What do you think?
Rate this book
Annie's Song
Annie Trimble lives in a solitary world that no one enters or understands. As delicate and beautiful as the tender blossoms of the Oregon spring, she is shunned by a town that misinterprets her affliction. But cruelty cannot destroy the love Annie holds in her heart.
Alex Montgomery is horrified to learn his wild younger brother forced himself on a helpless "idiot girl." Tormented by guilt, Alex agrees to marry her and raise the baby she carries as his own. But he never dreams he will grow to cherish his lovely, mute, and misjudged Annie; her childlike innocence, her womanly charms and the wondrous way she views her world. He becomes determined to break through the wall of silence surrounding her; to heal...and to be healed by Annie's sweet song of love.
Alex Montgomery is horrified to learn his wild younger brother forced himself on a helpless "idiot girl." Tormented by guilt, Alex agrees to marry her and raise the baby she carries as his own. But he never dreams he will grow to cherish his lovely, mute, and misjudged Annie; her childlike innocence, her womanly charms and the wondrous way she views her world. He becomes determined to break through the wall of silence surrounding her; to heal...and to be healed by Annie's sweet song of love.
410 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
289 people are currently reading
11027 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Anderson
102 books2,959 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(1)romance author:
Adeline Catherine was born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon, USA. She always yearned to be a writer like her mother. The morning that one of her professors asked if she could use samples of Catherine’s creative writing on an overhead projector to teach was a dream come true. In 1988, she sold her first book to Harlequin Intrigue and went on to write three more before she tried her hand at a single-title historical romance. Nine books later, she did her first single-title contemporary.
Catherine married Sidney D. Anderson, an industrial electrician and entrepreneur. They had two sons, Sidney D. Jr. and John G. In 2001 she and her husband purchased a central Oregon home located on a ridge with incredible mountain views and surrounded by forestland honeycombed with trails. It was her dream home, a wonderland in the winter and beyond beautiful in the summer. She named it Cinnamon Ridge after the huge ponderosa pines on the property, which sport bark the color of cinnamon.
Sadly, Catherine lost her husband to a long-term illness in 2014. She has kept Cinnamon Ridge as her primary residence but divides her time between there and her son John's farm, where she has the support of her loved ones and can enjoy his horses, cows, and raise her own chickens.
Catherine loves animals and birds, both wild and domestic. She presently has two Australian shepherds, six cats, and a very old canary. She is very family oriented as well. Her older son has lived in Japan, Australia, and now resides in New Zealand. Catherine and her stateside family will celebrate Christmas on the north island with Sidney, his wife Mary, and their two sons, Liam and Jonas.
(1)romance author:
Adeline Catherine was born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon, USA. She always yearned to be a writer like her mother. The morning that one of her professors asked if she could use samples of Catherine’s creative writing on an overhead projector to teach was a dream come true. In 1988, she sold her first book to Harlequin Intrigue and went on to write three more before she tried her hand at a single-title historical romance. Nine books later, she did her first single-title contemporary.
Catherine married Sidney D. Anderson, an industrial electrician and entrepreneur. They had two sons, Sidney D. Jr. and John G. In 2001 she and her husband purchased a central Oregon home located on a ridge with incredible mountain views and surrounded by forestland honeycombed with trails. It was her dream home, a wonderland in the winter and beyond beautiful in the summer. She named it Cinnamon Ridge after the huge ponderosa pines on the property, which sport bark the color of cinnamon.
Sadly, Catherine lost her husband to a long-term illness in 2014. She has kept Cinnamon Ridge as her primary residence but divides her time between there and her son John's farm, where she has the support of her loved ones and can enjoy his horses, cows, and raise her own chickens.
Catherine loves animals and birds, both wild and domestic. She presently has two Australian shepherds, six cats, and a very old canary. She is very family oriented as well. Her older son has lived in Japan, Australia, and now resides in New Zealand. Catherine and her stateside family will celebrate Christmas on the north island with Sidney, his wife Mary, and their two sons, Liam and Jonas.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,673 reviews
July 23, 2009
I was expecting this book to be bad, but it surprised me. I was, in fact, expecting to be horrified by it, as … let me just type up the back cover.
Um, gag me with a spoon, right? It totally sounds like this guy is going to end up married and falling in love with someone who is more than mildly retarded, which sets off a whole lot of alarm bells for me. I work with kids in special ed, and some of them are high school age, and I worry a lot about the girls being taken advantage of by older men. They’re all so sweet and trusting and some of them are really pretty and THE HORROR. These girls are not without resources and abilities, but a baby would put brakes on so much of that. Therefore, I came into this book with a lot of real world concerns.
But it turns out that Annie isn’t retarded. (Thank God!) She had an ear infection with a high fever when she was six (and this is set in 1890, so there were no antibiotics), which resulted in partial hearing loss, which resulted in her parents thinking she was retarded, which resulted in her being basically unsocialized for 15 years so she is mute. OH JOY. Ugh.
Anyway, Alex (that’s the hero) has this younger brother who is a bad seed, and one day he rapes Annie in the woods, while four other men stand by and watch, because they are afraid that the younger brother will kill them if they object. He is just that crazy. And he’s got a knife.
Alex finds out about it when Annie’s father (who is a judge with political aspirations) comes to tell him about it, not because he wants retribution, but because he doesn’t want rumor spreading around town because it will ruin him politically for everyone to know his idiot daughter was raped. HEADDESK for father. The discovery leads to Alex kicking his no-good little brother out of the house without a penny. Four months pass and it turns out that Annie is knocked up, so Alex and her parents (without consulting Annie, because remember she’s supposed to be mentally disabled) concoct a plan wherein Annie and Alex get married in name only, and after the baby is born, Annie will go back to her parents and the baby will stay with Alex. Why? Because Alex had mumps in his early 20s, so he’s sterile. A-yup.
So the wedding takes place, and Annie’s mother forces her to nod her head, since she is without speech. Then she tricks Annie into getting into Alex’s carriage so he can whisk her off to her horse ranch. And once in the carriage, they have this physical battle, because no one has explained a thing to her, and she’s confused and scared, because a man who bears an uncanny resemblance to her rapist is attempting to spirit her away. Seriously, you guys, there is so much tragedy of good will in this book it is heartbreaking.
Once there, we discover that he has engaged a nurse to care for her, but she is a bad nurse. A very bad nurse, who pinches Annie so hard she bruises in places it won’t show because Annie won’t eat. Why won’t Annie eat? Because she thinks the reason her parents sent her away was because she was too fat to live with them anymore. That’s so sad! It made me angry, because she had been so neglected and no one had taken even five minutes to tell her what was going on because they thought she wouldn’t understand. I know now isn’t the 1890s, but it’s so important to explain things to people with mental disabilities, even if you suspect they won’t understand. It’s especially important to do so if they don’t have the faculties to communicate with you, because you can’t know how much they understand, and every human has the right to be informed. /soapbox But that’s all character inspired, not author inspired. The author does a pretty good job of painting a compassionate picture of deafness.
And then comes this slow discovery on Alex’s part that Annie isn’t mentally retarded – she’s just deaf, mute, and unsocialized. He’s really moved by her plight and horrified that she has been mistreated for so long. He learns to lipread and speak using sign language, so he can teach her, so they can communicate. And they fall in love as they learn to speak to each other, which is actually kind of touching, because it’s a great metaphor for the way people come to understand each other in a relationship. They each literally have to learn a different language to communicate because they can’t rely on spoken language.
I know my summary’s been kind of snarky, but this book really did exceed my expectations. Annie’s deafness and muteness really were a believable obstacle to her and Alex’s happy-ever-after, which is something that is frequently is the least believable part of a romance. You know, Big Misunderstandings that could be solved with two lines of dialogue. There were parts that squeeved me out, like Alex finding Annie attractive when he still believed her to be mentally impaired. It really set off my forbidden trigger to read about him thinking about how feminine and soft her breasts were while he was trying to restrain her. I’ve been in situations like that, and the last thing in your mind is about their bodies – you’re thinking about how you can get the situation under control without causing either of you physical harm. Maybe it’s because I’m a straight woman. I don’t know. But it was uncomfortable reading.
I was really all over the place reading this book. Some of it was just excellent – there’s one scene that is one I’d love to see more of in romance, because the hero and heroine have an actual conversation about their relationship, like, I dunno, a healthy couple in real life might. Imagine that! There were other parts that gave me some serious pause, such as the fact that Annie has been poorly socialized and so her ability to reason as an adult is compromised. She is written as very much an innocent – at one point she thinks that instead of giving vaginal birth, she’s going to lay an egg, because no one has ever explained the facts of life to her. She doesn’t understand that sex leads to babies, and, historical barriers or no, I’m just not comfortable reading a story about a woman who is stuck in childhood engaging in a sexual relationship with a man.
But parts of it were so good! And believable! And then other parts of it were weird. Because the author kept saying her heroine was childlike, and the hero was drawn to her childlike innocence. I just … GUH! Why!?
P.S. Alex’s man-juice came through in the end, and there’s a baby epilogue. A baby who is his and Annie’s biological child. Because God forbid a romance hero be sterile.
Annie Trimble lives in a solitary world that no one enters or understands. As delicate and beautiful as the tender blossoms of the Oregon spring, she is shunned by a town that misinterprets her affliction. But cruelty cannot destroy the love that Annie holds in her heart.
Alex Montgomery is horrified to learn his wild younger brother forced himself on a helpless “idiot girl.” Tormented by guilt, Alex agress to marry her and raise the babe she carries as his own. But he never dreams he will grow to cherish his lovely, mute, misjudged Annie – her childlike innocence, her womanly charms and the wondrous way she views her world. And he becomes determined to break through the wall of silence surrounding her – to heal . . . and to be healed by Annie’s sweet song of love.
Um, gag me with a spoon, right? It totally sounds like this guy is going to end up married and falling in love with someone who is more than mildly retarded, which sets off a whole lot of alarm bells for me. I work with kids in special ed, and some of them are high school age, and I worry a lot about the girls being taken advantage of by older men. They’re all so sweet and trusting and some of them are really pretty and THE HORROR. These girls are not without resources and abilities, but a baby would put brakes on so much of that. Therefore, I came into this book with a lot of real world concerns.
But it turns out that Annie isn’t retarded. (Thank God!) She had an ear infection with a high fever when she was six (and this is set in 1890, so there were no antibiotics), which resulted in partial hearing loss, which resulted in her parents thinking she was retarded, which resulted in her being basically unsocialized for 15 years so she is mute. OH JOY. Ugh.
Anyway, Alex (that’s the hero) has this younger brother who is a bad seed, and one day he rapes Annie in the woods, while four other men stand by and watch, because they are afraid that the younger brother will kill them if they object. He is just that crazy. And he’s got a knife.
Alex finds out about it when Annie’s father (who is a judge with political aspirations) comes to tell him about it, not because he wants retribution, but because he doesn’t want rumor spreading around town because it will ruin him politically for everyone to know his idiot daughter was raped. HEADDESK for father. The discovery leads to Alex kicking his no-good little brother out of the house without a penny. Four months pass and it turns out that Annie is knocked up, so Alex and her parents (without consulting Annie, because remember she’s supposed to be mentally disabled) concoct a plan wherein Annie and Alex get married in name only, and after the baby is born, Annie will go back to her parents and the baby will stay with Alex. Why? Because Alex had mumps in his early 20s, so he’s sterile. A-yup.
