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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a classic that stood the test of time,
By A Customer
This review is from: Whitefire (Mass Market Paperback)
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible as Czar of Russia, Mongol Banyan
Amur rapes Cossack Katerina "Kat" Vaschenko. She hides the incident from her
family; however, she is caught in a naked embrace with a Russian emissary
trying to obtain horses from the Cossacks. Her father believes that Kat has
sold the horse breeding secrets in exchange for a little flesh. Kat becomes
isolated from her clan which turns out to save her life when a dastardly raid
by the Tereks kill her entire family and steal the prize horses.
...... Kat vows revenge and journeys across the Ural Mountains to ask her uncle,
Khan Afstar for his help. Once she arrives at his camp, she meets Banyen,
who fails to recognize her, though she knows who he is. Afstar gives Kat
some prisoners, and assigns Banyen's men to be trained as Cossacks so that
they can help regain the lost horses. Though the return trip is treacherous
and the training potentially dangerous, Banyen and Kat fall in love with each
other. However, this is not the land of TV's Luke and Laura. Instead, a
rape, an insane Czar, and a herd of horses stand in the way of a lasting
relationship.
..... This is a reprint of a 1978 classic, written under a different name by the
renowned Fern Michaels. Two decades later and this classy historical romance
passes the test of time with high marks because the reader can still taste
the various ethnic cultures that made up Eastern Europe.
.......Harriet Klausner
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
I generally like unusual romance novels, but THIS one takes the biscuit!,
By SusieQ (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Whitefire (Mass Market Paperback)
My first Fern Michaels novel. It was probably a poor choice for a first read from this author; I feel confident saying she's got to have better books out there than this historical, written in 1978. Yet there are plenty of romances written in the '70's and '80's that have held up better than this mish-mosh.
The one thing I can say that I unreservedly liked about this story--the only thing that seemed consistently well written--is the heroine's inner conflict after being raped...the oppressive burden she carries, that she needs to keep what happened a secret (because her clan values virginity), versus her desperate wanting, needing, to tell someone what happened to her. This inner conflict, particularly the scene where she finally confesses to her dying grandfather what was done to her, is well done. Her devotion to, and her courage in getting back, her prize white mares, is also to be admired. I also liked that the story was set in Russia during the reign of Ivan of Terrible -- a goldmine of an under-used period of history for a romance writer-- but, the scenes of Ivan's sexual decrepitude and growing insanity became gross and frankly repetitive; after the sixth such scene I was feeling queasy. At times I found the editing confusing - sometimes I wasn't sure which character was doing the thinking/speaking. But I think the real reason I'm giving this novel 1 star was not merely the fact that the heroine, Katerina was brutally raped by the (so-called) hero of the tale (though that actually is enough of a reason). It's because the author just doesn't have the skills to overcome that repulsive fact (does any writer, I wonder) and redeem Banyan, the rapist/male hero character, in order to give these characters a HEA. Thus, when they do end up together, it's really rather... gross? weird? Both? Granted it's a pretty tall order to make a rapist the "hero" in a romance novel, but then, why would a romance author try to do this?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cry, but don't be ashamed,
By Chrissy (Springfield, ohio) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Whitefire (Mass Market Paperback)
This book makes every pore in my body want to cry. It's a battle of wits and pride between the heroine (kat) and the hero. It is by far the best book written by Fern Michaels. It takes place in an interesting time nad makes you wish you a bystander to watch all this happen. Read it!
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