Search - The Penwyth Curse

nice combo of romance, magic, life in the 1200's

This is kind of a silly book, it does not very effectively attempt to tie several times together. I struggled to finish it. Not one of her best efforts.

This started out interesting, with an intriguing plot about a Medieval girl whose husband all die from a curse right after forcing her to marry them. But it got really stupid by the end, which the characters didn't understand any better than I did. I suspect the author didn't understand it either and didn't much care. Worth reading only if you're a big Coulter fan.

A good historical read!!

No one can go wrong with Catherine Coulter!!

good read

Coulter is always a great read.

Very enjoyable

good read, a little slow at first, but the ending was satisfactory none the less.

Set in the 13th century, Coulter's latest (following The Rebel Bride) returns to the world of her Song series (Earth Song, Fire Song, etc.) and tells the story of Merryn, a young woman who's four times widowed but still a maid when Sir Bishop of Lythe arrives at castle Penwyth. Merryn bears the brunt of an ancient curse, which declares that no man will ever take Penwyth, or her, by force. Her four previous husbands all died within hours of storming the castle and seizing its mistress. Unconvinced that the curse is real but wise enough to take precautions, Bishop figures he'll be safe if he woos the lady first. But as he settles into life at the castle, he starts having dreams featuring an unknown wizard and witch. The novel alternates between Bishop's story and that of the mysterious figures in his dreams, but the dream-story eventually overpowers the romance between Merryn and Bishop. The dual plotline is jumpy and disjointed, and it leaves little time for Coulter to examine her characters thoroughly. Though the dream couple's relationship holds some appeal, the story's paranormal touches feel like special effects-a splash of drama to fill out a story stretched too thin. Overall, this offering lacks the emotional intensity of Coulter's best works and is unlikely to woo many new readers.
--Publisher's Weekly

How would you like to be eighteen and four times a widow? If you live with a curse, sometimes things like this happen. And so they did. We have two sets of heroes and heroines; one set is in the present (A.D. 1278)and the other set is sometime else. We have both over- and underlapping stories, a dynamite mystery, lovers underfoot (visit with Dienwald and Philippa from EARTH SONG) and mega-doses of magic and mayhem.