Dear Cary - By Dyan Cannon

I decided to read this book because I am a fan of Cary Grant and I was curious to find out what it is about Dyan Cannon that Mr. Grant fell in love with a woman 33 years younger than he was. I read some reviews where the readers are criticizing Dyan Cannon and I really don't clearly understand why.   As I read the book I could see that Miss Cannon really loved Cary Grant and wanted their marriage to work.  Dyan Cannon was an old fashioned girl and Cary Grant fell in love with her.  Dyan was not easy to pin down and get into bed like so many other women are even in daily life with men who are not famous movies stars. I have to give Miss Cannon kudos for that.  Some readers of this book do not believe that Dyan Cannon was such an innocent back then but that is their problem.  In this book Dyan Cannon came off to me as being very honest about her life and her feelings.  

Once Dyan Cannon realized that she was truly in love with Cary Grant she made some choices that were not the best, such as agreeing to take LSD when in her gut she didn't really want to and knew it was dangerous. When women are madly in love we do stuff like that just to please the man we love.  Miss Cannon did put up great resistance for a long time but then allowed Cary Grant to break her down. One should never allow another person to make us throw away our core values. 

I was really shocked to learn through this book that Cary Grant took LSD and thought it was so wonderful. Mr. Grant believed that taking LSD brought you closer to God. It is important to remember that at the time Cary Grant was taking LSD it was legal. It is also important to remember that Cary Grant had a horrible childhood that affected his entire life. I don't believe that Dyan Cannon wrote about this aspect of Cary to criticize him. It was simply a factor that helped to destroy their relationship. Some readers say that Miss Cannon should not have written about it since Cary Grant is no longer here to defend himself, but Cary Grant never denied that he took LSD so it is not as if she was telling a big secret of his. Mr. Grant even admitted it in an interview that he did for LOOK magazine back in the 1960's when the drug was still legal. 

I was enchanted with the way Cary Grant pursued Miss Cannon. He was very persistent and quite romantic.  Aside from Cary's personal demons he was still a charming and wonderful man and basically a good person.  Cary Grant loved Dyan and loved being in a relationship with her.  There were times when Miss Cannon could be silly and immature but you have to remember that she was 33 years younger than Cary so her behavior often had to do with her age.  I think that Cary Grant really appreciated the vitality of her youth and how she embraced life with such joy.

 Cary Grant was 62 years old when he became a father.

I found Dear Cary a very interesting book to read.  So much so that I read it through in one day.  I think that Cary Grant will always remain the great love of Dyan Cannon's life.

As of this blog post Dyan Cannon is 76 years old. 

3 Stars

Paris Versus New York - By Vahram Muratyan

I have been watching so many period movies lately and now I find myself behind on my 2013 Goodreads book challenge.  Today, I decided to read a book that I purchased about a month ago on Amazon.  Paris Versus New York is not really a book that you read as there are very few words contained in it.  The author, Vahram Muratyan, is a graphic artist who grew up in Paris and decided to live in New York for a while.  Muratyan makes comparisons between New York and Paris using colorful graphic images.  I found the book really cute and fun.   

 

3 Stars

My Life in France: Julia Child

I finished reading this book this morning, and I absolutely loved it.  I have always respected and admired Julia Child.  I remember watching The French Chef on PBS when I was a little girl.  

I found this book to be completely engaging from the the first page to the last. Reading about Julia Child's experiences living in France during the 40's and 50's pulled me right into the story.  It was enchanting and Julia is the type of person I would want to travel with.  Julia was so very opened to adventure and embracing life. Embracing life with love, laughter and adventure and joy is the only way to live as far as I am concerned.

Julia in France

 

Julia was born Julia Carolyn McWilliams on August 15, 1912 in Pasadena, California.  Julia grew up in a household where not even her mother cooked.  The family had someone to come in and cook meals for them.  Julia's father John was a staunch republican and Julia later on became a staunch democrat.    Julia had no interest at all in cooking until she married Paul Child whom she met in Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka).  
  

Julia in class at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France.

 

Julia found that she loved cooking and being in the kitchen.  Cooking became an obsession for Julia.  She loved everything about it including the preparation to begin cooking  I admire Julia's love of cooking and being in the kitchen.   I enjoy cooking too and love my kitchen, so I can totally relate to Julia's insistence on creating the perfect professional kitchen to cook in for herself.  I loved reading about her copper pots, heavy mortar and pestle and other kitchen gadgets. I am crazy about all that stuff too.   I also loved reading about all the fresh ingredients that were used in the cooking of all the food.  
 

