Ruthless

House of Rohan Series, Book 1

By: Anne Stuart

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

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)

Different - and excellent

This one is terrific! It's not a "bit of fluff", but there are still moments of humor, and the reader is lured cleverly into developing feelings right along with the heroine. A difficult task, considering the initial actions of the "Hero"! I loved this one and Book 2 as well.

"The best love story ever!

Loved it! I enjoy reading stories set in a time where romance and chivalry were in fashion. I always enjoyed listening to Susan Ericksen narrate, she has the perfect voice and accent for stories like this. It was romantic and full of mystery an, oh yeah sex. Rohan was wonderfully delicious, and unapologetically wicked. But, he met his match in the heroine Eleanor
! All the other characters were well written and quite interesting
. My favorite part was at the end, When Rohan realized his true feelings, and with no hesitation rushed to the rescue. Excellent read. Unfortunately, these wonderful characters were pushed to the background in the following series; the other stories and Rohans descendants were not as interesting. This is actually the best book in the series. Maybe one day they'll be a prequel, or the lost years of Rohan. I would love to read more about him. Pity.

Everybody is right

The hero is not convincing as the villain we get pounded into our heads, as he suddenly (like so many formula stories) decides love is real and he does have a heart. But I don’t fault the story for that.

I have doubts about a happily ever after when the basis of the relationship has been he teases he in a mean way the whole way and she takes it seriously. (Or are we supposed to thinks she’s not really angry?)

I thought the way he dealt with her trauma was excellent and worth the listen, and it was at this point his character arch becomes something you can get behind.

Overall I don’t care for heroines with such severe self-esteem problems. I know there are plenty of women that may identify, but I prefer stronger characters who know their worth. It’s believable that she believes a lie, but this kind of thing doesn’t go away the moment someone loves you. (Sorry, guess I’m too much of a realist to enjoy all the angst in this story).

WOW!!!!

I have always had a hard time with books that are of past times but this one took me from the beginning. Last night i started listening to it and could not put it down, reluctantly I turned it off to sleep but first thing this morning I started in again. OMG, I even stayed home from work to finish it and glad I did. The narrator did an amazing job and now I am going to start the next one in hopes that it takes me away.

Pretty Ruthless

I really enjoyed this book but I can see where it's not for everyone. The main character is a very unlikeable person and this is not your typical romance novel. There is some dark content and it's hard to imagine a HEA ending. However, Anne Stuart does an excellent job of pulling it off. This book has some very interesting twists and turns and some very delicious side characters. Overall I really enjoyed this one and will continue on to the next book. My only complaint is with the ending. There should have been an epilogue or another chapter since it just ends so abruptly.