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)

Loved It!

I LOVED this book. The characters were well-developed and the dialogue was witty and often humorous. The plot was even a little bit off the usual "romance novel" path, which made it quite interesting. But what I most loved is that is showed that the the characters of a story don't have to be perfect to be thoroughly likable! Not every hero is always honorable and not every heroine is a delicate, waif-like creature in constant need of rescuing. These characters were both "flawed" in quite different ways, and those flaws made the story believable and very entertaining. The story also managed to be pretty "hot" without a lot of graphic sex scenes. Can't wait for the next installment of this series!

COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER...

This book had promise, but during ninety-percent of the story the hero/heroine were not anywhere near each other and when they were, they bickered like children. A little would have been fine, but not an entire book's worth. The characters were well-drawn and likable while the setting was a change-of-pace from the norm. It was a club that catered to its member's darker needs (all involving consenting adults) yet the whole club-theme was not too "dark" and was rarely in the foreground. As far as the main characters' romantic involvement, I think there was a kiss, maybe two, until near the very end where they shared a night together. I know there are more books to this series but this story in itself ended too abruptly leaving a somewhat dissatisfied feeling to an overall missed-the-mark experience. Narrator was not annoying, but too many of her voices (male and female) sounded alike where I was not sure who was saying what.

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.

WOW!

I decided to try this book on a whim. I haven't been very impressed with the author's work in the past, but this was SPECTACULAR!! I felt it was very well written and the story was very entertaining! Definitely worth the credit/money!

Start of a good trilogy

These are the kinds of romance that I enjoy most - less than perfect hero and heroine and a mystery to make it interesting. The story kept me listening to the end, although I had already read the book. The reader did a good job, especially with the voice of Francis. I hope the other two books in this trilogy are released soon on audio. In the meantime, I'm rereading the other two books in the trilogy until the audios become available.

Bang, droop, fizzle

Anne Stuart is an amazing author (whose boots I am unfit to polish), and I literally could not stop listening to this book last night. It was just too, too good to spend time with that delicious hero.
I'm amazed at how erotic the novel was with so little actual sex involved. I'm also amazed that I loved the book and didn't love the story. It began well enough but I found the end was rushed, unconvincing, and unworthy of the amazing characters she brought together.
I'm still looking forward to book two. (But I now know better than to read it on a school night.)

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.

Disappointing

Based on the other reviews, I was really expecting more from this book ... as in, a likeable (or even vaguely relatable) protagonist. Instead I spent hours with a snarky, obstinate, rude, nonsensical lead character who spewed vitriol at the well-intentioned characters trying to help her. I ended up rooting for the bad guy in the book, simply because he didn't like her, either.

Good Listen

I occasionally like to listen to the historical romance genre. I have to be honest and say it's not my favorite genre but sometimes I do listen to some that are fantastic.For example I loved Maya Banks highlander books. This one is an ok listen for me. I got it on sale and I was pleased with the deal. So for the price it met my expectations. I don't think I will get any of the other books in this series due to the fact that it wasn't good enough for me to want to use my credits on them. In saying that I might be tempted if they come up on the $4.95 sale like this book did.

Questionably romantic. Definitely frustrating.

Despite the headline, I did enjoy this book. At least, sort of. It was a pretty good story, it kept me interested for the most part.

The problem was that the male main character never really acted toward the female main character in a way that was romantic or loving. In general, in romance novels there's a gradual change in the male's behavior that shows he's softening toward the woman and that their relationship is going somewhere loving. That never happened here. He was hot and cold, and mostly cold through the entire book.

There's no question he wanted to sleep with her, but even up to the last 20 minutes he was still being very abrupt and cold to her and I found it very frustrating. I'm not sure that I'll read any more of this series if they're all written this way.