Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

A pact is sealed in secret behind the foreboding walls of Newgate Prison. In return for a night of unparalleled pleasure, a dashing condemned criminal consents to wed a beautiful heiress, thereby rescuing her with his name from an impending and abhorred arranged union. But in the fading echoes of hollow wedding vows, a solemn promise is broken, as a sensuous free spirit takes flight to a lush Caribbean paradise, abandoning the stranger she married to face the gallows unfulfilled.

But Ruark Beauchamp's destiny is now eternally intertwined with that of the tempestuous, intoxicating Shanna. He will be free . . . and he will find her. For no iron ever forged can imprison his resolute passion. And no hangman's noose will deny Ruark the ecstasy that is rightfully his.

Average Customer Rating:

boring	Customer Rating:
I am a very avid reader and this book could not hold my attention. It was actually a struggle to finish. Shanna resists WAYY too long and it seems like page after page of her pretending she hates him and him pursuing her. I mean, that all good and fun, but not for hundreds of pages! There are much better books out there, so I wouldn't recommend wasting your time on this one

Best romance of our time

Customer Rating:

I read this book twenty years ago and have read it several times thereafter. It was and still is my favorite love story. The spoiled yet fragile Shanna with her uppity ways and the memesmerizing Rourke are such wonderful characters brought to life in such a romantic setting. The ending was everything I could want. Kathleen Woodiwiss has such an elegant way with words and a strong sense of human emotion. The scenes with the pirates kept me glued and turning the pages. I highly recommmend this book. Tamera

Shanna	Customer Rating:
I read this book years ago. I have read it several times. I intend to keep this book.

One of my favorite books

Customer Rating:

I love this book, I've read it several times. The storyline is so different and the twists and turns are unexpected. I especially love Ruark because he is so tolerant and Woodiwiss's description of him just makes a woman sigh. I can undestand how one would find Shanna frustrating to read about, in the beginning she does act like a child, but that is what makes Ruark even more attractive- he's patient with her and she does eventually grow up. I don't know how a person could find this book boring or uninteresting.

The most boring romance novel I have ever read - and I have read many

Customer Rating:

I bought this book based on the reviews here. I am now absolutely boggled as to how these reviews can be. Did we read the same book? I can only surmise that many people who did not like the book did not even think it worthy of spending time writing a bad review. However, I was motivated to lend more balance to these reviews and help some people not to waste their money and time. It starts out OK with the prison scene and going to the island and I thought I was going to like it, but very quickly the plot enters stasis for the remaining hundreds of pages, and all that happens is Ruark and Shanna bicker over nonsense, have sex, and then Shanna whines about how she has to keep torturing Ruark. I am a fan of romance novels and can make my way past a fair amount of trite offerings for the otherwise fun pay-off of the genre (the hero crosses his arms and broods, the proud heroine, etc). However, this book was intolerable. I could NOT read it through - and this is rare for me - so I ended up skimming until the end. I could care less whether Shanna "relented" and couldn't really understand why she did not sooner. She was such a spoiled brat - yuk! Ruark seemed like a good guy, except for the fact that he pursued Shanna, which made me question his character (although it seemed to be mostly about lust - sadly, this did not translate to the reader.) It was SO repetitive, and all the characters did was argue incessantly with each other, which was horribly annoying. There was not a single redeeming quality offered about Shanna other than her good looks. Anyhow, if you are still curious about the book, check it out from the library - don't buy it!