Customer Reviews

Tempted

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a great alternative for romance fans who have become bored with the traditional, time-honored formula of the genre. While it's possible to get a chuckle or two out of most romance novels, this book is packed full of laughs. The situations are so outrageous, the characters are so over-the-top, that reading it is a wicked, guilty pleasure.

The heroine, Tina Kennedy, is well aware of her effect on men, as well as their effect on her. The hero, Ramsay Douglas (cleverly nicknamed Ram), is an uncouth Highland clan leader who expects to get what he wants. Both characters are powerfully attractive, and powerfully attracted to each other.

I appreciate Henley's frank, blantant approach to romance. A rough, brutish warrior would never refer to his body parts with euphamisms, nor would he refer to every sexual encounter as love-making. A well-born, innocent lass would of course be appauled by such language at first, but later might be inclined to use it herself should the situation warrant it. Henley's strength is in knowing exactly when her characters should use the softer, more mysterious language, and when they should just call it like it is.

The story is a familiar one of Scottish clan feuding, but it is given the breath of life by two supporting characters who happen to be dead. The marvelously inventive and romantic subplot between two ghosts is what elevates the storyline above those of much of the genre.

What I love about most of Henley's work is that she sets her characters loose to run rampant. She seems aware that this genre can take itself too seriously, and she seems willing to embrace the absurd. That makes her books, particularly this one, a joy to read.

I truly loves books that are written like this!!! If you take the sex scenes out, the book would still be wonderful. Let's face it though, Virginia really knows how to write those steamy sex scenes. There are not too many books that are similar in design to this one! Valentina and Ram are hot! Flaming Tina learns very quickly how to use sex to her advantage! Wish that we were all the brave! Tempted also slid in a brief history lesson in the process! It may not ALL be completely accurate, but the reader gets the idea of the behavior and events of that time. I love steamy books such as this and I know if I could make a list of all the steamy, erotic historical romance fictions authors -- Virginia would be at the top of the list! Rebellion, Intrigue, Battles, Warriors, Sexual Pleasures...REAL MEN and REAL WOMEN. A MUST READ!

At first I really didn't want to read it because I had made the mistake of opening the book and reading from the middle right where Douglas and Tina are fighting big time. So I figured that I it was a total waste of time. But then one day when I really didn't have anything else to do I picked up the book and it is needless to say I didn't put it down until I finished reading it. This book is one of those in which you just can't stop reading! Tina is hell bent on vengance against The Douglas but what she doesn't know is that she will fall into her own game of seduction. The Douglas is so blind that he only sees what he wants to see until he falls in love and finds that love is the total opposite of what he expected. I loved the way Henley mixed the supernatural characters with the real characters. You will find everything you want in this book. Murder mysteries, betrayal, passion, love, GREAT LOVE SCENES, it is full of surprises. It is beautifully written and wonderful to read. I highly recomend it.

THE HENLEY PRIMER
I have reason to believe that you will either worship this book or strongly dislike it (with Virginia Henley's classics, indifference is not an option). To determine into which camp you will fall, you'll need to learn if VH is a writer whose style and recurrent themes will compel or repel you. Thus, a Henley primer:

>>>You may dislike Henley if:

--you favor subtle, subdued writing styles in a romance
--you favor quiet, thoughtful, and emotionally reticent lead characters (If this is the case, the only Henley heroine you will love is Jane in A Year and a Day, and the only hero you will love is John in The Decadent Duke.)
--you dislike Alpha and Gamma heroes who are "too much" Alpha and "too much" Gamma, who have taken the state of being a blazing Aries charger or a dangerous, dark Scorpio and turned them into art forms.
-- you prefer heroines to be on the "average" and "normal" side of physical appearance, skills and talents
--you prefer slow-burning relationship development, or romances where the hero and heroine have a lightly flirtatious courtship
-- you dislike large age differences between a teenaged or young heroine and a thirty-something hero
-- you dislike historical romances that are Historical with a capital "H." (you dislike romances where the history is an integral part of the action and where kings and queens, dynasties, war and plague are all detailed within an inch of their lives.)
-- you prefer subtle sensuality and dislike erotically-charged, plentiful sex described in graphic detail
--you cannot tolerate reading descriptions of the hero's sexual escapades before getting together with the heroine
-- you demand innovation in romance plots; you are constantly looking for a plot or character types that have never been done before

If you fall into this first camp, Godspeed to you, and enjoy the many romances out there that will not send your blood pressure sky high, as Henley's likely will.

