Castle of the Wolf: Sandra Schwab

Celia Fussell's father was dead, and she was reduced to the status of a poor relation in the house of her brother--the new baron--and his shrewish wife. A life of misery loomed ahead.

But, no. There was hope. Deep in the Black Forest, in the Great Duchy of Baden, was Celia's inheritance. Among fir trees so dark they almost looked black, the Castle of Wolfenbach rose, a skeletal ruin adorned by gargoyles where even locals feared to tread. It was a fortress of solitude, or secrets, of old wounds and older mysteries. But it was hers. And only one thing stood in her way: its former master, the hermit, the enigma...the man she was obliged to marry.

If the cheesy cover art wasn't enough to scare me off, the contents of the pages inside were.

This book is supposed to be a paranormal romance, however that couldn't be further from the truth. The only thing in the entire book that was even remotely paranormal was the brief interludes that were thrown in at the beginning of every 8-10 chapters. These 10-line inserts were from the viewpoint of the stone walls, or gargoyles, or whatever they were from. I'm not even sure as they had absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the story and they were never touched on or explained in any way, shape, or form. I was just completely baffled by the whole thing. Other than these tiny little inserts that made no sense, the rest of the book was entirely Gothic romance.

As far as the story, itself, it was a complete knock off of Beauty and the Beast (minus the somewhat paranormal ingredient of the hero actually becoming a beast). The entire book from beginning to end was as predictable as the day is long, only I was expecting something that resembled spooks, or ghouls, or some hint of the unexplained.

Then we have the dialogue. I can overlook some things, but others I just can't let go. If I had to read "Oh, my Wolf" one more time, I swear my head was going to explode. This was just over-the-top wishy-washy. There's no better way to explain it. And when a full-time romance reader like myself is gagging at the sappiness, you know there's a problem.

Beware! Summertime is almost here. There's no need to feed your fireplace to heat your house, so there's no other purpose for picking up this title.

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Publisher: Love Spell (May 2007)
ISBN: 0505527200
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