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Summary: Not your Typical Woodiwiss (spoiler?
Review: Seems to me perhaps this novel was finished in a hurry.. the way it starts off makes me think that perhaps she was pressured to make it a shorter novel than it originally was, and rather than sacrifice the traditional Woodiwissian struggle and triumph at the end of the book, she did her best to explain the beginning, in effect turning about 6 chapters into one. I can't think of one other Woodiwiss book where a union has been consummated so quickly! (except perhaps Shanna, but that was designed to leave the reader on the edge of her seat.) Around the middle of the book we start seeing the classical Woodiwiss worldbuilding coming into play. To be honest, it seems uncomfortable and not up to her usual standards, but if you're willing to slog through the first half the second may placate you. I will agree with another reviewer that the (original) conflict between them doesn't make much sense.. unless you happen to be a very insecure young woman. Like me :)
Rating: 
Summary: Color me disappointed!
Review: Since I have been reading and enjoying Woodiwiss' books for nearly twenty-five years, I fully expected to enjoy this one as well. Where usually I can't put her books down, I couldn't seem to pick this one up, and it took me several months to finish it. The stilted dialogue and unusually high rate of verbiage made me wonder more than once whether I was really reading a Woodiwiss book. I respect her as a writer too much to actually say the book sucked, but I was certainly underwhelmed by this one.
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Summary: An historical mystery with romance
Review: I didn't know until about one-third of the way through this book whether or not I would like it. Why? Because this is not your typical historical romance - which is what I was expecting. In the typical historical romance, woman meets man, sparks fly, the two would-be lovers fight their growing mutual attraction to each other, or either they don't realize it. Woman gets into trouble, man acts as her knight in shining armor and eventually they realize that no one else on earth can satisfy them the way they do each other. They fall in love and marry. The End.In this book, yes the setting is historical, but the woman and man are married from the beginning. To top that off, mystery and danger surrounds their relationship from the beginning, putting a damper on any feelings they might have for each other. And thus, you find yourself reading an historical mystery that is also a romance novel. Now once you realize and accept that fact - that the mystery is a large part of this story - then you can settle down and enjoy what turned out to be a pretty good book. No, it's not the best romance novel I've ever read, but it is entertaining once you put it in perspective. The woman is not as strong-minded as I would like, but her husband more than makes up for what she lacks. Rather than catering to her when she makes dumb mistakes, he stands up to her and makes her reflect on the actions she takes. He's no love-struck fool who'll do anything to please his beautiful wife. Yes, he wants her and is falling deeply in love with her, but he's still a man about it. The mystery is pretty good too. As the mystery began to unfold, I found myself paying careful attention to each word trying to find clues that could help me solve the mystery before I got to the end. I guessed wrong, but it was still fun trying to figure it out. There's also another romance going on between other interesting characters in the book. While that romance is not the focus of the book, it lent even more satisfaction to the story. Bottom line, if you like mystery novels and don't mind some romance mixed in, then you'll likely enjoy this book. On the other hand, if you prefer the typical type of historical romances (like I do), then I suggest you look elsewhere and save this book for a time when you want to try something different.
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Summary: I'm SO relieved!!
Review: I'm so relieved to read the other reviews of this book. I've read other Woodiwiss books and loved them all and was eagerly looking forward to reading more about the Birminghams. 150 pages into the book I was incredibly bored and came to this site to see if the reviews would convice me to keep reading, or give it up. I've decided on the latter!
Rating: 
Summary: Certainly NOT Woodiwiss's worst!
Review: Reading reviews here on this website I thought: What's going on with Kathleen Woodiwiss? But when I bought the book and read it through (in few hours), I couldn't understand, what all the readers were writing about. This is not Woodiwiss's best book, of course, but it is surely NOT her worst! It has some weak moments (Farrell Ives) and dialogues, Jeff and Raelynn are not very strong characters (especially Raelynn), they don't get under your skin like Brandon and Heather did, Jeff has changed a lot, from funny guy to an irresistable lover, but still - it's about the Birminghams, members of my favourite family! And for me it is much more interesting than e. g. „Petals on the river" or „So worthy my love". Maybe it is caused by translation - maybe in English the novel sounds differently. But in our language it is sometimes very witty and sweet - Beau and his frog in church, birth of little Suzanne, meeting with „old friends" and great end. I still love Woodiwiss's work and hope she'll soon write another magnificent book. What about to look into Beauchamp or Fleming family - or to write about Suzanne, Brenna and Jeff's children?