So the wedding takes place, and Annie’s mother forces her to nod her head, since she is without speech. Then she tricks Annie into getting into Alex’s carriage so he can whisk her off to her horse ranch. And once in the carriage, they have this physical battle, because no one has explained a thing to her, and she’s confused and scared, because a man who bears an uncanny resemblance to her rapist is attempting to spirit her away. Seriously, you guys, there is so much tragedy of good will in this book it is heartbreaking.
Once there, we discover that he has engaged a nurse to care for her, but she is a bad nurse. A very bad nurse, who pinches Annie so hard she bruises in places it won’t show because Annie won’t eat. Why won’t Annie eat? Because she thinks the reason her parents sent her away was because she was too fat to live with them anymore. That’s so sad! It made me angry, because she had been so neglected and no one had taken even five minutes to tell her what was going on because they thought she wouldn’t understand. I know now isn’t the 1890s, but it’s so important to explain things to people with mental disabilities, even if you suspect they won’t understand. It’s especially important to do so if they don’t have the faculties to communicate with you, because you can’t know how much they understand, and every human has the right to be informed. /soapbox But that’s all character inspired, not author inspired. The author does a pretty good job of painting a compassionate picture of deafness.
And then comes this slow discovery on Alex’s part that Annie isn’t mentally retarded – she’s just deaf, mute, and unsocialized. He’s really moved by her plight and horrified that she has been mistreated for so long. He learns to lipread and speak using sign language, so he can teach her, so they can communicate. And they fall in love as they learn to speak to each other, which is actually kind of touching, because it’s a great metaphor for the way people come to understand each other in a relationship. They each literally have to learn a different language to communicate because they can’t rely on spoken language.
I know my summary’s been kind of snarky, but this book really did exceed my expectations. Annie’s deafness and muteness really were a believable obstacle to her and Alex’s happy-ever-after, which is something that is frequently is the least believable part of a romance. You know, Big Misunderstandings that could be solved with two lines of dialogue. There were parts that squeeved me out, like Alex finding Annie attractive when he still believed her to be mentally impaired. It really set off my forbidden trigger to read about him thinking about how feminine and soft her breasts were while he was trying to restrain her. I’ve been in situations like that, and the last thing in your mind is about their bodies – you’re thinking about how you can get the situation under control without causing either of you physical harm. Maybe it’s because I’m a straight woman. I don’t know. But it was uncomfortable reading.
I was really all over the place reading this book. Some of it was just excellent – there’s one scene that is one I’d love to see more of in romance, because the hero and heroine have an actual conversation about their relationship, like, I dunno, a healthy couple in real life might. Imagine that! There were other parts that gave me some serious pause, such as the fact that Annie has been poorly socialized and so her ability to reason as an adult is compromised. She is written as very much an innocent – at one point she thinks that instead of giving vaginal birth, she’s going to lay an egg, because no one has ever explained the facts of life to her. She doesn’t understand that sex leads to babies, and, historical barriers or no, I’m just not comfortable reading a story about a woman who is stuck in childhood engaging in a sexual relationship with a man.
But parts of it were so good! And believable! And then other parts of it were weird. Because the author kept saying her heroine was childlike, and the hero was drawn to her childlike innocence. I just … GUH! Why!?
P.S. Alex’s man-juice came through in the end, and there’s a baby epilogue. A baby who is his and Annie’s biological child. Because God forbid a romance hero be sterile.
June 7, 2011
When I bought this book, I hadn’t yet read anything by Catherine Anderson, nor had I ventured into the world of American Western Historical Romances, but because so many of my Goodreads friends were raving about it, I ordered it, kept checking the delivery status, and as soon as it arrived, sat it on my To Be Read shelf, which over time morphed into a Too Many To Be Read shelf, and Annie’s Song got pushed to the back and was, sadly, forgotten. Fortunately, albeit years later, it fit right in with one of my monthly reading challenges, so I picked it up, dusted it off, and dug right in.
And then kicked myself silly for having waited so long to read this!
See, the problem was that I was concerned that the story would be overly dark and angst ridden, so I was waiting to be “in the mood.” I mean, honestly, it has the makings to be a gut wrenching, heart breaking story, and well, while there certainly are some tense moments, as well as some sad ones, overall this book was amazing, uplifting and a true joy to read. I shed both tears of sorrow and tears of happiness. There were moments that made me laugh out loud and those that made me so, so angry. The way the story is told is real, the reactions of the characters are believable because they were honest and in keeping with accepted medical beliefs and practices of the times. So while I definitely found myself frustrated at some of their narrow-mindedness, I also understood where they were coming from.
So yes, this is an emotional story, and in the end I came away feeling incredibly enriched by Annie’s Song, and had found another book for my Keepers shelf, a new couple to add to my Favorite Couples shelf, and another author whose books I’m looking forward to reading.
The bottom line? Annie’s Song turned out to be so much more than I had hoped for. This story is incredibly romantic, deeply passionate - both emotionally and physically, and has a happily ever after that I can believe in, because Alex and Annie truly deserved it. It didn’t come easily though - they had to work for it, fight for it, and that made it all the more sweet when they finally got it.
November 13, 2018
This was my first book by Catherine Anderson and I was blown away. I loved this book so hard. It was sweet as can be and gave me all the feels. I felt bad for Annie. She had such a hard life. Being deaf back in the day everyone thought she was retarded. Mistreated by all, beat and hided away by her parents and rape by the hero's asshole brother Annie endured more than most with a quite dignity. Trapped in a world all by herself, she can't hear or talk. She was truly alone, until she married Alex. Alex was an amazing hero. He realized his wife wasn't slow but deaf. He opened up her whole world and really loved her. He treated her with such kindness and respect. It was a beautiful slow burn romance and I can't wait to read more books by Catherine Anderson.
June 15, 2025
I was cleaning out a bookshelf and discovered this old paperback and thought it would be a good time for a re-read. Plus, I never wrote a review and this story deserves one.
This is one of those romances that is both dated and powerful. Problematic in parts, yet emotionally unforgettable.
The language and attitudes are very much of its time (especially the way Annie’s disability is described early on), and some scenes are deeply upsetting. But at the heart of this book is a story of radical love, patience, and healing.
Alex Montgomery starts out wracked with guilt, marrying Annie after his brother assaults her. He is a man slowly learning how to truly see and honor a woman the world has discarded. His devotion to Annie is profound and honestly unmatched. Watching him earn her trust, celebrate her growth, and fall in love with who she really is makes this book hard to forget.
Tropes
Marriage of convenience
Forced proximity
Redemption arc
Caretaking H
Healing romance
Underestimated & childlike h
Gentle giant/gruff exterior, soft heart
Rape
Pregnancy
Found family
Hero falls first
1880/1890s
Rural Oregon
If you can push past the outdated language, there’s a core of emotional truth and tenderness here that is so beautiful.
This is one of those romances that is both dated and powerful. Problematic in parts, yet emotionally unforgettable.
The language and attitudes are very much of its time (especially the way Annie’s disability is described early on), and some scenes are deeply upsetting. But at the heart of this book is a story of radical love, patience, and healing.
Alex Montgomery starts out wracked with guilt, marrying Annie after his brother assaults her. He is a man slowly learning how to truly see and honor a woman the world has discarded. His devotion to Annie is profound and honestly unmatched. Watching him earn her trust, celebrate her growth, and fall in love with who she really is makes this book hard to forget.
Tropes
Marriage of convenience
Forced proximity
Redemption arc
Caretaking H
Healing romance
Underestimated & childlike h
Gentle giant/gruff exterior, soft heart
Rape
Pregnancy
Found family
Hero falls first
1880/1890s
Rural Oregon
If you can push past the outdated language, there’s a core of emotional truth and tenderness here that is so beautiful.
February 10, 2022
I have mixed feelings. I hate having mixed feelings. I rather my emotions about books be as stark as black and white. Being left unsure about a book leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
The first half of the story was great. It was captivating, heart-wrenching, beautiful and I wanted to shoot everyone except like 3 characters.
Annie suffers from a severe trauma. Not only does she have idiots as parents, she gets sexually assaulted.
On top of that, she lost her hearing from a young age. And instead of being diagnosed as deaf, her parents and everyone around her assume her to be ‘mad’. And raise her with that perception.
In comes Alex. It was his brother that assaulted our heroine. And to make amends he offers a marriage of convenience as Annie falls pregnant. Bear in mind that because they assume her to not comprehend anything - due to the parents incompetence - she’s not told she’s getting married or that she’s carrying a child.
Her understanding about life is limited, that of a child almost.
So, the setup of the first half hurts. You see the trauma and pain Annie has suffered for most of her life and we see life through Annie’s eyes as well as that of Alex.
The second half is where things sort of fall apart. I wasn’t convinced. The buildup didn’t really lead up to anything and I was left underwhelmed.
It got unbearably sweet and cheesy, Alex was almost too good? There wasn’t much to his personality. On one hand he’s falling for her but at the same time, he’s parenting her because she’s missed out on so much of life?
Towards the end, I was ready for it to end.
Colour me confused, okay.
The first half of the story was great. It was captivating, heart-wrenching, beautiful and I wanted to shoot everyone except like 3 characters.
Annie suffers from a severe trauma. Not only does she have idiots as parents, she gets sexually assaulted.
On top of that, she lost her hearing from a young age. And instead of being diagnosed as deaf, her parents and everyone around her assume her to be ‘mad’. And raise her with that perception.
In comes Alex. It was his brother that assaulted our heroine. And to make amends he offers a marriage of convenience as Annie falls pregnant. Bear in mind that because they assume her to not comprehend anything - due to the parents incompetence - she’s not told she’s getting married or that she’s carrying a child.
Her understanding about life is limited, that of a child almost.
So, the setup of the first half hurts. You see the trauma and pain Annie has suffered for most of her life and we see life through Annie’s eyes as well as that of Alex.
The second half is where things sort of fall apart. I wasn’t convinced. The buildup didn’t really lead up to anything and I was left underwhelmed.
It got unbearably sweet and cheesy, Alex was almost too good? There wasn’t much to his personality. On one hand he’s falling for her but at the same time, he’s parenting her because she’s missed out on so much of life?
Towards the end, I was ready for it to end.
Colour me confused, okay.
May 2, 2014
I can’t seem to find the words to convey just how wonderful this book is and others have written far more eloquent reviews than I ever could. So here’s my little tribute to a book that will be treasured and re-read many times.
”The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.”- Helen Keller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She had done nothing wrong, nothing. Yet the way they looked at her made her feel as though she had. Here, in the darkness, she didn’t have to endure the accusing expressions on their faces. She took a shuddering breath and held it trapped at the base of her throat to prevent herself from sobbing.
Maybe it was the gentleness with which he touched her or the remorse she read in his eyes, or perhaps she was just tired of feeling afraid. At this point, she was too weak from hunger and too heartsore from being abandoned by her parents to analyse her reasons. She only knew that warmth of his strong fingers on her skin made her feel safe. Wonderfully safe.
