The Penwyth Curse (The Song Novels, Book 6) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Catherine Coulter (Author), Anne Flosnik (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 10, 2003 | Series: The Song Novels Series (Book 6)

Eighteen years old and four times a widow? This is the Penwyth Curse. Become acquainted with two sets of heroes and heroines as their stories overlap. History, romantic suspense, magic, and mayhem ensue...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Coulter departs from her latest immersion in romantic suspense to revisit her romance-writing past, venturing all the way back to 1278 to bring back characters from her popular Song series. In this tale, Sir Bishop of Lythe's reward from King Edward I of England for saving his daughter's life is the keep of Penwyth and, with it, Merryn de Gay for a wife. Merryn is the granddaughter of the present lord, and her dowry is a curse: any who weds her will die. She is just 18, and already four husbands have died just after their weddings. Bishop is to be her fifth. He knows that he cannot announce that he's Merryn's intended when he arrives at the keep, so he tells the lord that he is a wizard sent by the king to end the curse. This story is a perfect cover because, in fact, he has always known things that he shouldn't know, such as when it will rain. Strange occurrences begin to happen when Bishop takes Merryn on a trip that turns into a quest to solve and dispel the curse. He starts to have dreams that may not be dreams but visions of actual events that occurred in the distant past between a very powerful wizard and a witch. Their courtship seems to mirror his and Merryn's, complete with lusty interludes. Ultimately, magic of all kinds makes this romance an enchanted tour de force that will please Coulter's longtime readers. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio Paperback Audiobooks; Abridged edition (December 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587888998
• ISBN-13: 978-1587888991
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,674,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Coulter, Catherine R.

More About the Author

Catherine Coulter is the author of the New York Times-bestselling FBI thrillers The Cove, The Maze, The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh House, Blindside, Blowout, Point Blank, Double Take and TailSpin. She lives in northern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars She has written better, January 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Penwyth Curse (The Song Novels Series) (Audio Cassette)

If you love Catherine Coulter books, forget that this one is even on the market, it simply is not in the same category as her previous novels.

Bishop is commanded by the king to end the curse of Penwyth and marry the already 4 times widowed Merryn. Merryn resides in Pennwyth with a cast of elderly characters who do not want to see the curse ended as this will mean they have been conquered by someone they aren't going to like real well.

Splice in flashbacks in the form of visions as Bishop attempts to tame Merryn at the same time that he comes to terms with his own status as a wizard, the tale jumps around and frankly would have been hard to follow if I had really cared about these characters.

As usual, Coulter flashes back to previous characters, which is always fun. However, they have no real contribution to this tedious tome.

When all comes together and the bad guys get theirs, you come to the conclusion that CC had reached the quota for the number of pages she needed to write and tied it all together in an implausible ending even for writers of this genre. It was like she had to tie it all together and boom that is it - we can get married. (Hey I am not giving anything away here, you know from page one they are getting married, you just don't know how it will all come together.)

Hopefully the next will be much better. I wish I had skipped this one.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Plot Sounded Good !, February 19, 2003

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Penwyth Curse (Song Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am an avid reader of historical romances and have been very fortunate in my selections to find books that appeal to my sense of romance and emotions. I myself rely heavily on reviews and authors track records, and even if a book does get slammed, if it is from an author whose excellence has been proven in the past, I try to still give it an unbiased read.

Set in the 13th century, this tells the story of Merryn, a young woman who is forced to marry four times and is widowed and still a maiden when Sir Bishop of Lythe arrives at castle Penwyth. (This plot line sounded real interesting to me!) Penwyth bears the brunt of an ancient curse, which declares that no man will ever take Penwyth, or it's heiress, by force. All four husbands died within hours of storming the castle and seizing Merryn. Is the curse real or is their foul play at work? Bishop is wise enough to take precautions and figures he'll be safe if he woos the lady first. He starts to settle into life at the castle, then he starts having dreams featuring an unknown wizard and witch and this is where I feel the novel itself starts falling apart - at least for me.

The dream-story/real time story - eventually overpowers the romance between Merryn and Bishop and at one point - I wasn't sure who the story was about as I believe there was an editing mistake that spoke of Bishop but the story seemed to be related to the dream couple. It was very convoluted and difficult to follow. The jumping around from past to present left me dizzy. Bottom line, I couldn't find myself getting emotionally involved with either couple and although there were a few quite humorous moments in the dialogs, I didn't find it to be an enjoyable and relaxing read - it was too much work to figure out who was who and where!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars By all the saints' purple boils..., December 30, 2004

By 

B. Spangler (Fishers, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Penwyth Curse (The Song Novels Series) (Audio CD)

...mayhap I have picked the wrong Coulter novel with which to begin. Even still, I cannot say it has been totally without mirth. I have found some of the dialogue laugh-out-loud funny (audio book version.) Talking back in response to the ludicrous dialogue affords some diversion, though mayhap most for drivers around me.

Must everything be redder than red, blacker than black, whiter than white, higher than high, etc? Did I really hear that the earth moved during a vigorous amatory adventure? In subject matter, this dialogue is clearly intended for adult audiences. In construction, it rivals "See Spot run". By all the saints' pimply noses, mayhap the most fun is to be derived from the creative and deliberately non-repetitive invocations of said saints. I could wish though that someone close to the author would favor us by building an auto-correct into her word processor to over-ride "mayhap" and "hard".

Oh, aye, I'll finish it (it really is a long, boring drive home and it is futile to wish the time back) but I'm glad this was a library freebie. By all the saints' split ends, I'd have been madder than mad had I purchased it.