Rating: 
Summary: Predictable and frustrating
Review: I had read The Elusive Flame first and then this book and I agree with a lot of other readers. The villans were portrayed as ugly, and the main characters only seemed to love each other for their looks. brandon was not nice and i cannot see how Heather fell in love with him, however, abused people usually do fall in love with people that will or do abuse them - no offense to anyone. The murder plot at the end of the book came too late also and after reading this book, the sequel The Elusive Flame was exactly the same, apart from without the rape scene. What's with the possessiveness also?? I really loved the Elusive Flame and Shanna, a Rose in Winter was good, Petals on the River not good at all and i'm now reading Wolf and the Dove which is turning out to really captivate me.
Rating: 
Summary: Best romance book? I think not!
Review: This is only my second Woodwiss novel, but I dislike it even more than I did the first (Shanna). The writing here wasn't as 'flowery', thank goodness and I somewhat enjoyed the story to a point. I just didn't like the fact that all her characters so far are so very superficial (in both books). They only seem to love each other because of their looks - the men usually only fall in love with the women because of their spectacular beauty. It is even more so here. I hope the next book I got 'A Rose In The Winter' is better. The main female character, Heather, does not display any depth - all we know of her is that she is unbelievably beautiful even if she's dressed in rags and any man between the ages of 13 and 80 just absolutely lusts after her. She is so weak and daft IMHO, she does not speak up one whit when the male lead, Brandon, forces himself on her. Could she not have said a few words and clarified herself as she stood there after being brought to him? She displays no strength in any manner and just accepts anything & everything Brandon (or whomever) whips out at her. The male character of Brandon is no less flawed. He rapes her and not once throughout the book does he apologise or feel sorry for it. He's an absolute bully & rude to boot. He pushes around everyone around him, especially Heather who I think he thoroughly mentally abused. I did not like him one bit. He too did not display any depth of character. Why does Heather love him eventually? Not his strength or charm or kindness .. no, just because of the way he looks. Perhaps there was supposed to be something else, but that is all that is clear. It also annoyed me that Heather 'allowed' her rape by Brandon far more than the attempted ones by her cousin & the villain. I know that he perhaps was stronger & what-not, but gee .. she did not seem to put up much fight - probably just because he was good-looking. Also hated the portrayal of the villian in this book ... ugly people are bad huh? That just seems to be the theme here. I did nonetheless like Brandon's brother, Jeff. I thought Heather should have ditched Brandon and ran off with Jeff! He treated her with a respect a woman like Heather deserves. It seemed so unbelievable that Brandon & Jeff were brothers since they were so different. I think its plain to see that I didn't like this book at all. If you really want to read a great romance book, in my opinion THE best romance book and one of the best books of any genre - read 'Flowers From The Storm' by Laura Kinsale.
Rating: 
Summary: Romance Lover
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. Heather and Brandon are a great couple. I have read this book 3 times and have enjoyed it each time. Her sequeal Elusive Flame is excellant also.
Rating:
Summary: Part of a wonderful Trilogy
Review: I liked the Flame and the Flower almost as much as I enjoyed A Season Beyond a Kiss. Woodiwiss is my favorite romance author and I love everything she creates. The Flame and the Flower is no exception. Heather is a wonderful character, as is Brandon, and I enjoyed the fact that we got quite a bit of background on the characters before they even meet. Its also interesting to see them develop through the book, and the other 2 as well. I would recommend this trilogy to anyone willing to listen.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable but Intriguing
Review: Being a teenager of 17 myself, I could understand Heather to a certain degree. Being scared, running for your life, and having no one to turn to could make anyone scared. Heather was a child, like me in a lot of ways. She was terrified and being ravaged by a 35 year old man made it no better. I cried along with her. Brandon was infuriating, much like my own paramour (even though he is my age!) always teasing her. Heather was at times though, over sensitive. At least, a good part of the time, she was not afraid to be herself with Brandon. That I had to admire. And when he saw her with baby Beau, that melted my heart. He grew in the novel, and like many of us, he decided that while pride may last for a few years, true love lasts for ever.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful!
Review: Who couldn't love this book. This book actually had me crying and laughing along side it, so much so I read the entire novel in 1 night. The characters were described to such a degree I felt like actually knew them and as the book matures who couldn't do anything but love both Heather and Brandon and despise those who seeked to do them harm. I personally couldn't put it down and have since, reread this book in excess of 4 times.
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC!
Review: This is one of the first romances I'd ever read, and it's the one that got me addicted to the genre. It has faults. There is some mild racial stereo-typing, and maybe even some real sexism by today's standards. But this book was written to be ENJOYED, not analyzed. And enjoy it, you will! There will be times when you wish you were Heather, when you'd love to meet a man like Brandon, and when you wish the world were really like it is in this book. And most certain of all .... you'll be wanting to run to the store and get another romance when you're finished. It's a classic!
Rating:
Summary: this book is the best romance of all times
Review: I read this book at age 15 for the first time some 20 years ago. I STILL like to read this book to this day. For years, i would read it once a year, unfortunatley, I dont have the time to do this now, and have gone to maybe every 3-5 yrs. Brandon, was not a rapist, that is further explained in the book. Heather is NOT a ninny, just a very very young girl when this book begins, and a foreignor to the new country. If we all had loves like this, a love that OVERCOMES, then life would be wonderful. I have love, love that overcomes, and of course, I realize that only in fantasies are men actually like Brandon. I just feel that this book is about the only of quite a few novels i have read, in which you genuinely can feel the love they have for one another. These two characters are, without a doubt, the best and most interesting to come along. This book had it all, love and romance, times to cry, times to hate, times to worry, mystery, a hero and heroine, many stumbling blocks and the lesson that true love can win out, and that stubborness is truly a terrible quality. I would urge anyone 15 or over to read this book. The way I got started was, a class mate lent me her DAD'S copy. She had read and loved it, and her dad had enjoyed it, as it also gave the MAN's point of view, rather than just the woman's side, as so many books tend to do. I know I will encourage my nieces to read this book when they are older, and should I have a daughter......She will be urged to do the same. This book captured my heart 20 years ago, and still does. I would like to thank ms. Woodiwiss personally for this story. I just hope she continues to keep Heather and Brandon alive, as she did in "The Elusive Flame". thank you
Rating:
Summary: captivating
Review: just finished re-reading it for the third time. I love Brandon and Heather and wished they gotten things right quicker. One of Woodiwiss best.
Rating:
Summary: Verbal Equivalent to Torture
Review: To those reviewers who insist Brandon's character "grows" in the book, may I say, "He's a bloody rapist!" The only way a rapist could grow would be a religious conversion, and that he does not have. To those reviewers who actually believe this is a great piece of writing, may I observe that they have been wandering the wasteland of romance too long and they need to wander a couple of isles over to the "classic" section. Perhaps if they delve into the works of Dickens or Hardy or Austen or even Hemmingway, they might be able to discern the difference between a great writer and the verbal equivalent of fingernails scrapping a blackboard.
|
