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Shades of Twilight
by
Roanna Davenport was raised a wealthy orphan on her grandmother's magnificent Alabama estate, Davencourt, where she had a passion for horses, a genius for trouble, and a deep love for her cousin, Webb. But everyone expected Webb to marry their ravishing cousin, Jessie. When he did, Roanna's desire became no more than the stuff of dreams -- until the night Jessie was found
...more
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Paperback, 384 pages
Published
September 1st 1997
by Pocket Books
(first published July 1996)
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Cheri
I love all these similar authors as well. I would recommend Karen Robards to you. I enjoy her books as well. Take a look at my booklist and reviews.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Shades of Twilight
Dec 09, 2013
Sophie ♥
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Romantic suspense fans, Linda Howard fans, those who enjoyed After the Night in particular!
WARNING: Fragile Heroine Ahead
10 STARS FOR THIS MASTERPIECE BY LINDA HOWARD - I AM HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH THIS I CAN'T EVEN...ROANNA WAS A 100% PERFECT HEROINE
I am finally out of my reading rut. Hurrah! All those historical romances and mellow contemporaries finally got to me and I was definitely in the mood to shake it up a bit so I decided to make another venture into romantic suspense and I just cannot believe how hard I fell for this book. What really skyrocketed this book up my ...more
10 STARS FOR THIS MASTERPIECE BY LINDA HOWARD - I AM HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH THIS I CAN'T EVEN...ROANNA WAS A 100% PERFECT HEROINE
I am finally out of my reading rut. Hurrah! All those historical romances and mellow contemporaries finally got to me and I was definitely in the mood to shake it up a bit so I decided to make another venture into romantic suspense and I just cannot believe how hard I fell for this book. What really skyrocketed this book up my ...more
I’ll keep this one short and sweet.
I guess you could say that I enjoyed Shades of Twilight. It is apparent by my updates. But in the end this one settled around the 3.5 – 4 stars rating. So instead of two thumbs up I’ll give it one thumb up! :)
Without doubt Linda Howard can write some wonderful storylines and strong main characters. I found Roanna to be innocent yet strong and resilient. I found Webb to be domineering yet honest and goodhearted. Their relationship was slow building (and I mean ...more
I guess you could say that I enjoyed Shades of Twilight. It is apparent by my updates. But in the end this one settled around the 3.5 – 4 stars rating. So instead of two thumbs up I’ll give it one thumb up! :)
Without doubt Linda Howard can write some wonderful storylines and strong main characters. I found Roanna to be innocent yet strong and resilient. I found Webb to be domineering yet honest and goodhearted. Their relationship was slow building (and I mean ...more
Oct 02, 2016
Nenia ⚡ Aspiring Evil Overlord ⚡ Campbell
rated it
it was ok
Shelves:
kissing-books,
romantic-suspense
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I love challenges, and that's why the mods and I at Unapologetic Romance Readers came up with the Halloween 2016 Reading Challenge. We're shining the light on the darker side of romance and seeing what horrible, creepy things come a-crawling out. I picked SHADES OF TWILIGHT to satisfy the "romance involving a murder" category, and boy, did it satisfy on that end.
SHADES OF TWILIGHT features Roanna Davenport, one of the heirs to a wealthy ...more
~~~~~~ 4.5 STARS! ~~~~~~
Wow. Linda Howard is quickly becoming one of my fave authors.
This book was so consuming, so thorough in its ability to make me cry, hate, despair and feel joy. It had a very epic feel to it although the events transcend 20 years in total. I loved the characters, even the bad ones. Roanna was a girl that lost her parents as a child only to live with her grandmother at Davencourt, the estate her father's family established.
She's also loved her second cousin, Webb---this ...more
Wow. Linda Howard is quickly becoming one of my fave authors.
This book was so consuming, so thorough in its ability to make me cry, hate, despair and feel joy. It had a very epic feel to it although the events transcend 20 years in total. I loved the characters, even the bad ones. Roanna was a girl that lost her parents as a child only to live with her grandmother at Davencourt, the estate her father's family established.
She's also loved her second cousin, Webb---this ...more
One word for this book ( or expression depending on how you choose to see it ) - EWW.
Reading about Jessie's affair with her dad was disturbing on so many levels. Jessie made my skin crawl with disgust!! Wonder why Nana Davenport and others favored her ALL THE TIME.
Ro deserved better than being Nana's 'second choice' business manager and Webb's 'after thought' wife!
Even Ro's and Webb's relationship was seemingly incestuous, given how he often remembers having brotherly feelings for her as a kid.. ...more
Reading about Jessie's affair with her dad was disturbing on so many levels. Jessie made my skin crawl with disgust!! Wonder why Nana Davenport and others favored her ALL THE TIME.
Ro deserved better than being Nana's 'second choice' business manager and Webb's 'after thought' wife!
