Customer Reviews

Irresistible

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Karen Robards Irresistible is hands down one of my favorite historical romances. This is a book I have read and re-read and will continue to pick up until the binding breaks and the pages fall out. Of course, then I'll just go out and buy a new one. Yes, it is that wonderful. Though this is the story of the second sister, you don't have to read one book to follow the other.

Set in 19th Century England, Irresistible tells the story of the beautiful middle Banning sister, Claire. By the time the book opens, she has managed to enter a loveless marriage, get herself kidnapped and barely escape with her life. Just when she thinks she's free from her captors, fate steps in and she's abducted yet again. This time by a mysterious man who accuses her of being a French spy. Quite fed up, Claire repeatedly professes the truth, intending to prove to him she's no spy, but a noble lady and loyal to the crown. What she did not intend, during their long ship ride, was noting how handsome, charming and surprisingly considerate the man is. How when he's close her body hums and her heart aches in a way she's never felt before. But when their ship docks into enemy territory, and his quick thinking saves her life, Claire realizes she's beginning to fall for her dashing and dangerous captor and is unsure if she wants to stop.

Hugh Battancourt's years of spying for England have worn and jaded his soul. Though his gut tells him to believe the young beauty, his heart and mind blare him a fool for even thinking it. However, the more time he spends with the bewitching vixen the more he begins to trust her. Soon, the sparks of desire roar to a scorching flame, threatening to destroy every bond they know. Will this mismatched pair be able to disregard the pulse-pounding desire charging between them? Or will their fated union prove too irresistible to ignore?

Again, I so love this book! Hugh is to die for and is one of my all-time favorite hero's. The love that develops between these two characters is pure, hot and a joy to read. Once the story got going the pacing didn't let up. I laughed, winced and sighed as I followed Hugh and Claire on their journey. Ms. Robards is definitely at her best with this book. I highly recommend it!

The wait is over -- Karen Robards is back. This book is pure romance-- very reminiscent of Robards early historical romance novels! (it's not a contemporary murder thriller like all the previously great romance authors-- ie. Robards, Catherine Coulter, Linda Howard, Sandra Brown-- are now churning out by the dozens-- it's a ROMANCE-- yeah!!)
There's romance in this book, lots of suspense, tons of sexual tension, a beautiful heroine, and a hero to die for-- in short, everything a romance reader looks for in a romantic novel. This book is intense and satisfying, and is the kind of book by a great romance author that romance fans have been yearning for and not getting in recent years.

Although I haven't read "Scandalous," I enjoyed "Irresistible" tremendously. If there's a third book in the "trilogy" I haven't yet found it.

Although there was much more description than conversation, the plot was magnificent. Even so, there wasn't quite enough description regarding Claire's kidnapping, just a backward look. The story opens after she has already escaped her kidnappers, only to be captured again by others.

I'm not a reader who requires that fiction imitate life but rather prefer a GOOD STORY (which is why I adore the Madeleine Brent books), so Claire's adventures made for a great read.

Perhaps I should have given it five stars--I really wanted to assign it four-and-a-half--but, in any event, I would recommend this one to anyone who isn't just looking for a fast bit of fluff.

I love Karen Robards so when I saw this book I grabbed it quick! But from the moment I started reading I knew this was not one of her better writings. It would take almost 3 pages for someone to say something or for the action to happen. She overly explained things that were not important and wasted time. Robards' previous writings can get exaustive sometimes, but this was the worse. I skimmed over pages until I saw dialogue. And how many times did Claire describe Hugh's "broad shoulders". If I heard that one more time I was going to scream! The only reason I endured the book was to find out who was trying to kill Claire and why and even some of that was muddled. Also, some of the old world English terms were downright stupid and confusing.

Both too much and too little --
Too much: cliched characters -- the alpha male turned to mush by love; a heroine too annoyingly cute and too good to be believed; an excessively predictable, very thin plot; the use of every vailable adjective and adverb in the dictionary to describe the main characters and the big sex scene that went on forever and ever; the first scene lasting almost half the book until it got boring, a neverending "are too/am not" mistaken identity that could have been cleared up easily had the characters had brains.
Too little: plot, plot, plot -- there could have been a number of interesting ways to add substance to this piece of fluff; and though both characters had harsh pasts to overcome, they were drawn in a way too shallow to allow for any depth. It quickly became a tedious read and I skimmed most of it just to get it over with.

This is a good book and the entire trilogy is fantastic but the narrator for this 2nd book in the trilogy is AWFUL. Sorry but she is way over dramatic and the voices she gives the characters are comical. I enjoyed book 1 and book 3 but book 2 was hard to listen to.

Karen Robards is one of the best writers of historical romance on the market. I am also an avid reader of romance novels and I look forward to the next book in this series. Scandalous was one of my all-time favorite books and this one would certainly place high on that list.

I felt this was an excellent book and I have ready many historical romances. This was one of her best in my opinion. I was very entertained by this book and I am looking forward to her next book in this series.

In 1813, Claire Banning Lynes escapes from her abductors who are in deadly pursuit. They insist they just want a ransom, but Claire knows her feckless spouse does not have the money to pay a small sum as the glamorous heir to the Duke of Richmond David wastes his little income on hedonistic pursuits. So the determined and logical Claire concludes that fleeing from her kidnappers is her only chance to survive.

However, Lord Hugh Battancourt intercepts her flight to freedom. He thinks Claire is an evasive French spy that he, as an agent of His Majesty's Secret Service, has been after for quite a while. While Claire protests otherwise, Hugh goes from disbelieving cynic to a besotted lover. However, not only is she married but he still wonders if his heart is betraying his brain?

Regency romance readers will find Karen Robards second Banning sister tale an IRRESISTIBLE exciting romantic suspense starring two delightful lead protagonists sharing two things: love and distrust. The story line never eases up on the action yet the talent of Ms. Robards enables the audience to appreciate Claire and Hugh even in an adulterous relationship. Though the solution to their problem is too obviously facilitated, fans will relish this tale as much as the first installment (see SCANDALOUS) and look forward to the next sibling's novel.

Harriet Klausner

As an author, Karen Robards is like the nursery rhyme about the little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she is good, she is very, very good, and when she is bad, she is horrid.

IRRESISTIBLE is, indeed, very very good. This evaluation applies only to the novel's place within the genre of historical romances, however; one cannot judge romances by the same yardstick as is used for literature.

Still, IRRESISTIBLE is about as good as this category of writing can get. Robards tells an interesting story against the background of the Napoleonic Wars, and she creates a true feeling of the period. As always, her heroine is beautiful beyond words, her hero is to drool over, and her sex scenes are hot, hot, hot. In acknowledgment of modern values, there are no rape scenes, unlike the historical romances of decades past--and this change is a real improvement in the genre.

Any reader who enjoys historical romance will find IRRESISTIBLE to be... irresistible!