 I knew that Julia was tall, but I had no idea that she was 6'2" tall. 

I am so happy to know that Julia had a very loving and supportive husband in Paul Child.

My Life in France, is also a travel essay.  Julia describes Paris the way it was in the 1940's and 1950's and does and excellent job of it too.  Julia made me wish that I could have experienced Paris back then too.  
 

 Stairs in Monmartre

In the book Julia also tells the story of how she came to be one of the authors of Mastering The Art of French Cooking for American audiences.  

This is a photo  of Julia Child's kitchen when she relocated back to the United States.
 

Julia Carolyn McWilliams Child (1912 - 2004).  Julia was 91 years old when she left us.

5 Stars

The Infinite Way

After spending many years in search of the truth of existence, Joel S. Goldsmith wrote The Infinite Way.  If you want to know what exactly Joel Goldsmith taught this is the book to start with.  It contains all of the basics of Mr. Goldsmith's spiritual teaching.  It is important to get a copy of the original version that Joel Goldsmith wrote in 1947.  From what I read, later publications contain modifications by the publisher.  The Infinite Way is about man's search for God that literally is within us and IS us.  It contains a lot of metaphysical principles written in a clear modern way so that everyone can easily understand it.   I thouroughly enjoyed reading The Infinite Way and it will remain a part of my permanent library.

 5 Stars

My Lady Gisborne

My Lady Gisborne, A Love Story is a follow up book to The Tempest by the same author.  In The Tempest, Guy of Gisborne and his wife Cassia are deeply in love and they have four children together.  In My Lady Gisborne, several years have passed and their children are much older.  Guy and Cassia have been married for 18 years.  After so many years of marriage Guy and Cassia are still deeply in love and their family is a very close knit one.  

The storyline revolves around their daughter Evelyn Elizabeth Gisborne.  When Evelyn was  a baby Guy promised her hand in marriage to the son of a dear friend and fellow nobleman, Basil Jean-Carre.  When Evelyn is fifteen years old she finally meets her betrothed Simon Jean-Carre'.  It had been arranged that Evelyn would marry Simon the day after her sixteenth birthday.  Now remember this is a medieval love story so marrying at 16 is common.    Evelyn is now 15 years old and it is time for her to meet the 23 year old young man that she is betrothed to.  However, Evelyn also meets Rene' Jean-Bastien who is a nobleman turned rogue.  Which man will Evelyn choose to marry?

I did not care for Rene' from the start.  I thought he was immature, way too arrogant and selfish.  I was not happy when Evelyn started to fall for Rene'.  Simon Jean-Carre' is a handsome and decent man of noble birth, but he is a bit cold and believes that his duty to the Crown is most important in life.  Having a wife was good but he only saw that as a backdrop to life.  Being under the same roof with the Gisbornes changes all of that.  Simon truly falls in love with Evelyn and he wants to have a close knit family of his own like the Gisborne's.

Even though I did not care for the Rene' Jean-Bastien character, it did add immensely to the storyline.  Rene's feelings for Evelyn forced Simon to realize the depth of his love for her.  For a man who was not used to expressing the tenderness of love in words and emotions the threat of Rene' forced Simon 's raw feelings to surface and remain there.

I cherished Guy of Gisborne even more in this book.  Guy's love for his children is so strong.  The day that Guy had to give Evelyn away in marriage touched me deeply.  I could feel Guy's emotions as he had to let go of his daughter to a life of her own.  

I really enjoyed this book by Charlotte Hawkins so much.  It was a great continuation of a wonderful love story.  I will forever love the Gisborne's through this author's books.

4 Stars     

   

Italy: Rediscovering the Art of Vacation

I just finished reading this book and it did take me longer to read it than I thought it would.  I enjoyed it very much but here and there it was just a tad bit tedious.  This book is about Chris Brady taking a month long vacation-sabbatical with his family.  The Brady's head for Italy which is a country that Chris has been to before and drawn to.  I love Chris's sense of adventure.  When I get married that is the type of husband I want to end up with.  I don't see taking a month out of one's life to spend in Italy or anyplace you ever dreamed of impossible.  You can make anything happen if you have the burning desire to do so.  If you think something is not possible then you don't want it badly enough. 