Crazy, so crazy…But it was how she felt.
This was his dance. His wife. He felt like a man who had accidently stumbled upon a rainbow.
No, not a rainbow, he thought nonsensically. More like a beautiful butterfly emerging almost magically, from its chrysalis. In that moment, that was how he saw Annie. He didn’t analyse the feeling. He had unveiled something precious, immeasurably lovely, and completely unexpected. When God saw fit to bestow such a gift, a man with any sense didn’t ask questions.
Annie lowered the flute to her lap and reverently stroked the keys. Alex had given her a wedding gift, after all, she thought. Something no one else had ever even thought to give her. Music…Beautiful music, wrapped in magic.
VERDICT: SO HEARTBREAKING BUT SO UPLIFTING
RATING: 5 STELLAR STARS
”The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.”- Helen Keller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She had done nothing wrong, nothing. Yet the way they looked at her made her feel as though she had. Here, in the darkness, she didn’t have to endure the accusing expressions on their faces. She took a shuddering breath and held it trapped at the base of her throat to prevent herself from sobbing.
Maybe it was the gentleness with which he touched her or the remorse she read in his eyes, or perhaps she was just tired of feeling afraid. At this point, she was too weak from hunger and too heartsore from being abandoned by her parents to analyse her reasons. She only knew that warmth of his strong fingers on her skin made her feel safe. Wonderfully safe.
Crazy, so crazy…But it was how she felt.
This was his dance. His wife. He felt like a man who had accidently stumbled upon a rainbow.
No, not a rainbow, he thought nonsensically. More like a beautiful butterfly emerging almost magically, from its chrysalis. In that moment, that was how he saw Annie. He didn’t analyse the feeling. He had unveiled something precious, immeasurably lovely, and completely unexpected. When God saw fit to bestow such a gift, a man with any sense didn’t ask questions.
Annie lowered the flute to her lap and reverently stroked the keys. Alex had given her a wedding gift, after all, she thought. Something no one else had ever even thought to give her. Music…Beautiful music, wrapped in magic.
VERDICT: SO HEARTBREAKING BUT SO UPLIFTING
RATING: 5 STELLAR STARS
September 19, 2020
3.75 stars
This was a sweet, sad story.
I liked it, but the first part where everyone believes Annie to be "slow" went on for too long.
I felt bad for her and I wanted to strangle pretty much everyone around her except for Alex, because he was just a sweetheart.
I found Annie's naivety to be a little too much at times. I understood that she didn't have anyone to teach her life stuff but she was twenty and she was clearly intelligent. I suppose it was hard to keep up and lip-read all the time so maybe that could be an explanation but still..
All in all, this was a nice read but I preferred Never Seduce a Scot which has similarities to this (the heroine is deaf and pretends to be mentally challenged as well).
This was a sweet, sad story.
I liked it, but the first part where everyone believes Annie to be "slow" went on for too long.
I felt bad for her and I wanted to strangle pretty much everyone around her except for Alex, because he was just a sweetheart.
I found Annie's naivety to be a little too much at times. I understood that she didn't have anyone to teach her life stuff but she was twenty and she was clearly intelligent. I suppose it was hard to keep up and lip-read all the time so maybe that could be an explanation but still..
All in all, this was a nice read but I preferred Never Seduce a Scot which has similarities to this (the heroine is deaf and pretends to be mentally challenged as well).
November 27, 2016
¡Precioso! Una historia preciosa, que sinceramente aún no entiendo porque no me había topado con ella antes, por simple casualidad la he encontrado y decidí leerla, y ¡qué grata sorpresa me he llevado!
Me gustó prácticamente todo del libro, los personajes únicos y especiales; Annie, una chica dulce que a lo largo de su corta vida ha sufrido tanto; y tomando a consideración eso, todo su comportamiento es justificable por la forma como sus padres la trataban. ¡Me encantó su cambio!
Alex, un personaje masculino INOLVIDABLE, (así, en mayúsculas) honesto, amoroso, único; me ha enamorado locamente, tan entregado y dispuesto a arriesgar su felicidad por la de otros. ¡Quiero un Alex!
No queda más que decir que si te gusta el romance y esas historias dulces y un tanto inocentes (bueno no tanto) con algo de humor o simplemente buscas amar un personaje literario sin medida, ésta es la historia. 100% recomendada.
Me gustó prácticamente todo del libro, los personajes únicos y especiales; Annie, una chica dulce que a lo largo de su corta vida ha sufrido tanto; y tomando a consideración eso, todo su comportamiento es justificable por la forma como sus padres la trataban. ¡Me encantó su cambio!
Alex, un personaje masculino INOLVIDABLE, (así, en mayúsculas) honesto, amoroso, único; me ha enamorado locamente, tan entregado y dispuesto a arriesgar su felicidad por la de otros. ¡Quiero un Alex!
No queda más que decir que si te gusta el romance y esas historias dulces y un tanto inocentes (bueno no tanto) con algo de humor o simplemente buscas amar un personaje literario sin medida, ésta es la historia. 100% recomendada.
March 27, 2025
Oregon 1890
Nineteen year old Annie was the fourth daughter of a judge.
They were living in a nice house outside of town.
When Annie was five years old, got sick with a very high fever and that rendered
her mentally impaired. She had limited understanding and intelligence and could not speak.
Her parents kept her at home, mostly out of sight, especially when they received visitors.
She was never taken to town, never attended any school, was dressed in worn shapeless dresses,
and her father would hit her with the strap to discipline her.
She was not even allowed to go to church with them or attend her three older sister's weddings.
Her sisters would only infrequently visit as their husbands wanted nothing to do with her.
The town's people found Annie off-putting and considered her the town's moron.
"Annie the dummy".
Growing up Annie was the object of torment and ridicule of the other children.
Nobody made an effort to teach the girl anything, including any social graces.
Her manners and behaviour were those of a six year old.
She was a wild and lonely creature, accustomed to running free in the woods.
Douglas was a handsome twenty year old man from a rich affluent family.
He was living in a big house with his thirty year old brother Alex, as their parents had passed away.
Douglas was a rotten young man without conscience, was a bully and so full of himself.
One day Annie was walking in the woods as usual, when she had the misfortune of coming across Douglas. After tormenting the girl, he brutally raped her.
Douglas's older brother Alex was not only handsome but a good and hard working man.
Upon learning from the judge what his brother did to the girl, he confronted and chastised him.
He then gave him money and kicked him out of the house.
Ashamed, Alex, went to the judge's house to make amends in any way he possibly could.
The judge told Alex that Douglas should be hanged for what he did to Annie, but he was inclined to do nothing, as he waited to try his luck at politics. A scandal could ruin his chances if Douglas's attack on Annie was made public. The matter, he said, should be kept hushed up.
Alex told the judge that Douglas could do it again to another girl if left unpunished.
The judge said "Douglas's threat to society isn't my problem or my responsibility. Going into politics has been my lifelong dream. My daughter is a moron and to protect her we'd have to keep her locked up, we may as well institutionalise her".
For the first time in the story we are privy to Annie's thoughts :
She could not hear, but she was able to read people's lips, though she could not understand the meaning of all the words. She knew she was different and her parents would not allow her to do many things. She was not allowed to be seen by visitors and she was lonely and spent a lot of time exploring the nearby woods and watching the animals.
Four months after the attack, Annie's mother noticed that she was increasing.
Annie was pregnant!
Alex offered to marry Annie. He told her parents that due to a past illness he could not have children.
He would marry Annie and shortly after the child was born Annie and him could separate and she could return back to her parents.
He would raise the child and give it his name.
So Alex married Annie at her parent's house with a minister and no guests no wedding dress and no celebratory lunch.
Annie had no idea what was happening or that she was pregnant.
As Annie was sitted in the carriage and Alex was ready to depart for his house, the judge thrust a razor strop into Alex's hand and said "Just the sight of it is usually enough to keep her in line. On the occasion that she gets stubborn don't hesitate to use it."
At this point of the story the book is at 20%. This compelling story continues...
Nineteen year old Annie was the fourth daughter of a judge.
They were living in a nice house outside of town.
When Annie was five years old, got sick with a very high fever and that rendered
her mentally impaired. She had limited understanding and intelligence and could not speak.
Her parents kept her at home, mostly out of sight, especially when they received visitors.
She was never taken to town, never attended any school, was dressed in worn shapeless dresses,
and her father would hit her with the strap to discipline her.
She was not even allowed to go to church with them or attend her three older sister's weddings.
Her sisters would only infrequently visit as their husbands wanted nothing to do with her.
The town's people found Annie off-putting and considered her the town's moron.
"Annie the dummy".
Growing up Annie was the object of torment and ridicule of the other children.
Nobody made an effort to teach the girl anything, including any social graces.
Her manners and behaviour were those of a six year old.
She was a wild and lonely creature, accustomed to running free in the woods.
Douglas was a handsome twenty year old man from a rich affluent family.
He was living in a big house with his thirty year old brother Alex, as their parents had passed away.
Douglas was a rotten young man without conscience, was a bully and so full of himself.
One day Annie was walking in the woods as usual, when she had the misfortune of coming across Douglas. After tormenting the girl, he brutally raped her.
Douglas's older brother Alex was not only handsome but a good and hard working man.
Upon learning from the judge what his brother did to the girl, he confronted and chastised him.
He then gave him money and kicked him out of the house.
Ashamed, Alex, went to the judge's house to make amends in any way he possibly could.
The judge told Alex that Douglas should be hanged for what he did to Annie, but he was inclined to do nothing, as he waited to try his luck at politics. A scandal could ruin his chances if Douglas's attack on Annie was made public. The matter, he said, should be kept hushed up.
Alex told the judge that Douglas could do it again to another girl if left unpunished.
The judge said "Douglas's threat to society isn't my problem or my responsibility. Going into politics has been my lifelong dream. My daughter is a moron and to protect her we'd have to keep her locked up, we may as well institutionalise her".
For the first time in the story we are privy to Annie's thoughts :
She could not hear, but she was able to read people's lips, though she could not understand the meaning of all the words. She knew she was different and her parents would not allow her to do many things. She was not allowed to be seen by visitors and she was lonely and spent a lot of time exploring the nearby woods and watching the animals.
Four months after the attack, Annie's mother noticed that she was increasing.
Annie was pregnant!
Alex offered to marry Annie. He told her parents that due to a past illness he could not have children.
He would marry Annie and shortly after the child was born Annie and him could separate and she could return back to her parents.
He would raise the child and give it his name.
So Alex married Annie at her parent's house with a minister and no guests no wedding dress and no celebratory lunch.
Annie had no idea what was happening or that she was pregnant.
As Annie was sitted in the carriage and Alex was ready to depart for his house, the judge thrust a razor strop into Alex's hand and said "Just the sight of it is usually enough to keep her in line. On the occasion that she gets stubborn don't hesitate to use it."
At this point of the story the book is at 20%. This compelling story continues...
