Beverly C. Warren

If this book was a road, you'd kill yourself walking around all the plotholes.

From making no sense whatsoever for not getting angrier and telling people she was kidnapped and sold as a worker, to then staying in that hostile house where it was obviously dangerous so she could earn a little more money, the heroine had little common sense. When she was threatened, her feeble excuses for not telling others at the right times were silly. She also spent much of the book almost dying, passing out, and waking up in bed with the worried hero and doctor bent over her. It grew tedious for sure.

The villains in this book were bad to the bone, seriously. How could there be so many nasty characters in one land? They were astonishingly rude, and almost every man was portrayed as a potential rapist. At least the book redeemed itself sometimes with a few enjoyable characters like the widow Waters and Penny, the sister. They couldn't save the book a star but they could make it more enjoyable.

I also have to be confused that the heroine doesn't take care to fill in the widow over what happened to her - the poor woman was probably worried. She went after her runaway but why couldn't she send word before? And what about the end of the book where she promised the grandfather she'd live with him, but once that changed, how did she explain it? Confusing and strange indeed. The author dropped that without explaining it.

The hero was likeable enough but I felt little chemistry. There was treachery but little magic. Ah well, not all gothics can be winners, and even if I didn't like this one much, I dig Warren's writing style with words and it was hard to put down, paced quickly enough, and had good dialogue that fit the genre.
… (plus d'informations)

Tada! Here we go ahead, the last Warren book from the threesome I bought.

First to note is the story is similar in ways to The Haunted Heiress of Wyndcliffe Manor. Both involve a young girl who doesn't know which family she belongs to. In The Haunted Heiress of Wyndcliffe Manor, Jennifer has amnesia since she was eleven (don't you just hate that?) and here Eden is an orphan abandoned as a baby.

Both girls ended up on the streets with abuse abundant. Here the violence is raised a bit, with attempted rapes not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times - each with a different man. This is if you don't include the later forced kisses from a fifth. Life was rough for pretty women on the streets in the eighteenth century, wasn't it? Tsk, tsk. How this woman will experience a healthy sex life is beyond me. Anyway, the heroine handles herself well in every situation, with the classic strength but sweetness characteristic to most women in Warren novels. The only flaws I find is that she does some stupid thinking later on. I just can't see how she cannot grasp a logical 'source' for her getting sick. Come on, do she need to be hit in the head with a 2x4 to get it??

Both women ultimately end up in rich families with class. In The Haunted Heiress of Wyndcliffe Manor, Eden finds she is the granddaughter/heir of a wealthy family. Here though, the girl finds out a lot of it is a lie as she's forced into an odd family but grand inheritance. In The Bride of Hatfield castle, is likely the darkest book of the three. I won't spoil details, but I only wish we could have seen more of Uncle Simon get what he deserves later on.

The leading man, Garth, isn't as handsome as the others - this one instead walks with a limp and is cursed with a scarred face and hooded eye. Villagers state at him with fear while joking behind his back, unable to deny at the same time he has a dark temptation about him. As before in other books, Eden noticed him as a kid and looked toward him as a rescuer eventually. Formulaic but fun. I like how he's not the traditional powerfully dominant, gorgeous man that every woman fawns over. There's something to be said about the outcasts too! Alright, he's wealthy, and that's common, but still....Sadly Warren doesn't feed my sexual fantasies again, just chaste kisses, but oh well.

The family members in the house are also similar to the other novels - the greedy selfish aunt, the spoiled aggressive son, and the whipped father. They were OK though and I'm not tired of seeing this type yet. I do hold qualms with the villains reasoning, as it just seems too shallow and contrived. (!!!)

It's an icky book sometimes, especially with Mr. Hatfield - yech. Pretty graphic, hideous stuff. Besides it being a darker book, it's a bit grosser as well, not just the mentioned scene, but also some of the stuff she's forced to endure on the streets.

The romantic part of the book was more than fine, although I wished at times she would get angry and just chew the man out. I like sweet women but I like ones with tempers too. :) They mixed well and the ending was as heartwarming as always, even if my heart did thus a bit when he spoke of her inherited companies on the last pages.

Atmosphere is of course gothic and confusing, another great piece from Warren. It's hard to know how to rate this one, as I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous two. There wasn't as much magic and mystery here, and the reasoning of the villains (as mentioned before) weren't as rewarding. In the end it's being slapped with a 3.5, but a hearty recommendation still.

