Rating:  Summary: Moving Contemporary Romance Review: In Crystal Falls, Oregon, handsome rancher Ryan Kendrick walks into the local ranch supply store to check on his order and meets Bethany Coulter, one of the most beautiful women that he has ever seen. He begins flirting with her and almost immediately asks her out. Surprised when Bethany turns and Ryan realizes that she is a paraplegic, he doesn't run the other way but agrees to keep the date with her. Sparks fly on that very first date, and Ryan realizes that she is different from any of the other women that he has dated. While wildly attracted to Ryan, Bethany is reluctant to start a relationship with him, fearing that it could only lead to heartbreak for her. Will Ryan be able to convince Bethany that he is truly in love with her, and together they can overcome any obstacles? Or will Bethany leave Ryan for fear that her disability will forever intrude in their lives? Catherine Anderson has written a truly unique and heartwarming romance. Moving away from the classic perfect hero and heroine, Ms. Anderson gives us a slightly imperfect heroine whose imperfections have interfered with her having successful relationships in the past. The real gift of this novel is that the hero is not only able to overlook the heroine's paralysis in order to embark on their romance, but he seeks to aid the heroine in making her life as normal as possible. Emotionally stirring and well-researched, this is a novel not to be missed.
Rating:  Summary: A book you should read Review: In Phantom Waltz, millionaire rancher Ryan meets and falls for blue-eyed Bethany, even before he finds out she is wheelchair-bound. Bethany cannot help but fall in love with sweet, caring, thoughtful Ryan, yet decides she is never going to be the woman he deserves, and when he realizes she is trying to avoid him, he sets out to convince her in every possible way that they are meant for each other. Even though this book explains in admirable details the difficulties a paraplegic meets in normal daily activities, and shares the emotional turmoil such a life causes, I cannot help but point out that in this book, Anderson chose to use a character that doesn't have a complete Spinal Cord Injury, so that she still has some feeling in parts of her lower limbs, as well as being continent, which is, I know a huge blessing for a paraplegic person. In the Preface, Anderson explains that traditionally in romances, the characters are physically perfect, and that she wanted to write something different as a tribute to those in our society who are disabled, as this is a subject around which novelists usually tip-toe or try to avoid altogether. I can't help but feel out that even though Anderson wrote a wonderful book portraying the life of a paraplegic, she still chose that her character be blessed with some bodily functions that most paraplegics are not left with. Basically at the end of this book all I could think was; even Anderson didn't dare venture into a story where her character has -for instance- a complete spinal cord injury at T 1 instead of an incomplete injury at L1.
Rating:  Summary: Expected better than this... Review: In Phantom Waltz, millionaire rancher Ryan meets and falls for blue-eyed Bethany, even before he finds out she is wheelchair-bound. Bethany cannot help but fall in love with sweet, caring, thoughtful Ryan, yet decides she is never going to be the woman he deserves, and when he realizes she is trying to avoid him, he sets out to convince her in every possible way that they are meant for each other. Even though this book explains in admirable details the difficulties a paraplegic meets in normal daily activities, and shares the emotional turmoil such a life causes, I cannot help but point out that in this book, Anderson chose to use a character that doesn't have a complete Spinal Cord Injury, so that she still has some feeling in parts of her lower limbs, as well as being continent, which is, I know a huge blessing for a paraplegic person. In the Preface, Anderson explains that traditionally in romances, the characters are physically perfect, and that she wanted to write something different as a tribute to those in our society who are disabled, as this is a subject around which novelists usually tip-toe or try to avoid altogether. I can't help but feel out that even though Anderson wrote a wonderful book portraying the life of a paraplegic, she still chose that her character be blessed with some bodily functions that most paraplegics are not left with. Basically at the end of this book all I could think was; even Anderson didn't dare venture into a story where her character has -for instance- a complete spinal cord injury at T 1 instead of an incomplete injury at L1.
Rating:  Summary: READ THIS BOOK Review: It has everything you could want in a romance novel plus as an added bonus it deals with real life situations. Catherine Anderson has a way of writing stories that once you start reading you can't put it down until you are done. In this book you will run a gauntlet of emotions. Each page is as exciting as the next. This is not a "Barbi and Ken" romance.
