Rating: 
Summary: A ROMANCE CLASSIC
Review: I read this book for the first time way back in 1989, and since then, I have re-read it a number of times. Each time, its like re-visiting a favorite fairy tale. (I always did love Beauty and the Beast, before the Disney version...) The characters are memorable and entertaining, and it has a typical fairy-tale happy ending. It's not very deep or thought provoking - cotton candy for the brain - but very enjoyable. It is a classic, one that never makes it into my "donate to ---" pile like most of the other books I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Nearly Perfect!
Review: The author did a great job on this one! The whole book was interesting and the hero and heroine were very likable. I liked Christopher's mother, too.
Personally, though, I don't like it when a hero fights off villians in the nude. Such a turn-off. Otherwise, the book was well worth reading, more than once.
Rating:
Summary: Second Time Around
Review: I've just read A ROSE IN WINTER for the second time. I still enjoy the "Beauty and the Beast"/"Phantom of the Opera" plot. Keep in mind that this book was written before the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, so this was not as much in fashion at the time as it is now.The first time I read it (around 1986), I would have given it 5 stars. I was right with Erienne and was surprised by the ending.
Also, the romantic atmosphere of the book sweeps you along. This time around, I had to lower it a star because I believe the book's age is showing. For one thing, it is WAY TOO WORDY AND LONG. Secondly, Christopher and Erienne seem to be pretty thin characters really. And you don't even know what Christopher sees in her with the way that she continually treats him. Some of this, I believe, were staples of 1980s romances that just don't carry over today. However, that the book made such an impression on me that I wanted to read it a second time (something I rarely do) says something. I've also read COME LOVE A STRANGER twice. Which I must say is my favorite Kathleen Woodiwiss novel. Another good one is SHANNA. I would still recommend it for anyone to read for a first time. But once you know the plot, it may not hold up for the second.
Rating: 
Summary: From Slovenia
Review: She is my favorite writer. The Flame and the Flower was the first book I read and since than I am completly taken with her caracters. If only could exsist such a man or a woman. The male heroe is a perfect male I truly wish HE could exist.
I wish that Woodwiss would write more books like this. Couse lately her stories became transparent. You always know what will hapen next. Besides that I admire her cause she is a remarkable writer and writes wonderfull love stories, one could only dream of. And she is my idol. One review writer sad she always imagines caracter as a rock stars or actors. It is the same with me or at least I try to imagine one. So its the same for most readers too. Luna
Rating: 
Summary: It just goes on and on and on and...
Review: Die-hard romance readers or Woodiwiss fans may want to disregard my review, as I am neither of the above. I bought _A Rose in Winter_ because of my love for the "Beauty and the Beast" theme, eager to see what this particular author might bring to the classic tale. Basically, what happens is this: the lovely Erienne falls madly in heat with an American rogue, Christopher Seton, but is auctioned off in marriage to pay her father's gambling debts. The winning bridegroom is Lord Saxton, the local noble who has just returned to his lands after being presumed dead in a horrible fire years ago. He limps, and wears a mask to hide his face. Erienne marries him, while still lusting after Seton, and then the following things happen for the next 300 pages: (1)A boorish man tries to paw and/or rape Erienne, and she is rescued by a man, whether that be Seton, Saxton, the butler, or whoever happens to be handy. (Never mind that no man in that cultural milieu would have approached a lady of rank in that way. Especially with her husband or father in the next room. This would have been a great way to get killed, and everyone would have known it.)
(2)Christopher tries to seduce Erienne, and she fights him off, then wishes she hadn't.
(3)Saxton makes advances to Erienne, and she runs away in panic. These three scenes are repeated, over and over and over, ad nauseam. Finally I got bored, and since I already had figured out the Deep Dark Secret, I just skipped ahead to the ending. I think I skipped 100-150 pages, and I would bet I didn't miss much. This would have made a decent book at half the length, but it just didn't hold much interest after the nature of the Secret became obvious.
Rating:
Summary: Another One of Her best!
Review: This so far was my second favourite of KEW's books i have yet to read a few but i've read most of them and I love them all. When i read KEW's books i can never put them down. A ROSE IN THE WINTER was really good. I had very high hopes for this book because now i compare every romance book i read to THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER which no book has yet to bypass but this book was very close. Christopher has to be my favourite male character out of all of KEW's books that i have allready read. Read this book and you will love it!
Rating:
Summary: Romantic hearts beware
Review: Kathleen Woodiwiss has been able to capture the feelings of both the heroine and the hero in this story. The heroine would like to marry a man she can love but her father has other plans and her wishes don't coincide with them. The hero is seeking the truth for past misdeeds but finds his heart captured by a woman who has courage, beauty and compassion for everyone - including her scheming father. The mysteries woven into the story keep the heroine, and the reader, wondering who Lord Saxton and Christopher Seton are and what their purpose is for coming to this town. Well writen with great attention to detail throughout the book.
Rating:
Summary: Very predictable
Review: I was a little disappointed with this book. Having only read one other KW book (The Wolf and the Dove) years ago I was very excited that this might be of an equal standard... it wasn't. Although it has a nice enough story line it was all too predictable from the beginning. I found myself skipping paragraphs and even pages just to get to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely adored this book!!!
Review: This was my third Woodiwiss book and I absolutely loved it. I really enjoyed the others I've read but, this and Ashes in the Wind are, probaly, at the top of my list. The plot twists and turns made for an extremely enjoyable reading experience. When I first saw the book I thought it would be a long read because it is a fairly lengthy volume but, I was quite wrong. I couldn't put it down and the time flew by!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful romance, it reminds of Beauty and the Beast
Review: In a last attempt to raise the money he needs to pay off his gambling debts, Avery Fleming decides to sell his beautiful daughter Erienne to the highest bidder. The only man Erienne likes, Christopher Seton, is not allowed to bid. She ends up with whom she thinks to be the worst of all: Lord Saxton, a crippled man who wears a mask, covering his face which was burned in a fire. But Erienne's husband proves to be a gentle man, and she grows to care for him.
Then the handsome Christopher Seton returns and continues to woo her. Erienne tries not to give in, but that gets more difficult each time. She is torn between the two men in her life and realises she can't have them both. But how can she choose between her husband and Christopher? This is one of the best historical romances I've ever read. It was also the first, and I've been a historical romance addict since. Most of Ms. Woodiwiss' books are very good, but I like this one best. It's one of the few books I read over and over again.
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