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Woodiwiss is my all-time favorite author. Way back in the mid 1970's, I was introduced to my first 'gothic' romance novel that contained an alpha male. It was 'The Flame and the Flower.' It was the first book that gave my stomach butterflies; that I couldn't put down. Wikipedia states that this book that was officially published by Avon in 1972 "is credited with spawning the modern romance genre." All I know is that everyone wanted a 'Brandon Birmingham' in their bed - LOL!

That of course was followed by her second book, 'The Wolf and the Dove,' where we got to meet Wulfgar (ultra-alpha male) and Aislin (a bit more backbone than Heather from TFATF).

But it was Ms. Woodiwiss's third book, 'Shanna,' that was by far my favorite.

Ruark Beauchamp is an alpha male - not in the same way as Brandon or Wulfgar, but then, Shanna was a bit more high-maintenance than either one of the heroines in the previous two books. So it took not only an alpha, but an alpha that was patient, tenacious, and who really 'got' Shanna in order to tame her. The reason is obvious - as another reviewer pointed out, Shanna was spoiled. However, Shanna was more than that. We cannot overlook the fact for that period of time, Shanna was a couple of hundred years ahead of her time; kind of like Scarlett O'Hara was for her time.

Shanna did not want a 'marriage of convenience' to please her widowed father who was hell bent on having her married off and giving him a passel of grandbabies. Shanna had plans of her own. Having essentially been raised without her mother who died when Shanna was just a baby, Shanna lived in a man's world, having seen what that was like, she wanted her own independence.

Yes - Shanna could be selfish and self-serving, until her amorous 'bond slave' taught about compassion, generosity, loving and learning. She nearly lost it all before she realized what she had. She was humbled by Ruark Beauchamp.... that was a first.

This book, out of all of Ms. Woodiwiss's novels, was actually optioned for a movie. I believe it was somewhere around 1978 or 1979. Whether it was a television movie or the big screen, I don't recall. I do remember reading articles about it and I am not sure why it fell through. I recall that several well-known actresses were vying for the part of 'Shanna Trahern,' one being the 'Charlie's Angel' star, Cheryl Ladd.

In today's reading world perhaps the "graphic" description of the hot sex Shanna and Ruark had could not hold up to the writing of authors such as E.L.James (whose work I love by the way) or others writing in the romantic-erotica-alpha male genre. But I can tell you this: about every 3-4 years I re-read this book and after all of this time, it still gives this old lady butterflies - DOWN THERE!!!!