May 5, 2013
I must say I have loved every Catherine Anderson book I have read and was very disappointed to see that some of her earlier works are not on Kindle. Once I got my kindle I gave up on paperbacks. There were some titles not availble on kindle that I sort of thought to myself "I really want to read that - will I order the paperback?" ...then thought to myself "Will wait a few months and see if they will be released on Kindle". Most of the books I have just left and never ordered in paperback. I only bought one other book in paperback because it was not available on Kindle - Jennifer Cruise - Bet Me. It is now available on Kindle and I also have that version too ... but I digress. Annie's Song was one of those books that I decided to buy on paperback - it arrived yesterday morning and I have devoured it since. Just finished it with a big sappy grin on my face - about 20 minutes ago I couldn't finish reading it because I was crying. It is a wonderful, romantic, special story. Cannot understand how it can get less than 5 stars ... and if it does come out in Kindle I am sure I will download it! Loved the main characters, Annie and Alex but I also LOVED Maddy - you can't beat a no-nonsense Irish woman!
February 13, 2022
I have such conflicted feelings about this one. On the one hand I really appreciate what story the author was trying to tell here, this is an ambitious story and I think she did do it justice and care.
But....nearly the first half of the book is so painful and sad to read. Annie is deaf, thought to be "dumb" or childlike and she is raped in the beginning chapter. Her parents are terrible. TRULY.
The brother of the man who raped her steps up to marry her and raise the child, but he still assumes she has the mentality of a child and struggles with flashes of lust for her womanly body while being upset with himself for considering her in that way.
And that is really my main issue with this book. The author leaned into that heavily, even after Alex learns she's not actually "dumb" but deaf.
She is portrayed to be childlike for almost the entire book and I just could not reconcile that with their romance. It felt icky to me.
For The Rake Appreciation Live Show on 2/10/22 on my YouTube channel
But....nearly the first half of the book is so painful and sad to read. Annie is deaf, thought to be "dumb" or childlike and she is raped in the beginning chapter. Her parents are terrible. TRULY.
The brother of the man who raped her steps up to marry her and raise the child, but he still assumes she has the mentality of a child and struggles with flashes of lust for her womanly body while being upset with himself for considering her in that way.
And that is really my main issue with this book. The author leaned into that heavily, even after Alex learns she's not actually "dumb" but deaf.
She is portrayed to be childlike for almost the entire book and I just could not reconcile that with their romance. It felt icky to me.
For The Rake Appreciation Live Show on 2/10/22 on my YouTube channel
February 21, 2023
⭐️ one star -
Wow. This was bad. Do not recommend. Save yourself from this nonsense!
If you’re like me and came across this book on a Goodreads list for recommended romance, this is your warning to put that book back! It’s unreadable twaddle.
What happened to bring out an underlying distaste for this book? Let’s start with the word, “bubbies”, to describe a woman’s breasts. Yes, you heard me right, “bubbies” 😳. I just can’t. I stopped reading right there. The use of this juvenile description of the body by this author is not exclusive to this book, either. She uses it in her other book that I read, and consequently didn’t care for, “Simply Love”. My review for that equally unfortunate book can be found here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
To sum up my experience with Anderson’s work:
1- I discovered her on a recommend romance list here on Goodreads. The two books that I tried from her are both described as Historical Romance, and both are early American mid-western tales from the late 1800s. There is a glaring lack of attention to detail for the time period, which I found wholly distracting.
2- too many juvenile thoughts and actions of mc’s. The word “bubbies” comes to mind. Too many mc’s act like uneducated morons; and I’m not counting the fmc here who is disabled (I’m not completely heartless ha), that’s a whole separate issue I have with it.
3- I don’t like the style of dialogue that the author uses. This could be my own personal preference, but to me the mc’s are just not the sharpest people. I don’t know if the author is intentionally writing them in this manner, but it really doesn’t matter, as it’s not a style I care for, nor enjoy. When I’m reading something and feeling intellectually superior, that’s not a space I want to be in while I’m reading for pleasure and relaxation, but that’s me 💁♀️
4- I tried this author, and I’m going to have to pass on future installments. Her style is simply not for me. A few other reviewers here have mentioned that they enjoyed Anderson’s work ten years ago, but have now matured to where they don’t care for it anymore; maybe that’s the disconnect. Either way, I didn’t care for it, hence the single star.
5- a short-lived author trial. I’m disappointed to have to trash something others seems to like, but I’d really rather read a Harlequin Presents instead of this poorly written garbage, and I’m ticked I wasted book time on this.
One small star. Save your own precious book time and skip this one. For myself, I’ll be taking a closer look at reviews on the romance lists from now on 📖
Wow. This was bad. Do not recommend. Save yourself from this nonsense!
If you’re like me and came across this book on a Goodreads list for recommended romance, this is your warning to put that book back! It’s unreadable twaddle.
What happened to bring out an underlying distaste for this book? Let’s start with the word, “bubbies”, to describe a woman’s breasts. Yes, you heard me right, “bubbies” 😳. I just can’t. I stopped reading right there. The use of this juvenile description of the body by this author is not exclusive to this book, either. She uses it in her other book that I read, and consequently didn’t care for, “Simply Love”. My review for that equally unfortunate book can be found here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
To sum up my experience with Anderson’s work:
1- I discovered her on a recommend romance list here on Goodreads. The two books that I tried from her are both described as Historical Romance, and both are early American mid-western tales from the late 1800s. There is a glaring lack of attention to detail for the time period, which I found wholly distracting.
2- too many juvenile thoughts and actions of mc’s. The word “bubbies” comes to mind. Too many mc’s act like uneducated morons; and I’m not counting the fmc here who is disabled (I’m not completely heartless ha), that’s a whole separate issue I have with it.
3- I don’t like the style of dialogue that the author uses. This could be my own personal preference, but to me the mc’s are just not the sharpest people. I don’t know if the author is intentionally writing them in this manner, but it really doesn’t matter, as it’s not a style I care for, nor enjoy. When I’m reading something and feeling intellectually superior, that’s not a space I want to be in while I’m reading for pleasure and relaxation, but that’s me 💁♀️
4- I tried this author, and I’m going to have to pass on future installments. Her style is simply not for me. A few other reviewers here have mentioned that they enjoyed Anderson’s work ten years ago, but have now matured to where they don’t care for it anymore; maybe that’s the disconnect. Either way, I didn’t care for it, hence the single star.
5- a short-lived author trial. I’m disappointed to have to trash something others seems to like, but I’d really rather read a Harlequin Presents instead of this poorly written garbage, and I’m ticked I wasted book time on this.
One small star. Save your own precious book time and skip this one. For myself, I’ll be taking a closer look at reviews on the romance lists from now on 📖
September 23, 2025
4 ⭐️ for a brave story
3⭐️ if consistency for Annie matters
This is hard to review. It’s a beautiful love story, but it’s not a romance.
Annie has grown up completely isolated and treated as severely mentally handicapped. Think “flowers in the attic” type isolation. Her parents are disgusting. Alex is a wealthy rancher and when his younger brother rapes Annie and because she is with child, Alex marries her and sends his brother on his way.
Small spoiler:
That’s how we start. We slowly discover that Annie is deaf and that is the cause of her behavior. The problem I had with this is the inconsistencies the author had with her disability. At times we think she is deaf and that is her sole issue + isolation her whole life. However at times Annie reacts a little stronger than I would like in a love story.
For example: When the doctor wants to check her, he has to do magic tricks for her, and she gets to keep the candy? Is she emotionally like a child? Because then you should cancel the sex scene that is coming right up!!
Her screaming fits when she sees a horse give birth? Or she thinks she will lay an egg when giving birth. Those are all infantilizing her emotionally and then I DONT WANT TO SEE HER SEXUALIZED!😱
I dnf’ed at 70% for that reason. I could not get over that. To me she was a child and not ready to have sex at all.
The sex was very explicit, and as my friend Lori wrote, this would have benefited with “fade to black”.
Listen the story is amazing, it didn’t age well and I wish the author would have given Annie more time to mature before sexualizing her.
Should you read it? Yes I think you should, but you have to hold your nose at times.
3⭐️ if consistency for Annie matters
This is hard to review. It’s a beautiful love story, but it’s not a romance.
Annie has grown up completely isolated and treated as severely mentally handicapped. Think “flowers in the attic” type isolation. Her parents are disgusting. Alex is a wealthy rancher and when his younger brother rapes Annie and because she is with child, Alex marries her and sends his brother on his way.
Small spoiler:
That’s how we start. We slowly discover that Annie is deaf and that is the cause of her behavior. The problem I had with this is the inconsistencies the author had with her disability. At times we think she is deaf and that is her sole issue + isolation her whole life. However at times Annie reacts a little stronger than I would like in a love story.
For example: When the doctor wants to check her, he has to do magic tricks for her, and she gets to keep the candy? Is she emotionally like a child? Because then you should cancel the sex scene that is coming right up!!
Her screaming fits when she sees a horse give birth? Or she thinks she will lay an egg when giving birth. Those are all infantilizing her emotionally and then I DONT WANT TO SEE HER SEXUALIZED!😱
I dnf’ed at 70% for that reason. I could not get over that. To me she was a child and not ready to have sex at all.
The sex was very explicit, and as my friend Lori wrote, this would have benefited with “fade to black”.
Listen the story is amazing, it didn’t age well and I wish the author would have given Annie more time to mature before sexualizing her.
Should you read it? Yes I think you should, but you have to hold your nose at times.
September 23, 2020
https://officialbookcritic.blogspot.c...
This is a beautiful innocent romance novel. I really enjoyed it. This is my first book by Catherine Anderson and I just loved it. I was really angry at Annie's parents. They thought Annie was retarded but she just had an ear infection from a fever resulting in her being deaf. Her parents just took it simply that their daughter is mad. Their terrible misunderstanding resulted in Annie being retarded. Annie's father was a douchebag who only cared about his political career, Annie's mother neglected her daughter and Alex's brother was trash who raped Annie.
Annie is most probably the most innocent, childlike character I've read so far. Her innocence was captivating. Even though she can't hear and didn't talk most of the book (She only talked a few sentences at the end) the author was able to express Annie's emotions, feelings remarkably. It was mesmerizing to see the development in Annie, from a naive childlike girl to a respective Woman.
Alex is the best thing happened to Annie and Annie is also the best thing happened to Alex. Annie brings meaning to Alex's lonely life. Alex wasn't the perfect hero but his mistakes made him a realistic hero and that made this book unique and beautiful. No one is perfect, people make mistakes and Alex is just every human being. However, he is attentive and learns from his mistake and he has strong morals He took care of Annie and the baby very patiently.
There were so many cute moments. Annie was really naive and it wasn't good for her. Everything because of her poor excuse for parents. They neglected her. Although Alex forgave Annie's mom, I couldn't. I really liked the scene when Annie was scared after seeing the horse gave birth and then Alex make sure she understood everything. The character growth was emotional, not only the main characters but the side characters as well.
Annie's Song is one of the best historical romance I read so far. It's a sweet, tender, and very emotional love story. I would definitely recommend this book.
This is a beautiful innocent romance novel. I really enjoyed it. This is my first book by Catherine Anderson and I just loved it. I was really angry at Annie's parents. They thought Annie was retarded but she just had an ear infection from a fever resulting in her being deaf. Her parents just took it simply that their daughter is mad. Their terrible misunderstanding resulted in Annie being retarded. Annie's father was a douchebag who only cared about his political career, Annie's mother neglected her daughter and Alex's brother was trash who raped Annie.