Chris, his wife Terri and four children head for the Amalfi coast first.  The Brady's first rent a villa apartment that overlooks the Mediterranean sea.  Their adventures in that part of the region pulls me in and keeps me reading. After a week or so the family heads to another region of Italy and rent a villa called La Contea in Tuscany.  I found their adventures there equally interesting and I want to visit Italy now more than ever.  Throughout the entire book Chris spices it up with humor.  Having a sense of humor is another great personality trait to have in a spouse. 

What sticks out clearly is the love and closeness of this family and I think that added to the wonderful time they had in Italy.  I admire the Brady family.  Terri is a very supportive wife.  Another person who reviewed this book saw that as a weakness and wrote that Terri seems like a person who just goes along with everything her husband wants.  There is a difference between being a doormat and being supportive.  Terri is loving and supportive.  How wonderful it would be if we all had spouses who loves us enough to want our dreams to come true and participates in it.  Terri, who loves to cook, goes off on her own in Italy one day to take a cooking class.  I enjoyed reading about that.  Chris Brady is a father who takes part in his children's raising and does not leave it all to mommy, even though Terri does most of it being a full time mom.  Chris clearly loves and appreciates his wife and children.  He never takes any of them for granted and the entire family has a strong spiritual base.

The Bradys visit so many historical places that most people just read about in books.  Chris made them all come alive ofr me and I would stop to Google many of them.  I cannot wait to visit the Vatican, the Temple of Neptune, etc.

Chris Brady clearly spent thousands of dollars on this trip and I would have liked to know how much it cost him.   The books contains lots of advice and tidbits that are good to know.

4 Stars

Believe In Love

I just finished reading this book on my Kindle and enjoyed it very much.  It is a contemporary romance story that is a fast read.  The storyline kept me engaged and moved along at a good steady pace.  The hero is Carson Waverly, a very handsome and wealthy architect and owner of luxury hotels in Hawaii called The Waverly.  Carson is a womanizer who because of his past does not believe in love; at least not for himself.  Carson has dated many beautiful women, including international models, but none were able to keep his interest until he meets Molly Carson, a very pretty but dowdy, naive and inexperienced nurse from Idaho.

Molly travels to Kauai to sprinkle the ashes of her best friend Roger into the ocean in Hawaii.  It is one Roger's last requests before he passed away.  On Molly's first day in Kauai she meets Carson Waverly and from there this beautiful love story unfolds.

There is an element of intrigue that gives the storyline the right amount of lift.  

The only thing that I raised my eyebrows a little about the story is that Carson Waverly was deliberately planning to sleep with someone (Molly) who is a paying customer in his hotel.  That element just did not seem professional to me.  Carson Waverly is obviously a very smart man who takes his business seriously so that part did not match his personality, even though he was a self proclaimed womanizer.

This book also contains intimate acts of making love between Molly and Carson so if you are offended my that this is a warning for you.  Yes, I was blushing.  

4 Stars  

 

The Tempest A Guy of Gisborne Story

 A Richard Armitage fan on Pinterest highly recommended that I read this book The Tempest A Guy of Gisborne Story.  Since the Kindle version is only $3.99 I decided to pucrhase it.   I started reading it the next day and I literally could not put the book down until I finished the story.  It is written by Charlotte Hawkins.

I really enjoyed reading this book.  A couple of people on amazin hated it but I don't get that at all.  I found the storyline to be very engaging.  It was nice to see Guy of Gisborne find the true love of his life and I was glad that it was not Marian.  It was also nice to see Guy's transformation from a man who was wicked and cruel to a man who deep down had a good decent side to him and was really ashamed of the way he acted and the lives he ruined.  

Cassia DeWarren is the woman who loved Guy of Gisborne and was able to see through him to his soul.  She saw that deep down there was goodness in him and with her love she brought that aspect of Guy to the fore.   At the start of the story Guy is still obssessed with Marian, but after he is injured and left unconscious, his body was found by Cassia and her father Robert DeWarren.  Cassia and Robert managed to bring Guy's body to the house and from there worked on his injuries which were very serious and life threatening.  As Cassia's unwilling patient Guy gets to know Cassia who is of peasant birth.  Being in constant close proximity with Cassia, Guy is forced to get to know her better.  The more Guy gets to know Cassia the more he is drawn to her as a person.  Guy is also physically drawn to Cassia.  She is a dark beauty just as Marian was but instead of having green eyes Cassia's eyes are dark.

 In the BBC Robin Hood series Richard Armitage plays Guy of Gisborne and you can easily recognize Richard's protrayal of the character in this book.

