raped in this book. It got to be a bit much.

Anyway, I found the book tedious with superficial characters and plot. I've read worse, but not many.

I still have this book from when I was a teenager! I absolutely love this book. It is a "Keeper"!! Perhaps I loved it because it has my name for the heroine but, this book just took my breath away!! I have the orginal bookcover for this book. Heather has a hard time trying to come to terms with Brandon. He is what you call a "rake". They go from England to America. The trials these two lovers have is just funny.

I hate books where the hero and heroine falls in love and you don't know how the heck they manage to do that with so little time. This book looks at 2 very flawed people and over long period of time ends up falling in love with eachother. This is establish slowly after going through varies situations.
Yes, I understand how some people feel the hero is so angry....I guess I would be too if I was put this in his position eventhough he was partly to blame. He is trapped into marrying the heroine, lust for her, but can't do anything about. It's nice to have a hero in the story not commit adultery just because he's not sleeping with his wife.

Throughout the story you start to feel that the hero really cares for heroine and wants to make her happy eventhough he is overly possessive.

The heroine on the other hand is quite weak. She has low confidence because of past abuse. You wish she could be stronger and more independent. But as another reviewer mentioned, she did flourish over time and managed to gain more confidence.

So aside from a few hiccups, this is a really nice love story and very romantic.

KEW's first book, The Flame & The Flower was a groundbreaker in terms of the historical romance genre. It is set between England and Charleston, South Carolina. Heather is not the strongest KEW heroine, but neither is she the weakest. Brandon is one of KEW's more hard-hearted heroes, but he comes around as love thaws the confirmed bachelor's iciness. If you like this, be sure to read The Elusive Flame for more Birmingham drama.