Annie is most probably the most innocent, childlike character I've read so far. Her innocence was captivating. Even though she can't hear and didn't talk most of the book (She only talked a few sentences at the end) the author was able to express Annie's emotions, feelings remarkably. It was mesmerizing to see the development in Annie, from a naive childlike girl to a respective Woman.
Alex is the best thing happened to Annie and Annie is also the best thing happened to Alex. Annie brings meaning to Alex's lonely life. Alex wasn't the perfect hero but his mistakes made him a realistic hero and that made this book unique and beautiful. No one is perfect, people make mistakes and Alex is just every human being. However, he is attentive and learns from his mistake and he has strong morals He took care of Annie and the baby very patiently.
There were so many cute moments. Annie was really naive and it wasn't good for her. Everything because of her poor excuse for parents. They neglected her. Although Alex forgave Annie's mom, I couldn't. I really liked the scene when Annie was scared after seeing the horse gave birth and then Alex make sure she understood everything. The character growth was emotional, not only the main characters but the side characters as well.
Annie's Song is one of the best historical romance I read so far. It's a sweet, tender, and very emotional love story. I would definitely recommend this book.
"Annie giggled again. She couldn’t seem to stop herself. And when she did, the most incredible thing happened. Alex’s grin vanished, and after gazing down at her for what seemed to her several endless seconds, he got tears in his eyes. “Thank you,” he said. Only that, just a simple “thank you.” But to Annie, those were the two most wonderful words she’d ever seen spoken, and hey meant more to her than a thousand others might have. With them, he told her a wealth of things, namely that he had meant everything he’d said to her in the attic, that he not only wouldn’t punish her for making noise but that he wanted her to.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2018
EDIT 11/26-GOOD LORD JUST RE-READ THIS AND I FUCKING CRY EVERY. FUCKING. TIME
ALEX MONTGOMERY IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ROMANCE HEROES OF. ALL TIME. PERIOD. DONE I NEED TO SAY NO FUCKING MORE
FUCK IM STILL CRYING
5 EMOTIONAL HAPPY CRYING STARS
WOW THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE READ A SERIOUS, EMOTIONAL ROMANCE IN A WHILE I PREFER LIGHTHEARTED BECAUSE WHEN MY EMOTIONS GET INVOLVED MY HEART HURTS. I literally stayed up until 2 am finishing this novel, and I don't regret it even though I'm falling asleep at work. Thiss..... THIS
brb while i go cry som more
So, the plot is very obvious because of the blurb but basically Annie is a deaf mute whom everyone believes to be dumb, but she has been repressed, abused and treated so poorly she adapts to this meek "dumb" persona. An evil man rapes her, traumatizing and confusing her, and she is left pregnant with his child.
Enter, Alex. Beautiful sensitive cowboy man who is also rich and the sweetest hero I have had the pleasure of reading. I honestly have never read a novel where the hero devotes himself so much to the heroine
This romance was a slow burn, about growing out of innocence, learning to trust and love. I really liked that so much of the pov was from Alex, because I'm used to the heroine being the main voice, but here it was so refreshing because he was such a wonderful character.
I laughed and cried and my heart ached by the end of this novel. I can't wait to read more of Catherine Anderson's books. I really like books about traumatized or "different" heroines who are underestimated but persist and their characters grow, and show they are a force to be reckoned with during the course of the novel. This book was BEAUTIFUL. That is all.
Literally everything making me cry now here is my fav scene from north and south that also make me cry
BITCHES TAKE NOTE. THIS IS THE MOST PERFECT BOOK EVER. DON'T FUCKING SAYSIDFIWAEUBFBEWHBFIHBW FUCK IM AARRGHHH
ALEX MONTGOMERY IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ROMANCE HEROES OF. ALL TIME. PERIOD. DONE I NEED TO SAY NO FUCKING MORE
FUCK IM STILL CRYING
5 EMOTIONAL HAPPY CRYING STARS
WOW THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE READ A SERIOUS, EMOTIONAL ROMANCE IN A WHILE I PREFER LIGHTHEARTED BECAUSE WHEN MY EMOTIONS GET INVOLVED MY HEART HURTS. I literally stayed up until 2 am finishing this novel, and I don't regret it even though I'm falling asleep at work. Thiss..... THIS
brb while i go cry som more
So, the plot is very obvious because of the blurb but basically Annie is a deaf mute whom everyone believes to be dumb, but she has been repressed, abused and treated so poorly she adapts to this meek "dumb" persona. An evil man rapes her, traumatizing and confusing her, and she is left pregnant with his child.
Enter, Alex. Beautiful sensitive cowboy man who is also rich and the sweetest hero I have had the pleasure of reading. I honestly have never read a novel where the hero devotes himself so much to the heroine
This romance was a slow burn, about growing out of innocence, learning to trust and love. I really liked that so much of the pov was from Alex, because I'm used to the heroine being the main voice, but here it was so refreshing because he was such a wonderful character.
I laughed and cried and my heart ached by the end of this novel. I can't wait to read more of Catherine Anderson's books. I really like books about traumatized or "different" heroines who are underestimated but persist and their characters grow, and show they are a force to be reckoned with during the course of the novel. This book was BEAUTIFUL. That is all.
Literally everything making me cry now here is my fav scene from north and south that also make me cry
BITCHES TAKE NOTE. THIS IS THE MOST PERFECT BOOK EVER. DON'T FUCKING SAYSIDFIWAEUBFBEWHBFIHBW FUCK IM AARRGHHH
April 27, 2011
I'm going to break ranks here and be the first person to give this book only one star.
It was a beautifully written book, but it failed in one fundamental aspect - however hard I tried, I couldn't suspend disbelief. The plot has more holes than the ozone layer. I gave up about half way through, too disgusted with the lack of credibility.
At age five or six, Annie contracts fever and loses her hearing. Her parents declare she has become mentally retarded. Annie herself knows she has become deaf, but no-one around her realizes.
At twenty, Annie has grown into a lovely young woman, assumed to have the mind of a six year old, and yet her parents let her roam the woods alone all day long. This leads to Annie getting raped. Although her periods have stopped, her mother will not accept that she is pregnant until she begins to show, by which time it is too late for a termination.
Enter the rapists heroic brother, who very conventiently is sterile after a bout of mumps in his youth. He'll marry Annie, keep the baby, and send Annie back to her parents afterwards.
Only, the noble hero begins to lust after her. Suddenly, it dawns on him that Annie is deaf, and without any further evidence he decides that she is an exceptionally intelligent young woman who will make him a wonderful wife.
It must have been difficult to draw the character of Annie - how much do people mature due to biological changes in our brain, how much due to external influences and social interaction? Annie can lip read and she has grown up among people, which should have allowed her to mature and develop, but yet, when we experience life through Annie's eyes, it is the mindset of a six year old.
The hero deciding to seduce her, despite her obvious lack of sexual awareness and the brutal rape she cannot comprehend or put into context, made me uneasy. When we add to this the physical description of Annie (tiny, childlike, frail, etc) we get troubling undertones of a grown man attracted to a woman with the mind and body of a child.
Also, I felt the book went over the same ground too much. Time and time again we are told that Annie is a moron, imbecile, retard, backward. It started getting annoying, having the misdiagnosis rammed down my throat on every page. Further, there are people in the book who are caricature evil - the hero's brother who commits the rape, Annie's parents, the nurse who is employed to look afer her. I prefer characters with a little more depth.
I liked the writing, though, and will try one of the author's other books before giving up on her.
It was a beautifully written book, but it failed in one fundamental aspect - however hard I tried, I couldn't suspend disbelief. The plot has more holes than the ozone layer. I gave up about half way through, too disgusted with the lack of credibility.
At age five or six, Annie contracts fever and loses her hearing. Her parents declare she has become mentally retarded. Annie herself knows she has become deaf, but no-one around her realizes.
At twenty, Annie has grown into a lovely young woman, assumed to have the mind of a six year old, and yet her parents let her roam the woods alone all day long. This leads to Annie getting raped. Although her periods have stopped, her mother will not accept that she is pregnant until she begins to show, by which time it is too late for a termination.
Enter the rapists heroic brother, who very conventiently is sterile after a bout of mumps in his youth. He'll marry Annie, keep the baby, and send Annie back to her parents afterwards.
Only, the noble hero begins to lust after her. Suddenly, it dawns on him that Annie is deaf, and without any further evidence he decides that she is an exceptionally intelligent young woman who will make him a wonderful wife.
It must have been difficult to draw the character of Annie - how much do people mature due to biological changes in our brain, how much due to external influences and social interaction? Annie can lip read and she has grown up among people, which should have allowed her to mature and develop, but yet, when we experience life through Annie's eyes, it is the mindset of a six year old.
The hero deciding to seduce her, despite her obvious lack of sexual awareness and the brutal rape she cannot comprehend or put into context, made me uneasy. When we add to this the physical description of Annie (tiny, childlike, frail, etc) we get troubling undertones of a grown man attracted to a woman with the mind and body of a child.
Also, I felt the book went over the same ground too much. Time and time again we are told that Annie is a moron, imbecile, retard, backward. It started getting annoying, having the misdiagnosis rammed down my throat on every page. Further, there are people in the book who are caricature evil - the hero's brother who commits the rape, Annie's parents, the nurse who is employed to look afer her. I prefer characters with a little more depth.
I liked the writing, though, and will try one of the author's other books before giving up on her.
September 26, 2021
Good lord. The heroine thinks she's fat from eating too much in her fifth month of pregnancy, then when she learns she's pregnant she expects to lay an egg and looks for it every morning after waking up, and then thinks fairies bring babies... Ummm, reading the sex scenes after that was, to put it lightly, uncomfortable. The heroine also has imaginary tea parties and dances with effigies, based on which the love interest decides that she does not, in fact, have the mind of a six-year-old after all... What?
And God, I'm so tired of reading about men who just can't control themselves because the heroine is soooo beautiful and are described as 'saintly patient' for not raping her --already a rape victim in this case! Seriously! This is more rapey than.... I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO COMPARE IT TO! But sure, God bless Alex for only almost raping her, such a patient, patient man, a saint, really... I get it that you have needs, but you also have hands! Go masturbate or something! Jesus! At some point the guy literally stops kissing the heroine for weeks because he's scared that he, again, won't be able to control himself and will impregnate her. Because, obviously, there's no kissing without sex... God, God, God, this is the worst thing I've read this year, and the beginning wasn't even so bad. Just, how? Ugh.
Not to mention all the plot holes. The roads here in Poland have less
And God, I'm so tired of reading about men who just can't control themselves because the heroine is soooo beautiful and are described as 'saintly patient' for not raping her --already a rape victim in this case! Seriously! This is more rapey than.... I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO COMPARE IT TO! But sure, God bless Alex for only almost raping her, such a patient, patient man, a saint, really... I get it that you have needs, but you also have hands! Go masturbate or something! Jesus! At some point the guy literally stops kissing the heroine for weeks because he's scared that he, again, won't be able to control himself and will impregnate her. Because, obviously, there's no kissing without sex... God, God, God, this is the worst thing I've read this year, and the beginning wasn't even so bad. Just, how? Ugh.