 

 

Over time Guy of Gisborne realizes that he is in love with Cassia and that his love for Marian paled in comparison.  Cassia inspires Guy to want to be a better person and he is ashamed of the misery and heartbreak that he caused in the past.          

Guy of Gisborne is extremely amorous in this book and it does contain detailed lovemaking scenes.  Some people do find this sort of thing uncomfortable, but I don't as long as it is written tastefully and is connected to love and not base lust.  For being such a formerly cruel person Guy is a very sweet, tender, considerate and passionate lover who has no problems expressing himself in the bedroom.   I was blushing as I was reading the love scenes.

 

If I am not mistaken the author of this book based Guy of Gisborne on Richard Armitage's portrayal of him in Robin Hood.  In the book Guy had the same way of smirking that Richard brought to the character.  They have the same brooding and arrogant temperament.    

 

 



Thank you Richard Armitage and thank you Charlotte Hawkins for a great book.  Click HERE to go the the author's blog.  This is the first and only book I have read by her.  Miss Hawkins does wrote "adult" books.  I enjoyed this one and was not offended but I am not sure about the others.  Some people may consider her books soft porn which I am not into either.  I may give another one of her books a try since I enjoyed this one so much.     

5 Stars

Lovers Path to Enlightenment by Akasha & Asun

This is an absolutely outstanding and insightful book for those on the spiritual path to resurrection and ascension. I love Ascended Masters Akasha and Asun. I am very thankful for their service to life.

This books contains information that if you are not ready for it will be very difficult to absorb. If you are ready for it though, it is a wonderful path to true freedom. 

5 Stars

Mindful Journeys: Paris and Other Illusions

I really enjoyed this book very much.  I love travel essays but not everyone can write about their travels in a way that keeps me engaged.  This book kept me engaged.  I also loved the photos and web-links.  It brings a new spin to eBooks that I really appreciate and think is fun.  Since I am working on a book I now have an idea of how I can make it more interesting. 

After reading this travel essay Prague is now on my list of places that I MUST visit.  There is balanced writing about food, museums, the people, and the general take on living in the various places.  I do get a sense that Europe has been a bit spoiled by all the tourists with Paris being a MAJOR tourism spot.  I would have loved to know Paris before that happened.  I think I would love to visit these places during off season.

This book is also a fast read.  I could have finished in one day but you know life intrudes sometimes.  This is the second book that I read by E, Journey and both did not disappoint. 

You can visit E. Journey's website by clicking Here.        

Semi-Sweet: A Novel of Love and Cupcakes

A lot of times I am drawn to a book because of the title and book cover art.  Such is the case with this novel.  This is delightful chick literature.  I found Semi-Sweet to be an easy read and enough to keep me interested until the end.  I love and admire Hannah Robinson.  Her boyfriend Patrick of almost two years leaves her for another woman and moves out on the night before Hannah opens her cupcake shop.  Of course Hannah is devastated but instead of falling apart completely she immerses herself in her new business to try to get over her loss.  Hannah does have her moments where she just has to let go and cry, but she does not fall into self pity for too long.  

Patrick is a dog, and I was so happy that Hannah was spared a life of hell with him.   The other woman Leah deliberately got pregnant by Patrick to force him to break up with Hannah and move in with her but by the time Leah was halfway through her pregnancy I started to feel sorry for her too.   Leah's part in the breakup is of course awful, but no one deserves a dog like Patrick.  Leah should have figured that if Patrick could cheat on Hannah with her that he was not beyond doing the same thing to her, which he did. 

I really disliked Adam's sister Nora because she behaved like such a tramp and a super snob.  Nora looked down on others when she was the one to be pitied.

My favorite couple throughout the entire book is Adam and Vivienne.  Adam was able to look past the invisible wall that Vivienne erected around herself and see a woman that could bring him happiness.  The trouble that Adam went through to try to get to know Vivienne is so modern day "Jane Austen".  How many men today would do all of that to pursue a woman as shy and unconventional as Vivienne.  It was so sweet of him to notice her in the first place.

Semi-Sweet contains other sub plots.  It takes place in a small town in Ireland named Clongarvin where everyone knows everyone elses business and lives are intertwined.

3 Stars

     

The Tapestry of Love

 

*This review does contain spoilers*

 

This is a good book, but I do have mixed feelings about it. I loved the setting in rural France. I loved the Catherine character and I am always excited for any woman who is brave enough to start a whole new chapter of her life in another country.