>>>You will thank your lucky stars for Henley if:

--you crave high-octane traumas and dramas, with dramatic roller-coaster-high loves and swooping-low, full throttle hate between the hero and heroine
-- you adore saucy, devilish, clever, physically courageous, naturally imperious, persevering, "I will survive" heroines with rapier wit, a towering temper, and a righteous sense of justice that they WILL see served...or serve themselves.
--you adore...well, authoritarian, clever, physically courageous, naturally imperious heroes, as well!
-- you rejoice in seeing said heroine truly meet her match--but never be bested--in a powerful male version of herself (here, like attracts like!)
-- you delight in the outrageous antics of said heroine and her Alpha-lion or Gamma-panther counterpart
-you love "down and dirty" historicals that showcase the stuff left out of your history textbook (homosexual gentry; child rapist kings; a non-virgin Virgin Queen; the misery of prisons and asylums; the horrors of plague and war)
-- you can tolerate the hero's high-handed behavior and sexist actions because the heroine doesn't let him get away with it and because both sides end up equalized
--"Over the top," "high drama," and "outrageous" are all positive, not negative, descriptors for you
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Reader, I fall into the latter camp. Joyously.

Let me take you into the world that Henley has created in TEMPTED, a volatile, epic-scale romance novel that I guarantee, if you fall into the second Henley Primer camp, will knock your socks off.

PLOT. Vibrant Lady Valentina Kennedy sacrifices herself for her family's political alliance with their longtime enemies, the dread clan of Douglas. She becomes handfasted to the dangerous laird known as Black Ram Douglas, on whom she has secretly vowed vengeance for his capture of her young brother. Their love story unfolds against the epic drama of 16th century Scotland/Tudor England, including the devastating battle at Flodden.

HEROINE and HERO. What dynamite protagonists these two are. They are second-to-none in historical romance: fully realized and so vividly drawn, they will remain in your head for years to come.

Valentina is a surprisingly complex character. Because she was raised in a household of men, she is both instinctively adept at sexual byplay and flirtation, and can hold her own fighting, raiding and playing along with her brothers. In the patriarchal culture of highland Scotland, she has earned a (false) reputation for being a sexual temptress. This piques the powerful Black Ram, a hero who is super-Alpha, yes, but whom Henley also masterfully characterizes as, deep down, a funny and basically lonely man, searching for his equal.

Henley is an absolute wizard at getting readers to empathize with a powerful female lead. This is no small feat in a society that even today demonizes take-no-prisoners women who go after what they want. From the very first pages, we are drawn into the character of Tina, for whom our heart aches when we see the way she is disfavored by her mother and forced to sacrifice herself for the good of her clan. Courageous, loyal and fighting on the side of justice, Tina's a superhero with a vulnerable streak.

RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT. Grab your safety goggles; sparks are about to fly. Yes, the "hate at first sight" storyline in romances is as old as Pride and Prejudice, but boy, can Henley light the page on fire with it. Tina has sworn vengeance on Ram, and the lady means it, so get the heck out of her way! The most wonderful thing about their "courtship" is that we, the reader, can recognize these two are essentially the separated-at-birth twins of each other, but they at first don't see it; what fun watching them come to realize this, and, later, articulating it. Towards the end of the book, when evil abounds in the castle and the political situation devolves into war, Tina and Ram are placed in situations that will bring a lump to your throat over the poignancy and tenderness of their newly found love and that which threatens it.

STYLE. Henley is a storyteller who, at her best (Tempted), can spin a web around even the reader who swore they were going to stay up reading Chekhov tonight. She is blunt-talking, bawdy, and manages to create richly detailed historical tapestries that don't bog down the romantic narrative. Yes, the love scenes lay it on thick, and the villains are always Pure Evil and the heroines are generally brimming with umbrage and fire, but you know what? It works. It gets your blood up. It sweeps you up and squeezes you close and makes you forget all the mundane stuff you left unfinished on the kitchen table. How many books--not just romances--do that for you?

SEXUAL SCENES. Plenty of them, and hot, hot, hot without being erotica. Anyone who finds Henley to be erotica has obviously not read that genre. Her stuff is graphic, but always relationship-based.
PROFANITY. Plenty of it, but well-used to develop character.
CHEATING. None. Ram has mistresses before Tina, but never after. She never strays. (His mistress does pop up now and again to cause trouble, though).

THE EVIL MAN. (!!!!Spoilers!!!!) In many historicals and in almost all of Henley's, there's an evil man who lusts after the heroine, gets his paws on her, and, in some books, rapes her. The evil man in Tempted is a very famous historical personage but he does NOT get a chance to actually rape the heroine.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE (!!!!Spoilers!!!!!)
There is a scene in this book in which the hero forces sex onto a heroine who deep down does not want sex but who bravely resigns herself to it because she knows it is her "duty." I think this sort of resignation for political reasons borders on lack of genuine consent, and lack of consent=rape. But, in both books, I was able to get past the assault and even grow to approve of the hero because:

(1) the circumstances demanded a sexual consummation: Ram has to consummate the handfasting in order to fulfill the terms of the political alliance between the clans. He expects her to acquiesce because the very purpose of the handfasting was to create a consummated clan bond and produce a child of that alliance. (Normally this would make him a victim, too, however, he still wants to have sex with Tina for his own pleasure purposes.) In this sense, the initial "rape" is in fact the handfasting of Tina by the patriarchal clan elders.
(2) Crucially, and the thing that made me able to accept this where I could not accept the rapes of the 1970's and 80's romances, is that the hero admits very clearly that he raped the heroine and that he was wrong to do so. He thinks the actual word "rape." He then spends quite a bit of time allowing the heroine to heal and showing his regret over hurting her. I've come to consider this to be a fairly subversive treatment of rape in books aimed toward heterosexual readers. There is still a strong belief amongst some that, if the man tries to arouse the woman and they are married and the woman is otherwise attracted to him, forced sex is not rape. Well, Henley blows that argument right out of the water. Her hero realizes that he has done rape (even if he was compelled to for political reasons and even if Tina had resigned herself to it) and clearly articulates that it is unacceptable. I can appreciate that. And I think it will cause readers to in the future more clearly see sexual assault for what it is.

