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25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
wooden-let it go!, April 5, 2004
This review is from: The Holding (Mass Market Paperback)
I am sorry, but I have truly given up on Ms. Dain as an author. Nearly all of her supposed love scenes are nonconsensual. Please, can get get away from the bodice rippers of the 70s already. Intelligent modern readers want so much more. The deflowering of women is just not an entertaining topic, and especially not when done with such graphic and down right crass mishandling. William finds out she is not a virgin and immediately blames her without ever once stoping to look around him at the ruined mansion he has got thanks to marrying a total stranger. she is just a possession to him like everything else. He just can't bear the thought of anyone sharing fun with her except him. He doesn't understand that every time he calls her CAt and falls upon her like a starving man on his dinner, that this is what her attacker used to do to her. He hardly even bothers to try to understand her point of view until it is forcibly shoved under his nose. William is not quite as Neanderthal as her other heroes but he comes pretty close. Then we have her rapist Lambert going about scot free and trying to reclaim her. He tries to kill her, and at last she fights back for about a minute. Graphic violence ensues, and that includes William being stabbed in both sides with swords and still surviving to kill the villain. PUH-LEEESE. We never see any commitment warmth or fondness in any of these books, just unremitting doom and gloom, and miserable lives for all her female characters. This is not quite as depressing as some of Ms. Dain's other books, but the characters are flat and insipid and not people I ever care about even though we are supposed to admire her as a victim. and him for 'forgivng' her. I would rather admire my characters for being brave, noble, loving and committed to one another. As most intelligent readers of romance would. Let this one go for sure.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sensual + Spiritual = INCREDIBLE!!, September 23, 2002
This review is from: The Holding (Mass Market Paperback)
The Holding is the first book by Claudia Dain I've read. I read it in one day - it was incredible! It's a refreshingly different kind of romance. It has all the elements of a sensual love story, yet this novel is a very unique mix of spirituality and sensuality. I'm happy to find an author that realizes the two are not mutually exclusive. William, the hero has been given Greneforde Castle (including resident lady of Greneforde, the orphaned Cathryn) by the king to reward him for his loyal service. Both William and Cathryn have scars of their past to overcome. The story is completely absorbing as the author gradually reveals the tragedies that haunt them. William's character grows into a warm, tender and sexy husband. Cathryn has put up a strong front for so long that she finds it hard to let her defenses down to her new husband, but when she does, she finds ecstasy. The secondary characters are some of the most well developed and interesting I've read in a long time. Among them is a priest who provides wise spiritual guidance and two servants who are falling in love themselves. This book is well worth your time and money. It's truly an intelligent, thoughtful romance. I totally agree with the reviewer that said the cover is bad. Ms. Dain, if you're reading this...don't let the publishers do that to you again! This book deserves better!!
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a smart and impressive love story!, January 25, 2002
This review is from: The Holding (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book over a week ago and I still can't stop thinking about how great this book was. I've had this book in my TBR pile for months and now I regret not having read it sooner. I never started on it because I usually prefer the Regency/Georgian era and contemporary books compared to this earlier time period. I now realize how wrong I was to have pre-judged the book. William is our hero and a favored knight of King Henry. He has never really had a home to call his own and thus has fought for the King for years to finally be rewarded with his own holding, Greneforde's Castle. Cathryn is lady Greneforde and our orphaned heroine. William meets Cathryn for the first time when he arrives at Greneforde. His first impression of Cathryn is worst than his first impression of her castle. Of course, he falls in love with both way before the book ends. But the journey to that love is what really endeared me to this wonderful story telling. It's been a while since I've met a hero as wonderfully well-rounded as William. He brings to Greneforde the seeds that he's collected and kept safe all during his crusades. He knew that when he finally got a home, he'd want to plant the best of every crop. This is a man that is feared by the fiercest of all men! He is big, strong, and can kill a man before the victim even knows William is near. Thus all those that know him call him "The fog". He doesn't yell, he doesn't need to. He commands attention just with his presence. Yet he is the same man that pays special attention to the caring and handling of his seeds to make sure they arrive safely at his final destination. It's the small attentions to detail like this that distinguishes this book as three-dimensional as opposed to the run-of-the-mill romances which dish out two-dimensional characters. His treatment of Cathryn is what warms me to him most of all. He may seem to some to be more like a 20th century man who is warm, sensitive and caring. Think Russell Crowe crossed with Tom Hanks but that's only to grasp for comparison as William defies anything to really compare with. He is sensitive because he is observant of everything around him. That is what makes him a great knight and ultimately an ideal husband. Ideal being that he puts the needs of his wife first because he can sense her when she's distressed or in need. Sigh, this is why I love romance novels. What girl doesn't dream of this stuff! The Biblical references about honor and love are wonderful and appropriate for a romance novel. I'd have said a mainstream romance novel but to put this delicious love story in that same category would be doing this keeper of a book a big injustice. The references are not overbearing and would not be for even those that have never held a Bible. To my delight, Cathryn and William are well versed (William's priest has been a part of his crusade for years) and to be a voyeur in their back and forth dueling (more like flirting and taunting-teasing) with biblical quotes and passages warmed my heart. I've barely cracked the surface of why I love this book. The back cover hints at the erotic content. That word does not do this book justice. Erotica leaves me cold but THE HOLDING left me hot and feverish and panting for more William. I believe William had the same affect on Cathryn.
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