Descriptions of places, actions and things certainly makes a story come alive, but in this book the author goes way overboard with it for my liking. The endless descriptions in detail made this book very tedious for me to get through. Most of the book to me is describing things, places and actions. Unless you love that type of writing style it can be challenging. I don't much care for it and that is mostly why I gave this book only 3 stars. The endless descriptions was bordering on boring for me Strangely enough there was very little descriptions of how the characters looked. I wondered all through this story what Catherine looked like.

I suspected that Patrick was in love with Catherine all along; even after Bryony came to visit and he slept with her the evening she had dinner with him alone while Catherine had business to tend to. I wondered why he did it. Why did he further entertain Bryony during her sabbatical? Why if he loved Catherine would he sleep with her sister? His explanation at the end I found to be so 21st century male. John Thornton in N&S would have been more respectful of the woman he loved. Well, at least Patrick did admit to being no saint. I was disappointed in Catherine's reaction when she figured out that Bryony and Patrick slept together the night before. She was way too passive about it. Her sister intruded on her budding relationship with Patrick and that is just not acceptable behavior. I am sure that Bryony knew from the start that Patrick cared very much for Catherine.

The premise of this story is a good one, but for me the telling of it was done in a tediously drawn out way. I have read many love stories before that were just as long, but I was kept a lot more engaged and interested as I kept reading. By the middle of this book I was looking forward to finishing it. I was thrilled that Patrick finally told Catherine how much he cares for her and that it was always "Cat-rine".   Their overall relationship is not quite the romance-love story that I thought it was going to be.

There are many avid readers who loved this book so please do not let my review of it stop you from reading it.  It is a good story.   I simply wish that it was not so wordy in descriptions.

3 Stars

The Spinster & The Beast

I really dislike this cheesy looking book cover

 I had to give this romance novella 4 stars even though there are a few spelling errors and other things I did not like.  It is almost the perfect romance story.  The premise is really great and so it could have happily been a longer book.  I think the letter writing back and forth between the hero and the heroine could have been stretched out.  I also did not care for the use of the word "snot" or the scene with Nan and the ear wax.  OMG!  Those things took away from the quality of the writing and were gross. 

Never the less, I was not distracted away from the beauty and message of this story.   Some people reviewing this book on amazon gave it low ratings because they focused on historical accuracy and the fact that the book is so short.  I think that when you spend time over analyzing things what happens is that you miss what is really important.  This story is a tale of two people making a soul to soul connection that defies convention and is the true nature of love.  It is the same type of connection that John Thornton had for Margaret Hale and that Mr. Darcy had for Elizabeth Bennett.

This is the second book by this author that I read and both were extremely enjoyable.  Some may be put off by the name of the book, but it really is a novella of substance.  I LOVED IT!!!  I will definitely read it again

4 Stars

    

Cinderella's Wedding Wish

This book was very sweet.  It was predictable and cliche but I enjoyed it never the less.  I really liked the hero and heroine.  It was a bit of a breathe of fresh that the heroine was not your cliche perfect drop dead gorgeous female that are in most romance books.  Romance writers tend to convey the message that a handsome man with all the best qualities could never fall deeply in love with a women who is not a "perfect" physical specimen.  I remember once reading a romance novel where the hero fell in love with the heroine who was attractive and full figured.  Women of all shapes, sizes and beauty is worthy to be loved.  Jessica Hart writes very nice romance stories that are easy and quick to read.

3 Stars

Newlyweds of Convenience

A lovely romance story that I could not put down until I finished reading it.  The fact that it included a castle in the Scottish Highlands made it all the more romantic.  I loved the hero Torr McIver.  As much as he tried to hide the depth of his love for the heroine you could still sense it.  I loved the businessman side of him as well as the part of him that could find happiness in the Scottish countryside.  I find that quite a sexy combination.

   I found Mallory the heroine quite frustrating.  Her former fiance was a con-man yet she continued to pine after him for quite some time after he walked out on her leaving her in huge debt and her career shattered.  Mallory was also constantly arguing with Torr for no good reason.  After what Torr did for Mallory she should have been more respectful to him.  Granted their marriage was approached as a business arrangement, but Mallory had to be totally self absorbed to not, at least, suspect that Torr had real feelings for her.   

The ending is precious and I wanted it to be a little longer.  This book is a cute and fast read.