NEGATIVES: the afore-mentioned assault, a rather insignificant subplot about a creepy member of the Douglas clan; fairly one-dimensional villains; stereotypes about Gypsies (and for that matter, Scots and redheads!).

TWO WORDS:
Tina: Courage and Fire
Ram: Action and Integrity

VERDICT: The cream of Henley's considerable crop, Tempted has everything and more for lovers of high drama and history. This book, unlike many romances, will convince you over and over again of this couple's once-in-a-lifetime bond. Their larger-than-life personalities leap off the pages and draw you into their world. Is the book flawed? Undoubtedly. But at the last page, you exhale, you wipe your brow, you think: "Now, THAT'S a romance!"

I am a HUGE Virginia Henley fan, and it all started with this book. The story was well written with numerous plots and subplots that helped to accentuate the developing love between the unbeknownst heroine and hero. There is a lot of strong language and intensely erotic love scenes, but it is acceptable when entwined with the setting at hand. Henley was very adept in adding a subtle role reversal between Tina and Ram.

Black Ram Douglas is the quintessential ALL MAN hero. He has the usual hero traits of intelligence, strength, ambition and unmatched sexual appeal(captured brilliantly by the model used in the picture), but Henley delves further by adding more layers to this larger than life character. His hard sometimes vulgar machismo personality was tempered by his love of children, respect for family and land, charm and humor as well as being an undercover romantic. Ram's gentleness towards Tina, and concern for her every comfort and well being are a delightful transition from his rugged high-handedness. We are allowed to see Tina fall in love with Ram and understand WHY she loves him, from antagonistic hatred to the revelation of a man so suited to her, the word soulmate seems lacking and inadequate.

Valentina was no innocent. She had the normal heroine trait of being intelligently chaste with heartstopping beauty that left men breathless and women envious. Tina was more than that. From the beginning she was shown as a brave hoyden with a loyalty to surpass most men. She was clever with a shockingly humorous charisma that was engagingly seductive. A true tomboy, Flaming Tina was fearless in all things, with an intense devotion to those she loved as well as any endeavor she approached.

The descriptiveness of the violence and war, was a perfect accompaniment to the intrigue of court and familial entanglements. This novel has it all. After fifteen years of owning this book, I can honestly say I read it at least once a year. With mediocre writers publishing disappointingly lackluster novels, the tried and true always lures me back for the desired enjoyment of a brilliant romantic read.

"TEMPTED" will whisk you away to Scotland where you will experience the tempestuous love/hate relationship of Ramsey and Valentina. Ram is bold, sexy, and challenging, while Tina is intelligent, strong-willed, and beautiful. In this rollercoaster adventure you will definitely remain caught up in their ups and downs, and you will be exposed to Scottish history, as well. The supporting characters are well thought out and complement both Ram and Tina. The lovemaking scenes were just enough to whet my appetite, but I found that I wanted more of the detail that I've found in a Susan Johnson ("BRAZEN") or Linda Howard ("AFTER THE NIGHT"). I enjoy tales of big men and Ram is a big man!

This is a book to keep in a personal library. I read it years ago when it first came out and every so often I pick it up again to read and I enjoy it every time. One of her better books.

This is nearly as good as Enslaved (this is my VH benchmark).

I loved this book. You engage in the characters nearly right from the start.

Ram and Tina are good strong lead characters and you get a real sense of that period of time in history.

This is what you would call a "bawdy romp". But feel the passion and the love and the romance maybe not in the convensional sense......but we romance readers only care that the plot make sense to the romance and not the "real" world.

Go on then what are you waiting for.........use your one click ordering button.......

The story of Ram and Tina was good. Strong historic background during a turbulent portion of Scottish history. This story still had the strong willed heroine named Valentina but she is likeable and realizes sooner rather then later that falling in love is not such a tragedy. Ram is all man and is quite likeable as well. There of course is the stubborn interaction between both of these characters that seem to be a Henley trait, but is stops short of making the charcters unlikeable. With intrigue, secondary characters that are ghost (yes I did say ghost)that have their own story to tell and of course romance I found that this book was well worth the effort it takes to read it.

This book is the ultimate story of deception, loyaties, sex, honor and historical adventures. Ram and Valentina (Vixen) were perfect for one another, especially when they realized it. I've read it a dozens times, along with her other books. She's a great writer. I have all of her books, and will read them more than once.