Reckless: House of Rohan Series, Book 2

By: Anne Stuart

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Adrian Alistair Rohan lost his faith, and now, a dedicated member of the depraved Heavenly Host, he loses himself in his only pleasure: the seduction and debauchery of beautiful women. Rich, charming, and devastatingly skilled in the arts of love, he never fails in his conquests… until Charlotte Spenser.

Charlotte is facing a desolate, passionless future, none of which matters to Adrian, who imagines her a toy until better prey arrives. But beneath her drab exterior, Charlotte is a woman as enchanting as she is brilliant, and, lured into Adrian's world, she soon becomes the seducer and he the seduced.

Pay another visit to the House of Rohan.

©2010 Anne Kristine Stuart Ohlrogge (P)2011 Tantor

I love a Rake!

I loved this book. I had no idea what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. It has a devilish sarcastic rake to beautiful for his own good. A heroine devoted to her sister and subjected to endure a cruel, warped mother that has been the ruin of her entire family. Their paths cross and neither will be the same again. It has the usual romantic formula but the characters are so well developed and the dialogue is so witty that it immediately grabbed me. I love Rohan and am already started on the next book. A guilty pleasure and I plan on savoring the entire series.

A Nice Scandalous Listen

The secondary love story in this book is my favorite of the four books, and I wish they had gotten even more attention and development. Of the series, I would probably be most excited to re-listen to the first and second books. The main character is pretty immature, but he does eventually come around and I was able to route for the main and especially the secondary couples. There are some provocative, interesting, exciting, and rather touching scenes. This book, as well as all in the series, flirts with that fantasy of being somewhat dominated by an alpha male, but manages not to go overboard. I recommend this one!

Better than First

I enjoyed this book much more than the first one. It's better than the Robin Hood theme of the first one. They are evenly matched. I'm happy her cousin gets her hea after her horrifying past, and how she has been punishing herself.
It would have been much more fun if the villain were more involved.

So Repetitive

He's a libertine. I love him. I hate him. He's beautiful and I'm a troll. I love him. He's got beautiful mistresses, I hate him. Touch me. Stop touching me. Blah blah blah.

Sad Rehash

If you read Ruthless, book one of the series, then you have already read this one. It is just a sad rehash, same plotline, same characters (ok, they are supposed to be the next generation, but they are just carbon copies), same subplots, same result. Save your money and just reread Ruthless.

Couldn’t get past his cruelty and coercion

This series’s formula always features average looking ladies with disappointing sexual histories (whether by abuse or just poor lovers) and experienced, devilish lords who put on big fronts, pretending not to care about love and honor, while being unable to resist the precocious, vulnerable plain-Janes thrust into their orbit. Most of the books provide a bonus romance between two supporting characters. And, the plots are built on a club of debauchery, making soiled doves and abuse of women a permanent plot point.

Sometimes the formula works for me (book 4’s Shameless) and sometimes it crosses too many of my lines (book 3’s Breathless). This book barely kept an okay rating.

On the plus side, there’s more banter to liven up the dark parts. I also found the romance for Evangeline more engaging than the primary romance, in part because Evangeline’s interactions go beyond lust (they bond over a sick friend, spend an evening playing cards, etc).

Unfortunately, there are numerous downsides. For one, this book’s formula is so similar to the previous book that I feel cheated listening (even having gotten this in the Plus library). Even the lukewarm villain is recycled. Ms. Erickson’s voicing made it difficult to tell if Charlotte or Evangeline, or Adrian, Monty, or Simon was talking. Evangeline is given a horrific backstory, full of violence, sexual abuse, and loss. Charlotte is given the most ordinary features of all the FMCs in the series: she’s too tall, freckled and bespectacled, and of course, a spinster. Her inner thoughts are a constant pity-party. She’s also TSTL, taking risks, making boasts, and protesting her fate while sending mixed signals.

As much as I disliked Charlotte’s naïveté and lack of self preservation, I absolutely despised Adrian.
His behavior consists entirely of cornering Charlotte, threatening and bullying her, and forcing himself on her while she repeatedly says no. This happens on several occasions. Their first extended tryst was the worst: he traps her in the sex club for a weekend and the fact that he “knows” she has a crush on him, uses “gentle” immobilization, or gives her pleasure didn’t excuse deflowering her and then ghosting her for three weeks. Even going into the final hour, he’s laughing at her and insisting “why in the world would you think love has anything to do with us? … it’s just lust.” His cruel remarks are, however, accurate.
All of their interactions are about lust. There are no actions he takes until the final half-hour where he does anything honorable, or where they get to know each other outside of bedsport.
Oh, and the rotten cherry on top? He calls her “my child.” Barf.