Not to mention all the plot holes. The roads here in Poland have less
July 2, 2018
5 Estrellas para este precioso libro. Si tuviera que describirlo con una sola palabra sería "tierno". Es una novela bonita y entrañable que llega hasta lo más hondo al lector.
Hace muchísimo tiempo que me recomendaron este libro, y ahora me arrepiento de no habérmelo leído antes, es de esas novelas románticas que merecen la pena. Sumergirte en su lectura ha sido un despliegue de emociones y sentimientos inmensos. La historia y sus personajes han estado a la altura y ha crecido a pasos agigantados desde que la empiezas hasta que la terminas, porque todo, absolutamente todo lo que ocurre en esta novela tiene su justificación.
Es justo decir que es un libro muy de los de antes; sí, no me canso de decir que este tipo de libros ya no se publican, pero es que es la pura realidad y es una lástima, porque ojo la de novelas bonitas que nos estaremos perdiendo porque las editoriales españolas no apuestan por ellas.
Ahora vayamos al libro. Se desarrolla a finales del siglo XIX, en un pequeño pueblo de Oregón. Annie es la hija menor y retrasada del juez local, siempre se la tuvo como la idiota del pueblo, y tratada como poco menos que un animal. Annie ha estado toda la vida muy sola, muy apartada del mundo, y su único deseo era su vida en los bosques y con los animales, su mente es la de una niña y no tiene modo de comunicarse con nadie, y desde luego no ha recibido educación. Toda su vida cambiará el día que Douglas Montgomery, muy borracho y con ganas de juerga la viole sin ningún pudor.
Cuando Alex Montgomery, nuestro protagonista y hermano mayor de Douglas, se entera de lo que ha ocurrido, expulsa a su hermano y corre a casa del juez para prestar su ayuda en lo que sea necesario. Las consecuencias de este acto harán que Alex, en un arranque de nobleza, decida casarse con la joven, pues Douglas la ha dejado embarazada, y de ese modo restaurará la respetabilidad de Annie, y le dará a su hijo un apellido y una herencia.
La historia de los protagonistas transcurrirá muy lentamente, pues Alex no sabe muy bien qué hacer con Annie, y ésta no entiende por qué sus padres la han echado de casa y se ha ido a vivir a la casa grande con un hombre que se parece mucho al que le hizo daño. Como digo, es una historia que para Annie empieza con mucha confusión, porque su mente es la de una niña, y el lector será testigo de su crecimiento de niña a mujer en un lapso de tiempo muy corto.
En cuanto a Alex, jamás pensó que su matrimonio sería un sacrificio, simplemente le pareció lo correcto, para Annie y para el niño. Está dispuesto a quedarse con el bebé una vez que nazca, y a devolverla a ella a su hogar familiar, pero poco a poco irá cambiando de opinión cuando vaya conociendo día a día a Annie y descubra que sus padres la privaron de una vida normal, mucho más de lo que cree, pues a medida que transcurren las páginas, Alex se dará cuenta de que Annie no es retrasada, si no que es sorda, y es ése desconocimiento lo que la ha tenido apartada de la sociedad.
Como digo, es un libro que crece poco a poco, donde los protagonistas empiezan a conocerse lentamente, capítulo a capítulo, donde sientes el miedo justificado de Annie, donde empatizas con sus sentimientos y todo lo que la rodea, y por supuesto donde conoces a Alex, ese amor de hombre, bueno y paciente que hará que Annie descubra el mundo por primera vez como mujer.
Me es muy difícil describir con palabras lo que me ha hecho sentir este libro, porque siento que no le haría justicia y simplemente hay que leerlo y saborearlo. Ha pasado a estar en mi lista de favoritos, y es de esos que siempre se disfrutarán releyendo. Hace mucho tiempo que no leía a Catherine Anderson, pero creo que volveré a leerla gracias a esta novela. Genial descubrimiento, y gracias a esas personas que me recomendaron su lectura hace tanto tiempo.
Hace muchísimo tiempo que me recomendaron este libro, y ahora me arrepiento de no habérmelo leído antes, es de esas novelas románticas que merecen la pena. Sumergirte en su lectura ha sido un despliegue de emociones y sentimientos inmensos. La historia y sus personajes han estado a la altura y ha crecido a pasos agigantados desde que la empiezas hasta que la terminas, porque todo, absolutamente todo lo que ocurre en esta novela tiene su justificación.
Es justo decir que es un libro muy de los de antes; sí, no me canso de decir que este tipo de libros ya no se publican, pero es que es la pura realidad y es una lástima, porque ojo la de novelas bonitas que nos estaremos perdiendo porque las editoriales españolas no apuestan por ellas.
Ahora vayamos al libro. Se desarrolla a finales del siglo XIX, en un pequeño pueblo de Oregón. Annie es la hija menor y retrasada del juez local, siempre se la tuvo como la idiota del pueblo, y tratada como poco menos que un animal. Annie ha estado toda la vida muy sola, muy apartada del mundo, y su único deseo era su vida en los bosques y con los animales, su mente es la de una niña y no tiene modo de comunicarse con nadie, y desde luego no ha recibido educación. Toda su vida cambiará el día que Douglas Montgomery, muy borracho y con ganas de juerga la viole sin ningún pudor.
Cuando Alex Montgomery, nuestro protagonista y hermano mayor de Douglas, se entera de lo que ha ocurrido, expulsa a su hermano y corre a casa del juez para prestar su ayuda en lo que sea necesario. Las consecuencias de este acto harán que Alex, en un arranque de nobleza, decida casarse con la joven, pues Douglas la ha dejado embarazada, y de ese modo restaurará la respetabilidad de Annie, y le dará a su hijo un apellido y una herencia.
La historia de los protagonistas transcurrirá muy lentamente, pues Alex no sabe muy bien qué hacer con Annie, y ésta no entiende por qué sus padres la han echado de casa y se ha ido a vivir a la casa grande con un hombre que se parece mucho al que le hizo daño. Como digo, es una historia que para Annie empieza con mucha confusión, porque su mente es la de una niña, y el lector será testigo de su crecimiento de niña a mujer en un lapso de tiempo muy corto.
En cuanto a Alex, jamás pensó que su matrimonio sería un sacrificio, simplemente le pareció lo correcto, para Annie y para el niño. Está dispuesto a quedarse con el bebé una vez que nazca, y a devolverla a ella a su hogar familiar, pero poco a poco irá cambiando de opinión cuando vaya conociendo día a día a Annie y descubra que sus padres la privaron de una vida normal, mucho más de lo que cree, pues a medida que transcurren las páginas, Alex se dará cuenta de que Annie no es retrasada, si no que es sorda, y es ése desconocimiento lo que la ha tenido apartada de la sociedad.
Como digo, es un libro que crece poco a poco, donde los protagonistas empiezan a conocerse lentamente, capítulo a capítulo, donde sientes el miedo justificado de Annie, donde empatizas con sus sentimientos y todo lo que la rodea, y por supuesto donde conoces a Alex, ese amor de hombre, bueno y paciente que hará que Annie descubra el mundo por primera vez como mujer.
Me es muy difícil describir con palabras lo que me ha hecho sentir este libro, porque siento que no le haría justicia y simplemente hay que leerlo y saborearlo. Ha pasado a estar en mi lista de favoritos, y es de esos que siempre se disfrutarán releyendo. Hace mucho tiempo que no leía a Catherine Anderson, pero creo que volveré a leerla gracias a esta novela. Genial descubrimiento, y gracias a esas personas que me recomendaron su lectura hace tanto tiempo.
June 20, 2022
3.5 stars
Going into this one, I knew that there were a lot of mixed reviews. I knew it would be hard to read because of what Annie went through, but I was excited to see what it was everyone loved about this book. Starting off, there overall plot is very sweet and the hero is definitely someone who will give everything to the woman he loves. In the beginning of the book, Annie is raped by Alex's brother. A few months later, her family realizes that she's actually pregnant. Annie appears to not be able to communicate or understand what's going on after she suffered an illness as a child. Her family is horrified by her situation, so they have no idea what to do with her now that she's pregnant. Alex offers to marry Annie and take her home with him where she can have the baby. Throughout the first half of the book, awful thing after awful thing happens to Annie. That poor woman never catches a break and it's very hard to read.
Also, she has the maturity of a young girl because she was never able to learn social rules and standards beyond the age she had gotten sick. Because of this, the hero constantly discusses how young she is perceived or acts. It gets a bit weird and uncomfortable as a reader, because her body is still discussed as desirable and Alex really wants to have a physical relationship with her. This mixture of a child maturity and a sexualized body is one of my biggest complaints of the book. So as a romance, it was just uncomfortable and lacking. Then, later in the book, it would appear as if Annie was actually very mature and understood complex things, but it was often mixed with her immaturity and lack of knowledge.
As a romance, this was pretty lacking. But the romance doesn't really get started until well over halfway into the book. As a women's fiction novel, this would have been so good. It was amazing watching Annie overcome everything life handed to her and actually find people who cared about her and helped her. And while Alex was super sweet and only wanted what was best for her, his decision at the end was pretty frustrating, especially because he wouldn't listen to what Annie actually wanted. Annie lacked so much agency and ability to choose for herself because of everyone around her, from her parents to Alex.
Overall, this was definitely a unique story and I can see why it's a classic, but I can also see why so many people have issues with it. And if you want a story with a heroine similar to Annie that was done much better (in my opinion), you have to pick up Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks!
Going into this one, I knew that there were a lot of mixed reviews. I knew it would be hard to read because of what Annie went through, but I was excited to see what it was everyone loved about this book. Starting off, there overall plot is very sweet and the hero is definitely someone who will give everything to the woman he loves. In the beginning of the book, Annie is raped by Alex's brother. A few months later, her family realizes that she's actually pregnant. Annie appears to not be able to communicate or understand what's going on after she suffered an illness as a child. Her family is horrified by her situation, so they have no idea what to do with her now that she's pregnant. Alex offers to marry Annie and take her home with him where she can have the baby. Throughout the first half of the book, awful thing after awful thing happens to Annie. That poor woman never catches a break and it's very hard to read.
Also, she has the maturity of a young girl because she was never able to learn social rules and standards beyond the age she had gotten sick. Because of this, the hero constantly discusses how young she is perceived or acts. It gets a bit weird and uncomfortable as a reader, because her body is still discussed as desirable and Alex really wants to have a physical relationship with her. This mixture of a child maturity and a sexualized body is one of my biggest complaints of the book. So as a romance, it was just uncomfortable and lacking. Then, later in the book, it would appear as if Annie was actually very mature and understood complex things, but it was often mixed with her immaturity and lack of knowledge.
As a romance, this was pretty lacking. But the romance doesn't really get started until well over halfway into the book. As a women's fiction novel, this would have been so good. It was amazing watching Annie overcome everything life handed to her and actually find people who cared about her and helped her. And while Alex was super sweet and only wanted what was best for her, his decision at the end was pretty frustrating, especially because he wouldn't listen to what Annie actually wanted. Annie lacked so much agency and ability to choose for herself because of everyone around her, from her parents to Alex.
