Helpful Score: 5
I had some problems with this book. The hero rapes the heroine. It's not sugarcoated in any way, shape or form -- he pulls her off a horse & just does it. The heroine then has to overcome her feelings of shame & guilt. Plus she has to conceal the crime, because her Cossack clan values virginity and she doesn't want to be cast out. The hero then has to redeem himself in her eyes (and mine, the reader's!)
While I thought the author was successful in relaying the heroine, Katrina's pain & her grief about the rape (and there is a great scene where she confesses what was done to her to her dying grandfather), I didn't think the author was successful in making Banyan, the hero, redeem himself fully for the rape, at least in my eyes. It was a difficult read for me, because, besides the rape of the heroine by the hero, there is also "TMI" about Ivan the Terrible's sexual depravities.
It's a book that will mean different things to different readers, but for THIS reader, I wish I hadn't read it. Granted, it was written in 1978 so there was a different style for romance novels back then. I wouldn't say Fern Michaels is a bad writer, but, I'm glad this type of romance novel went out the window in the '90's.
While I thought the author was successful in relaying the heroine, Katrina's pain & her grief about the rape (and there is a great scene where she confesses what was done to her to her dying grandfather), I didn't think the author was successful in making Banyan, the hero, redeem himself fully for the rape, at least in my eyes. It was a difficult read for me, because, besides the rape of the heroine by the hero, there is also "TMI" about Ivan the Terrible's sexual depravities.
It's a book that will mean different things to different readers, but for THIS reader, I wish I hadn't read it. Granted, it was written in 1978 so there was a different style for romance novels back then. I wouldn't say Fern Michaels is a bad writer, but, I'm glad this type of romance novel went out the window in the '90's.
in this book fern michaels takes you to 16th century russia, where katrina is on a vengeance quest against the men who destroyed her village
Katerina possesses the courage I& beauty of her wild Cossack ancestors. She is on a vengeance quest against the marauders who destroyed her billage and her priceless snow-white horses in the name of the mad czar. A good book
Whitefire takes us to 16th century Russia during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, an age of unspeakable savagery and unbridled passion. Here, in a land torn by violence, a man and a woman will journey to the limits of bitter hatred and white-fire ectasy--in a spellbinding novel of love and adventure.
She possesses the courage and beauty of her wild Cossack ancestors. Now Katerina is on a vengenance quest against the marauders who destroyed her village in 16th century Russia. They also stole her priceless snow white horses in the name of Ivan, the mad Czar. Nor will she rest until she has killed the man who dared to take her innocence.
Never does she dream that it is her irresistible seducer - a proud Mongol prince - who will help her avenge her people and reclaim her horses. Together, they harness the fires of fury and passion tha consume them. And, together, they forge a destiny as magnificent as the land and the love that is their glorious heritage.
Never does she dream that it is her irresistible seducer - a proud Mongol prince - who will help her avenge her people and reclaim her horses. Together, they harness the fires of fury and passion tha consume them. And, together, they forge a destiny as magnificent as the land and the love that is their glorious heritage.
16th century Russia, Reign of Ivan The Terrible
Wonderful!
Once again, Fern took me on a new adventure to a land and time I had never dreamed of. Ms. Burr has such a comforting voice.
Nice!
Nice!
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible as Czar of Russia, Mongol Banyan Amur rapes Cossack Katerina "Kat" Vaschenko. She hides the incident from her family; however, she is caught in a naked embrace with a Russian emissary trying to obtain horses from the Cossacks. Her father believes that Kat has sold the horse breeding secrets in exchange for a little flesh. Kat becomes isolated from her clan which turns out to save her life when a dastardly raid by the Tereks kill her entire family and steal the prize horses. ...... Kat vows revenge and journeys across the Ural Mountains to ask her uncle, Khan Afstar for his help. Once she arrives at his camp, she meets Banyen, who fails to recognize her, though she knows who he is. Afstar gives Kat some prisoners, and assigns Banyen's men to be trained as Cossacks so that they can help regain the lost horses. Though the return trip is treacherous and the training potentially dangerous, Banyen and Kat fall in love with each other. However, this is not the land of TV's Luke and Laura. Instead, a rape, an insane Czar, and a herd of horses stand in the way of a lasting relationship. ..... This is a reprint of a 1978 classic, written under a different name by the renowned Fern Michaels. Two decades later and this classy historical romance passes the test of time with high marks because the reader can still taste the various ethnic cultures that made up Eastern Europe. .......Harriet Klausner
