Customer Reviews

Devil's Embrace (Wal-Mart Edition)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

I am aware that Coulter pushes the envelope sometimes, but this book is just inexcusible. I can't decide if I find I'm more amazed that it was published in the first place or that Coulter appears to be proud of this monstrosity. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Cassie.. I have nothing against the poor girl. In fact, I liked her quite a bit. She deserved none of the terrible things that happened to her. Apparently, Coulter hates her. It is the only way to explain the sadistic way she treated.
Cassie, seventeen and in love a soldier named Edward, forgoes her season in London to marry her sweetheart post haste. The day before her wedding, she sailing when Anthony Welles's, Earl of Clare, yacht over takes her small craft. He forces her onboard, wrecks her boat against the rocks so everyone will think she's dead, then cheerfully announces his intentions of taking her to Italy to marry, whether she wants to or not.
I hate Anthony. He should be castrated. I think he just be the most vile 'hero' to ever make his way into the genre. Anthony is twice her age and he loved her intitally because she looks like her dead mother who he was also in love with. He claims he loves her for herself after watching her blossom over the years. Cassie tries using logic to persuade him to take her back, but..oh, this jerk has an answer for everything. His smugness when he explains his skewed version of reality to Cassie as if she were a stupid child is what I hate most about him. Yes, and he does talk to her as if she were a child. Daddy knows best I guess. (Yuck!)In his twisted mind, the way to get her fall in love with him is to degrade her. Of course, he rationalizes it in his own speacial way to make it seem like she is acting like a hysterical ninny. When he first rapes her, it's taking her virginity to ensure she can't go back to Edward. When he whips her, it's light discipline. When he forces her to sleep naked with him, it's getting her used to him.
If there's anything to recommend about this book its the prose. They are very well written. Suprisingly, the dialogue runs smoothly. Absent is Colter's annoying 'sex dialogue' where the hero discusses the heroine's 'soft white belly' etc. Anthony has a few of those lines but they sound more clinical than stupid.
There is nothing in the least romantic about this book. I could finish it, but from other reviews I've learned many other tradegies befall poor Cassie. This book is just evil. Cassie and Anthony's relationship kept making me think of stepfather who rape their stepdaughters. When Cassie starts to feel desire for him, I can only shake my head and sigh. Obvisiously, he's repeated "You will come to love me" so many times she's become brainwashed. This is a stomach-churner and I can't concieve of why it was reissued. I thought the whole rape/captive stories had been dead and buried but I was wrong. It's novels like this that give the genre its bad name.
In short, 17-year old heroine + smug rapist hero= vomit inducer.
This is the story of the degradation and abuse of a young girl disguised as a romance.

This is the only Catherine Coulter book I have read. I have some serious issues with this book. First, real heros do not rape. Second, women do not fall in love with their rapists. Third, women do not climax while being raped. Fourth, the hero, who raped the heroine, was actually outraged when the heroine was gang raped by four brutes. Like he's the only one allowed to be a rapist! Fifth, calling it being "ravished" as opposed to being "raped" does not render it any less of a violation.

I understand that this is fiction, but it is EXTREMELY IRRESPONSIBLE to glamorize rape in such a way. I have no intention of finding out if all of Catherine Coulter's books are as irresponsible.

These books are supposed to make you root for the main characters. How can you cheer on a rapist? It is a shame that there are people who just look the other way when reading these horrific scenes. Some people actually gave this book 5 stars! Scary!

A very disappointing book from an author who came highly recommended.

I was so angry at times, especially at Anthony and Cassie. Cassie is supposed to be full of life and sassy and while she is in the beginning, I just think she ends up settling. When he was beating her, I wanted to beat the living crap out of him and she just took it. Yeah, she disobeyed him, but he kidnapped her!! I guess in his own sick way he loved her and if it weren't for the beating and the rape I could see myself liking him. But sorry, I hate these type of stories where the male treats the female HORRIBLY and then the female just forgets about it and ends up falling in love with the guy. Poor Cassie, she not only gets raped by Anthony, but she gets raped later in the story too. I just think its ridiculous for her to forgive Anthony so soon or at all. This book was just too disturbing.

This book was absolutely REVOLTING. Not only does the hero kidnap the heroine and makes her family and fiance believe she is dead, he also rapes the heroine out of necessity so she couldn't go back to said fiance! As if this wasn't enough, he forces her to sleep with him naked, and repeatedly forces her to have sex with him until she gets used to it and starts to like it. This is nauseating as it is, but then he beats her because she disobeyed his orders. I don't care if he did it as the ship's captain, her lover (read rapist), or whatever. This is a romance novel and heroines are not supposed to be beaten, especially not by the heroes. You would think things would get better after this, but..ohhh no! She gets abducted by four men and you know what's coming next. Nevertheless, you keep thinking the hero will come to the rescue at the last second. WRONG. She gets brutally gangbang raped while one of the hero's servants is present. Not only that, she was pregnant and loses her baby when this happens, AND her skin gets ripped open (yes, THAT skin). If this scene was meant as a contrast to the first rape by the hero to show that his actions weren't really that awful, in my opinion, it is very unsuccessful. It doesn't matter how the hero raped her, if he thought he loved her or not. Countless men think they love someone. It doesn't mean they can force themselves on those people.
At this point, I was ready to throw the book away, but I thought it could only improve (after all, it couldn't get worse), so I kept on reading. I suppose I wanted a happier ending. And you would think the book is near it's end, but you would be mistaken. This is only halfway through. She finds some letters and gets mad at her captor so she escapes to her fiance and has sex with him, only to realize that... oh! She is in love with her dear rapist! At which point the hero comes to recapture her. As if this wasn't bad enough, the ending of the book is completely unsatisfactory and hastily written.
I cannot bring myself to understand how this is the author's favorite book! She probably has rape fantasies and is into torture. Same goes for those who liked this book. Even if people do attach themselves to their abusers in reality, I do not want to read about this in a romance novel. And I certainly don't want graphic descriptions if a gang rape!
There is not ONE thing I would recommend from this book. Unless you're a masochist or a sadist, STAY AWAY.