Overall, this was definitely a unique story and I can see why it's a classic, but I can also see why so many people have issues with it. And if you want a story with a heroine similar to Annie that was done much better (in my opinion), you have to pick up Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks!
February 5, 2015
5+ stars – Historical Romance
Annie’s Song is a simple, achingly sweet, heartfelt, soul-stirring, and poignant tale of how sincere kindness and love can truly transcend cruelty, hurt, language, disabilities, and boundaries of all kinds to soothe, heal, forgive, and redeem. There are a lot of wonderful things I could say about this remarkable love story, but perhaps succinct is best: it’s precious, beautiful, and moving like the sunsets and sounds Annie so treasures. It’s a memorable romance that tugs at the heartstrings. 5 sweetly satisfied stars!
Annie’s Song is a simple, achingly sweet, heartfelt, soul-stirring, and poignant tale of how sincere kindness and love can truly transcend cruelty, hurt, language, disabilities, and boundaries of all kinds to soothe, heal, forgive, and redeem. There are a lot of wonderful things I could say about this remarkable love story, but perhaps succinct is best: it’s precious, beautiful, and moving like the sunsets and sounds Annie so treasures. It’s a memorable romance that tugs at the heartstrings. 5 sweetly satisfied stars!
June 15, 2020
As happens all too often with writing a happy, positive review instead of a ranty one, words fail me.
Oh my, this was so sweet. A true romance, it made this cynical heart shed a tear or two as well as laugh at the antics of the hero.
Poor, poor Annie. As if it’s not enough for her to be raised by emotional wolves, the hero’s evil doppelgänger brother rapes her in a stark but still stomach churning scene. Nothing graphic on page, but still effective.
The too good to be true real hero starts out as a pretty buttoned up hunky cowboy up then evolves into a besotted, lovelorn swain eager to please the best thing in his life which happens to be Annie. Annie is a sweetheart that has lived a hellacious life thought to be either insane or an idiot. It’s the hero who saves her, and forgive me for my sins, but I am going to quote Titanic, …he saved me in every way that a person can be saved. Well, he does.
Annie is allowed to simply be herself without the pinching, stropping, and punishment she endured to keep her in line, and once the hero figures out what is wrong he does everything to make things right. Some heartbreaking moments happen as the hero finds out how emotional deprived she is, and there are times when it’s more than a little saccharine but it really worked for me. I would mention some of the more poignant scenes but no spoilers this time.
There is a lot of humor part of which is Annie's exploration in hearing after the hero goes overboard on ordering gifts. I have an image of the servants rolling their eyes over all the organ music, the flute, and her banging on iron pots with metal spoons.
Not perfect as there were some scenes that should have been incorporated like her visiting town to allay the bullying she received when younger and where the heck were her four sisters? Plus her fey like quality and love of the woods is kind of lost after a while, but overall a fun one to read.
Oh my, this was so sweet. A true romance, it made this cynical heart shed a tear or two as well as laugh at the antics of the hero.
Poor, poor Annie. As if it’s not enough for her to be raised by emotional wolves, the hero’s evil doppelgänger brother rapes her in a stark but still stomach churning scene. Nothing graphic on page, but still effective.
The too good to be true real hero starts out as a pretty buttoned up hunky cowboy up then evolves into a besotted, lovelorn swain eager to please the best thing in his life which happens to be Annie. Annie is a sweetheart that has lived a hellacious life thought to be either insane or an idiot. It’s the hero who saves her, and forgive me for my sins, but I am going to quote Titanic, …he saved me in every way that a person can be saved. Well, he does.
Annie is allowed to simply be herself without the pinching, stropping, and punishment she endured to keep her in line, and once the hero figures out what is wrong he does everything to make things right. Some heartbreaking moments happen as the hero finds out how emotional deprived she is, and there are times when it’s more than a little saccharine but it really worked for me. I would mention some of the more poignant scenes but no spoilers this time.
There is a lot of humor part of which is Annie's exploration in hearing after the hero goes overboard on ordering gifts. I have an image of the servants rolling their eyes over all the organ music, the flute, and her banging on iron pots with metal spoons.
Not perfect as there were some scenes that should have been incorporated like her visiting town to allay the bullying she received when younger and where the heck were her four sisters? Plus her fey like quality and love of the woods is kind of lost after a while, but overall a fun one to read.
January 19, 2018
Reseña completa: http://masromance.blogspot.com.es/201...
Una historia desgarradora
Es curioso el tema de la inocencia de Annie, como si al vivir siempre en una burbuja y un mundo interior hayan propiciado esa pureza y esa inocencia. Quizás viviendo en el campo, algunas cosas resultan poco creíbles, pero las escenas tiernas se suceden una tras otra.
Si Annie me ha provocado ternura y algún que otro momento triste, Alex me roba el corazón. Un hombre que, teniendo ese fuerte pasado, es todo honorabilidad.
Las escenas entre ellos son deliciosas y siempre provocan una dulce sonrisa.
Creo que es una historia en la que la relación crece con cada escena y con cada momento que comparten.
Una lectura muy recomendable.
Una historia desgarradora
Es curioso el tema de la inocencia de Annie, como si al vivir siempre en una burbuja y un mundo interior hayan propiciado esa pureza y esa inocencia. Quizás viviendo en el campo, algunas cosas resultan poco creíbles, pero las escenas tiernas se suceden una tras otra.
Si Annie me ha provocado ternura y algún que otro momento triste, Alex me roba el corazón. Un hombre que, teniendo ese fuerte pasado, es todo honorabilidad.
Las escenas entre ellos son deliciosas y siempre provocan una dulce sonrisa.
Creo que es una historia en la que la relación crece con cada escena y con cada momento que comparten.
Una lectura muy recomendable.
June 21, 2025
All the feels. All of ‘em. If I was rating this book on the emotional response I had to it alone, it would be 5 stars.
Annie is the town moron. Her parents have kept her out of the public eye since a childhood fever addled her mind so as not to damage their family’s standing, but Annie endures jeers and finger pointing from others when they run across her playing outdoors in the woods, and so avoids human contact. She makes friends with woodland creatures and plays in the dirt and has a favorite rock to lie upon at a local waterfall, and is still living the life of a child at age 20.
The waterfall is where a mean, bullying, drunken Douglas is able to sneak up on her from behind and catch her, then rape her. There are witnesses and one of them tells Annie’s parents what happened, and it’s the last straw for Douglas’s decent older brother Alex. He gives Douglas some money and tells him to leave, that he has no brother anymore, and offers whatever atonement he can to Annie’s parents. In four months time, that offer turns into a marriage as Annie is discovered to be pregnant, with Alex making a deal with Annie’s parents that he’ll raise the baby and send Annie back home to her parents after the baby is born.
Alex didn’t expect to discover signs of intelligence. Alex didn’t expect to feel protective. Alex didn’t expect to be sexually attracted. Alex didn’t expect to discover that Annie was deaf instead of an idiot.
Annie Trimble, the town moron. Only she wasn’t a moron at all. She was deaf. Stone-deaf. And, God forgive him, he had been stone-blind.
Alex didn’t expect to fall in love.
I spent the first half of this book making a list of everyone who needed to be killed for mistreating Annie and Alex was on that list. But if ever a man redeemed himself, Alex did, and it was so lovely, moving, and joyful to behold. Right up to the 88% mark, when I wanted to flick his forehead really hard for being a self-sacrificing, oblivious slowtop. He eventually figured it out and fixed it, but I wanted to choke him in the meantime.
I felt so strongly about this that I wanted to rate it 5 stars but I couldn’t. Too many things felt inauthentic:
Still, the sweet, warm, precious moments far outweigh the false notes.
Annie is the town moron. Her parents have kept her out of the public eye since a childhood fever addled her mind so as not to damage their family’s standing, but Annie endures jeers and finger pointing from others when they run across her playing outdoors in the woods, and so avoids human contact. She makes friends with woodland creatures and plays in the dirt and has a favorite rock to lie upon at a local waterfall, and is still living the life of a child at age 20.
The waterfall is where a mean, bullying, drunken Douglas is able to sneak up on her from behind and catch her, then rape her. There are witnesses and one of them tells Annie’s parents what happened, and it’s the last straw for Douglas’s decent older brother Alex. He gives Douglas some money and tells him to leave, that he has no brother anymore, and offers whatever atonement he can to Annie’s parents. In four months time, that offer turns into a marriage as Annie is discovered to be pregnant, with Alex making a deal with Annie’s parents that he’ll raise the baby and send Annie back home to her parents after the baby is born.
Alex didn’t expect to discover signs of intelligence. Alex didn’t expect to feel protective. Alex didn’t expect to be sexually attracted. Alex didn’t expect to discover that Annie was deaf instead of an idiot.
Annie Trimble, the town moron. Only she wasn’t a moron at all. She was deaf. Stone-deaf. And, God forgive him, he had been stone-blind.
Alex didn’t expect to fall in love.
I spent the first half of this book making a list of everyone who needed to be killed for mistreating Annie and Alex was on that list. But if ever a man redeemed himself, Alex did, and it was so lovely, moving, and joyful to behold. Right up to the 88% mark, when I wanted to flick his forehead really hard for being a self-sacrificing, oblivious slowtop. He eventually figured it out and fixed it, but I wanted to choke him in the meantime.
I felt so strongly about this that I wanted to rate it 5 stars but I couldn’t. Too many things felt inauthentic:
Still, the sweet, warm, precious moments far outweigh the false notes.
March 25, 2018
Preciosa. ❤️
October 22, 2013
3.5 SO-SWEET-MY-TEETH-HURT STARS!!!!!
Even though I rated this 3.5 stars, I would still recommend this book! This book was different. I’ve never read a story like it.
I can’t say much about the story without spoiling something. The beginning was heart-breaking. The way that people, even her own family, treat Annie is horrible. Granted, mental health was very different in the 1800’s. There were a lot of unknowns.
By the time we got to the middle,I just wanted to reach inside this book and pinch its cheeks! It was so sweet how Alex starting showing her how he loved her, in a language she could understand.
Annie is…child-like. I dare you not to love her! It’s impossible. I’m glad that the author gave us some of her POV, but I wish we had more.
My Annie:
This is exactly how I picture Annie:
My Alex:
Why did I give 3.5 stars if I liked the story so much?
1. The author’s writing style is not my favorite. You might love it though. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.
2. The beginning was a little slow.
3. I didn’t care for the ending. It was like she needed more words to meet a requirement so she added something extra at the end, but it was unnecessary.
Thanks for the buddy read, Susanne!!!!
Even though I rated this 3.5 stars, I would still recommend this book! This book was different. I’ve never read a story like it.
I can’t say much about the story without spoiling something. The beginning was heart-breaking. The way that people, even her own family, treat Annie is horrible. Granted, mental health was very different in the 1800’s. There were a lot of unknowns.
By the time we got to the middle,I just wanted to reach inside this book and pinch its cheeks! It was so sweet how Alex starting showing her how he loved her, in a language she could understand.
