Everlasting by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Everlasting
by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Genre: Historical Romance

Once Abrielle was a proud, exceptional lady coveted for her bearing, her breeding, her wit, and her beauty. But when her stepfather is denied his rightful title and the wealth that accompanies it, Abrielle finds herself suddenly disgraced. Only one would still have her, the oafish and grotesque Desmond de Marlé. Yet no one else can rescue her once-proud family's honor, so she is left with no choice but to accept the cruel and hateful de Marlé's offer of marriage . . . even as she yearns for another lover.

Dashing, handsome, tall, and kind, Raven Seabern is quite unlike any man Abrielle has ever encountered. From the very first moment their eyes meet, he intrigues and mesmerizes her—and dancing in his arms at a royal banquet leaves her weak with the desire to surrender. But their love can never be, for Abrielle is betrothed to a monster. And the well-being of everyone she cares for demands that she honor her promise.

Still, the fire lit that night will not be doused. Raven knows he has found the true one and must never let her go—though secrets, deceptions, dishonor, and unimaginable peril will surely be their fate if they follow the dictates of their hearts.

I was so hoping for another great Woodiwiss read similar to The Wolf & The Dove, but sadly I was let (way!) down. I couldn't warm up to any of the characters, they just came off as too distant to me. Much of the story didn't really need to be there as well and it seemed like a lot of fluff was added in to make a higher page count. The two protagonists also really didn't click for me and them finally being together didn't really add any excitement to the story. Abrielle, to me, wasn't a very likable character since she came off a too stubborn/fickle/prudish throughout much of the story and upon owning up to actually loving her husband; it was page 294 in a 326 page story.

Mostly, the whole book dragged horrendously for me and I kept forcing myself to continue reading when all I really wanted to do was finish the story permanently. The writing style bothered me as well since each paragraph was devoted to a different character POV instead of chapters - thus I was lost with whom was speaking/thinking when. This random paragraph phrasing also happened with time lapses throughout the tale, which was very annoying since I found myself skipping some paragraphs due to a boring tale! I wouldn't have said I was happy to have finished overall, but I had "hope" that it would get better . . . silly me, since in the end I wasn't satisfied! Fellow readers: Don't Bother!

Likes: Nothing much stood out to me and I found myself skipping whole paragraphs & pages at a time; because of that no character/chapter/event became very memorable or likable in the end.

Dislikes: The whole romantic attraction/nuptials between young Cordelia & Cedric (an "elder more than twice" her age) really grossed me out!

Words of Wisdom: "Twould now be a goodly jaunt to reach your home, but what is that distance between close friends?" (pg. 150)

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