When I read review for this I thought okay so the hero rapes her in some old fashion woman taking fashion I can read that. I was tempted to read it. Well that wasnt the issue with me, although it was a far cry from sexy his rape was nothing compared the her being torn apart later in the book. Unless you enjoy hearing about women being sewn back together after a rape or a baby being killed I strongly suggest you dont read this. I admit I was enjoying the book and really getting into it but that part, that chapter, put that to a dead stop what a waste of a good book. I was enthrawled and enjoying myself and had it all ripped away from me in that later chapter - what a waste of my time what a waste of some good writing. Unless you want to go from "into a great book" to wanting to burn it in 2 seconds flat I suggest you avoid it.

This review contains spoilers!!!!!!!!!







I have read other books by this author, such as The Sherbrooke Bride, The Scottish Bride, and Lord Harry which I thought were enjoyable.

So when I got a free copy of this particular book, I did not hesitate to read it.

Bad mistake.

The so called "hero" really is a devil - a middle aged man who has a young girl secretly raised to order to be his bride, ordering how she will be educated and placing a spy in her household to keep watch over her. He does this because he had wanted the girl's mother. When he finds out that the 17 year old Cassie is about to marry another man he kidnaps her, makes it look like she has been killed, and carries her off to Italy on his yacht, raping and abusing her over the course of the trip.

This is not love people - this is a sick obsession and outright criminal activity. And sometimes when someone is held hostage for long enough, he or she can develop feelings for the captor. It is called Stockholm Syndrome, and I feel that is what Cassie feels rather than love.

As if what the "hero" does to her is not enough, the pregnant Cassie must also endure a graphic gang rape (front and back) so brutal she needs to be stitched up from all of the ripping (yes, down there).

Interestingly enough, I also recently read a book where a young girl is raised and educated to order with the purpose of being a rich noble man's custom made bride. Worth Any Price (Bow Street, Book 3). In THAT book it was treated like a sick obsession from a mentally ill man. I think you can probably tell from this review, that I agree with that assessment.

Ugh. Just ugh.

Sorry folks, I read to escape. This book is far too brutal for escape for me.

I am a big fan of Coulter's but this book is boring. Rape is not romantic and that is what she keeps trying to feed us. Page after page of Cassie being forced to sleep (naked) with someone she does not like or love. What is romantic about that?? Oh she learns to love him.... really! I believe they do have documented cases where victims learn to revere their captors. Not very entertaining!! But, please don't judge Coulter by this book. She does actually write "nicer" novels about romance and women!

I'm shocked that even one person could manage to finish this book - much less say they liked it!

This book is sick - really sick. And as a nurse who works with victims of sexual assault, I am deeply offended that this kind of trash was even published. So what if women were supposedly raped like that at that time. It was written in our time and should reflect some sort of modern sense & sensitivity. I'm surprised that people could get past the first rape in the story. I didn't get that far before I threw the book where it belonged - in the trash. It was my first, and last, Catherine Coulter book!

First off, I try to be VERY objective when I read anything and try my absolute BEST to be fair in my criticism, but this book was unbelieveable. I mean it in the sense that I was appalled with the hero. Anthony was extremely abusive and horrible to Cassie(the heroine) throughout the entire book. First of all his has some weird obsession with her mother who had died and transfers it to Cassie(the daughter) and kidnaps her and begins to abuse and rape her non-stop. I never really understood the problems Anthony had to make him the way he was except it had to do with something with her mother in the past. After at least 100 rapes or more later, Cassie finds herself falling in love with Anthony and I guess she accepts there is nothing the matter with how he treats her. He in turn falls in love or is still obsessed with her, which I believe the latter is more truer, and convinces her to stay with him. I think anyone who is about to read this novel should be forwarned of the brutal content and make sure you are prepared for the violent scenes. The second book to this is "Devil's Daughter", it is about their daughter and son.

This book was an absolute disappointment. I normally like Catherine Coulter's books but this one turned my stomach. How can anyone like this book when the "hero" is nothing but a rapist. Just because the "heroine" was stupid enough to fall for her rapist does not excuse his behavior. The "hero" goes on through the book thinking his actions were justifiable because he loved the girl, which I find totally reprehensible. I shudder at the possibility that a man might read this vile story and actually believe that rape is o.k. if you think you love the girl. If I could have given this book zero stars I would have.