The Raven Prince

By: Elizabeth Hoyt

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Widowed Anna Wren is having a wretched day. After an arrogant man on horseback nearly crushes her, she arrives home to learn that she is in dire financial straits.

There comes a time in a lady's life

The Earl of Swartingham is in a quandary. Having frightened off two secretaries, Edward de Raaf needs someone who can withstand his bad temper and boorish behavior.

When she must do the unthinkable....

When Anna becomes the earl's secretary, it would seem that both their problems are solved. But when she discovers he plans to visit the most notorious brothel in London, she sees red - and decides to assuage her desires....

©2006 Elizabeth Hoyt (P)2013 Hachette Audio

What the cover art and summary don’t tell you

Not the story I was expecting, but I liked it. Despite the couple on the cover, Edward is scarred by smallpox and Anna is considered ordinary looking. Their lack of good looks figures pretty strongly, so you’d think the summary or cover art would reflect that. Also, although the summary mentions his intent to visit one, I would liked to have been warned how much the house of pleasure factors in. This features Anna as an atypical heroine, a widower willing to defy society and partake in a pleasure house. I know this was an acceptable practice for gents of the time, but I would have preferred to attack this trope by having both the H/h disavow such houses instead of both leaning in. It was respectfully handled… just not the kind of plot I really dig.

The nooky was also unexpectedly…anatomical? There’s two scenes in short order at the 4 hr mark (ch9) and then approaching 9hrs (ch19) and they are anything but missionary, featuring descriptions of head, t3stes(how is that regency sexy?), and hair. I mostly found them steamy, but they felt more fitted to contemporary romance. If you want Julia Quinn get-togethers, then this book is not for you.

There’s a fairy tale about The Raven Prince that plays out at the start of each chapter. While not terrible, it seemed too gimmicky, forced, and unrelated to this story.

Overall, this story both leans into certain regency tropes and upends others. While the eyes did roll occasionally, most of the contrived plots worked for me. Except for the steamy scenes, the story was mostly sweet and mildly funny. I did bump up to 1.5x, but at that speed this was good enough to wishlist book 2.

Not your usual hero & heroine

If you could sum up The Raven Prince in three words, what would they be?

The main characters have flaws, and more dimension, than you often come across in a romance. And I really enjoy the start of each chapter, as the author intertwines a fairy tale of sorts, relating to her main story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Earl -- he's pockmarked, and ugly, quoting Mrs. Wren, yet for all that, it makes him so much more likable and interesting as the book progresses.

Which character – as performed by Moira Quirk – was your favorite?

Anna Wren

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Just the pragmatic way Anna takes life in stride, even though she has been hurt so much in the past

Any additional comments?

Elizabeth Hoyt has a special way of writing, that is very different from so many romance writers, with a good historic background.

Meticulous.

Elizabeth Hoyt writes meticulous and fun stories. She never disappoints. Here stories can be read again and again. Excellent narration.

Lovely .... Romantic and sensual.

Truly enjoyed this book more than any romance in a long time. Nice escape ... loved both main characters and appreciated the anticipation and imagination built into the story. So glad it wasn't filled with constant angst like so many. Will be looking for more books narrated by Ms. Quirk. Her narration was absolutely perfect.... wonderful emotion, did male and female characters equally well.

Wonderfully entertaining

A lovely story with thoughtful character development, a nice bit of humour, and a very steamy, tumultuous romance.

Absolutely wonderful narration.

Entertaining but not the best Elizabeth Hoyt story

This is certainly a different kind of story line and not a bad one however I felt as if some parts of the story could have been developed a bit more and perhaps it would have drawn me in more. By all means, if you're an Elizabeth Hoyt fan, do take a listen. It's worth a credit. I just personally found the heroine and her mother-in-law a tad too unbelievable. (I'm probably just being cynical.) I was also a little bothered by the short story of The Raven Prince -- it's basically the Greek Myth of Eros & Psyche (great story by the way!) Maybe I missed her crediting that story as the basis of her Raven Prince but if she didn't than it's kind of lame to use it and not credit it.

loved this series

I truly enjoyed this series of the princes The Raven Prince was my favorite the other two books for very fine as well

Excellent

Would you listen to The Raven Prince again? Why?

I would have this looped for continuous play

What did you like best about this story?

combining Jane Eyre and wonderful love scenes

Have you listened to any of Moira Quirk’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Wow! she uses her voice to create an entire cast of characters

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

a "how to" have great sex

Any additional comments?

one of the best books I have read that combines what I love in classic novels with realistic sensuality

So much potential

The storyline and characters held so much potential, but it never developed. A great performance can save a book that’s lacking, but the narration was not to my liking. It just fell flat and was frankly dull. I liked the couple and the story was interesting but it felt slightly disjointed somehow.
I prefer to avoid submitting negative reviews for the most part, but this is an audiobook format and it must be addressed. Good narration is everything in an audiobook. This audience paying far more than your typical paperback for the experience.

The Raven Prince

I don't know. I feel a little let down. I heard such rave reviews that I was expecting something spectacular!
I mean, it was ok. But not above and beyond anything I'd ever read before.

I actually enjoyed the little fairytale intros at the start of each chapter almost, if not more than the main story.

And,of course, I saw the epilogue a mile off. Although, I do love an HEA.