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Summary: Continuing saga leaves reader wondering where story began-
Review: This story is not Kathleen Woodiwiss' best work but it could have been better if the sequel was not taken out of context. The author split up the story in three books: Three Weddings and a Kiss (The Kiss is the last short story), Married at Midnight (Beyond the Kiss is the last short story), and finally, A Season Beyond a Kiss. The first two short stories were an excellent beginning. However, the final book's first 200 pages were boring and repetitive. It seemed to try and catch the reader up to what was happening. In addition, it took forever to develop the true plot which was revealed almost near the end of the book. One thing I really loved, however, was the great ending. Kathleen Woodiwiss did have a little surprise at the end and it left me feeling much better about the book. I would like to see the author combine all 3 stories and remove about 100 pages. That book would receive a 4 from me.
Rating:
Summary: I can't believe I paid for this!
Review: I've read comic strips with more developed plots and characters. The whole story is conveniently wrapped up in 2 pages by a "confession" in the last 10 pages of the book. One character ties it together with this one monologue. This is one of the worst novels I have read. I certainly will not waste time reading anything else by this author despite the fact that I consider her earlier works some of the best romance novels published.
Rating:
Summary: THE WORST!!
Review: This is one of the worst books that I have ever read. It definitely is not in the same league as her earlier books. This one is a sleeper to begin with. If you can get through the first two chapters, maybe you can actually finish the book. The two main characters, Jeff and Raelynn are two of the worst characters ever put together. There is no chemistry between them that would make the readers to want to know more. Even worst one particular plot comes to mind -- "When Raelynn runs away into the woods without a horse, (on foot) no food and better yet in her nightgown." If Jeff had half a brain -- instead of chasing her, he should have closed the door -- and said "good riddance." And please tell me how could Raelynn fall off of a horse in her 3rd month of pregnancy, and still maintain this pregnancy. You can only wonder at the condition of this poor child at birth. Please save your money -- don't bother buying this book. If you can't find anything else at the library, pass this one up too.
Rating: 
Summary: Disjointed and disappointing
Review: When KW's "sequel" to THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER, Beau's story, THE ELUSIVE FLAME, came out, I was happy to see Jeff Birmingham as a happily married family man. So when KW backtracked a bit to tell his story, I was eager to read it. Now I'm glad I got it on a special offer. I never finished it. First of all, KW picks up Jeff and Raelynn's story in the middle, then drags it out too long. I vaguely remembered reading the short story, but I didn't remember enough of it to know what the heck was going on when A SEASON BEYOND A KISS started, so I was lost from the first page! OK, so maybe the newlyweds hadn't known each other long before Raelynn finds Jeff crouched over the body of a murdered girl, but I think her reaction was a little extreme for someone supposedly so deeply in love. I kept wanting to slap some sense into her as she exposed herself to more perilous dangers than the question of her husband's innocence. Oddly enough, I did like Jeff. He was still the likable, joyful man he was in THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER. His sensitivity towards Raelynn's lack of trust was actually sort of touching, and I admired his sense of honor. However, more than any of KW's other books, I would say this was a formula story: hero and heroine kept apart by misunderstanding, fat ugly villain with designs on the heroine, fat ugly villain's drunk/filthy and incompetent but no-less-evil henchman who is usually related to the heroine in some way, slutty/delusional serving-class girl with designs on the hero...not terribly original. I realize that a lot of romances use this formula, and KW herself has used it in the past, but the difference between KW's other books and A SEASON BEYOND A KISS is that the latter comes off as a slapdash effort with no real heart to it. This premise only works when the author has the enthusiasm and dedication to the characters and plot to make a basic formula seem vastly different than those that have gone before. KW has done this in her previous works, but A SEASON BEYOND A KISS ends up reading like a plug-and-play novel -- which is why I got so bored that I couldn't finish it. Don't waste your time with this one. First-time KW readers should check out SHANNA, A ROSE IN WINTER, or PETALS ON THE RIVER.
Rating:
Summary: The Disappointment Beyond a Kiss
Review: As a Woodiwiss fan, I was thrilled to rush out to buy her new book months ago. Although it has its moments, I still don't care enough about the story to finish it. What a disappointment. I too went back and re-read her earlier books like Wolf and the Dove and Shanna. Recommendation: save your money.
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