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The Legend Of The Werestag (2009)

by Tessa Dare(Favorite Author)

3.44 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

review 1: This was a really quick read...a little too quick, to be honest. Yet still, the story that unfolds is sweet and engaging. After four years of fighting in the Napoleonic war, Luke has returned to England, a changed man. He is no longer the happy, carefree gentleman he was before he left. Cecily Hale has loved Luke for years and has waited faithfully for his return to England, in hopes that they will have a future together. Unfortunately, when the two are reunited, she discovers that Luke is nothing like the gentleman she remembers. He is dark, brooding, and withdrawn, not to mention cold and distant.When the story begins, Luke and Cecily have already reunited. The two are in attendance at a small house-party at the estate of Cecily's distant cousin, Denny, the man that ever... moreyone expects her to marry--including Denny, himself. After several days of being under the same roof, it has become painfully obvious to Cecily that Luke does not hold her in the same regard as she does he. As a matter of fact, the man barely acknowledges her presence.Then one night when the entire party goes traipsing off into the neighboring woods to hunt a mythical creature, everything changes. After a close-call encounter with a wild boar, Cecily decides that what she wants is a man who will fight for her. Will Luke be that man, or will she settle for a pleasant life with the ever affable Denny? I have to say that this story was really sweet. I do wish it were a bit longer, though. As it is, the reader is given only a glimpse of the past relationship that existed between Luke and Cecily. Furthermore, I would have liked to have seen more of Cecily and Luke together. Although the two spent several days together at the house-party, the reader only gets to read about events that unfold over a twenty-four hour period. Consequently, I felt a bit cheated of more time with the couple.Nevertheless, I found the story engaging and quite touching. IMO, the author did a nice job portraying Luke's inner angst. One thing I didn't like is that although Luke didn't want to marry Cecily himself, he wanted her to continue to pine for him for the rest of his life. He even took steps to give her a kiss by which she would be doomed to unfavorably compare every other kiss she ever received. I thought that was really selfish of him. On the other hand, Luke was so messed up mentally, that I wasn't too offended by that fact, and thankfully, it didn't last too long.This is definitely a book that I would recommend as a worthwhile read. It's only about 70 pages or so--ending right around 77% in the book--and is the perfect length for bedtime reading. I read it in just over an hour. Oh, FYI, this is not a clean romance. There are a couple of love scenes, which are quite descriptive, although not, IMO, overly graphic. Furthermore, no crude language is used. Happy reading!
review 2: For a first published story - wow! This novella by Tessa Dare, her first published work, shows why she has developed into such a popular romance author. However, it still suffers from the same challenge that most romance novellas suffer from: It is really hard to capture the arc of a good romance in the shorter format. This novella did better than most, but there’s still so much more I wanted to see. I was left wishing that she’d taken this story line and turned it into a full length romance. Our hero Luke and heroine Cecily met four years prior and were instantly attracted, but Luke went off to war. Cecily’s pined away from him, turning down a ridiculous number of suitors. Now he’s back and at the same small house party she’s attending, thrown by their mutual friend Denny. Denny also wants to marry Cecily and would make the “smart” choice for her. Cecily wants Luke. Luke wants Cecily but thinks that she’s better off with Denny. And he’s got an emotional block that makes him think he’d suck at marriage. And there’s a wild beast that may or may no the mythological. So much potential there. Instead, I’m left with a lot of unanswered questions. I’d still recommended it if you’re looking for a short enjoyable read, but recognize that you won’t get the in-depth view of two characters developing and growing. Everything feels shortened in this book. (3.5/5 on my romance scale) less

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