Rosehaven

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Summary: Please notice the year the story takes place ?!
Review: After reading several reviews posted here, I have to ask if the people who "hated" the book, were offended by the story, and in general trashed the author, publisher and anyone else associated with the writing, actually took notice of the date in history when it took place..? I found it a refreshing smash of reality. Brutal in parts, certainly and at times offensive, but very readable. Relationships were of that nature, right or wrong, vastly different from what we would accept nowadays. I suggest if you want a flowery, la-la land romance, pick up a Harlequin and move along. The thing that did annoy me was the name of the book. It really meant nothing.( I have other thoughts on this story however, I wanted to address specifically what I've read about people saying they were offended.) Thankyou.

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Summary: Puts you right at the edge, Outstanding!!!
Review: Thanks Catherine for giving us a wonderful Novel. I beleive this book gave us a real twist. Even though some events in life aren't so pretty. Rosehaven shows how things can become intrigueing and complicated. I enjoyed the marten he was a nice little pet. Kind of made you think of your own pet. And some times they do seem to be able to read our minds. Especially, if he was that close to his master.

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Summary: Fun to read and interesting
Review: I dont agree with the reviews. I thought that it was excellent. I loved the charters. espically Mirana.

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Summary: Please don't buy this book
Review: Certain aspects of life in 1277 England have to be taken into consideration. The nature of the genre of explicit romance is familiar enough, and one does expect more or less explicit sex scenes. Having said all that, Coulter did go to the extreme. I felt sickened after reading the book. As mentioned in the previous reviews, there are rape scenes, scenes of humiliation, a "bad" character (Marjorie) that gets one of the "good" guys and a castle, as well as the kid, for keeps. But the problem is not the rape scenes alone. Other books that contain rape scenes (for example Whitney My Love) treat the rape in a way that encourages the reader to put it in context - but not this book. By far one of the worst romance novels I have read. Finishing it, I was glad that I read other books by the same author (like The Wild Baron) that are far better.

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Summary: Disappointing!
Review: I've always loved Catherine Coulter's way with storytelling, but this went too far. When you immediately start this book, you can sense something is going to be wrong with it. The characters weren't developed in their personalities. And Hastings(the heroine) fought against Severin's utter obtuseness and stupidity in the beginning, but resigned herself to her fate when she was told to give up the struggle. Severin(the so-called hero) told her that she was ordinary and would never have any feelings for her, and he didn't even have the shame of knowing that he'd wronged Hastings. It seemed to me that there were one too many encounters where rape would be the operative word. And the novel's namesake, Rosehaven, was included only as an afterthought and almost entirely ridiculous. The real romantic relationship should have been between Gwent(Severin's man-at-arms) and the Healer(Hastings' herb supplier and teacher). I think I'll just remove all memory of ever reading this book from my mind; right after I finish writing this review. And I know Catherine can do better but no worse.

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Summary: A travesty of written words.
Review: Being a romance novel does not excuse a book from having utterly no positive qualities as a piece of literature. The characters in this book are shallow and quite unbelievable -- the hero is singularly one-sided and the heroine actually loses character as the story progresses. On the topic of the story -- what story? The first three quarters of the book teases with the promise of something fascinating in the book's namesake, however, this illusion to too quiclky dispelled as the author was not able to make good her promise of a reason for the book's very existence. Furthermore, any credibility in the plot is butchered with some turns and twists near the end that are telltale signs of last moment attempts to patch this failure of a novel by adding some old fashioned miraculous happily-ever-after-ness. The final product -- a book more contrived and less worthy than any other read by this critic.

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Summary: I loved this book!
Review: Rosehaven is vintage Coulter. I enjoyed it completely, literally devouring the delicious "alpha" male. This was nearly as good as Devil's Embrace.

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Summary: This is a story of beating someone until they submiss.
Review: The title of the book has nothing to do with the content.I found the marten; Trist to have skills that were not believable. This animal seemed to read minds and even sat on Hastings when Severin ordered him too. There are many examples of that in the book. The animal was cute but it took up too much of the book. I did not like the message in the book which was to dominate and suppress the women. Rape them into compliance. Beat then when they dared disobey. Continually telling them that are owned by their husbands. Hastings was tied up to the Wolfhound dog in front of the dinner table while all ate. I was shocked at the degradation. Marjorie should have recieved punishment for what she did but instead she got what she wanted. The book made me angry. I felt that it degraded women with the scenes of rape, humiliation and beatings. This is not a love story, it's a sad story. I didn't hate the book, it's the message it gave that I hate.

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Summary: I truly despised this book.
Review: From beginning to end, the characters and plot were offensive and insulting to my intelligence and dignity as a reader. I was, and am still, so angry about the waste of my money, that I am writing this review to inform other potential buyers of what it is they are considering purchasing. The hero is a selfish and arrogant bore who looks upon his wife, serfs and livestock with equal disrespect. Throughout the story, he is callous and demeaning to his wife, refers to her as his posession, regards her as nothing more than a brood mare, brutally disciplines and publicly humilitates her to break her to his will. The heroine begins the story as a practical and pragmatic woman with a slight temper. But by the end she's nothing more than a marionette dancing to his moods. The supporting cast, almost without exception, support the hero's authority to do whatever he wills, whether it's to maintain a mistress in his household or beat and rape his wife. Even the servants supposedly loyal to the heroine who have served her since childhood advise her that all is her fault, and that she's unwomanly and should accept her place. Also, the plots runs somewhat unevenly. The keep for which the novel is titled, and hinted at as important throughout the story only appears towards the end as little more than an afterthought. I read this novel from start to finish with the same kind of appalled horror and fascination you experience when you witness a horrific traffic accident; You cannot tear your eyes away but it's nonetheless sickening. I am so disappointed I will never buy anything written by this author, or published by this publisher, ever again. While I cannot debate the hisorical accuracy of attitudes and cultural mores detailed in ROSEHAVEN, I can say with complete sincerity that I have no desire to read about them.

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Summary: Rape, rape, and more rape...
Review: This is NOT a love story - it is a tale of power, cruelty, and submission. Coulter has an eye for detail, but seems to have a preoccupation with the subjugation of women. This novel contains four separate rapes (not to mention other assorted snipets of domestic violence) *all* perpetrated by the "hero," Severin. The first was unfortunately a medieval necessity to consumate the marriage. The others, admittedly, by Severin himself, were a method of punishment and humiliation designed to bring Hastings, the female protagonist to heel. Severin contends that Hastings deserves this punishment because she is not subservient enough for his misogynistic tastes. At one point in the story he tries to convince her that she wasn't forced because he "used the cream." That is akin to saying that women today aren't "really" raped when their attacker uses a condom, because a form of protection was used. This was my first Coulter novel and undoubtedly my last. Romance novels are primarily written and read by women. What does this say about us as a society when one of America's most popular and revered authors writes something glorifying the denigration of women? - Christine Allen-Riley