Customer Reviews

The Wolf of Haskell Hall (Candleglow)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're expecting a gothic that keeps you flipping the pages to experience the fear and desire the heroine has for the hero until the very end, look for another book. The beginning was promising enough, as Lil (kept seeing a little old lady with this name...) arrives in Cornwall, a fitting location. Quickly enough, we get into the murder of the previous heiress, a curse, some shady neighbors and a darkly sexy hero. I settled in, more than ready to be enthralled. Then a funny thing happened. Lil and her man/wolf Ian had sex. Next thing you know, they are a bonded duo, fighting the reality of the curse together. They are in LOVE. Don't get me wrong. I want romance to end this way. I just don't want to read 200+ pages of love joining their fates so they can overcome the curse together. I suppose some will find that romantic. I simply found it dull. Gothics are supposed to be about uncertainty and danger and razor tension. I just didn't get that here. Besides, it was a tad unbelievable that Lil didn't freak out when she realized the guy she loved had a part-time gig as a wolf. That would be too weird for me...

Wow! I've always avoided anything to do with werewolves because they scared me so as a child but when I picked up this book I couldn't put it down until I was done.
The heroine of the story is an american who goes to England to take over her inheritance, Haskell Hall. She is the last of the Heiresses and has no idea of the link her family has had with the hero's family. The horrible deaths of the previous hieresses makes her curious and she seeks answeres from Ian, our hero, only to find more mysteries and things which should make her run back to america as fast as she can. But its the pain and longing in Ians eyes that draws her to him and to discover his secrets and to help him build a life.

I stayed up all night reading this exciting, sensual book. I'd recommend it to all.

A super romp. She is the heir to Haskell Hall, a forthright American. The LAST Heiress. Her fate is tangle with Ian Griffith the last of his line as well. Both are bound by a 100 year old curse that says Ian will stalk the night as a wolf and will kill the Heiress of Haskel Hall - just as his ancestors killed all the others - unless Lil can find away to leash the heart of the wolf and set them both free.

Ian is a brooding character that will live on in your mind, long after the book is put down.

An absolute super read!!!

When you pick up a novel you expect to be entertained. However, Colleen Shannon does more than that, she mesmerizes the reader. You simply can not put this book down. I found myself totally involved in a story that moved me measurably. The story line is simple but yet complicated, a mystery and romance that can not be denied. Delilah Haskell finds herself an heiress to a fortune and a lonely wanderer to Englands shores. She doesn't want to be there but the stipulations of the will state that if she chooses to give up her rights to the Haskell lands, an entire villiage will suffer for it. Unable to live with that burden, she moves in only to meet the intimidating Ian Griffith, not one to be bullied she stands up to him, proving herself to be more intriguing then the other heiress's before her who have died under tragic circumstances. When Lil learns the secrets that surround her, she is not about to be bullied away, she fights fire with fire. A truly wonderful book. One I highly recommend!

Ian and Lil's love was cursed a hundred years ago by their ancestors. Ian of Gypsy Blood and Lil of a highly born lord. Being the last of their namesakes they alone can break the curse. But is their love Strong enough. The book was slow starting for me. I was well over 100 pages into it before I could finally become involved in the story line. I loved that Ian was romantic and could show his feelings of Love for Lil but the story dwelled on to much othe rubbish and not enough on the hero and heroine. Started out with some great secondary characters, an old sea pirate, and voodoo witch but they never really got a good story , I expected more out of them. Throw in a parnormal detective researching werewolves who starts out fairly sassy but loses her spice as the book goes on. I would have liked to have seen more of a development in Ian's and Lil's relationship while he was a wolf as well as when he was a man. I guess I would think twice before buying the book.

One of two lead titles, The Wolf of Haskell Hall is a promising start to the new Candleglow gothic line form Love Spell.

A failed love affair, a premature child, an untimely death, and a gyspy curse set things in motion pitting Griffith males against Haskell heiresses for neigh a century. Now the last remaining members of the two families have come together at last, will this be the end of the line or a new beginning?

Cornwall 1878: The grizzly death (by wolves) of her predicessor finds young American heiress Delilah Haskell Trent the new owner of Haskell Hall where she meets her groundskeeper Ian Griffith for the first time. She is not yet aware of the history between the two families, however he is. A clash is inevitable for she is arrogant and he is insolent. The combination fires a passion between the two but Ian has a secret that could tear them apart. Lil is in his blood but so is the call of the wild! Lil is certain she can find a cure, but can she find the key to atonement before it's too late?

