Sandra Schwab "Castle of the Wolf"

This is my first 'Gothic' romance novel per se. I found it at the library and true to my usual well researched reading habits, liked the cover and title so I took it home. I wanted to like it, and in many ways I did, but it felt like a first novel that needed some editing to tighten it up. I will add the caveat again, that I've not read other Gothic books so there were moments where the 'atmosphere' seemed a bit forced but beyond that....

I really liked the addition of the fairytale tidbits, but there were too many of them. It felt like they were there because the author had the knowledge, not because it furthered the story. Judicious use of them would have worked better. Same basic complaint about how often the heroine notices his large hands. Overall, the story is good, the characters are decently drawn, the castle and black forest setting, how can you not like that, the book just needed about 50 pages less of repetitive observations.

This is an author I would keep my eye on. There is some definite promise here.

Historical Romance 2008: 3.5 of 5 gargoyles watching.