Customer Reviews

Phantom Waltz

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Sure, this book has everything we all love about romances, but it's got a lot more. Instead of a "perfect" female figure, Bethany is in a wheelchair. Her heart has been badly broken by men who always take one look, see the chair and run straight for the door. And then one day, in walks Ryan. Ryan is different from other men Bethany has known and for the first time, Bethany starts to open herself up to all the what ifs. This is one of the more touching books I have read and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Catherine Anderson, well-known for her unconventional heroines, has created her most unusual yet with Bethany Coulter—a paraplegic and the love interest of Ryan Kendrick, brother of Rafe Kendrick from BABY LOVE.

This book is totally character driven, is much spicier sexually than books I usually read, has virtually no plot other than the relationship between the hero and heroine--- and yet, I couldn’t put the book down once I started.

Ryan, who had had his share of love interests throughout the years is in his early 30s and ready to settle down. Seeing his brother’s happiness after marrying Maggie, Ryan would like some of that same happiness for himself. When he sees lovely Bethany Coulter sitting at a computer at the farm parts store owned by her father, he is immediately lovestruck. He already decides he wants to ask her out – when she notices that the chair she is sitting in is a wheelchair. Bethany had been paralyzed from the waist down in a barrel racing accident eight years previously.

Bethany at first tells Ryan a gentle no, but Ryan refuses to take this no for an answer and finally wears down her resolve. They go on a first date to a tractor pull but first, finding out her interest in horses, takes her out to his ranch to see his newborn colt. ...

One of the most unusual secondary characters in the story is a friendly bull named T-bone, who had been sickly as a young calf, and Ryan had taken such a liking to him that he refused to have him castrated. When he makes friends with Cleo, Bethany’s cat, the picture of this cat, sleeping on the back of this enormous bull, makes for an unusual scene to say the least.

Readers of BABY LOVE will enjoy being re-acquainted with the main characters from that book including Rafe, Maggie, her sister Heidi, her mother Helen, their son Jaime, and new baby daughter Amelia.

Anderson has written yet another page turner. Her unusual heroines (a deaf heroine, abused heroine, a heroine accused of murder) and storylines have become her hallmark – she risks a lot here in creating such an usual heroine. But she does it with finesse and style, never making Bethany a character to be pitied but instead a strong woman with a life of her own, becoming more than she ever dreamt she could be. All combine for a book readers should be putting at the top of their reading list for the summer of 2001.

I LOVED this book. I'm a quadrapeligic. This book's hero is Ryan, Rafe's (Baby Love) little brother. He meets Bethany, a parapelgic, at her father's store, yet he doesn't relize she's handicapped until after he's asked her out. He keeps the date out of pity but finds out she's his perfect girl. The only problem, sex. It's really cute he's the one chasing her. All around I loved it.

While shopping at a local book store I saw this book in the new releases isle. I had never read a book by Catherine Anderson, but I was really intrigued by the story line in this book. I was excited to have a chance to read a romance novel that was unique and interesting.

Catherine Anderson did not let me down. In fact, I found tears flowing in some sections of the book, followed by uncontrollable joy right after. I was impressed, to say the least. What really surprised me was the fact that Catherine was able to tell this story in such a way that I was left with the strong impression that she must have a relative who is wheel chair bound. If she doesn't, she has really done a lot of research to make this novel not only fun to read but believable.

I am wheel chair bound. I have been for years now. Luckly for me, my spouse's love for me was able to endure the new found hardship on our lives. I found myself thinking back to the first few years after my accident while reading this book. The story line was done so well that it uplifted my heart.

Thanks Catherine. You now have a loyal fan. I will be buying all of your past books. I am doomed to get nothing done for at least a month.

A new fan.

In the preface, Ms. Anderson writes the reader a note with advice to have an open mind about this love story featuring a parapalegic heroine. I did, and I enjoyed the book. Ok, so the millionaire cowboy was a bit hokey, but the love scenes were so poignant and well written, that I could overlook many cookie cutter plot points.

As a side note, it always irks me when I accidentally read a series of books out of order, so here is the order you should read the Coulter Series:
Baby Love
Phantom Waltz
Sweet Nothings
Blue Skies
Bright Eyes
My Sunshine

What a great follow-up to "Baby Love". Phantom Waltz is such a touching story. It's the Ryan Kendrick (Rafe's brother in Baby Love) story. He is a handsome, single, millionaire rancher who makes all the ladies swoon. He meets Bethany Coulter and is instantly taken with her. He asks her out for dinner and dancing and then she shows him she is in a wheel chair. Most of the men she has met turn tail and run once they see that, but not Ryan. He makes a date and keeps it and from that night on he is taken with her. The story is about their developing love and how it can transcend any boundries. It really is a beautifully written story. Ryan is a hero alright. I fell in love with the whole Kendrick family in "Baby Love" and they are just as lively in Phantom Waltz. It's a keeper.

I'm happy to have found a romance book with a difference.I've worked with paraplegics and Bethany's character is very real. And, yes there are Ryans out there. I love this book.
If you like Phantom Waltz, check out, 'A Perfect Rose', by Mary Jo Putney and 'Shadows of the Past' by Hilda St James.

Catherine Anderson has always been one of my favorite authors. I've read every book she's written. Each time, I'm left with a longing to simply crawl right inside the pages of the book and wrap myself in the embrace of her hero. In Phantom Waltz, it's Ryan Kendrick that's stolen my heart. "Where have all the cowboys gone?" They're right here in this one man. Boy, can Ms. Anderson write tall dark and handsome. Add on sweet, nurturing, sensitive and selfless and you've got Ryan Kendrick. I sigh just thinking about him. When I read the synopsis of this book, I cringed. The female lead is Bethany. She's paralized from the waste down due to a riding accident. I tought "how the heck is Ms. Anderson going to pull this off without crossing into dangerous territory?" Well she most certainly succeeds. This is a must read!!

I found this story to be one of the best I have read in along time. Although it helped Ryan was wealthy( this is fiction after all), what he really gave her was unconditional love and acceptance. I found the couple to be endearing, and the story deliciously romantic. What Ryan gave Bethany was far more than money could buy. The added characters of Sly, T-Bone and Tripper were a delight. As was the scene in the bar.

Ms Anderson's writing is fresh and not cluttered with information the reader doesn't need. For me this one is destined to be the book of 2001 because it takes romance fiction to a new higher level.

In Crystal Falls, Oregon, handsome rancher Ryan Kendrick walks into the local ranch supply store to check on his order and meets Bethany Coulter, one of the most beautiful women that he has ever seen. He begins flirting with her and almost immediately asks her out. Surprised when Bethany turns and Ryan realizes that she is a paraplegic, he doesn't run the other way but agrees to keep the date with her. Sparks fly on that very first date, and Ryan realizes that she is different from any of the other women that he has dated.

While wildly attracted to Ryan, Bethany is reluctant to start a relationship with him, fearing that it could only lead to heartbreak for her. Will Ryan be able to convince Bethany that he is truly in love with her, and together they can overcome any obstacles? Or will Bethany leave Ryan for fear that her disability will forever intrude in their lives?

Catherine Anderson has written a truly unique and heartwarming romance. Moving away from the classic perfect hero and heroine, Ms. Anderson gives us a slightly imperfect heroine whose imperfections have interfered with her having successful relationships in the past. The real gift of this novel is that the hero is not only able to overlook the heroine's paralysis in order to embark on their romance, but he seeks to aid the heroine in making her life as normal as possible. Emotionally stirring and well-researched, this is a novel not to be missed.