Bodice Ripper Revival (3): Review and International Giveaway

Love Spell; Jan 2001

Book Blurb:

With the coming of the moon, wild happenings disturb the seaswept peace of Haskell Hall. And for the newest heiress, deep longing mingles with still deeper fear. Never has she been so powerfully drawn to a man as she is to Ian Griffith, with his secretive amber eyes and tightly leashed sensuality. Awash in the seductive moonlight of his tower chamber, she bares herself to his fierce passions. But has she freed a tormented soul with her loving gift or loosed a demon who hunts unsuspecting women as his prey?

Review:

The Wolf of Haskell Hall kicked off Love Spell's Candleglow gothic romance series back in early 2001.  The story is set in 19th century Cornwall, complete with spooky moors, a dilapidated manor house, and a frightening werewolf curse.  I was intrigued by the blurb because I love darker paranormal and historical romances, and this book was a combination of both.

The heroine is American heiress Delilah "Lil" Haskell Trent, the new owner Haskell Hall.  Lil knows that the former mistress of the manor died a violent death after venturing into the moors alone.  In fact, all former mistresses of Haskell Hall have met a similar fate, all of them killed by wolves.  Lil meets Ian Griffith, the mysterious estate manager with strange amber eyes, with whom she is inexplicably drawn to.  She finds out that she and Ian are the latest victims of a 100 year old gypsy curse involving the Haskell women and Griffith men.  The woman must find a way to break the curse or have her heart ripped out (literally) by her werewolf lover.

I thought this book was a fairly good read.  It took me a while to get into the story because it wasn't as dark and suspenseful as I'd hoped.  Ian and Lil had strong chemistry, but the tension wasn't drawn out long enough.  They were all over each other by the end of the first chapter!  I also thought that Ian was too much of a gentleman.  Sure, he was seductive and brooding, but I was expecting him to be a bit more primal.  The story also had some quirky secondary characters.  I particularly liked Lil's horse trainer, Shelly Holmes.  She was a paranormal investigator of sorts with ulterior motives of her own.  Shelly should have gotten her own book! 

The Wolf of Haskell Hall turned out to be more of a historical romance rather than a true bodice ripper.  It is out-of-print, but I think it is worth getting if you're a fan of light gothic romance and can find a used copy.  I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Bodices

Giveaway Details:

This post is part of the Bodice Ripper Revival Weekend hosted by myself and Tanya from Among the Muses.  We're giving you the opportunity to win one of the BRR books reviewed this weekend.  Because The Wolf of Haskell Hall is out-of-print,  the winner will have her (or his) choice of one of the following prizes:

• A copy of Prisoner of My Desire by Johanna Lindsey (the book Tanya reviewed HERE).
• Winner's choice of one book from The Book Depository up to $8 in value (US dollars).
• An $8 eGift card to Amazon.

The giveaway is open internationally.  To enter, please leave a comment on this post with your e-mail address.  For an additional entry, you may leave a comment on Tanya's post HERE.  Contest is open until Monday, 9/26/2011, at 11:59 pm EST.  Good luck!