Review: Ruthless by Anne Stuart

Filed in 2 1/2 Stars , Anne Stuart , Review , The Smutty Lover Posted on August 6, 2010 @ 11:00 am 3 comments

Format Read: eARC
Number of Pages: 400
Release Date: August 1st, 2010
Publisher: Mira
Formats Available: Mass Market Paperback, eBook
Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, GoodreadsAmazon, Book Depository US, Book Depository UK

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher through netgalley.


Book Blurb:

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.
My Thoughts:
I am a huge fan of Anne Stuart and her dark heroes who can really push the envelope as I I always find that this can make a story more interesting. So I jumped on the chance to read Ruthless which is the start of a multi-generational trilogy.
When Viscount Francis Rohan first encounters Elinor Harriman at his Heavenly Host gathering — a place for carnal and gambling pursuits — looking for her wayward mother, a cat and mouse game of battle of wills soon start between them. I really loved their first meeting and there were overtones of the Hades myth – which in some ways Francis embodies ,and I am always a sucker for this theme as the Hades/Persephone myth is one of my favourites. But! As I progressed further into the book, this was not the case.
One of the best elements in the book is Elinor, who was one of the best developed and well drawn heroines I have read in a long while. I enjoyed her relationship with her sister and her strength of character to struggle financially to keep a home over family’s head. While at the same time dealing and caring for her mother’s mental and physical deterioration to Syphilis, which has caused her to act crazily although this condition was a repercussion of her self-centered and reckless past. But her loyalties and feelings to her mother was always strained and there was an incident that brought tears to my eyes that drove Elinor to do things she would not normally do. Due to this she had to build walls to remain strong and independent, but I admired how resilient she was despite the hardships she suffered.
Because of her difficult past I liked how the possibility of a dark hero, like Francis, could push those boundaries and break through to her real self that she shut down. And especially since the society mores are the ones who shunned her and her family. And Francis never really played by those rules, but their romance really didn’t work for me. In contrast, while Elinor had real depth, Francis did not. He fell into the trap of, ‘I had a tortured past so I now must act like an arse’ category.
Now I love the dark, tortured heroes but I felt that he played up to that image of the dark, jaded and bored rake instead of really acutally being one and I did not think his past was enough for him to act this way. But while his initial provocative interactions with Elinor – who was also challenging him back – worked, soon afterwards I found him to be patronising towards Elinor. Numerous times in the book he called her ‘child’ and It just threw me off. He saw that she held her family together and he admired that, but mocking her in that way was not dark or challenging.
I also felt at time that he was just playacting the villain, and if he had a fake mustache, I could just envision him twirling it. He was a cardboard cutout of a jaded rake, and I was disappointed because Francis was not fleshed out despite that initial indication. I the reason I was disappointed is because he had the potential to be a great hero – especially with the early promise of the Hades’ motif. But his attitude towards Elinor was based on an uneven equality, and she was definitely his equal in their relationship.
Another aspect that disappointed me was the subplot that involved Elinor’s long lost relative . It was a weak point in the book, and for such an intelligent character to trust someone she barely knew was really not believable – especially since she was such a sensible character.
Overall, Ruthless had a promising start; the setting, Elinor’s character, and the initial promise of Francis was engaging. It had the hallmarks of a good dark love story. But Francis’ one dimensional character, and the weakness of the plot didn’t make this book a keeper for me. And if it stuck to the Hade’s overtones, I think it would have been a much stronger romance and story. I do plan to read the next book of the series which will focus on Elinor and Francis’ son.

I give Ruthless 2.5 out of 5 bookies.


***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review. All our links to the online bookstores are affiliate links. The money earned with these accounts is spent on books for contest exclusively.

About Has


Has is a bookaholic and feeds her addiction whenever she can. She usually can be found lost in a Romance or an Urban Fantasy novel. Her favourite sub genres are Paranormal, Fantasy and some Scifi. Her most treasured authors are, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Ann Aguirre, Lisa Kleypas and Tamora Pierce. She loves that discovery of finding a brand new author and falling in love with their books. Has also blogs a The Book Pushers - Book chatter and reviews

Share This Post

Subscribe and stay up-to-date

Via E-Mail:

Follow us via RSS, twitter and facebook:

3 Comments

Join the Discussion
  • Danielle87 August 6, 2010 at 5:11 pm

    I really loved this book. But 'Ruthless' is my first Anne Stuart novel.
    I especially loved the book because Rohan was so deliciously rakish… but other readers have told me that, compared to her other rake charatcers, Rohan is somewhat tame.

    Can you recommend other Anne Stuart reads?

  • Has August 9, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    Yeah – he is definitely tame compared to her other heroes. I just found that he was playing the cynical rake and although that is fine – I just found that there was no development in his character.

    But I definitely recommend her Ice series – they are contemporary romance but they feature heroes who really push the envelope. Anne also has a few historicals and contemps – but I would recommend Lord of Danger and Prince of Swords. Harlequin are starting to digitizing her backlist which is great!

  • pattepoilue August 9, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    I have Ruthless for review too but I haven't read it yet…I hope I'll like it better than you =P

    Ohhh and I have the first book in the Cold series…Haven't read it yet either O_O lol Ok i'm bumping them up on my TBR list. 😉

Previous Post
«
Next Post
»
Luvo designed by Internet Marketing In conjunction with Template Wordpress , R4 DS , Best SUV.