Annie is…child-like. I dare you not to love her! It’s impossible. I’m glad that the author gave us some of her POV, but I wish we had more.
My Annie:
This is exactly how I picture Annie:
My Alex:
Why did I give 3.5 stars if I liked the story so much?
1. The author’s writing style is not my favorite. You might love it though. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.
2. The beginning was a little slow.
3. I didn’t care for the ending. It was like she needed more words to meet a requirement so she added something extra at the end, but it was unnecessary.
Thanks for the buddy read, Susanne!!!!
August 13, 2023
Reviewed for www.thcreviews.com
After reading the synopsis for Annie's Song, I wondered how an author might write a mute character and keep the story interesting without the usual use of dialog. In the case of Catherine Anderson, the answer is, quite simply, incredibly well. Annie is probably the sweetest, most guileless heroine I have ever read. She is full of childlike innocence and takes joy in the simple things in life. Ms. Anderson gives readers a lovely picture of how Annie views everything around her through her thoughts and expressions until she eventually learns to communicate. I loved watching Annie grow from a languishing, childlike state to absolutely blossoming into a mature lovely young woman under Alex's tender care. She brings so much joy and life to Alex's previously lonely existence.
Alex is a wonderful beta-type hero who is strong and protective of Annie and the baby, but at the same time is gentle, sensitive, loving and compassionate. He is incredibly intuitive of Annie's needs and always tries to see things from her point of view and think of her first. I also loved the fact that Alex exercises a great deal of self-control over his lustful inclinations toward her, and when the love scenes finally do happen they are very tender yet thoroughly sensual. Alex isn't perfect though. He does make some mistakes every now and then, but the important thing is that he always learns something from them. Alex also harbors conflicting emotions toward his brother in spite of the heinous things he's done. I thought these qualities made Alex all the more real and brought out his humanity in a way that I loved. I've always been a fan of imperfect heroes, and Alex is one, but in a different sort of way than most other imperfect heroes I've read. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that these two characters are completely honest with each other. There are no lies or secrets between them, and when misunderstandings and conflicts arise they actually communicate in spite of the fact that one character is deaf and mute. What a novel idea! ;-)
Annie's Song is by far one of the best books I have ever read. The story is unique and so exquisitely rendered as to be at once both heart wrenching and heartwarming. There were some passages that brought tears to my eyes and others that made me laugh. The characterizations are beautifully drawn giving the reader deep insights into the lives of the hero and heroine as well as everyone around them. The characters' emotions are brought to life so vividly that the reader can feel all their pain and fears as well as their joy and happiness. The plotting of the story is very tight, with the author even presenting plausible and realistic reasons for why Annie's parents never had her medically examined even though they were obviously financially well-off enough to do so.
This is a slow, sweet love story in which most of the conflict is of an emotional nature, but the narrative maintains a steady pace throughout. The author explores the social issues of historical attitudes toward people with disabilities, especially those of a mental nature, as well as physical and emotional abuse of a child and recovery from rape. I felt that these issues were dealt with very sensitively, but readers who are easily bothered by such topics should know that they are really the driving force behind the plot. In my opinion, the story was absolutely wonderful, an expression of true love in it's purest form with two people unselfishly giving of themselves to each other. This is the first book I had read by Catherine Anderson, but I will definitely be seeking out others by her in the future. I cannot recommend Annie's Song highly enough, and it has certainly earned a place on my keeper shelf.
After reading the synopsis for Annie's Song, I wondered how an author might write a mute character and keep the story interesting without the usual use of dialog. In the case of Catherine Anderson, the answer is, quite simply, incredibly well. Annie is probably the sweetest, most guileless heroine I have ever read. She is full of childlike innocence and takes joy in the simple things in life. Ms. Anderson gives readers a lovely picture of how Annie views everything around her through her thoughts and expressions until she eventually learns to communicate. I loved watching Annie grow from a languishing, childlike state to absolutely blossoming into a mature lovely young woman under Alex's tender care. She brings so much joy and life to Alex's previously lonely existence.
Alex is a wonderful beta-type hero who is strong and protective of Annie and the baby, but at the same time is gentle, sensitive, loving and compassionate. He is incredibly intuitive of Annie's needs and always tries to see things from her point of view and think of her first. I also loved the fact that Alex exercises a great deal of self-control over his lustful inclinations toward her, and when the love scenes finally do happen they are very tender yet thoroughly sensual. Alex isn't perfect though. He does make some mistakes every now and then, but the important thing is that he always learns something from them. Alex also harbors conflicting emotions toward his brother in spite of the heinous things he's done. I thought these qualities made Alex all the more real and brought out his humanity in a way that I loved. I've always been a fan of imperfect heroes, and Alex is one, but in a different sort of way than most other imperfect heroes I've read. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that these two characters are completely honest with each other. There are no lies or secrets between them, and when misunderstandings and conflicts arise they actually communicate in spite of the fact that one character is deaf and mute. What a novel idea! ;-)
Annie's Song is by far one of the best books I have ever read. The story is unique and so exquisitely rendered as to be at once both heart wrenching and heartwarming. There were some passages that brought tears to my eyes and others that made me laugh. The characterizations are beautifully drawn giving the reader deep insights into the lives of the hero and heroine as well as everyone around them. The characters' emotions are brought to life so vividly that the reader can feel all their pain and fears as well as their joy and happiness. The plotting of the story is very tight, with the author even presenting plausible and realistic reasons for why Annie's parents never had her medically examined even though they were obviously financially well-off enough to do so.
This is a slow, sweet love story in which most of the conflict is of an emotional nature, but the narrative maintains a steady pace throughout. The author explores the social issues of historical attitudes toward people with disabilities, especially those of a mental nature, as well as physical and emotional abuse of a child and recovery from rape. I felt that these issues were dealt with very sensitively, but readers who are easily bothered by such topics should know that they are really the driving force behind the plot. In my opinion, the story was absolutely wonderful, an expression of true love in it's purest form with two people unselfishly giving of themselves to each other. This is the first book I had read by Catherine Anderson, but I will definitely be seeking out others by her in the future. I cannot recommend Annie's Song highly enough, and it has certainly earned a place on my keeper shelf.
June 18, 2022
3.5 stars
A very tender love story. Instead of a sweeping, dramatic romance usually associates with the historical romance genre, Annie's Song focuses on (and convincingly delivers) the gradual affection between the disabled heroine and the hero. I particularly enjoy the 'ordinariness' of Alex, who is just a regular nice guy, doing his best in a difficult situation; which is rather refreshing, when the genre typically prefers a larger-than-life, archetypal personality for the hero (grumpy, damaged, possessive, etc.). Annie's character arc is a little harder to pinpoint, as the narrative takes noticeable liberty with the severity of her condition, sometimes she's quite childish and naive, yet in others she is able to piece together very complex understanding — while it doesn't ruin my overall enjoyment, it is present enough to take notice of the discrepancy (Also, this inconsistency makes some displays of female sexuality a little awkward to take in — referring to the 'ice cream' scene in particular).
As much as I enjoy the romantic vignettes (tea party in the attic, the music session with the organ, the mouse, etc.), I can't overlook the glaring oversights in its overall narrative: the lack of pregnancy symptoms on page even though it's a key part of the story, the unexplained absence of secondary characters (such as Annie's father, who simply vanished from the novel without resolving his arc), and characters constantly making ill-advised decisions, then reverse them, just to prolong the book's length. Lastly, as a personal preference, I like my historical romance with more intrigue and side plots, and Annie's Song is very much exclusively about the budding relationship — I was ready for it to wrap up at around the 80% mark.
Overall, I still had a decent time with Annie's Song despite its flaws and dated philosophy (one can argue if the set up is exploiting disability, but let's not even go there...), I enjoy its levity and not overindulging in the melodramatic — would make a nice double feature with Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.
***The Rake Appreciation Society Book Club | February 2022 Selection***
A very tender love story. Instead of a sweeping, dramatic romance usually associates with the historical romance genre, Annie's Song focuses on (and convincingly delivers) the gradual affection between the disabled heroine and the hero. I particularly enjoy the 'ordinariness' of Alex, who is just a regular nice guy, doing his best in a difficult situation; which is rather refreshing, when the genre typically prefers a larger-than-life, archetypal personality for the hero (grumpy, damaged, possessive, etc.). Annie's character arc is a little harder to pinpoint, as the narrative takes noticeable liberty with the severity of her condition, sometimes she's quite childish and naive, yet in others she is able to piece together very complex understanding — while it doesn't ruin my overall enjoyment, it is present enough to take notice of the discrepancy (Also, this inconsistency makes some displays of female sexuality a little awkward to take in — referring to the 'ice cream' scene in particular).
As much as I enjoy the romantic vignettes (tea party in the attic, the music session with the organ, the mouse, etc.), I can't overlook the glaring oversights in its overall narrative: the lack of pregnancy symptoms on page even though it's a key part of the story, the unexplained absence of secondary characters (such as Annie's father, who simply vanished from the novel without resolving his arc), and characters constantly making ill-advised decisions, then reverse them, just to prolong the book's length. Lastly, as a personal preference, I like my historical romance with more intrigue and side plots, and Annie's Song is very much exclusively about the budding relationship — I was ready for it to wrap up at around the 80% mark.
Overall, I still had a decent time with Annie's Song despite its flaws and dated philosophy (one can argue if the set up is exploiting disability, but let's not even go there...), I enjoy its levity and not overindulging in the melodramatic — would make a nice double feature with Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale.
***The Rake Appreciation Society Book Club | February 2022 Selection***
May 15, 2020
Thought to be 'dumb' and 'slow' Annie's life has not been easy, her parents keep her shrouded in shadows, her mother fearful of secrets that could have Annie sent away and her father worried bout his reputation. When she finds herself married to Alex, and he finally realises how wrong everyone has been about Annie, well he brings her out of the shadows, whilst Annie silences the loneliness he was encased in.
This book was a lovely surprise I don't know why I hesitated to read it for so long - there were moments that pulled on the heartstrings, as well making me laugh and curse.
I do have to say I wanted more from Annie's mum Plus, Douglas needed to suffer, as far as I am concerned he did not get what he deserved. Despite these niggles I devoured the read.
Potential Triggers:
This book was a lovely surprise I don't know why I hesitated to read it for so long - there were moments that pulled on the heartstrings, as well making me laugh and curse.
I do have to say I wanted more from Annie's mum Plus, Douglas needed to suffer, as far as I am concerned he did not get what he deserved. Despite these niggles I devoured the read.
Potential Triggers:
February 11, 2022
Re-read, BRILLIANT, LOVE IT!
Tragic
Sad
Joyful
Hopeful
Delightful
Awesome and amazing story! First read from this author and will not be the last!! I love this writer's style a lot!!
Hero: loyal, honourable, fearless, tender, caring
Heroine: her awakening amazed me.
Triggers...
Tragic
Sad
Joyful
Hopeful
Delightful
Awesome and amazing story! First read from this author and will not be the last!! I love this writer's style a lot!!
Hero: loyal, honourable, fearless, tender, caring
Heroine: her awakening amazed me.
Triggers...
April 18, 2022
this was the unexpected energy of this book:
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,673 reviews