Even Ro's and Webb's relationship was seemingly incestuous, given how he often remembers having brotherly feelings for her as a kid.. ...more
4 stars. I struggled with the first part of the book, but the second half took off.
I would say LH pushed a lot of envelopes with this one. Especially, the ending. I never saw it coming.
I would say LH pushed a lot of envelopes with this one. Especially, the ending. I never saw it coming.
I love this author, but I don't recommend this book. Roanna lost her parents at age 7.
She then lived with an evil cousin Jessie who bullied and tormented her constantly for 10 years. Jessie was killed and the relatives at first believed Roanna did it, then later believed Webb did it so he left town for 10 years. He made erroneous assumptions about Roanna and acted like he hated her as he left. He was the only one who cared for her and raised her from age 7, and she felt abandoned. Other ...more
She then lived with an evil cousin Jessie who bullied and tormented her constantly for 10 years. Jessie was killed and the relatives at first believed Roanna did it, then later believed Webb did it so he left town for 10 years. He made erroneous assumptions about Roanna and acted like he hated her as he left. He was the only one who cared for her and raised her from age 7, and she felt abandoned. Other ...more
Sep 30, 2013
Rashika (is tired)
rated it
did not like it
Recommends it for:
NO ONE! Not even my worst enemy, no one deserves this
Recommended to Rashika (is tired) by:
My own stupid self, I really should sue myself
There is a reason why this book is getting such a low rating.
It scarred me for life and here I thought I was going to get brain candy.
I cannot even write a rant because I am so distressed.
But because I don't want people to be scarred for life like I was, I will tell you why this book got a horrible rating(this is not a spoiler).
One of the 'couples' in this book are a pair of Father and Daughter but the daughter does die (and I cannot tell you if the father does) so there is that.
When I say ...more
It scarred me for life and here I thought I was going to get brain candy.
I cannot even write a rant because I am so distressed.
But because I don't want people to be scarred for life like I was, I will tell you why this book got a horrible rating(this is not a spoiler).
One of the 'couples' in this book are a pair of Father and Daughter but the daughter does die (and I cannot tell you if the father does) so there is that.
When I say ...more
4.5 stars for this one. I usually am not into the 'family drama' type scenario in books esp. if they have 1/2 a book in the past and 1/2 in the now - BUT this one grabbed me right from the prologue and I had difficulty putting it down (therefore I did so very rarely ;)
I loved Roanna and Webb. The only reason this didn't get a full 5 stars though, was that I think Roanna's love for Webb was at times a bit wimpy. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed their interaction. Unlike other reviewers I ...more
I loved Roanna and Webb. The only reason this didn't get a full 5 stars though, was that I think Roanna's love for Webb was at times a bit wimpy. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed their interaction. Unlike other reviewers I ...more
3.5 rounded up.
This definitely kept me interested, although I could have done without graphic sex scenes between secondary characters. **Trigger warning for incest.
This book starts when the h is 7 and ends when she's 27, two decades are glossed over, but it's primarily the story of how Roanna survived and grew/changed over the years.
The hero is 5-6 years older and Roanna's 2nd cousin. She lives under the same roof with him from 7 to 17, during which time she goes from big brother/hero worship to ...more
This definitely kept me interested, although I could have done without graphic sex scenes between secondary characters. **Trigger warning for incest.
This book starts when the h is 7 and ends when she's 27, two decades are glossed over, but it's primarily the story of how Roanna survived and grew/changed over the years.
The hero is 5-6 years older and Roanna's 2nd cousin. She lives under the same roof with him from 7 to 17, during which time she goes from big brother/hero worship to ...more
This was an amazing book! More than a romance novel, it's a literary work that celebrates the American south and shows its darker side with all the sizzling intensity of Tennessee Williams.
Roanna Davenport is the most original heroine I've ever seen in a contemporary romance novel. So often in reviews we say someone (usually the hero) is "wild." And people just use "wild" to mean vibrant, sexy, passionate, whatever. But what makes Roanna so heartbreaking and original is that she really is . . . ...more
Roanna Davenport is the most original heroine I've ever seen in a contemporary romance novel. So often in reviews we say someone (usually the hero) is "wild." And people just use "wild" to mean vibrant, sexy, passionate, whatever. But what makes Roanna so heartbreaking and original is that she really is . . . ...more
This was a fabulous read for me,absolutely loved Webb-Roanna such strong sweet caring honest characters and their love was so deep they lived for each other protected each other and even sacrificed so much so that the other one gets happiness.It was a 5 star book for me but the climax disappointed me a little so 4.5 stars
I really cried for Roanna way she suffered and changed lost her smile and willingness to live,for no fault of hers she constantly suffered so much pain anger abusings ...more
I really cried for Roanna way she suffered and changed lost her smile and willingness to live,for no fault of hers she constantly suffered so much pain anger abusings ...more
*** 4Woof Stars***
Roanna and Jessie are cousins. After losing their parents they both moved into Davencourt, their grandmother's mansion. Roanna is the black sheep of the family - she’s clumsy, outspoken and troublesome. Jessie is beautiful, snobby and bratty.
