The 1840s: a time of increasing social awareness, particularly for progressive cotton mill owner Adrian Bennett and his son Christopher.
One social issue Christopher has never considered is violence against women. A Robert Browning poem and a chance encounter with Katerina Valentino change everything.
Katerina fears for her life because of her father’s violent behavior. When Christopher is … Christopher is entranced by the delicate, dark-haired beauty, he decides to rescue her – by marrying her.
But Katerina’s years of abuse have left her physically and emotionally scarred, threatening the newlyweds’ happiness. Is Christopher’s tender affection enough to help heal Katerina’s broken spirit?
Praise from readers:
★★★★★ – “I love historical romances, and Keeping Katerina is one of the best I have ever read. Not only was the story line engaging, but it held an air of originality that is sorely lacking in most publications today.”
★★★★★ – “Very well written, with a great theme and well developed characters.”
★★★★★ – “This book was wonderful. Well written and finished nicely. The author addresses a serious issue in a way that allows you to respect the heroine… Lovely.”
★★★★★ – “This book dealt with a subject that has been ignored in any other book I have read. I loved it, and look forward to many more stories by this author. ”
★★★★★ – “In a short few pages, I was hooked.”
This is a steamy romance and includes graphic sex scenes.
more
Very good book..enjoyed it
She’s like the mythical Phoenix arising to a new beginning.
I’m glad I didn’t dismiss this book based on the negative reviews. Instead, I read the “Look Inside” excerpt on the purchase page. That short portion convinced me that this story had promise and the writing was good enough to download the book and give it try.
I’m partial to character-driven stories, which is what Keeping Katerina is all about – the characters. Yes, the story is interesting, if not a little disturbing because of the intimate look at the darkness of domestic abuse, but it’s the characters that make this book engrossing. How does an abuse survivor heal from the physical and emotional damage, and what does it take to move forward from such a violent past.
Simone Beaudelaire has written a good story with just the right balance of description, dialogue and thoughts. All of the characters are well developed, both the primary and secondary. She also does a good job of world building and weaving in history, with some artistic license. Unlike what was stated in other reviews, I found only a few grammatical or editing/proofing errors.
Sadly, the ending was just so-so. The immediate danger was handled, but the happy ending was a bit of a let down. I wish the author would have included an epilogue.
Content alert: In addition to described violent domestic abuse, this book also contains secular and religious swearing and intimately described marital sex.
This is such a fabulous story! If you love history and a hopeful presentation of a difficult problem that we are still dealing with today, this is a Must Read!!!
Easy to read
I could not put this book down. It is so true to life. This poor girl went through
hell with her father. I am so glad that Christopher married Katerina.
I think his mother did the right thing by telling him of her father’s abuse to
her. I was so glad that they fell in love. They enjoyed themselves in Italy. Glad Christopher beat the shit out of him for what for his abuse on Katerina kicking
her. I am glad she lived. Thank heaven for Christopher’s tears dropping on her.
Everyone should read this book it is terrific.
A wonderful easy to read book. The hero is every woman’s dream! Brings awareness to a abusive relationships.
Keeping Katrina made me want to hurt the father. He was sick and twisted. But we had a great hero in this story.
Could have left the steam out
Lovely romance with nicely covered difficult plot. Well done
Read it twice!
A different but timely topic for a romance.
Very good book.
Did not like it. Boring
I thoroughly enjoyed the plot of this book. However, I did not appreciate the graphic sexual scenes in the book. I won’t be reading any more books by this author.
The characters lacked depth and the interaction felt forced.
very slow
Was really surprised when it turned out to be so nasty. So called tenderness was really soft porn in disguise. Fool me for getting suckered into reading so many chapters!
Good story but too much sex, sex, sex!
It was good just to plain on the sex.
A really good book dealing with social justice issues (some of which continue today). Love overcomes evil!