Rating: 
Summary: A Season Beyond A Kiss
Review: It is unfortunate that Ms Woodiwiss is obviously merely fulfilling her contractual obligations in cranking out yet another book about the Birminghams. I have always looked forward to her books with great anticipation. What a pity that I spent money on this drivel. The heroine is vapid, fickle and far too whiney to be believed. The hero too good to be true and then some. Please somebody hand me a fan I think I have the vapors!
Rating:
Summary: Missing something
Review: I have read all of Ms. Woodiwiss's books in the past and for the most part loved every one until now. I don't know what happened but it felt like there was so much more that happened to the characters even before the first chapter. I would like to have been there when they met not just been told a few tid bits about what sounded like interesting material. It leaves me wondering if Ms. Woodiwiss's editors cut out the first part of the book just to cut some financial corners. I was truly disappointed and have spent two months now trying to wade through the book and feeling totally disappointed each time I pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This was a real disappointment to me. Ms. Woodiwiss' previous books were so well written and enjoyable. This one was very slow and not well developed. Certainly far below the standard she set with The Flame and The Flower.
Rating:
Summary: Woodiwiss Beats A Dead Horse
Review: Okay, when an author starts penning goofball books like this one, it's time to put the pet protagonist family on the shelf. The Birminghams have outlived their novelty; this "book" is just a nightmare. I am angered to think that Woodiwiss is getting a paycheck off of name recognition and not because she's putting any real talent into her work. Granted, I have always disliked Woodiwiss and her caught-in-the-brambles kind of prose. But at least I could finish the other Woodiwiss novels I've attempted. This one is a travesty. Note to authors--know when to leave well enough alone and maintain your dignity. Excuse me while I go shower away this experience.
Rating: 
Summary: A Season Beyond A Kiss
Review: I found it hard to keep my mind on this book,it is not up to her usual standards.I usually hate to put her books down when I am reading them,and hate for them to end.
Rating:
Summary: This Book Doesn't Deserve A Star - It Was A Required Field
Review: I have read and loved Kathleen Woodiwiss books for years. The author has always had a talent for pulling the reader into the story. You could smell the smoke when the plantation burned in "Ashes in the Wind" - feel the warm breeze off the ocean on those hot steamy nights in "Shanna" - smell the scones baking in "Petals on the River", etc. This new book, is in the same catagory as a common romance that you read just to have something to do - not because you can't wait to see what happens next! The story is too rambling, it just never takes shape! It seems more like an outline for a book - I just wish Ms. Woodiwiss would take it back and finish it. It really could be a best seller - as it is, I can't even get through the first two chapters. I wish that I had believed the other reviews on this site, when I read them. I just could't understand how a Woodiwiss could not be worth reading - sadly, now I know.
Rating:
Summary: A Disappointment from start to well...couldn't finish
Review: As many reviewers have noted, there is a legion of Kathleen Woodiwiss fans out there that are faithful to her and automatically buy her books when they arrive on the shelves. Count me one of them. I have been a fan since junior high school and still consider her books of almost 30 years ago as classics. The Wolf and the Dove, The Flame & the Flower, Shanna, they are the standard by which I judge all other romances and NONE have ever matched up.But this...well it is horrible. I preordered the book not expecting it to be very good because of the steady decline in believability and quality over the last 10-15 years. This was my last attempt to resume my adoration of Woodiwiss' storywriting and sad to say, it didn't. The characters are superficial, unbelievable and I never really cared what happened to them one way or the other. It has taken me 2 months and I have read about 3/4 of the book. I look at it when I feel like picking up a book and think to myself that it is a waste of my time. I am so sorry to give such a horrible review but if it keeps someone from putting their hard earned money down, then it is worth it. In a way, I feel like I am betraying her and know that it might wound the author to see such negative reaction, but who on earth would have praised this before it got to press? Was anybody honest to her that read it? Ugh.
Rating:
Summary: Grief...I CAN do better...
Review: Ok...I should have known something was up when the book about Beau had his eyes the wrong color...But what the author did to Jeff was just criminal. I have a question? Did Kathleen E. Woodiwiss pass on and now its a ghost writer? That's the only thing that makes any sense because the person who wrote this couldn't be the same one who wrote Flame and the Flower, the #1 Romance book of all time. When I come away KNOWING that I could have done a better job for Jeff...well...nuff said. And to make matters worse...the editor was even sloppy. <sigh>
Rating:
Summary: I like Kathleen Woodiwiss but......
Review: I am still trying to read this book. I have been at it for two weeks and I can't get more than 5 pages completed at a time. I hope some of the other reviews are correct and it will pick up soon. I'm tired of Jeff and his wife. The dress designer and his assistance appear to be a better story. Next time I will not automatically buy one of her books. It will save me from boredom and save me money.
Rating:
Summary: How the Mighty Have Fallen
Review: In my youth, I worshipped the ground that this woman walked on, and in my middle age she is STILL the ONE AND ONLY romance writer that I will read. But this was far and away the WORST of her books and one of the worst of the genre I have ever read. I never thought I'd walk away from Woodiwiss feeling like, "I could do better than THAT!" I think she was pushed into writing this by popular demand and that her heart just wasn't in it. VERY sloppy editing too. To use the word "winsome" three times in the space of a page is a bit much! And to take 4 1/2 pages to say that the woman was awakened by the pounding of hammers, walked out onto her balcony and it was a very humid morning is RIDICULOUS! Go back to making us wait 3-4 years between books, Kathleen. The results are MUCH more satisfying.
| 
