Rating: 
Summary: By all the saints' purple boils...
Review: ...mayhap I have picked the wrong Coulter novel with which to begin. Even still, I cannot say it has been totally without mirth. I have found some of the dialogue laugh-out-loud funny (audio book version.) Talking back in response to the ludicrous dialogue affords some diversion, though mayhap most for drivers around me.
Must everything be redder than red, blacker than black, whiter than white, higher than high, etc? Did I really hear that the earth moved during a vigorous amatory adventure? In subject matter, this dialogue is clearly intended for adult audiences. In construction, it rivals "See Spot run". By all the saints' pimply noses, mayhap the most fun is to be derived from the creative and deliberately non-repetitive invocations of said saints. I could wish though that someone close to the author would favor us by building an auto-correct into her word processor to over-ride "mayhap" and "hard".
Oh, aye, I'll finish it (it really is a long, boring drive home and it is futile to wish the time back) but I'm glad this was a library freebie. By all the saints' split ends, I'd have been madder than mad had I purchased it.
Rating: 
Summary: I was enchanted!
Review: After reading the other reviews of The Penwyth Curse, I feel like I may be missing something. I absolutely loved this book! Perhaps because I read it as a fairy tale. A wonderfully romantic fairy tale. With magic, good over evil, and living happily ever after. I can understand one of the criticisms. The characters in the story did seem a bit flat. It felt to me that we weren't given much time in the character's heads; how they thought about things etc. But the relationships, within the context of the story, still seemed totally believable and endearing to me. Another criticism in the reviews I read was that the two story lines seemed disjointed. I have to disagree. I will admit, the first time the story switched to 'Sometime Else', I found it distracting and didn't know what was going on. But then as the story progressed, the stories were drawn closer and closer together, and more relevant to each other, to the point of a complete connection at the end. And the story of The Prince and Brecia was WONDERFUL! I would LOVE to see an entire book dedicated just to them! This is a unique and fun story. I've read over 200 romance novels and consider this to be one of my favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: Lack of cohesion between the overlapping tales
Review: An equal mix of curse and blessing, Catherine Coulter's annual historical offering The Penwyth Curse interweaves two stories - one set in the 13th century while another in a vague surreal magical realm where dark sorcery reigns. Sir Bishop of Lythe is rewarded by King Edward I to be the heir of Lord Vellan and stake his claim on the much-feared Penwyth Castle in Cornwall. He must wed Merryn de Gay who is rumoured to be cursed by Druid spells and alledgedly destroyed the four men who tried to compel her into submission. Bishop intends to find out if the curse exists or whether it is merely a coercing farce by introducing himself as a wizard. It is unexpected that Bishop experiences an otherworldly dreamscape in his pursuit abruptly and readers are hurtled towards the overlapping story of an ancient wizard finding his love Brecia in the oaks forest and they run into their nemesis Mawdoor. Catherine Coulter establishes a brittle and jarring link between the two stories that ruins the momentum of the first story as the main protagonist Bishop is clueless as the readers are. Worse still - Bishop and Merryn are such potential characters with much to be explored but Ms. Coulter seems to be enjoying herself too much to be detached from the paranormal world with splashes of magic and sorcery. There are the occasional moments of sparkling delight and bawdy passion but the plot does stultifying injustice to the attractive characters sculpted by Ms. Coulter. There is part adventure and danger as well as mayhem and passion. However we seem to be assimilating them in confusing, bewildering patches. Its sprawling tale may be majestic but the lack of cohesion is a much regretted curse.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I had hoped
Review: At first, when I read about four reviews which were already on amazon.com, I was a little upset because I have almost all of Catherine's other books and I look forward to a new one each year. This book sounded very disappointing. However, due to the fact that my boyfriend insisted on watching football, I decided to go purchase the book so I would have something to do. I believe that this book, while not a great one by the previous standards set by the author, is still a good book. It's a bit confusing at times but it still made me go, "aww" at the end. That, generally, is my definition of a good book. If I don't care about the characters it doesn't happen but in this book there were four characters that I found interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Don't judge Catherine Coulter by this book!
Review: Don't judge Catherine Coulter's historical romances by this book! They are nothing like this. In most of Coulter's romances, her characters are rich and well thought out, and you "feel" everything the characters feel. Not this one. It's proof that even the best writers lose their touch and eventually begin to write just for the money. Don't waste your time on this book - pick one of Coulter's earlier historical romances instead. Most of them are worth 4 or 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: Having loved the first four books in this series I was eager to read this one, until I read the other reviews, which were less than flattering. I am glad I ignored those reviews and read it anyway! I loved the weaving of past and present. The plot was fun, the characters had wit and charm, and there was balance between the good and evil. I am always a sucker for a good magic story anyway. I can't wait to read the next series!
Rating:
Summary: The Plot Sounded Good !
Review: I am an avid reader of historical romances and have been very fortunate in my selections to find books that appeal to my sense of romance and emotions. I myself rely heavily on reviews and authors track records, and even if a book does get slammed, if it is from an author whose excellence has been proven in the past, I try to still give it an unbiased read. Set in the 13th century, this tells the story of Merryn, a young woman who is forced to marry four times and is widowed and still a maiden when Sir Bishop of Lythe arrives at castle Penwyth. (This plot line sounded real interesting to me!) Penwyth bears the brunt of an ancient curse, which declares that no man will ever take Penwyth, or it's heiress, by force. All four husbands died within hours of storming the castle and seizing Merryn. Is the curse real or is their foul play at work? Bishop is wise enough to take precautions and figures he'll be safe if he woos the lady first. He starts to settle into life at the castle, then he starts having dreams featuring an unknown wizard and witch and this is where I feel the novel itself starts falling apart - at least for me. The dream-story/real time story - eventually overpowers the romance between Merryn and Bishop and at one point - I wasn't sure who the story was about as I believe there was an editing mistake that spoke of Bishop but the story seemed to be related to the dream couple. It was very convoluted and difficult to follow. The jumping around from past to present left me dizzy. Bottom line, I couldn't find myself getting emotionally involved with either couple and although there were a few quite humorous moments in the dialogs, I didn't find it to be an enjoyable and relaxing read - it was too much work to figure out who was who and where!
Rating: 
Summary: Two good stories in one!
Review: I can't believe there are negative reviews. This was a joy to read and hard to put down. Both stories center around Penwyth with very enjoyable characters and much humor. I love the conversations between Coulter's characters. While the two stories don't seem to mesh at first, they blend by the end of the book. If you think of this more as two short stories along a common thread, then this is a 5-star book. Both stories are wonderful, sensual, witty and fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't finish
Review: I don't remember the last time I could not finish a book until this one. I made it about half way and just could not go on. Hoepfully her next book will be better.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as I expected
Review: I got this book at the library's used book sale and am definitely glad I didn't pay full price for it. The plot summary on the back cover sounded interesting, but the book itself did not live up to the description. I stuck with the book until the last page but only because I wanted to find out how it ended. I didn't think the characters had much personality and I couldn't get myself interested enough in them to be enthusiastic about following their story. Not a total waste of time, but I wouldn't recommend it.
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