The story contains an interesting group of side characters, a banty former sailor, and a female horsemaster/detective by the very appropriate name of Holmes, several judgemental members of Cornish society, and two very soulless villians, who will stop at nothing to keep Lil and Ian from breaking the curse.

A good blend of romance and horror, with a prevailing theme of redemption. Readers anxiously awaiting the return of gothic romance will not be dissappointed.

Leslie Tramposch ~ Managing editor PNR

Who can resist a story of curses and werewolves? Unlike most gothic romances this book wasted no time in bring the man and woman together. The attraction is animal not romantic. The attraction is also deadly because once our hero has the heroine's heart he intends to eat it.

The tension builds, as the lady of the manor must find a way to lift the curse or be destroyed by her lover. Since wolves mate for life our lady considers giving herself to the beast and becoming his mate. The author explores how far one might go to be with the man she loves.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this story. It was a departure from the standard gothic novel. The only thing, which kept this from being an excellent story was the author's choice of names for her female investigator, Holmes. The character also uses the famous detective's methods. It was an unnecessary distraction in an otherwise interesting plot.

I recommend this to fantasy/romance fans.

In 1878, already an heiress through her father, Denver resident Delilah "Lil" Trent sails to Cornwall to gain her inheritance from her mother's side, Haskell Hall. Lil realizes that Colorado polite society never accepted her or her father as nouveau riche is beneath the "blue bloods". She feels England should provide her with a new start.

Everyone welcomes Lil to Cornwall because they feel she can bring the funds needed to help the villagers and her estate that her predecessor simply let fall into ruin. That is everyone warmly embraces Lil except her estate manager Ian Griffith who treats her like she is a worthless, conceited moron. Still Ian and Lil begin to fall in love, but the road to love is very hard for this pair. He is the last of his line, a descendent of a gypsy who cursed the ancestors of Lil, the last of her line. Lil does not fear the curse because death occurs while riding a horse; an act she will never perform unless it involves Ian's safety.

THE WOLF OF HASKELL HALL is a classic gothic romance with all the elements expected within the sub-genre. The story line is fast-paced and exciting as Lil struggles between her love for the brooding, enigmatic Ian and her fears including that of the curse and that her beloved might be a werewolf. To find out whether he is or is not, fans should read this enjoyable nineteenth century gothic romance that once again shows that Colleen Shannon is a powerful author (see HEAVEN'S HERO).

Harriet Klausner

Ms. Shannon grabbed my attention from the first chapter and didn't let it go til the end. I read this book in two days because I couldn't stand to put it down. Absolutely one of her best.

THE WOLF OF HASKELL HALL by Colleen Shannon is a paranormal romance about an independent American heiress who goes to Cornwall, England and ends up falling in love with a werewolf.

I rather enjoyed this romance. Though the author tends to overwrite a bit (the dialogue seemed a bit unreal at times), she still created interesting characters in Lil and Ian, lovers who suffer from a gypsy's curse that affects them both. Plus, Ian isn't the only werewolf in the neighborhood. There's an alpha werewolf out there, and Ian isn't sure if it's the alpha or himself who is killing innocent women in his village.

Lil, in the meantime, is dead set on finding a cure for Ian, and she enlists the help of several friends - all interesting secondary characters - in trying save Ian from his more savage instincts. Plus, Lil is a strong, intelligent female character who admits when she makes mistakes and, while she does fear Ian in his werewolf form, she is courageous enough to do whatever she can to protect him, whether man or wolf.

The book is pretty simplistic, but it is an engaging, entertaining read, and both the hero and heroine are sympathetic and interesting. If you like werewolf romances, you are sure to like THE WOLF OF HASKELL HALL.

Please note that Shelley Holmes in this book is also a main character in THE TRELAYNE INHERITANCE, a vampire romance by the same author.

***More werewolf romances include TO CATCH A WOLF by Susan Kinard (set in Colorado in the 1800s), KILLING MOON (modern-day private eye is also a werewolf), NIGHT PLAY by Sherrilyn Kenyon (part of the Dark-Hunters series), and BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE by Annette Curtis Clause (young adults story about a teen werewolf).***