Customer Reviews

The Innocent's Surrender (Harlequin Presents)

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

 

 

The hero rapes the heroine and only feels poorly about it when he realizes she was a virgin. Apparently, rape is okay if the woman has been sexually active in the past. This is not a seduction but full on rape and it is never addressed as such.

I was completely disgusted and will never read any other book by this author.

I started reading Presents books around 1974. I loved these books. The last few years these books have moved in the general direction of men who MAKE women do things. Make them marry them and have sex with them, have more sex with them without marrying them, ruining their lives so they can have sex with them, revenge..and only sex will appease them...etc etc. I have thought that the authors for Harlequin have been stepping over the legal and moral line for many years. But, I always tried to give them the benifit of the doubt. I thought...people must want this for authors to keep writing it.... I kept thinking that the next group of books would be better. The women would be stronger. Have more character. More self worth. More pride. A cop in the family. SOMETHING. NO.

Sara Craven's book "The Innocents Surrender" was so mis-titled that I could not believe it. Surrender? No. Rape? Yes. I never thought I would see the day, yet here it is. The lead male character in this book is not a "hero". He is a rapist. Later, we are suppose to believe that he has loved her secretly for years? But he thought she slept around so he wanted his share? Please. If that is Harlequins' idea of love and romance, then I want no more of it.

My first book was "The Honey is Bitter"...my last book was "The Innocent's Surrender".

But I have no one but myself to blame for reading it. I'd read the Amazon reviews; I thought I would pass on reading THE INNOCENT'S SURRENDER - and yet I read it anyway.

It's unbelievably bad in terms of plot - and, irony of ironies, just a few days ago, I'd read another, older book by Sara Craven, (this one from the 1980's) titled "Alien Vengeance", which has almost exactly the same plot (virginal heroine kidnapped by wealthy Greek hero, forced seduction; heroine falls in lust, oops, love)! What are the odds?

At the very least "Alien Vengeance" has the excuse that it was written in the 1980's, when romance authors routinely produced books whose content would make an author blush with shame today. But it's 2010. Sara Craven has NO excuse for writing a book as poor as THE INNOCENT'S SURRENDER.

I don't have the strength to write how terrible this story is--the mile-wide plot holes; the heroine's staggering lack of self-respect; the hero's caveman antics in the beginning and his dubious grovel at the end... Just take the advice of all the other reviewers who said, don't read this book. I wish I had!!

I have literally read/devoured thousands of Harlequin Presents novels, and loved 99% of them, sure some are simply good and the others are amazing and leave one with the warm and `fuzzies'. However this is the only one I have ever hated, how in the world could it ever be considered acceptable to have a women raped in a book then have her fall in love with the hero? I mean really Harlequin should truly be ashamed for publishing this!!!!! If I could I would give it zero stars I am disgusted.

SINCE WHEN IS RAPE ROMANTIC?!?!?!

This book should be recalled. Harlequin has made a huge mistake publishing this awful excuse for a book. It's not even a "seduction," just a full-on, no apologies RAPE.

I read my first HP novel when I was twelve, I think, but if this had been my first "romance" novel, I would never have read any more. I have never in my life considered book burning or banning appropriate, but if I hadn't bought the digital version of this book, I'd burn it. The fact that rape is being marketed as romance is disgusting, and Sara Craven must be a real misogynist to think that this type of scenario is even close to okay. She's dragging romance back to her dark cave by its hair and brutalizing it.

Any more "romance" like this and I'm boycotting Harlequin.

There are a lot of similarities and styles that I noticed in her books. Sara like to incorporate a lot of flash back to reveal the history of the characters,not as much compare to previous book. Some of the sex scenes resemble rape where although not unwillingly it was forced/blackmailed and performed with lack of foreplay and enjoyment on the heroine side. The heroine was isolated in a place where she have no option to run/leave except perform the marriage act. Also the hero's point of view and intentions are not portrayed clearly to the readers. The story feels like one sided. The hero love his heroine dearly and are always willing to sacrifice and give some space to the heroine/wife but his is always portrayed as an obsessive possessive ruthless husband. The hero did a lot behind the heroine's back but they aren't really elaborated that much when the heroine finds out the hero's love.. The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying where the hero profess his love to the heroine very quick.

