Customer Reviews

Enslaved

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This was a great time travel book. Diana travels back in time from the rule of Mad King George to the time of Roman rule in England. Diana is intrigued with anything from the Elizabethan era and finds her contemporary male counterparts lacking. While on a stroll from her plotting family she walks into a antique store and tries on for size a Roman Helmet. The next thing she knows she is in Bath during Roman Rule. While in Bath Diana falls in love with Roman General Marcus Magnus much to her dismay for to him she is nothing but a slave. But her situation can't come in between these two because they are soul mates and will experience many ups and downs before they will have their "Happily Ever After" ending. Such is the price when finding true love.

This is one of my favorite books by Henley. The Characters are likeable, and Diana is not one of those insipid, selfish, nasty characters that sometime find there way into her novels.

There is plenty of suspense, and of course there are the love scenes that Virgina is famous for. There is also the hisoric information that I love about her books. You almost can see yourself in Bath during the rule of the Romans. This is a book that I will keep.

I find it humorous that people don't like this book because it is unbelievable. It is a story about TIME TRAVEL! It is a ROMANCE novel! If you are looking for a believable story then get a non-fiction book. If you are looking for something deep try The Odyssey, The Illiad, The Forsyte Saga, Great Expectations, Meno, Phaedo, Crito, Apology, The Republic, Meditations on the First Philosophy...Something other than a romance novel.

If on the other hand you like fantasy romance novels, this was a good one.

I thought this was one of the best books I have ever read. It was fanciful and heart touching. Virginia is a wonderful writer and has a firm grip on passion (or at least what it should be.) Marcus and Mark made my heart sigh with their handsome good looks. I have always gone for the tall, dark and hansome, and these also had a wealth of passion to share with the woman they loved, it also seems they were also generously blessed with well... ya know... (Now isn't that fiction!) Our heroine is an idependant minded, strong-willled woman. She feels stifled in the strictures of society and yearns for freedom, she also yearns for a real man to have and to hold, not the prissy men of her time. We are transported back to an ancient England that is controlled by Romans. Diana becomes enslaved in more ways than one by Centurion Marcus Magnus. Diana becomes the apt pupil as Marcus teaches her about wild passion and tender love. A cruel twist of fate wrenches her from her beloved and she is back in her modern England where she must face not only the scandal of her disapperance but her money grubbing relatives. Mark, the brother of her fiancee and reincarnate of her beloved, teaches the heart broken more than she ever thought to know about love, life and the joy of good sex. In the end, Diana not only finds her freedom from her relatives and society, but from the chains of her lonely heart. Virginia Henley is one of my favorite authors and I have enjoyed this book most of all. She has a way with words that is both touching and witty. This book will make you laugh and sigh and perhaps even blush. You are enamored (and perhaps slightly jealous) with both our hero and heroine and you feel no sympathy towards the villian when he is ultimately defeated. The only word that can describe this book is vivid. Virginia has not only mastered passion, romance, tenderness and love in a book she has captured a braod range of emotions that you not only picture in your mind but feel in your heart. This book is a must read for those jaded individuals who think they have read it all. I have read hundreds of romance novels, and sometimes they all seem to run together. However this book stansd out among the rest!

Virginia Henley's novels are, like most in the romance genre, highly predictable--outspoken, beautiful heroines a little too modern for their surroundings, handsome, dark-haired alpha males who are unbelievably stubborn and narrow minded, and miscommunication as plot advancement--and let's not forget the sex scenes! However, "Enslaved" is just a cut above Ms. Henley's usual historical erotica, because she tones down everything just a bit. The scenes in Roman-controlled Britain are surprisingly well-written, and her hero, Marcus, is acually--gasp!--a sympathetic character. Diana is a typical Henley heroine (we know she has violet eyes, Virginia, you don't have to keep telling us), but again, a little toned down so as to be sympathetic as well. In short, a good story, a decent plot, an inventive setting. If you're an occasional romance reader, this is a good one with which to while away a rainy weekend.

