This type of book is good for anyone who loves a light historical romance novel with a touch of mystery and adventure. It is definitely a "beach book," being that it will not leave you thinking or weighed down at the end, but will rather leave you relaxed after a trip through a good story.

I liked the catchiness of this story. It is a book that definitely draws you in and keeps you turning pages. Some parts had me laughing while others had me so entranced, I didn't want to get up to take a break from the story. I finished the book in a single day because of this.

At some points in the book, I found myself disappointed in the writing. There are only so many different ways you can point out that a certain lady is beautiful before having to fall back on traditional "romance novel" descriptions. Also, at some points, the plot didn't seem original as it reminded me of other novels. The most glaring similarities are to the DaVinci Code, but I believe this book was published well before.

Catherine Coulter has written over 50 novels, most of which I have read. While this one is not my favorite (I prefer her straight mysteries), it is definitely not my least favorite.

The Wild Baron is definitely written by Coulter though - the trademarks of her writing style are all there. The most noticeable of which is the tendency of her characters to make crazy subject changes in the middle of the dialogue. I believe it is an effort to move the plot along while "showing and not telling" but it seems to distract me from the story I'm involved in and bring me back to the fact that I'm reading a book that someone wrote.

This story, while fanciful and light, will surprise you in the areas the plot ends up going. From the beginning of the book to the end, the typical "romance novel" formula doesn't work and because of that, this is definitely a fun book to read.

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Created Sep 28, 2006 at 2:07pm • Submit your own review...