Shanna

Rating:
Summary: Magic and Mystery
Review: Kathleen Woodiwiss is by far my favorite author! I have only read two of her novels so far "The Rose in Winter" and "Shanna." But once I start reading one of them, I just can't seem to put it down. Shanna was particularly interesting to me because of all the mystery and excitement you felt between Shanna and Ruark. Will she love him or won't she? Will they live or Die? Who killed Milly and the women at the Inn in London? Woodiwiss did such a wonderful job intertwinning little tales and past secrets around her characters, that I got so caught up in the story and the mystery I refused to put the book down until the mystery behind their past and future was solved! Anyone who buys this book will definately not be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: A trilling novel of suspence, action, adventure, and romance
Review: My MOM first read that book when she was pregnant with me way back in 1981. She fell in love with our heroine so much that she named her daughter ( me) after her. Seventeen years later she passed that same copy of the book ( with the cover missing and the pages coloured with time ) to me. It was indeed one of the best books that I've ever read and the book itself meant alot to me. After all that is where I got my name from. I read the book so may times over.............. Shanna was the heroine that we all dream of being - and Ruark was the man of all our fantasies. The perfect couple. But beneath all of that they encountered numerous problems along the way. However LOVE still prevailed in the end and everything fell into place - perfect ending to the perfect story............... It is a trilling novel of suspence, action, adventure, and who could forget romance. I would like to commend the author on a job well done.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Kathleen's best novel
Review: I find that most Kathleen Woodiwiss novels are extremely over-written, with way too much detail & plots that move along slooooowly...(and don't have enough romance!)...but "Shanna", I am happy to say, while full of detail, does NOT bog down & is really her best novel. I read it about 10 years ago and re-read it recently, and it still holds up, which is more than you can say for many older romance novels. The characters of Ruark & Shanna & all the supporting cast are well-rounded & the plot is pretty simple, which helps. I thought that Shanna, while "bratty" to begin with, and somewhat annoying due to her hard-heartedness toward Ruark initially, really matured and grew on me. You could put all that down to the fact that she was motherless, and that her father spoiled her. I recommend "Shanna" above all other Kathleen Woodiwiss novels.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Historical Romance of All Time!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Trust me, this is the best historical romance of all time! I have never read another book with a more wonderful hero than Ruark. He is funny, honorable, romantic and gorgeous. Some people are bothered by Shanna portrayed as the spoiled daughter, but personally, I think that is what makes this book so great. Ruark is relentless in his love with Shanna. No matter what she does, he still loves and protects her. I've read "Shanna" over 10 times. I compare all books to it and I've yet to find one better. In addition to Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Elizabeth Lowell, Amanda Quick and Julie Garwood are also exceptional writers.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I had expected of a romantic novel - Better!
Review: Before this book was given to me, I wouldn't have dared to touch a "romantic" novel! Ms. Woodiwiss definitely cleared my library space for many of her other novels soon after I read Shanna! I was hooked. Shanna gave me the escape that I needed and it certainly wasn't as corny as I had expected a novel of this category to be. Ms. Woodiwiss' heroines are strong, slightly vulnerable and quite determined to reach whatever goals they have set for themselves and they do so successfully. Those goals could mean escape from captivity, marriage to a desired beau, reclaiming due property, etc. Her stories have it all and her prose also sets the tone perfectly for the period. I also highly recommend The Wolf and The Dove as well as The Flame and The Flower.

Rating:
Summary: A romance masterpiece
Review: I admit when I first started reading this book I just wanted to quit because it's so long, but I'm glad I stuck with it because it's one of those books that you'll never forget. What's so great about this book is that Woodiwiss really takes you through a journey of growing up and finding love. When we first meet Shanna she's spoiled and headstrong but as the novel progresses, she goes through a maturing process and you really see that when she realizes she's fallen in love with Ruark..."I'm afraid you will touch me and I will crumble. I am afraid you will say, "I love you," and I will melt at your feet. I am afraid I cannot stand against you anymore. Don't you understand? I am defenseless now. You have known me too closely, and I have known you too dearly..." And Ruark, he is absolutely divine, a true hero who will stay with you through thick and thin, and it doesn't hurt that he is sexy and gorgeous. He's really the glue that holds the novel together because he's the one that fights for Shanna's love. So, if you want a quick, lighthearted romance to read in one sitting, this isn't the novel for you. But if you want something that will leave an impact in your heart, and if you're willing to stick with it, this novel is definitely worth it.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book with well rounded characters
Review: I recently checked out this book at our local library after reading all of the great reviews it got here. I instantly fell in love with it. I am now an official Woodiwiss fan. The characters came alive with her vivid discriptions. I loved the fact that Ruark didn't reveal his true identity to Shanna because he wanted her to fall in love with HIM as he was. This wasn't your usual run-of-the-mill romance book. The story was intriguing and the characters were well developed. I am planning on purchasing this novel so that I can read it again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Epic and Loooong Romance!
Review: At well over 600 pages, this book is much longer than your average romance novel and it is packed with location changes and secondary characters, mysteries and misunderstandings. Part of the action takes place near Richmond Virginia and I was stunned at the research that must have gone into the book when I realized that the throw-away locations of roads that they took and inns at which they stopped were *accurate*!
The best part of the book was the hero, Ruark. He was a fabulous character who made the best of everything that life threw at him. The character of Shanna was more problematic for me (hence only 4 stars). Frankly, she was a selfish, self-pitying, manipulative, lying brat at the beginning of the book and she took almost 600 pages to realize that Ruark's love was more precious than her pride and her fancy dresses. Of course, she was *drop-dead* beautiful, but how on earth did she ever get a fantastic guy like Ruark to fall in love with her? She *slowly* matures during the course of the book, but she is so immature and selfish during the initial part of the story than I could not ever really like her. (A minority opinion, perhaps, since many other reviewers *loved* the character of Shanna.) Alot of her behavior is excused by other characters because she was "spoiled" (yeah, no kidding) or "very young" (actually she was 21 or 22 years old, not really all that young). Her only other good characteristics (besides her stunning beauty) were her plucky spirit and her intermittent concern for the villagers on her father's island (she also rides very well.) In her favor, she is a strong character--consistent and rarely boring, even when she is most annoying.
Despite my reservations about Shanna, this is a very good book.
The plot is very far-fetched but none the less vastly entertaining, covering lots of ground before Shanna and Ruark can finally admit their love to each other and everyone else. The dialogue is rather stilted, but perhaps that is a nod to the Georgian period setting.
I enjoyed this book but preferred "The Windflower" by Laura London or "The Hidden Heart" by Laura Kinsale (both excellent sea adventure/pirate books!)

Rating:
Summary: Not what I had expected of a romantic novel - Better!
Review: Before this book was given to me, I wouldn't have dared to touch a "romantic" novel! Ms. Woodiwiss definitely cleared my library space for many of her other novels soon after I read Shanna! I was hooked. Shanna gave me the escape that I needed and it certainly wasn't as corny as I had expected a novel of this category to be. Ms. Woodiwiss' heroines are strong, slightly vulnerable and quite determined to reach whatever goals they have set for themselves and they do so successfully. Those goals could mean escape from captivity, marriage to a desired beau, reclaiming due property, etc. Her stories have it all and her prose also sets the tone perfectly for the period. I also highly recommend The Wolf and The Dove as well as The Flame and The Flower.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly romantic
Review: This has been my favorite historical romance of all time for over 20 years. I loved this book so much, I named my daughter Shanna. Ruark and Shanna are the most unforgettable couple in romance fiction. As I said in the title, Incredibly romantic about sums it up.