Author: Dorothy Eden
First publisher in 1962.
Re-issued by Open Road Media July 2013
For Cathleen Lamb, traveling to Dublin to record the history of the mystery-shrouded O’Riordan family is the answer to a prayer. Still grieving over the accident that killed her husband and baby daughter, she hopes to lose herself in other people’s lives.
But something sinister is going on at the ancient castle at the edge of the moors . . . something beyond the scandalous skeletons rattling around the O’Riordans’ closets. The former heir was killed three years earlier in a suspicious fall. The same night, the family matriarch suffered a stroke that left her mute.
Despite the malice that surrounds her, Cathleen is drawn to the brooding, darkly passionate man who is plotting to control the family. But even he may not be able to protect her when the crimes of the past reach into the present to terrorize the living.
I've had a few Throwback Thursday reads in the past couple of weeks that
just haven't been able to keep my interest. Sadly, Whistle for the Crows is another one. This one was the Retro Read pick for March. I was looking forward to reading this one. I mean who wouldn't love a Gothic romance/mystery. I think the problem with this one was that it was really dated. It was originally published in 1962. For me, it didn't carry over well. I found the characters uninteresting and the story kind of dull. I got about a third of the way in and found
I didn't want to finish. It has gotten some good feedback, so if the Gothic
genre is your thing, then give it a shot.
Author: Heather Graham writing as Shannon Drake
First published in 1992 by Avon
Re-issued by Open Road Media in June 2012
The daughter of a wealthy Virginia planter, Lady Rose Woodbine curses fate for leading her to the court of the British King Charles—and into an unwanted marriage with the handsome and dangerous Lord Pierce DeForte. His desire for Rose blinded Pierce to the dangerous machinations of his enemies. Banished from England, he lives the life of a pirate—seeking vengeance on those who betrayed him, including the woman he once called his wife. Pierce, now feared as the notorious pirate Dragonslayer, captures a ship carrying Rose. Once his bride, now his prisoner, she’s determined to escape from him once and for all.
I haven't read many of Heather Graham's romances written under the pen name Shannon Drake. If you like "bodice-ripper romances" you will definitely like Bride of the Wind. I will admit to almost putting this book down. I didn't like Pierce in the beginning. His behavior toward Rose is atrocious. I detested the scene where he forces himself on her when he thinks she has betrayed him. I know you have to take the time period in which this book was written, but forcing your spouse to have sex with you is rape.
I did stick with the book though. If I ignored that one scene, I ended up liking the story. I felt like Pierce redeemed himself and his feelings for Rose were genuine. There are a few exciting scenes on the high seas. There are also a few amusing scenes with Pierre and his "pirate crew". In all, it's not a bad throwback to try out.
Author: Amanda Scott
First published in 1989 by Signet
Re-issued by Open Road Media May 2013
Brave and beautiful Miss Emily Wingrave knows that it will not be easy to help her older widowed sister deal with the trustee of her late husband’s estate. The trustee is none other than the willful, arrogant Earl of Meriden, and she is determined to stop him from meddling with her sister’s struggling family. But as Emily engages the provocative Earl in a battle of wits and wills, she learns just how well armed he is: His surprising charm and seductive techniques will make her worry that she might very well be the one who surrenders.
I've only read one other book by this author. Compared to that one, this was better. But not by much. The Dauntless Miss Wingrave was just OK for me. The story was kind of boring. Not much happens.
The only character I liked was Jack. Emily was kind of a bitch. Jack is only trying to do the right thing by his family and reign them in a little, but Emily constantly flies off the handle. There were some amusing scenes resulting from their fights, so I did enjoy that. There is a little bit of a mystery, but it wasn't anything exciting. The book is fairly clean with only kissing. I'd say skip it unless you have nothing else to read.
Author: Dorothy Eden
Reissue by Open Road Media July 2013
A special three-in-one edition by Dorothy Eden—featuring Bride by Candlelight, Cat’s Prey, and Bridge of Fear—in
which a bride-to-be, a wedding guest, and a recently married woman come
face to face with evil as they innocently prepare to celebrate love
Think well before you marry Paul Blaine.
In Bride by Candlelight, this anonymous note is the prelude to a series of disturbing events plaguing Julia Paget.
At an isolated New Zealand sheep-farming estate, she discovers that her
war-scarred husband-to-be isn’t the man she fell in love with three
years earlier.
In Cat’s Prey, Antonia Webb journeys to a
remote seaside resort in New Zealand to claim an inheritance and attend
her cousin’s wedding. And even the handsome solicitor who warns her
away may not be able to protect Antonia from the evil closing around
her.
Is Abby Fearon paranoid—or is someone trying to kill her? In Bridge of Fear,
this is the question she must answer. Abby arrives in the Australian
outback from her native England to find that something has changed in
her new husband . . . something that frightens her almost as much as the
strange, wild land she now calls home.
Open Road Media has recently reissued works by the late Dorothy Eden. She was a well known author of mystery and romance from the 1940s through the 1980s. She died in 1982. Out of the bundle in Sinister Weddings, I chose to review Bride by Candlelight for Throwback Thursday. It was originally published in 1954 by Mcdonald.
The story for me was ultimately, just OK. It definitely showed its age. The one thing I did like about it was it had that creepy Gothic feel to it. I could almost picture it as a old black and white movie. Julia was so naive and clueless. I was pretty much able to figure out the truth of Harry after the first 25 pages. I didn't know all of the details, but I got most of it correct. The ending was a bit rushed and not very believable. Despite not liking this one, I will give the other books in the collection a try.