Webb has lived in the mansion with his mother since the death of his father and is set to inherit the Davenport and part of that deal is marrying Jessie. Roanne has been in love with Webb all of her life.
Shades Of Twilight is good ...more
I originally read this about 9 years ago when I first found Linda Howard but by now didn't really remember how I felt about it - turns out it's a pretty good story that kept me entertained and even made me cry. There are a few aspects I could have done without - the cousins are a little closer in the family tree than I would like for the leads to be and the graphic descriptions of the taboo relationship with the one character and another person.
Overall, a good story with the old Linda Howard ...more
Overall, a good story with the old Linda Howard ...more
And my Linda Howard re-read tour continues! It has been several years since I read this one.. and I still loved it! Now, this is not one of my most fav Linda Howard books.. I didn't love Ro as much as her other h's.. but still loved it.. for like the 3rd or 4th time!
Quite possibly the perfect old school romance. If you love soap operas I have your book. It was decadent. Ridiculous. And wonderful.
"I loved you when you were a snot-nosed kid, into so much mischief it's a wonder my hair didn't turn prematurely gray. I loved you when you were a teenager with long, skinny legs and eyes that broke my heart every time I looked at you. I love you now that you're a woman who makes my brain go soft, my legs go weak, and my dick get hard. When you walk into a room, my heart damn near jumps out of my chest. When you smile, I feel as if I've won a Nobel Prize. And your eyes still break my heart."
...more
...more
Linda Howard hit the ball out the park with this one. It had everything that makes for a great read for me. First there is Southern family drama. I am from the South and there is nothing that gives me larger charge than reading about the life, loves and scandal of a family set in the South.
The book is set in two pieces. The first half is all set up. We meet the principle players all at very young, impressionable ages and get a feel for all the intertwined relationships. And then, abruptly, a ...more
The book is set in two pieces. The first half is all set up. We meet the principle players all at very young, impressionable ages and get a feel for all the intertwined relationships. And then, abruptly, a ...more
I am a huge Linda Howard fan but this book confounded me on so many levels.
The first LH where I dint care much for the h, a highly Mary-sued doormat with a my-emotions-are-in-a-deep-freeze excuse.
The first LH where I dint like the H at all as for all the author’s pushing and prodding, his feelings for the h seemed contrived.
The first LH where the H/h dint work as a couple, at least not till the very end.
The first LH where I couldn’t pinpoint the killer too btw!!
Not the first LH thriller with ...more
I loved this book. I am very fond of romances that start when the hero and heroine are children and we get to see their story over time. This was different and interesting. If you only like one type of story and get squeeked out when the plot has some unsavory elements, you might not like it. I pretty much have a cast iron stomach when it comes to that sort of thing. It's fiction and not only that, the stuff that people object to in this book i.e., incest (not the hero or heroine!) it happens
...more
This was an odd book for me. I was grossed out by the inappropriate (to me any way)relationships in this book. We had second cousins getting married and there was also an even worse couple with a father and daughter. But even with this said, I did like the main couple, Webb and Rowana. I did want to reach into the book so many times to throttle Rowana, she was so wishy washy, she needed to get a spine and take control of her life. She did have a moment in her life where the light bulb did come
...more
I was not expecting that. I was not expecting THAT to be the killer.
The HEA was sweet and lovely, and though it took Webb and Roanna basically the whole book to finally come together, it worked for them. It worked well for the story.
But I wanted to shake Roanna now and again for her sometimes endless pity party. She straightened herself out in the end there though. Thankfully.
I do enjoy a good old family drama with a chance for murder and mystery--and there were some sick and twisted things ...more
The HEA was sweet and lovely, and though it took Webb and Roanna basically the whole book to finally come together, it worked for them. It worked well for the story.
But I wanted to shake Roanna now and again for her sometimes endless pity party. She straightened herself out in the end there though. Thankfully.
I do enjoy a good old family drama with a chance for murder and mystery--and there were some sick and twisted things ...more
*2,5 stars*
I really liked the first half or so but unfortunately I found that there was too many rehashing in the second one. I rounded up my rating because I was wondering about Jessie's killer until it was revealed.
Author: Linda Howard
First published: 1996
Length: 5392 locations (kindle)
Setting: Contemporary.
Sex: Explicit. Reasonably frequent.
Hero: Rancher / business manager
Heroine: Business manager
Trigger: Rape. Incest. Murder. Rough sex.
Includes: excerpt from Kill and Tell.
A clever story but some niggling annoyances.