… (plus d'informations)

Finally, finally this is the last review of the three Beverly C. Warren books. I tell you, reviewing three this close together is a bit bothersome but I really need to cut down the "to be reviewed" list.

This is one of the better ones. Megan's a great character filled with strength, curiosity, and understandable reluctance to get into a romantic relationship with her employer. Lord Ambrose - odd name right? - was also likable with his quick temper (it can be erotic right?) and sweet side personality. All characters were eccentric enough to work.

The mystery itself was difficult to figure out and even though at the end I developed an inkling of what was going on before it was revealed, I never guessed everything. You had to figure out not only who the killer was, but what the big family secret stood as. The atmosphere was nicely gothic, and I enjoyed seeing how the 'ghosts' aspect was handled by the heroine. The small town worked with the story, intertwining the atmosphere with how the large estate hung on a cliff over the sea, and even I got into the rumors and gossip with the local, big-mouthed postmaster.

For the romantic angle, it turned out sweet as always, and again devoid of much sexual tension. Sighs. At least the two 'in love' were around each other enough. In the previous books the main characters really only interacted in the second half of the book and beyond. Here it's from the get go.

Hmmm I like reviewing longer on books but sometimes there's not more to say. If the book has bad points, I can't really think of one except that a wee more action wouldn't have harmed the book. Also, it's a bit far fetched how quickly and conveniently Megan guessed the true nature of a major obstacle at the end. I'm slapping it with a 4 star rating just because it wasn't so enthralling it held me captive enough to be labeled as a 5. Characters are interesting and make sense, the atmosphere is charmingly gothic, mystery well drawn together, ending rewarding, romance endearing without being sappy, and that's all she wrote, folks.… (plus d'informations)

You know, it's a shame Beverly C. Warren didn't garner more popularity, as I've been enjoying the hell of her books. I picked up three used and so far am in the beginning of the third one. This one was the first I read (I really need to catch up on these reviews). I couldn't find a cover of this anywhere online, and it's a shame, as I love the gothic covers on these. I may be able to scan it from work.

First, the heroine Jennifer. Very likable girl, strong, independent, curious, intelligent. The story's a twisted one, with the violence she endured pitiful to read about. It shows her from the time she was a girl working in the mines, to being a carnie, to finally living in the life of luxury amidst a family that would put a group of pit vipers to shame. The story never dulls, even if I grew anxious to learn more of Michael Savage, the man she would occasionally run into. I admit to skimming through some parts to try to rush toward the heart of the novel, which doesn't begin until it's halfway through. It's easy to get attached the her as a character, and certainly Michael who sounds like he'd have my heart soaring as much as he did hers, and of course the grandfather - who was so sweet and amusing he's addictive.

The book is classic gothic one she's in Wyndcliffe, but the tone is never dramatic or overdone as it the case with a lot of gothic book. No overly used Victorian style phrases; instead it's easy to read and follow. I did have the guilty culprit accurately pegged before reading the end, even if I didn't have evidence as to why - just a gut feeling. Still that didn't ruin it for me. I appreciated the small attempts at mystery. The last few pages made my heart sing, as romance was there strong. I do wish a bit that more was showed in Warren's books in a sexual sense, if you know what I mean, as she always seems to shy away from that, but oh well. I guess some things get left to the readers imagination. Go, Michael, go!

It was a good twist to have Jennifer warned off of Michael, and to have reasons for him not be with him because of her inheritance. In fact, the main mystery of the story that I couldn't figure out was when he stormed off at the will reading and acted distant after that. I was wrong with my reasonings there, so I guess a mystery I couldn't figure out WAS written.

Besides the characters mentioned, the rest was just as interesting. I wish I would have learned more of what happened with Henry and Charlie though. I suppose the author wanted to show they were part of the heroine's past life and done with, but I liked them and was curious. I also wanted to know Michael's response when Jennifer would have told him where they first met, but alas this never happened, at least not for me to see. Pity.

The ending was fun but the villain's reasoning seems a little forced, but oh well. Nothing can be perfect. The book turned out to be addictive fun, I couldn't put it down, and found myself sinking more and more into the story. If you happen to pass this by somewhere, for the love of God, pick it up! I hate seeing talented authors not make it in life. The book was written in 92 - I'm happy to see more books were published after that and plan to eventually collect most of them.… (plus d'informations)