Rating:  Summary: Did I read the same book as everybody else? Review: It seems as if just about everyone who reviewed this book liked it. I hate to be in the minority but this book was rather boring to me. The characters were too perfect and the story was just too long. I read the hard cover edition and it seemed to me that the 418 pages could have been shortened to 200 without hurting the storyline. I was bored by page 30 but kept reading because I didn't want to waste my money. I had to force myself to finish the book, and it took me two weeks! In my opinion this story just dragged on and on. It would get interesting and start moving at a faster pace then all of a sudden the storyline just got stuck. The best part of the story was when Cleo the cat went for a ride on T-Bone the bovine. About the characters. There were too many supporting characters. They didn't seem to develop very well or play a very big part in the story. They were just there to fill the pages. The main characters seemed to sappy to me. Ryan was just to perfect and understanding to seem believable. Bethany also seemed to be too perfect, even though she didn't have the use of her legs. Everything else about her just seemed to be too wonderful. This was the first book I read by this author. And I hate to say it but it will be the last. This book was just to boring for me.
Rating:  Summary: Did I read the same book as everybody else? Review: It seems as if just about everyone who reviewed this book liked it. I hate to be in the minority but this book was rather boring to me. The characters were too perfect and the story was just too long. I read the hard cover edition and it seemed to me that the 418 pages could have been shortened to 200 without hurting the storyline. I was bored by page 30 but kept reading because I didn't want to waste my money. I had to force myself to finish the book, and it took me two weeks! In my opinion this story just dragged on and on. It would get interesting and start moving at a faster pace then all of a sudden the storyline just got stuck. The best part of the story was when Cleo the cat went for a ride on T-Bone the bovine. About the characters. There were too many supporting characters. They didn't seem to develop very well or play a very big part in the story. They were just there to fill the pages. The main characters seemed to sappy to me. Ryan was just to perfect and understanding to seem believable. Bethany also seemed to be too perfect, even though she didn't have the use of her legs. Everything else about her just seemed to be too wonderful. This was the first book I read by this author. And I hate to say it but it will be the last. This book was just to boring for me.
Rating:  Summary: a book different from other I 've read Review: Phantom Waltz is the story of Bethany and Ryan.It is an unusual story of love between a normal person and a handicapped person.It shows that Love knows no Boundaries One can cross whatever comes in front of them if their lovbe is true and alos that Physical Appearance is not what counts. It has been an enjoyable read and though some of the reviewers say that a lot of importance was put on the sex between both the characters I feel that it showed the feelings of Bethany who was handicapped and had never experienced it. It showcases all her expectations which Ryan desperately wants to fulfill which you can see when he prays after their first time. I hope everybody reads this book of Catherine Anderson and others too.
Rating:  Summary: Not Just a Typical Romance Review: Sure, this book has everything we all love about romances, but it's got a lot more. Instead of a "perfect" female figure, Bethany is in a wheelchair. Her heart has been badly broken by men who always take one look, see the chair and run straight for the door. And then one day, in walks Ryan. Ryan is different from other men Bethany has known and for the first time, Bethany starts to open herself up to all the what ifs. This is one of the more touching books I have read and I highly recommend it to anyone.
Rating:  Summary: Shadow of a Romance Review: The dictionary says that a phantom is (among other things) a shadow. In my opinion this books is just a shadow of the kind of romance I like to read. I found Phantom Waltz went a little too far into things parapalegic and found myself skipping pages without finishing the book. Ms. Anderson is a fine writer but sometimes gets too heavy in technicalities. She wrote another story about spousal and child abuse (Shattered Rose?) that went a little too far into gory detail.
Rating:  Summary: Good-but not her best Review: The first book I read by Catherine Anderson was "Annie's Song" years ago. It was so good, as were "Simply Love" and Keegan's Lady." Her latest efforts have not been so stunning, however. They are good, but the characters are not memorable to me. When I read the back of "Phantom Waltz" I really looked forward to reading the book. The characters were not perfect like most and I hoped for a return to the type of well written and sympathtic characters of "Annie's Song." I didn't really get it. Though the problems of paraplegics are real, and actually well described, I felt that Ryan and Bethany's romance took a backseat to this. There was little about there relationship separate from this. I just don't know that I believed that these two would have fallen in love. There is also the fact that the purpose of writing this book is to show that real people fall in love too-and yet Bethany's problems were able to be solved (as much as they could be solved) because Ryan was a multi-millionaire. that is a life that most paraplegics could never hope for. This book was worth reading, even worth buying at a discount, but don't expect Catherine Anderson at her tearjerking best.
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