~ I am uncomfortable with marrying the 2nd cousin especially if they have been brought up in the same household and a childhood crush needs to metamorphose into love.
~ Incest. A difficult ...more
First published: 1996
Length: 5392 locations (kindle)
Setting: Contemporary.
Sex: Explicit. Reasonably frequent.
Hero: Rancher / business manager
Heroine: Business manager
Trigger: Rape. Incest. Murder. Rough sex.
Includes: excerpt from Kill and Tell.
A clever story but some niggling annoyances.
~ I am uncomfortable with marrying the 2nd cousin especially if they have been brought up in the same household and a childhood crush needs to metamorphose into love.
~ Incest. A difficult ...more
This ended up being a pretty good romantic mystery, but during the middle third of the book I almost put it down in annoyance. The heroine was such a doormat and I just didn't buy her holding a candle for the hero for ten years while he was gone. And how she went to college, was even social (eg, in a sorority) but yet she didn't date and she was still a virgin at age 27??? Yeah, right.
Then she finally got a backbone and I liked her character better. The mystery and suspense parts in the last ...more
Then she finally got a backbone and I liked her character better. The mystery and suspense parts in the last ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
It had to be this book and a flight to Manchester to get me out of a really, really horrible reading slump! Now I simply hope I'm outta it for good or at least for as long as possible! Horrible feeling, being in a reading slump! I've lost counts how many books I've started and failed to finish!
I've read a lot of Linda Howard's books and have enjoyed all of them, this one included. However, several things about "Shades of Twilight" bothered me.
First of all, weren't Webb, Jessie, and Roanna too closely related for him to marry either of them???? I know in centuries past that was no big deal, and relatives even closer than they were are known to have gotten married, but in this day and age, I thought they were a bit too closely related.
Also, not to give anything away, but when Jessie's ...more
First of all, weren't Webb, Jessie, and Roanna too closely related for him to marry either of them???? I know in centuries past that was no big deal, and relatives even closer than they were are known to have gotten married, but in this day and age, I thought they were a bit too closely related.
Also, not to give anything away, but when Jessie's ...more
Mar 26, 2017
Vintage
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
angsty,
second-chances,
alpha,
annoying-sibs,
deception,
lower-case-h,
evil-ow,
hea-nope,
sick,
grace-has-bobs-dead-wife-heart
I read this quite a while and either wasn't posting reviews or simply didn't do it.
Not going to do the whole plot thing.
Overall I enjoyed the story as it was suspenseful. Two things I did not like and they were big...(view spoiler)
I would need to re-read to give a better, more accurate review.
Not going to do the whole plot thing.
Overall I enjoyed the story as it was suspenseful. Two things I did not like and they were big...(view spoiler)
I would need to re-read to give a better, more accurate review.
reread 5/2015
Would have given the story 4 stars, but this was the kindle edition (re-print, I'm assuming, or at least I hope) and the errors were atrocious.
The story itself, however, was very good.
Would have given the story 4 stars, but this was the kindle edition (re-print, I'm assuming, or at least I hope) and the errors were atrocious.
The story itself, however, was very good.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Romantic Suspense about 3 cousins: 2 female 1 male. 1 female cousin dies, mystery of who killed her. Released in 2017 or early 2018. Spoiler ahead. [s] | 15 | 466 | Nov 12, 2018 11:18PM | |
| What's the Name o...: Books like Shades of Twilight by Linda Howard | 3 | 227 | Jun 28, 2016 12:33PM | |
| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Romance, Shy girl in love w/sister's boyfriend, he moves to America, when grown she goes to bring him back, girl is insomniac [s] | 12 | 67 | Jul 23, 2014 06:40AM | |
| Heroine vs hero's family | 2 | 60 | Dec 30, 2012 08:58PM | |
| Heroine vs hero's family | 1 | 27 | Dec 30, 2012 08:37PM |
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance ...more
Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance ...more
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“I loved you when you were a snot-nosed kid, into so much mischief
it's a wonder my hair didn't turn prematurely gray. I loved you when you
were a teenager with long, skinny legs and eyes that broke my heart
every time I looked at you. I love you now that you're a woman who
makes my brain go soft, my legs go weak, and my dick get hard. When
you walk into a room, my heart damn near jumps out of my chest. When
you smile, I feel as if I've won a Nobel Prize. And your eyes still
break my heart.”
—
45 likes
it's a wonder my hair didn't turn prematurely gray. I loved you when you
were a teenager with long, skinny legs and eyes that broke my heart
every time I looked at you. I love you now that you're a woman who
makes my brain go soft, my legs go weak, and my dick get hard. When
you walk into a room, my heart damn near jumps out of my chest. When
you smile, I feel as if I've won a Nobel Prize. And your eyes still
break my heart.”
“I have a real low tolerance for parasites, and you're so close to the limit that I'm already reaching for the flea powder.”
—
17 likes
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