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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Dark Triumph for Stuart, August 2, 2010
This review is from: Ruthless (The House of Rohan) (Mass Market Paperback)
The hero of Ruthless, Francis Rohan, le Comte de Giverney, is all that a reader could want--so long as that reader wants an unrepentant, degenerate and ruthless despoiler of all that society holds dear. He is a magnificent creation. Many thanks, Anne Stuart. No, as some reviews have stated, "Anne Stuart isn't for everyone." But, then, neither is champagne. Few writers are capable of creating such a dark and disturbing hero who, nonetheless, captures and holds the reader's interest. Fewer still can then manage to write themselves out of such a corner.
Francis Rohan, known in pre-Revolutionary Paris as the "King of Hell" for his hedonistic exploits and orgiastic society, meets his match in Elinor Harriman. Neither this demon count nor Elinor, his next victim, has any illusions about what life holds for them. Each has endured excruciating loss; one has given up, one refuses to. Elinor should be afraid of Rohan, but she just doesn't have time to be since she is attempting to rescue her feckless, selfish mother from ruin once again. Elinor confronts Rohan in his lair, refusing to be intimidated by him or the debauchery that swirls about them both. At first amused by her refusal to be intimidated, Rohan becomes intrigued by her. He simply cannot let her be. The reader wonders: Who exactly is the spider and who the fly in this story?
The dialogue alone recommends Ruthless. Yet there is much more in Ruthless to please the reader: two love stories, one for each sister; two heroes who need rescuing; slightly sassy, devoted servants; degenerate villains, the sort we love to hate; a Jacobite fugitive (Who doesn't love a doomed, Romantic cause?); brimstone and fire; suspense, mystery, and the redemptive power of love. The very best thing about Ruthless? It's book one of a three book series.
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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Same Song, Different Verse, August 14, 2010
This review is from: Ruthless (The House of Rohan) (Mass Market Paperback)
Anne Stuart was once one of my favorite authors, but her recent novels all seem to be variations on a theme. In Ruthless, we have the same bored, hedonist hero, the same not quite his type heroine, who is supposed to be very frightened and ignorant of sexual pleasure. The whole novel is about he being fascinated against his will by her intelligence and her innocence and her denying any attraction at all to him. Elinor's reactions are reasonable, until we finally get to the big sex scene and then all of a sudden the hero makes a 180 degree turn into someone who cares! and after all of the buildup, he lets Elinor go! Just like that! And she becomes the aggressor WANTING HIM and insisting that they have sex! And of course she has an orgasm with no foreplay at all! Right! HAH! This is the basic story in all of her recent novels. Anne Stuart is becoming increasingly one note and it is very disappointing. I am not a devotee of rape and i didn't want to read anything like porn, but I like a hero to go after what he wants with some finesse! As a man who really enjoys a woman's body and knows what to do with it!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes. - Marquis De Sade, August 27, 2010
This review is from: Ruthless (The House of Rohan) (Mass Market Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Elinor Harriman was born to a titled father and money hungry mother. When her mother left England for Paris, the downward spiral of their life began. Her mother moved from man to man, gambled and lost and eventually landed them in squalor. Now her mother is dying of the French disease and it's up to Elinor to protect the only thing Elinor truly values, her little sister, Lydia.
When Elinor's mother escapes in a moment of clarity from their home with the last of their meager valuables and cash, Elinor is forced to follow her. She locates her at the Heavenly Host, a place where anything goes and not a place for an innocent young girl. The Heavenly Host is run by the infamous Viscount Rohan and when Elinor is brought to his attention; he finds himself interested for the first time in years.
I really liked the plot, I liked that Elinor and her sister were struggling in life but had that unbreakable bond and a few loyal lifelong servants. I loved the characters. Elinor isn't beautiful but she is selfless and witty. Lydia who is beautiful isn't cold or shallow; rather she's warm and endearing. Rohan is an ass, but I loved him too. He's alpha male all the way and he's a deviant and unconventional. His good friend Charles was one of my favorite characters and his was just a minor part.
So why only the 3 stars? The book was way too long to have never delved into the characters any deeper than she did. Elinor's sister finds out about Rohan's past and what makes him tick, yet it's never brought up between the two main characters. Charles sweeps Lydia off her feet yet we never find out anything of real substance about him, either.
The author dragged out the whole sexual tension thing between the two characters for far too long. Then there is the matter of Elinor's deceased father's estate. Towards the end of the book Rohan discusses it with Charles in great detail, even proves all knowing on the new heir, yet never bothered to tell Elinor about it? Then I think eventually he will bring it up, nope, it doesn't happen! Another surprise at the end of the book pops up and I wait for Elinor to tell Rohan, again it never happens.
For a book with over 400 pages there seemed way too many loose ends. I think the makings of a great historical romance were here; it just was a little disorganized and needed to be tied up better.
I haven't given up hope; I liked it enough to want to read the next book in the series. I only hope it lives up to its potential.
Reckless
Breathless
Cherise Everhard, August 2010
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