The first sex scenes are forced/conducted by the heroes as a way to vent out his frustrations. When he find out that she is a virgin he feels sorry that he forces himself on her but does not apologize. Initially the heroine are usually unresponsive and rigid and keep telling herself that it will be over in a short time. Later on the table is turn where the heroine end up offering herself willing and desperately to the hero and, out of the blue, she find herself hopelessly in love with the hero. Compare to other harlequin books, we don't seem much tenderness and sweetness of the hero. The hero only profess his love at the end yet most of the Sara's hero felt in love with the heroine years ago with love at first sight. The chemistry between the two are very lacking.

The first sex scenes of "The Forced Bride" resembled rape and the first scene of The Santangeli Marriage" was lacking foreplay and enjoyment, and there was a sex scene at "Desire Bride" that the heroine did it because of blackmailed. All the above mention sex scene, the hero was very frustrated and sex was done abruptly as a way of branding the heroine, as a way to vent out frustration, often without tenderness or foreplay leaving the heroine lacking enjoyment and feeling bereft, confused, and unhappy.

The above review can be applied to "The Forced Bride" and "The Santangeli Marriage" for the plot development are very similar to this current book.

I've liked most of harlequin's book but this one made me question if I'll continue reading their books. The "hero" (I use this term very loosely) kidnaps the heroine locks her in his room and rapes her. When did rape become sexy? Wait I know as long as the "hero's" in love with his victim it's ok. It's also ok the humiliate and degrade the woman you love because she'll overlook it in the end because you "love" her. I bought this in a bundle with several other stories so I didn't read the reviews. If I had I would have never bought this book.

The hero Alex and heroine Natasha saw each other across a crowded room years ago and felt an instant connection, but unbeknownst to her, a family feud has been keeping them apart. Now that her foster family is about to lose everything, Alex steps in to buy the company. Then Natasha's weak, unsavory foster brothers lie about her to Alex, and based on that false information, Alex thinks she's an amoral woman. He uses blackmail to coerce her to submit to him, and after he realizes he was wrong about her, he sets to make amends in the usual HP methods :)

The word fantasy should be capitalized. The "hero" is gorgeous, extremely wealthy, articulate,and loves the heroine (unbeknownst to her or us). . . Although initially she agrees to marry him to save her family, this was just a ploy on her part. Thus he holds her captive and overcome with mixed feelings of love, anger and hurt due to a misunderstanding (a letter which basically "victimizes" them both), he rapes her without violence. She struggles NOT to get away during the act but to NOT give in to the feelings of pleasure he ends up evoking in her. He then proposes which she refuses... He subsequently blackmails her into remaining with him and eventually after another sexual encounter in which she fully participates and enjoys, falls for him too.

These are FANTASY books, not true to life so its surprising that there are so many negative reviews! Many women do have fantasies about being carried off by a handsome prince, "rape" is a common fantasy as well. Even in true to life horror stories of kidnap/rape, it is not uncommon for the victim to fall for the perpetrator (Stockholm syndrome) Thus its not surprising in this fantasy book where there is no violence and extenuating circumstances that the heroine falls in love with the handsome "hero".

I only gave the book a 4 as I thought the characters needed further development and it was a bit predictable. Sara Craven is the queen of fantasy & escapism.

It's a fantasy. I don't have a problem with the plot. It's really romantic that Alex had resorted to kidnapping and making love to Natasha even when, in his possessiveness, thought she was a promiscuous woman. It showed he could not stay away from Natasha in spite of what he thought was despicable character in a woman he loved and wanted to marry on first sight. Besides, Natasha already loved Alex years ago when they first met. This is one of my favorites from Sara Craven. There are worse things that could have happened. Like Alex dumping Natasha after one night of having her. I just wish the ending packed a little more punch than just Alex following Natasha to her flat.