The Penwyth Curse

Rating:
Summary: Too bad the Synopsis was the best part...
Review: This book was a huge disapointment. Catherine Coulter is a talented author and has delivered wonderful plots and characters in several genres--but The Penwyth Curse is one of the worst novels I've ever read. It was a chore to finish it and I found myself just thumbing through the last half of the book to find out what, if any, connection was between the Prince/Brecia and Merryn and Bishop. The idea of the alternating chapers and times was good in concept but poorly executed and made me feel like I was involuntarily changing back and forth between two movies just when one had started to get interesting. I wish I'd have checked the reviews here before I wasted my money.

Rating:
Summary: This book is a curse
Review: This is a first (and last) Catherine Coulter book I've read, or at least tried to read. What started out with great potential very quickly became a confusing, error-ridden mess. The only question I have is did this book not have to pass through editing? It is simply a mess, just a bunch of words on paper bounded together to impersonate a book. Shame on the publisher!

Rating:
Summary: What happened???
Review: This is one of the most dreadful books I've ever read. When it finally rained I felt like going outside and doing a rain dance. I dislike very few of C.Coulter's books, and this one is right up there with the bad. I've been trying to finish this book for about a month, that's how bad it is. Of course this is only my opinion. I'm being very generous giving it 2 stars.

Rating:
Summary: fantasy and medieval romance, what more can you ask?
Review: When I first got this book I was reluctant to read it because I had just finished Rosehaven, which i disliked very much, but once I started I was plensently surprised. The characters are much more likeable and romance is much more probable. This is a very good story that blends medieval life and fantasy perfectly. Although the two romances had to be shorter, they were both very well develped and sweet. I loved trying to figure out how they were related and how the mystery would end.

Rating:
Summary: I found it difficult to follow.
Review: When the king rewards Bishop with Merryn of Penwyth as his bride, the gift is a perilous one. At the age of 18, Merryn is already four times a widow, thanks to the curse that Druids have placed upon her. No man may take her or Penwyth castle by force. If he does so, he will die, and so far, that has been true. Bishop is however, a cunning man, and plots to win his bride's heart, and then claim what is his and live. He kidnaps her, and on the journey away, becomes haunted by strange dreams of someplace else. In this other world, a man seeks an elusive magical woman as his lover and wife. As the story unfolds, the two tales intertwine, and the key to one is the answer to the other as well.

*** This overlapping story, well crafted by past masters, such as Cynthia Freeman, is more than slightly confusing here. Although Merryn is the standard Coulter heroine, full of fire and strength, and Biship is a dark, mysterious hero, the plotline is extremely difficult to follow, diminshing the enjoyment of otherwise interesting personalities. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

<< 1 2 3 4 >>