HOUSE OF ROHAN #1: RUTHLESS
Anne Stuart
Performed by: Susan Ericksen
ISBN: 978-0263883091 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1452651002 (Unabridged Audio)
ISBN: 978-0778328483 (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1410433237 (Hardcover LG Print)
ASIN: B003U89ST8 (Kindle)
December 2010 (Paperback)
February 2011 (Unabridged Audio)
August 2010 (Mass Market Paperback)
January 2011 (Hardcover LG Print)
August 2010 (Kindle)
Mills & Boon / Tantor Audio / Mira / Thorndike Press / Mira
Historical / Georgian

In this initial offering of a new trilogy by Ann Stuart, you are introduced to Viscount Rohan, a mysterious libertine known as the King of Hell.  It is at times dark, intense and unsettling – a somewhat new sort of historical for me, but purely believable.  Set in 1760’s Paris, a penniless British noblewoman, Elinor Harriman is struggling to keep her family from utter ruin and starvation; a feat that at times seems almost impossible with the constant vigilance of caring for a mother who is both drifting into insanity while dying a little each day from the Spanish disease. When Elinor’s mother escapes taking with her the very last scrap of money the family had to gambleaway, it forced Elinor to venture into a world of vice and depravity, and the attention of the King of Hell himself Lord Rohan.

***   This was without a doubt one of the most intensely satisfying and powerful historical romances I’ve read in a very long time.  Ms. Stuart’s voice was both eloquent and powerful and her fleshing out of her characters motivations was totally intoxicating.  They both had very turbulent backgrounds to support their behavior during the setting of this novel, and not to give anything away – the reader will recognize those motivations as they are revealed.

Both Rohan and Elinor were equally paired in terms of holding up their ends of the attraction that sizzled between them, yet wounded enough to deny feelings that everyone around them could see.  One thing for sure, the foreplay in RUTHLESS was definitely a turn-on, with their extremely titillating dialogs.  Suffice it to say, that the pace never slowed in this story.  As far as the villain in RUTHLESS goes; he turned out to be quite nasty!  However, he got his just desserts in the end, as well as another who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time [I actually cheered at that one!].  There is also a smaller secondary romance going on that tied up quite nicely in the end, though not as delicious as Elinor and Rohan.

Bottom line:  RUTHLESS was a beautifully structured romance both sensual and powerful showing both the glamour of 1760’s Paris as well as the wretchedness.  I loved it all!

Reviewed By:

I started reviewing books many years ago - but my love of reading began as soon as I could read and that’s a long time! From my very first library card, I would spend my summers at the local library rather than outside playing. My tastes ran from every horse book I could find, to dog books, then gothic romances, and now historical romances with the Regency period having a very close spot in my heart. [Many of my friends, who really know me, say I was born in the wrong era - they’re probably right.] Now that I am retired, and busier than ever, I read almost all genres with the exception of hard core erotica, horror and anything involving more than one sex partner! I am loyal to my tried and true favorite auto-buy authors but love discovering the newer authors as well. I was once a very impatient person, but now retired, and with a book, an audio, or my Kindle by my side - I am the epitome of infinite patience to sit and wait for whatever comes next be it for the light to change, a doctor’s appointment, or a commercial break on the television!

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