The Reluctant Suitor

Rating:
Summary: Better than her last book but not by much
Review: This author will never compare to her earlier works of Shana and The Wolf and the Dove. She should just rest on the laurels of those books and not keep driving down her marketability by writing contrived drivel.
This book was only marginally better than her last and no where near the quality of earlier books. 'Nuff said.

Rating:
Summary: KW, I think I can help you . . .
Review: Does KW even read her reviews anymore. Her last three books have been dismall and while FATF was no literary masterpiece, and itself could use some additional editing, The Reluctant Suitor is so bad that I hardly know where to begin. But, can we not all agree that character and plot development would be a good start? I don't have any sense of what motivates any of these characters beyond sex, and even that is more complicated than KW would have us believe. Second, nothing really interesting happens in this story. A comparison with the FATF clearly illustrates the problem with RS. From the very beginning of FATF, Heather is caught in a web of deception, mistaken identity and fear, plagued by guilt over believing that she murdered her would-be rapist, and realizing Lady Hampton's prediction that the line between love and hate is "but a wit apart". Meanwhile, Brandon struggles to manage his guilt, anger and attraction to Heather, all of which challenge how he sees himself as a person. Subplots were forshadowed early in the book and more aggressively developed midway and tied neatly together at the end. Ultimately, we really do care about what happens to them (despite the now very outdated and frankly inappropriate erotization of sexual violence, now disturbing to me in a way it never was when I first read FATF at age 13). KW or whoever writes for her neglects to provide any hooks with which the reader can care about these characters, and if anything, by framing aristocrats and "nobles" more deserving and honorable than the "commoners" does nothing to engender our sympathy. Heather, Brandon, Shanna,Ruark and a host of her more developed character were neither impressed by or sought titles and if anything distained them.

Rating:
Summary: OMIGOD! (can't give zeros?)
Review: Couldn't even read this one. I'm sorry, but can it get any worse? I mean right away they start talking about sex and whatnot. I mean, you KNOW what'll happen, can't they at least make it interesting? And the author keeps on saying the same things over and over again. And then almost right after the two meet (and the girl grabs the guy in the crotch) they meet again, this time naked. There's no real foreplay, no imagination, it's all leading up the ultimate end which will be marriage while using the same words over and over and over and over again. EWW! Yes there are some good reviews. I only looked at them and thought well they liked it. Don't know why, it was absolutely insufferable.
Spend your money and time somewhere else, like ... Harry Potter ...

Rating:
Summary: Not Her Best Book - 3 1/2 Stars
Review: I started reading this book to prove the other reviewers wrong. I have always loved Ms Woodiwiss' books in fact I have all of them in Hard Back. The two biggest problems with this book is that the print is way to small and it has about 100 pages too long.

Ms Woodiwiss seems to get too involved in her secondary characters leaving Arianna and Colton to suffer along. The story between these two strong and intelligent people gets lost in the prose. Colton seems shallow and in the beginning 2 diminesional. Arianna is spoiled and to easily irrated to like in the beginning as well. It is not until the last third of the book that the story takes on any life.

I was nore than a little disappointed with the book. Since the author has put out so few I always eagerly await the next one. I hope she finds her muse for the next one.

Rating:
Summary: A Torturous and Laborious Read
Review: First of all, I'm embarrassed to state that I read this entire book. I kept thinking, "This has got to get better!" Well, let me warn you, every page is terrible and it never gets better. Adrianna, the spoiled heroine spends her entire life hurt and upset because she hears Colton state that he didn't want to marry her (AND SHE WAS SIX YEARS OLD)! Eventually, without a courtship, she marries him (sixteen years later) and they live happily ever after. Oh, and there are murders, sexual perversions and other side stories that make this a really boring book. There is no romance in this book so it should not even be called a romance novel.

Rating:
Summary: Still a FAN!!
Review: " The Reluctant Suitor" was not K.W.'s best but it's still better than the average romace being published. My first romance was "The Flame and the Flower,"... I've been hooked on romance ever since and I place that blame on K.W. I loved "The Wolf and the Dove" and "Ashes in the Wind." This book was simplistic compared to her earlier works. The characters were underdeveloped, the dialogue confusing and ran on at times. I'll overlook this book and hope her next one is up to her usual standards. Until then, I'm still a fan!

Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointed
Review: I wholeheartedly agree with the other negative reviews of this book. I read several of Woodwiss's books years ago and thoroughly enjoyed them. I cannot say the same for this book. The prose was clumsy and annoying at times. I did not know an author could use the word "orbs" so many times in one book (it seemed like she used it three or four times per page)! The plot line was also hard to believe since the heroine was supposed to have been so deeply wounded by a rejection she experienced at the age of six! I also found the romance between Colten and Adriana hard to believe as it progressed at the speed of light. I found myself more annoyed than entertained by this book. I am glad to see the other negative reviews of this book because I was concerned that perhaps I simply no longer cared for the romance genre. For anyone interested in a good, well-written historical romance I would highly recommend Diana Gabaldon's Highlander series. Those books are much more entertaining, engrossing and enjoyable than The Reluctant Suitor.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing suitor
Review: I have enjoyed reading the books written by Kathleen Woodiwiss for years. However, she has lost her touch with The Reluctant Suitor. The book lacked the sexual tension between the main characters which has always existed in her other novels. Her redundancy in the use of the word "orbs" to refer to both eyes and breasts became tedious. I hope that in her next novel Ms. Woodiwiss will rediscover her talent for writing and present a novel worthy of her talent.

Rating:
Summary: This book is great!
Review: Where has everyone's sense of romance gone!! This book is great. I am only halfway through and I cannot put it down!! I cant wait to read the rest....and to think that I have waited almost a month to read this due to the reviews it got!! Although it is not what some might enjoy and includes alot of flowery phrases, it is typical Woodiwiss and I love it so far!

Rating:
Summary: A reluctant reviewer
Review: Shanna, The Flame and the Flower and Ashes in the Wind are among my all-time favorite romance reads, but I couldn't finish this one. The cumbersome prose made it painful to read, and I didn't believe that beautiful Ariana--at what, age six?--could have been that devasted by Colton's rejection.