Such a sad story but evolved to victory of love and caring over abuse. Amazing that she wasn’t scarred for life
Keeping Katerina: 19th Century Historical Romance
by Simone Beaudelaire
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 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.
Reviews
Keeping Katerina
Historical romance
I loved this. It was a mix of sweet and sad. The author didn't back away from the horror of abuse but instead focused on the healing. Kat is so strong and a remarkable character you can't help but root for her.
Life at its worse and at its best.
A totally different story line than any other book I have read. Unexpected turns, love contrasting with brutality. Hard to set down,.
heavier background on the Victorian era
Is this a romance? Yes, and there is a happily ever after implied at the end. Does this show a dark history of the Victorian era? Yes, and of our own. There are a few minor editorial errors - my bugaboo, sorry - but this is generally well done. This shows a progressive factory invented by the author but it is to show how good and enlightened the hero and his family are. This also shows a dysfunctional family for the heroine but explains why they get together in the first place. Not a light read but a good one.
Beautifully written
Very emotion packed well written romance!excellent book to read ! I read it in one sitting! Draws you in !
A Realistic Picture of Abused Women joined with a romance.
I got this as a free book probably through BookBub or Robin's Reads. It recognizes a social problem that is a problem but not noticed as such since fathers, brothers, and husbands are allowed to treat female members of the family any way they please and in general it is considered the females' fault. Katerina is a badly abused woman. Christopher is becoming aware of the problem of abuse of female family members.
It will grab you from the first page to the last. There are plenty of twists and turns, and surprises, I think you'll like it as much as I did.
Really good book, but too much sex!
I liked this book quite a bit and it made me cry a couple of times, but the sexual content didn't really add to the story and it was too explicit.
Touching with a dose of Reality
Physical abuse towards women is a tough subject to tackle. This author does a remarkable job of writing a compelling story with such reality and compassion for her heroine. Despite our so called advanced civilization, this crime is still committed towards far too many women, far too many times.
