rhodaj's review against another edition
4.0
As I won this book as part of First Reads, I would firstly like to thank the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Firstly, I have to say that I like historical fiction, however am not a fan of the romance genre. This book certainly sounded interesting enough for me to enter the competition though, although the historical part of it was of more interest to me. Having said that, I am no expert on time periods etc - I just enjoy the genre :-)
Ok, on to Invitation to Ruin.....I really enjoyed it! There were a few parts that were a little gushy to me, including near the end (I won't spoil it for others by saying why) and although I'm no prude, every male character seemed to have an erection 90% of the time, which was a little excessive to me.
The storyline was good, although not overly surprising, however the thing that really draws you in to this story are the characters. I admired the characters, I liked them and I felt close to them, as if they were people that I knew! I wanted to know what happened to them, because I liked them! Both of the main characters, Melissa & Anthony were strong characters, and were extremely well developed.
I think the author has done a really good job on her debut novel and I would look out for her work again. I can honestly say I have made it through a romance novel now without any eye-rolling to the heavens :-)
Firstly, I have to say that I like historical fiction, however am not a fan of the romance genre. This book certainly sounded interesting enough for me to enter the competition though, although the historical part of it was of more interest to me. Having said that, I am no expert on time periods etc - I just enjoy the genre :-)
Ok, on to Invitation to Ruin.....I really enjoyed it! There were a few parts that were a little gushy to me, including near the end (I won't spoil it for others by saying why) and although I'm no prude, every male character seemed to have an erection 90% of the time, which was a little excessive to me.
The storyline was good, although not overly surprising, however the thing that really draws you in to this story are the characters. I admired the characters, I liked them and I felt close to them, as if they were people that I knew! I wanted to know what happened to them, because I liked them! Both of the main characters, Melissa & Anthony were strong characters, and were extremely well developed.
I think the author has done a really good job on her debut novel and I would look out for her work again. I can honestly say I have made it through a romance novel now without any eye-rolling to the heavens :-)
jkh107's review
1.0
This book starts out with a mistaken-identity rape of sleeping respectable girl (instead of her slutty cousin). Well, it seems mistaken but it soon becomes quite clear that the hero has been set up by his TOTALLY INSANE family members to do this because they think this girl is right for him (WTF? moment #1).
At any rate, this little horrorshow inevitably, as this is a Regency romance, leads to an engagement as opposed to prosecution. But the hero is adverse to having children--he doesn't want to pass on his father's legacy of abuse--so he won't repeat his "mistake" with his fiancee/wife although he's been a total manslut to date (WTF? moment #2).
While the hero and heroine are trying to establish their relationship, a pair of perverted (in graphic detail!) villains/slavers try to keep this pair apart by kidnapping the heroine in order to sell her as a sex slave. The villains in this book are over the top in their awfulness, and I was really put off by the detail about their sadistic sexual practices and also the horrible assault on the heroine (which itself was sort of waved away by the characters at the end as a total nonissue, in the final WTF? moment of the book--see spoilers for more detail).
I really can't in good conscience recommend this book. Major chunks of plot made no sense at all and too much of it was repulsive but written in a way that made you wonder if it wasn't meant to be titillating too. Just...ugh.
At any rate, this little horrorshow inevitably, as this is a Regency romance, leads to an engagement as opposed to prosecution. But the hero is adverse to having children--he doesn't want to pass on his father's legacy of abuse--so he won't repeat his "mistake" with his fiancee/wife although he's been a total manslut to date (WTF? moment #2).
While the hero and heroine are trying to establish their relationship, a pair of perverted (in graphic detail!) villains/slavers try to keep this pair apart by kidnapping the heroine in order to sell her as a sex slave. The villains in this book are over the top in their awfulness, and I was really put off by the detail about their sadistic sexual practices and also the horrible assault on the heroine (which itself was sort of waved away by the characters at the end as a total nonissue, in the final WTF? moment of the book--see spoilers for more detail).
Spoiler
Near the end of the book, the villain perpetuates an sexual assault on the heroine. Which is totally NOT DEALT WITH at all in the book--the characters are all like "Oh, she wasn't raped, thank God" and the heroine is told and decides not even to tell her husband about it--like being forced to give oral sex is really not "rape rape" (to quote Whoopi Goldberg). The emotional fallout from this sort of thing in the real world--especially the Regency milieu when oral sex was probably considered sodomy or an act against nature--would have been intense, and IMO it should have been dealt with in some way during the denouement. I'm still getting hot face thinking about it.I really can't in good conscience recommend this book. Major chunks of plot made no sense at all and too much of it was repulsive but written in a way that made you wonder if it wasn't meant to be titillating too. Just...ugh.
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