Ruthless

House of Rohan Series, Book 1

By: Anne Stuart

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Few outsiders will ever witness the dark misdeeds of the Heavenly Host. And among this secret society, where exiled Georgian aristocrats gather to indulge their carnal desires, fewer still can match the insatiable appetite of their chief provocateur, the mysterious Viscount Rohan. Pursuit of physical pleasure is both his preferred pastime and his most pressing urge, until he encounters the fascination of a woman who won't be swayed. And while his dark seduction appalls the pure and impoverished Elinor Harriman, she finds herself intrigued...and secretly drawn to the man behind the desire.

©2010 Anne Kristine Stuart Ohlrogge (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Witty, inventive, dark and sexy---a wild adventure for the mind...and the heart." (Susan Wiggs)

More story and less thought conveyance please!!!

Anne Stuart did a great job building characters in this book. I felt Rohan's was conveyed so perfectly that I could imagine him vividly in my mind's eye. He is crude and caring and strong and cruel and reprobate all packaged in the same person. Both sisters were very sweet and strong when it came to protecting one another and their loved ones. The affectionate souls were very nicely portrayed as well.

I have very mixed emotions about this book. In one hand the story was good and engaging and characters were so very well developed, but in the other, I feel less mind ramble should have been put in the story. It almost takes away from how good the story can be especially when some thoughts are repetitious or too much of it is given throughout the book. Other than that I fully enjoyed the book and am sure your will too.

great read!!

i loved this book ...the characters...i recommend for anyone who enjoys a great romance.....not really bedroom steamy ..at least i didnt think so ....but a true romance for sure

Lovely

I do wish there had been a little bit more sex, but overall the story was truly lovely. And listening to it in a British accent made it even more genuine.

Bravoooooooooo

This novel was absolutely amazing, I will not ruin this for anyone but this novel was the most based in reality romance I've listened to ever...... bravo.

A great performance

A star rating of 4 stars can be reached in a variety of ways. In this case, the narrator does a fantastic job that I couldn't fault. Her voice was easy to listen to and understand. I could always tell when the characters changed and it was easy to follow.

Unfortunately, the storyline was one that I struggled with. It's hard to truly believe in an HEA when the hero professes a desire to use, abuse and discard the heroine for most of the story. I always held hope, but I was sadly disappointed. He "used" other women because of his sexual frustration with the heroine...which sealed his doom.

Ruthless was a little risque and deals with some stomach turning abuse. It was explained well and I didn't feel a need to discontinue.

Overall, it was an adventure that I mostly enjoyed. I did have times where I was a little frustrated, but in the end I was satisfied. 5 stars for the narrator and 3 stars for the storyline, balanced out to a 4 star rating.

Another, interesting addition to the Romance Package.

Darkly Delicious

I very much enjoyed this story. It was well written, though, occasionally, it got stuck in scenes that wore thin long after serving their intended purpose. Lots and lots and LOTS of dialogue. I didn’t even mind the few sex scene. They were elegantly descriptive and totally believable. I sort of fell for Rohan. Love redeemed him, but I would not have minded it it hadn’t. Eleanor grew tiresome very quickly in most scenes, but I did like how she wasn’t a frail flower. She did need to be rescued, all the time!, but she wasn’t easy to shock, thought on her feet and did her best to solve her own problems. She just wasn’t smart enough to keep herself out of trouble. I’m ready to roll into the next book if the series.

Susan Erickson is an excellent narrator. Without her, this story would not be nearly half as entertaining. She is easy to listen to and has perfected cadence. Her voice is clear but without all of the little noises heard in other recordings. I swear, I’ve heard stomachs growl, little wheezes, snd other suspect sounds. Not here!

Great book, couln't wait to read the next...

Would you consider the audio edition of Ruthless to be better than the print version?

This is the first time I have read/listened to a Anne Stuart book, I found it spellbinding, I couldn't wait to see how everything played out. The only thing I would have changed about the book was to have an epilogue or give a little more detail to the ending.

Great start,ending seemed a bit rushed.

Would you consider the audio edition of Ruthless to be better than the print version?

I suppose if you are not much for theatrics this is a great book. It in fact was my first book by anne stuart. I can say Susan Ericksen did a great job narrarating this book. The story line was great my only complaint was that the ending seemed a bit rushed. I had soooo many questions, that I figured would be answered in book two....However thats not the case. This series is based on the Rohan generations, so the storyline changes but the leanage dosnt.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting aspect of this story is the change that love can have on a persons soul, even a so called Devil. The least interesting thing was the sex scenes.

Which character – as performed by Susan Ericksen – was your favorite?

All of the Characters

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed, and snickered a lot.

Any additional comments?

I wouldn't say it's a must read. But I will say its not a waste of time, and its worth listening to in order to get your own opinion

A Ruthless Romance....wounded leads find love

This book caught my interest because I enjoy complicated characters who experience a lot of personal growth through love. Yes, that's probably the standard formula for a "reformed "rake" story and I must say I am a sucker for reformed rakes!

This book had a lot of good reviews so I thought I would indulge and was hoping for a triumphant read. Even though the triumph of the story did not come until the very end, I was relieved that the Hero, Viscount Rohan was able to make a complete turnaround and find love in the innocent but fierce, Elinor Harriman.