4 Stars

 

Captain Wentworth's Diary

I probably would not have read this book without reading about its recommendation in the Jane Austen group on Goodreads.  I am so glad I read it.  I loved it!  It is so nice to read Persuasion completely through Captain Wentworth's eyes.  The author Amanda Grange did a wonderful job.

Captain Wentworth is so mature and only wants to marry for love.  The Captain's love for Anne is constant.  Regardless of his pride and doubts the Captain continues to move forward to regain the love of his life.  I love Captain Wentworth more than Mr. Darcy.  This book is a very easy read too because it is written in diary style.

5 Stars     

A Chateau in Provence

I loved the French location of the book.  The storyline was intriguing but it got confusing trying to keep track of all the participants in the caper and who all the bad guys were.  It is light and fast to read but not well written.

2 Stars

Tout Sweet: Hanging Up My High Heels for A New Life in Rural France

The best part about this book is the dilapidated old house in the French countryside that Karen restored all on her own.  I have done the same thing myself but here in the states instead.  As a single woman it is very satisfying knowing that I could take on such a huge project like that.  There are couples who would run from it, but I did it.  It took me longer than a year though to restore my brownstone.
 

Deep heartbreak from a broken relationship prompted Karen to buy an old house in rural France and leave behind her life in London.  In the year that it took Karen to restore the house she grew so much as a person.  I was overjoyed when she finally was able to move on from Eric.  I am very proud of Karen Wheeler.  I just wished that every darned relationship afterwards would not turn sour.

It was challenging trying to keep straight all the people Karen met in France and all the shenanigans of their personal lives.  Karen seemed to be surrounded by a bunch of weirdos.  

It wish that Karen included some photos of her beautiful home in rural France.  I would have liked to see some before and after pictures.  

The ending of the book throws out some promise.  I enjoyed Tout Sweet enough to make me want to read Karen Wheeler's other books.  I am rooting for her.

3 Stars

        

Hidden in Paris

I enjoyed reading this book.  It was wonderful reading about these three women and how their lives changed within 6 months of living together under the same roof in France. I was most proud of Lola.  Underneath her fears and insecurities she still was able to dig deep and find her true self again.   I loved Lucas.  Imagine loving someone so much that you patiently wait for them to realize that you both belong together.  I loved how supportive Lucas was of Annie even when he did not agree with the things she wanted to do.  Lucas was always there for her through the thick and the thin.  I do wish that the author gave a better description of Annie.  I was trying to imagine what she looked like in my mind but it was a challenge with such limited description of her.

I love any book that includes food and the preparation of it.  I loved that Annie enjoyed cooking and prepared meals with careful attention.  She reminded me a little bit of Susan Herman Loomis.  Annie is a firebrand and I enjoyed her lively take charge personality.   She certainly is passionate.  

 The descriptions of Paris and Anne's house and garden are exhilarating.  Even though I enjoyed reading this book I did not find it to be a great book.  It is a nice chick-lit book to curl up with on a rainy day.

3 Stars 

Shanna

I read this book when I was 19 years old, still a virgin and naive as all heck.  I had no idea that it contained intimate love scenes.  I was so shocked when I got to the first one...LOL  It was written very well and I was not in the least offended.  I loved reading this book and found it hard to put down.  It was the very first romance novel I ever read.  I read it that one time and have not read it since.  So I am giving it 5 stars based on what I thought and felt about the book when I was 19. 

I am much older now, and I have a feeling that Shanna would not affect me as it did when I was 19 even though I think I could still enjoy the story.  Shanna who is basically a good person is also a very spoiled brat.  I don't think I could stomach Shanna today.  The hero Roark Beauchamp (pronounced Bee-chum) is a dream.  He is just about everything a woman could want in a man and strikingly handsome to boot.  As a 19 year old it never occurred to me that the hero deserved someone better than a spoiled rich brat.   A lot of females reading Shanna today cannot stand her and it is easy to understand why.  The only flaw that I could detect in Roark is that his love for Shanna seemed to be primarily based on the fact that she is extraordinarily beautiful which is shallow.  Somehow through Shanna's bad behavior Roark can see that she is really a wonderful person. 

After reading Shanna I read every book that Kathleen Woodiwiss wrote up until my mid twenties. I could not stomach "bodice ripper" novels today, but Kathleen Woodiwiss will always have a special place in my heart for putting me on the path to romance novels.  I love them, I am proud to admit that I read them and always will.  

5 Stars

I just may read Shanna again and see how I would rate it now as a woman over 40..