Winterset

Rating:
Summary: My first Camp novel - not so much romance as suspense
Review: As I said above, this is my first novel by Candace Camp. Having read wuch wonderful reviews on here I thought I would pick it up. It is a nice novel...I did like the main characters very much and it was unique. In general I tend to like novels with more dialogue than this, but Candace Camp writes so well and I barely noticed!
My one real issue with the novel is that there is much more suspense, in my opinion, than romance. The following may be a spoiler for some but in a novel that is just over 400 pages, the actual "encounter" did not occur until after page 375. Like I said, it was a good read, but nothing out of the ordinary. I do think I will read some of her previous works beacuse it appears that authors usually move towards suspense from romance, so some earlier works are probably a little bit mroe romantic. Authors I like are Gaelen Foley, Lisa Kleypas, Judith McNaught and Iris Johansen.

Rating:
Summary: entertaining romantic suspense
Review: Because of the otherworldly phenomena that impacted his sisters, Reed Moreland worries about Anna Holcomb, who has visions. Though she rejected his attempts to court her, he decides to return to WINTERSET to insure she is okay because he believes she is in trouble.

Anna is stunned to see the man she love return to her as she was positive he would never come back for her let alone try to keep her safe. She never told him that she loved him and still does. Ending their relationship was for his sake as she believes madness flows through her veins. That is why she and her brother Kit vow to never marry. However, Reed risks his life to keep Anna safe as the Beast is killing anyone associated with the Holcombs.

This entertaining romantic suspense feels somewhat like a gothic tale, but what hooks readers is whether The Beast has supernatural skills. The heroine is an interesting protagonist who loves Reed, but wants him out of her life for fear of his safety. Her pact with her sibling to end the gene pool with them will touch the audience. Fans will appreciate this tense thriller while wondering if the seemingly paranormal is real or not.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: ok read, just not up to the previous books in this series
Review: Being a big fan of Candace Camp I was a bit disappointed in this novel following along with Reed of the "mad" Morelands. I believe Anna's character was a bit too forceful and yet on the complete opposite was Reed's character. While male 'feelings' are applausible, his heart on the sleeve and begging left me thinking what a wimp. I would have like the hero if he didn't grovel so much for any affection from Anna, did he have no pride? The story itself was interesting and given society's views on mental illness, believable. Looking forward to the next Moreland's story.

Rating:
Summary: a good read
Review: The third in a series featuring the Moreland siblings who all seem to have some mystical abilities, "Winteset" is Reed Moreland's (the younger son of the duke) story. Three years before the story proper begins, Reed Moreland, bought the Winterset estate in Gloucestershire, with the thought of settling down there. And he fell completely in love with the beautiful Miss Anna Holcombe (her maternal relatives used to own Winterset), and believed completely that she returned his feelings. So that he was quite shattered when she, with great firmness, rejected his offer of marriage. Leaving Gloucestershire and vowing never to return, Reed has laboured valiantly to forget Anna, but with little success. And when, in the beginning pages of the novel, has a nightmare that Anna is danger of her life, he decides to leave for Winterset in order to keep an eye on Anna. But how to cope with seeing Anna everyday and not allow the anger, bitterness and absolute love he has for her cloud his judgement? And then one of the female servants who works for the Halcombes goes missing and is found brutally murdered in a manner reminiscent of a couple of unsolved murders committed 50 years ago. Then people whispered that the Winterset Beast (part human, part wolf) was responsible for the murders that took place in the neighbourhood. Is the Beast responsible for this current murder? Or is the murderer only all too mortal as Reed suspects? Fearing for Anna's safety, Reed vows to discover who this mad murderer is, and to protect the lady he loves in spite of her seeming indifference to him...

"Winterset" is a nice little gothicky romance novel that proved to be a rather absorbing read. The author did a very good job in portraying all the angst that both Reed and Anna feel, as well as the simmering passion that they feel for each other. The "gothicky" subplot dealing with the dark secrets in Anna's family and the murders that plague the village was rather well done too. My only reservations came from two factors: 1) the language: I understand that many authors feel that writing in an old fashioned manner may seem anachronistic. But surely there is no need to make the characters sound so very, very 20th century American either? And 2) I couldn't help but feel that the inclusion of Reed's sister, Kyria (featured in "Beyond Compare"), and his twin younger brothers hampered the smooth flow and tightness of the storyline. There was so much happening anyway so that even though it was nice to know that Kyria was very happily married now with a child of her own, I really didn't think that she was all that vital to the story at hand, and actually got in the way. All in all though, "Winterset" was an enjoyable and absorbing read.

Rating:
Summary: It's Cold Outside, Curl Up With Winterset
Review: What do you think of when someone says the word, "Gothic?"

Do you think of moody moors, craggy trees, moonless nights, crumbling old manor homes? Does your pulse race a bit?

IF you define gothic as moody, haunted, thrilling, and a bit frightening, you want to read Winterset. Candace Camp is a wonderful writer. Her stories never disappoint me, her characters always entertain me. Winterset has a good plot and the characters provided a good reed (pun intended).

I know some reviewers might feel there wasn't enough romance in Winterset (which is a subjective thing. Frankly, there was plenty of romance for me. Enough to make me root for the characters, but not so much that it was just one big "suck face fest."

I particularly liked the Uncle Charles character - with his unsettling madness.

WARNING: SPOILER COMING
My only negatives were:
1. Mrs. Bennett's speech and behavior (and even her name) was right out of a Jane Austen novel. She seemed too pat, too to type.
2. The ending bummed me out. I know it is a romance and everything had to be tied up neatly, with a pretty little bow. Frankly, though, I would have preferred it if Anna truly was related to mad people. I would have liked the hero to make a declaration that he would love her through sanity and madness, and society be damned. The author's ending seemed a bit too convienent, a way to appease the superficial romance readers who would not like a heroine from a mad family. That's sad to me. I say, let her be from stark raving lunatics. It makes her more sympathetic and her achievements greater.