This was and edgy read for me because of the weighty and dark themes that engulf the lives of both the Hero and Heroine. Both leads have experienced extreme trauma or abuse and this is what drives their passions, actions and needs throughout the book.

THE HEROINE:
I have to say that my heart really went out to the heroine, Elinor Harriman. I don't think I have read a book about a more quietly, steadfast and resilient heroine. This woman's inner strength is made out of steel. Seriously, she is a pillar of strength.

Elinor has faced some of the most scaring psychological experiences a woman can face. She endures the personal rejection and verbal abuse of her mother, which never improved. She is constantly overlooked by suitors when in her sister's presence. She takes on this great responsibility for her household (talk about stress). She is willing to protect her sister Lydia to her own demise. AND, her knight in shining armor, Viscount Rohan is well, ruthless......

Elinor's actual beauty and allure is a subject that intrigued me. And, I have to say, I'm not sure about how her looks actually measured out. There is a lot of talk about her nose, and how it would look simply amazing when she is 40 years old---whatever that meant????---But, I got the feeling that she is a pretty woman, but simply overshadowed when next to her sister Lydia because of her sister's extraordinary beauty. Her looks or person is referred to as, "delicious;" "face of character;" "plain;" "rarity;" and her sister Lydia calls her "beautiful & "striking" (but that's her sister of course)." We know she is special since the Hero is magnetically drawn and attracted to her... [more on that later]

THE HERO:
Viscount Francis Rohan is a very wounded character. He is emotionally stunted...seriously. Francis is cynical, sarcastic, dangerously flawed, and I suppose these are all prerequisites that allow him to be the ruthless leader of the underground group of depraved aristocrats who describe themselves as the "Heavenly Host." His devilish ways meet their match when he is mesmerized by the feisty, strong-willed heroine Elinor. As a suitor to Elinor, the stirrings of his heart are kept just like his club or house of revels----underground. Since the moment he meets Elinor his association is forever fused to her. He becomes her provider even though he's emotionally distant. He supplies for the needs of her home (provides food, fire wood, clothes, furniture etc.). Because he is emotionally messed up due to a serious trauma he experienced as a young man, he can't seem to process his feelings for her. So, like the emotional retard that he is, Francis continues to channel his sexual appetite through the debauched activities of his secret society (while pining for Elinor). Yup, very flawed indeed. I kind of laughed or felt some satisfaction when he had a nuclear meltdown after having sex with the heroine. It was like vanilla sex was so crazy amazing for him because he had never experienced sex with emotion. And, he did find that fulfillment in his heroine...that emotional connection he so desperately needed to be whole again.

THE LOVE:
The love between Elinor & Francis Rohan is not a nurturing love...at least not in the form of sweet, comforting words. In fact, throughout their relationship his treatment of her is marked with antagonism, manipulation and mental cat & mouse games. I felt exhausted for Elinor because it was like she never got a break. I suppose she got the message that he wanted her because of his constant interest and seduction games aimed at her person.

Francis's love toward Elinor was masked for most of the book and he really pissed me off when he would never tell her what he was really thinking. This is why I'm not sure if Elinor is pretty, or not. The reason being that Francis Rohan is so sensitive to the "buttons" that set others off, that it really seemed as though he played on her assumptions of herself and used them against her....to try and pull and stretch out her desires for him. He was constantly messing with her head and I suppose the purpose was to break down her strong defenses...I suppose that was necessary since Elinor was so guarded.

Even though there were many times I wanted to slap Francis, there were other times that I though his tough treatment was almost necessary for Elinor. For example, when he separated her from her sister, I kind of thought that was a good thing since she had this whole "martyr complex" going on. I just wish he was more sweet with her and not as harsh. But, the moments he was sweet was during their one love making scene. This is why many reviewers say that the story felt rushed at the end because even up until the last minutes of the book....he barely admits he wants, needs and loves her. It's almost as though Elinor bullied the words out of him. For this reason, the epilogue was great and quite welcome, if not this book would have been a big let down. The epilogue was great because it showed that their love was passionate & that they worked everything out....they found the real thing in terms of love.



WHAT I FOUND DISTURBING:
I had a really hard time with the "Heavenly Host" group because at the heart of it, it was a group of sexually depraved predators & even child molesters, by description. That really made my stomach churn.

BUT, I LOVED how Francis threw them out when he had his nuclear meltdown. I was so glad he was able to walk away from the crazy, depraved lifestyle.

WISH LIST:
I wish Francis was more tender with Elinor, but he's just not the mushy type. I suppose he at least told her about how alluring she was to him when he was constantly trying to seduce her....I guess that's something???

The tender moments came from the love development between Redding and Lydia.

NARRATOR:
Great narrator...Susan Eriksen made the listening experience a real treat!

Not sure I will continue with the series just yet...I kind of need a break from the angst.

Could have been great

The story had a great premise and first ten chapters were super seductive with lots of clever dialog, witty banter and tons of sexual tension. But things deteriorated very quickly, constant conflict and bickering between hero and heroine was annoying and tiresome. Heroine was angry all the time acting silly and making idiotic decisions with great aplomb.
All in all, it’s ok listen but I am glad I didn’t have to buy it.