Enslaved is a romance in the good old tradition of seventies and eighties bodice rippers à là Kathleen E. Woodiwiss: Flawlessly beautiful virginal teenage heroine, desired by every man with blood in his veins meets incredibly dark, tall and handsome, middle-aged and somewhat brutish hero desired by every living, breathing woman. I actually enjoyed it a lot for it is so wonderfully full of every traditional cliché. But the novel takes itself not too seriously and that's what makes it such great fun. Credibility? Henley doesn't even begin to bother with that. Not a sheltered young and naïve debutante but a contemporary saucy high school queen whose youthful hormones have run wild romps around Georgian society and later in ancient Roman Empire. Henley put her a corset on, made her a virgin and that's all Diana has got in common with a real girl of that era. Even the coming of age is that of modern times: 18. Let's forget that the coming of age had been 21 for eternity before it changed in the late 20th century. Besides Henley's Georgian heroines are miraculously able to master their own fortune with 18. A Georgian heroine would not have been able to control her own finances before her 25th birthday if ever at all. Furthermore she also changed the ancient beau ideal in the contemporary one. Diana is rail thin as a super model and her waist can be spanned by only one hand of her lover Marcus. Her wrist is a third of that of Marcus wrist. But nevertheless he is instantly attracted to that undernourished slip of a girl. Henley's Romans all of a sudden abandon their own beau ideal of broad-hipped, well rounded beauties with big butts for the modern ideal of scrawny nymphs. Henley just doesn't care at all about historical facts which I found very amusing. She also doesn't bother about political correctness. Marcus is a Schwarzenegger-like muscled and incredibly hairy bully whose virility is not always appealing. He actually slaps the heroine because she dares to protest against a roman orgy with prostitutes. The only reason why he doesn't beat the rebellious heroine to pulp is not that he's a nice, sophisticated guy who appreciates a woman with an own will and some backbone but because he is afraid to mar Diana's "delicately boned face" and her oh so refined beauty. And a refined beauty Diana must be for the authoress refers to it constantly. Yet it annoyed me that Henley felt obliged to weakly point out Diana's intelligence and wit when it is in fact only Diana's 21th. century Barbie-doll beauty and her virginity combined with limitless sensuality that totally enslaves poor lust driven Marcus Magnus. Allegedly he also loves to talk to her-yet we actually never see them talking together. Now, why doesn't that surprise me? Marcus is hilariously political incorrect, entirely testosterone-driven and utterly masculine which he constantly proves to the heroine on the battle field and in bed. He's seething with sexuality and that is what enslaves Diana. The sex is incredibly hot and steamy. Enslaved is erotica disguised as romance and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However if you look out for a story where the heroes are attracted to each other because of their personalities combined with a minimum of historical detail this is definitely not the book for you.

I bought this on a whim, partly inspired by the high rating given to it by other readers, but I was so disappointed in it. Granted, one doesn't expect a romance novel to be "War and Peace", but even for the genre, this was just so bad. The author has absolutely no sense of the manners and customs of the time....the characters seem to have stepped right out of a suburban mall. The plot is flat, the characters are so stock (he's gorgeous, she's gorgeous), and the heroine has all the character and will-power of wet kleenex. The book only seems to be written so that the author can string together a bunch of sex scenes, which are meant to be exciting to the reader, I guess. Again, granted it's a romance novel, but I still expect a story along with the requisite sex bits. Well, I just expected better. The time-travel romance "Dragonfly in Amber" is light-years ahead of this book in terms of intelligence.

One complaint I have about Virginia Henley's novels is that her characters follow traditional male/female ideals too closely. For example, Diana, the heroine, is described as intellectual, yet the main focus of the book is sex.

There are a few parts of the book which are not worth reading, such as the beginning before Diana travels back in time to 1st century Brittainia. I found Henley's description of Roman life to be intriguing, mixing historical details with her fictional characters imperceptibly.

I would not recommend this book for someone looking for a moving love story....but if you're in the mood for hot, bawdy sex...this book is for you!

I LOVED this book! I couldn't put it down. It has the time-travel element, which I'm fond of. But this time there is a twist. Instead of the man/woman being sent from modern times back into the past or vise/versa, the woman is sent from the past (1800's or so)FARTHER back into the past (ancient Rome). The characters were soul-mates. The only part I wasn't thrilled with was the ending. It was still a great book and WELL worth the read, but be prepared for a SLIGHT let-down on the ending - I won't spoil it. This was one of my favorites from Virginia Henley. I do hope she writes more books as sizzling as this one!

You know i sometimes wonder if people are reading the same book i must admit that some of virginia henley books are a little out there but anyway...


LOVED IT i detest time travel romance and this was a kind of getting my feet wet to it..the concept was good it was almost like a kismet thing.I think the heroine held her own and not too many heroines can say they lost their virginity twice and loved both Marcus/Mark...good story you know historical romance novels it goes with the time and period of how they would act.

its like i always say a bad reivew can really downplay a good book and a good review can really up play a bad book, because of some of the bad reviews for this book I almost didn't read it but i'm glad i change my mind

This book was so high rated on Amazon I had to read it myself. The story had some very high moments, but some not so great ones as well. I wasn't happy with the way the romance played out, it was very unsatisfying to me. Also, there were too many sex scenes in the book. Yea, one when the characters get together is very satisfying, but the book verged on soft core porn. I also wasn't thrilled by some of the things our Hero did, though he seemed to redeem himself... at times. Allin allthe story was great, but I wasn't thrilled with the results. I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from reading this book, there were moments that were great, it just wasn't my cup of tea.