Rating: 
Summary: A disappointed Woodwiss fan
Review: I ran out and bought this book after reading "The Flame and the Flower." While I've always enjoyed Woodiwiss, and have generally re-read her novels several times (My copy of Shanna is falling apart), this one is heading straight for the circular file.I really loved the Birmingham story in "Flame and the Flower" - so much so that I started rereading it almost immediately upon finishing it. You know how they say sequels are never as good as the original - DEFINITELY the case here. The plot was weak. The antagonists (Winthrop and his lawyer) were too stupid to be threatening. In the past, Woodiwiss's "bad guys" always seemed ruthlessly determined, and at times, downright scary. Alistar Winthrop is just a greedy knucklehead, through and through. Even before the "climatic ending" (and I use that phrase loosely), I had a picture in my head that these two buffoons looked like Joe Peschi and Daniel Stern of "Home Alone" fame. When Cerynise was doing the bad guys in, I kept waiting for her to grab her cheeks and scream ala Macauley Culkin. In fact, I wanted to do that myself! I think Ms. Woodiwiss is spending too much time watching kids movies' with her grandchildren if this is the type of ending she is coming up with now. Bitten by the bug of political correctness, the rape or forcing of the heroine by the hero isn't present in this novel, either - which has always been part of the Woodiwiss formula. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing, in this case, it made for a weaker story. There wasn't this huge emotional obstacle for them to overcome, just their own bumbling lack of communication. The emotional tension between Beau and Cerynise just isn't there, and that tension has always been one of the fun parts of the Woodiwiss novel. There were editting problems, too. I could never figure out if Beau's eyes were blue or green. Because sometimes Cerynise is reminded of Heather's blue eyes, and at other times, she is looking into eyes of deep green. It makes me wonder if Woodiwiss even wrote this novel. That's something that should be decided upfront. Eyecolor is a no-brainer. While I'm still planning on reading the newest Birmingham novel, I'm not rushing out to get it. I hope it's better than this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Another Birmingham extravaganza!!!
Review: I was so happy that Beau finally got his own book!! He is so hot and I loved how Cernyise knew him and had a crush on him in earlier years. Those kinds of relationships are the ones that make all of us who have ever had a crush sigh dreamily! I have read and bought all of KWs books and she never ceases to amaze me and keep me riveted!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Elusive Flame
Review: What happened to the Woodiwiss I remember starting with "The Flame and the Flower" "The Wolf and the Dove", etc. They were so full of passion and rich character development. The woman characters now are modern day feminist not at all resembling their female counterparts of the 19th century and the male characters are weak, spineless fools. I miss the Woodiwiss stories which were truly historical romances and not modern day tales in historical settings all caught up in being politically correct and sugar coated so as not to offend.
Rating:
Summary: lacks spice
Review: A disappointing sequel to Flame & The Flower. In Flame & Flower, I was riveted and completely caught up in the characters. Brandon and Heather were undeiably Woodiwiss' best creations. Beau and Cerynise never really captured my interest. They never developed a strong chemistry, and I never really felt strongly that they "belonged" together. This is the first time I've felt that way about 2 Woodiwiss characters. The villians were bumbling fools, and lacked the menace and sinister aura that earlier villians had. I felt like they were cartoon villians rather than the real thing. I hope, if Ms. Woodiwiss decides (and I hope she does) to do a book about the youngest sister, Brenna, it will be more interesting. I'm glad I read the book if only for the sake of reading about Brandon & Heather again. They'll always be my favorite characters.
Rating:
Summary: The Elusive Flame
Review: What happened to the Woodiwiss I remember starting with "The Flame and the Flower" "The Wolf and the Dove", etc. They were so full of passion and rich character development. The woman characters now are modern day feminist not at all resembling their female counterparts of the 19th century and the male characters are weak, spineless fools. I miss the Woodiwiss stories which were truly historical romances and not modern day tales in historical settings all caught up in being politically correct and sugar coated so as not to offend.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than expected...
Review: Make that 3.5 stars. Although this book isn't as good as some of the vintage Woodiwiss books, it was still better than I expected, and thus, I enjoyed it. It starts off with interesting events - the death of Cerynise's guardian and unexpected arrival of her guardian's heir, Alistair. He doesn't particularly care for Cerynise and he makes no secret of that fact. Before she knows it, she's thrown out on the streets with no money and nowhere to go. Deciding her only choice is to return home to the states, Cerynise heads for the docks. Barely making it to the docks, she is rescued by Beau, a man she knew from her childhood. They enter into a hasty and temporary marriage as a means of keeping Alistair from taking her back as his ward. During the long voyage to Charleston, Cerynise falls hopelessly in love with Beau. But because the marriage is only temporary, they both try not to give in to temptation and consummate the marriage -- and there's a lot of temptation. By the time they reach Charleston, both are in turmoil about the direction their relationship should take, and unbeknownst to them, Alistair is hot on their trail bringing with him the threat of death, and the destruction of their shaky relationship. To make matters worse, Beau is a much sought after and very wealthy bachelor whose family home is in Charleston. Upon their return, women pose another threat to Cerynise and her shaky marriage as they try to ensnare Beau for themselves. While the Elusive Flame doesn't make the reader pant and sigh with emotion as much as some of Ms. Woodiwiss' earlier romance novels, it nonetheless delivers enough romance to hold your attention. The story has elements of danger, adventure, suspense, a little mystery, and a lot of jealousy - which adds a nice bit of spice. The different circumstances the two lovers find themselves in also add a good bit of excitement to the story. Both Beau and Cerynise are developed well enough that they come to life, and you can feel their feelings changing from merely curiosity and admiration for each other to a deep and lasting love. While at first it seemed a little weird to have a man reading this book, I quickly got over my surprise since his reading didn't distract me from the story. Bottom line, this is a book I would recommend.
Rating:
Summary: REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD
Review: THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER is my all time favourite romance novel and when i found out that there was a sequel i knew i just had to get my hands on it. When i finally got it i read it and couldn't put it down. It was a really good book and i just love Beau. If your expecting great things from this book than read it and you won't be disappointed, i know i wasn't!
Rating:
Summary: My favorite author!
Review: I really love Kathleen's books. I first read "The Flame and the Flower" twenty years ago and I have reread it so many times that I've had to buy four books! I've read all of her books and loved everyone of them. This book was great. I was so happy to find out what had happened to Brandon and Heather. The only thing I didn't like was that this book came out before "A Season Beyond a Kiss" which is Jeff's(Brandon's brother) story. The love scenes in this book are as hot and sensual as all of her other books. Beau is a wonderful hero just like his father. And Cerynise is just strong enough to handle him yet appear shy and fragile at the same time. Buy this book and reread it again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Revisit The Flame and The Flower
Review: This book was wonderful because we got to revisit Beau and Heather and Brandon. Anything Kathleen Woodiwiss writes is excellent. I highly recommend reading The Flame and The Flower first as this book is a sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Good
Review: This book was very good. I was a little disappointed in it because The Flame and the Flower was so incredibly fantastic. The Elusive Flame was good it just didn't have in it what I loved about The Flame And The Flower.
| 
