The Raven Prince
by Elizabeth Hoyt
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Book Reviews of The Raven Prince
Book Review: Best debut novel in 2006
Summary: 5 Stars
The widowed Anna Wren is in desperate need of money, so she takes an unusual step and applies for the secretary job in the household of Edward de Raaf, the Earl of Swartingham. She has three major problems with the job. First no one has ever heard of a female secretary, secondly her employer has a fierce temper, but the biggest problem of all is that she is falling in love with him. Unfortunately Edward has problems due to a past betrayal, a huge problem with the concept of love and relationships. Will they find a way to be together?
The Raven Prince is a fantastic and unusual book. The story captivated this reviewer from the beginning and she was really sad when she reached the end.
Ms. Hoyt created a terrific cast of characters for this novel. Each of the characters plays an important part in making this book so unique.
Anna Wren is a very strong and independent heroine, who doesn't care much about public opinion. She stands up for her own opinion, something that is especially important in the employment of the Earl. When she makes up her mind, there is nothing that will stop her; she will even go disguised into a brothel to be with the man she loves.
Edward de Raaf is a tortured/wounded hero par excellence. He doesn't believe that any women will ever really love him, because of his pox scars, but that was before he met Anna. She just has to make him believe that he is worthy to be with her.
Altogether she will turn his whole life upside down.
This reviewer especially liked that The Raven Prince is set in the Georgian times, because there are too few books set in this time period and it makes the book even more special.
The Raven Prince is a very good debut novel and you will definitely want to keep an eye open for more books by Ms. Hoyt. Her next book, The Leopard Prince will be released in April 2007.
Courtesy of Loveromancesandmore.com
Book Review: A stellar historical from a new voice in romance
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start by saying that I picked up this book after reading Julia Quinn's Web site in which she said she can find no fault with the book from start to finish. That's rare praise from one of my favorite authors of historical romance so I decided to give this one a chance. I'm so very glad that I did.
Edward de Raaf, Earl of Swartingham returns to his family's country estate in Little Battleford, England after spending the last 10 years in London. The country home is full of bad memories for Edward because it is the place where he lost his entire family to smallpox when he was a child. Scarred for life by the disease and the loss, Edward wants nothing more than to find a woman who won't just see his pockmarks and who will marry him and fill the halls of his home with the laughter of children once again.
Anna Wren is a widow who lives with her mother-in-law and a young woman they took in from the streets in a small cottage in Little Battleford, England. Though Anna was raised as a lady, circumstances require that she take on a position so to increase the household income. When the mysterious Earl of Swartingham returns to their small corner of the earth and has need of a secretary, Anna takes on the position.
When these two souls come together, they spark with a passion and vigor that is so intense you won't want to put it down. Hoyt has written an incredible first novel with well-thought out characters whose romance is both believable and hard won. The banter back and forth between the two and their witty banter made for interesting reading from the first page to the last. The passion and fire between them were so intense that I wound up staying awake until 2am to finish this novel.
If you're a fan of historical romance, take my advice and pick up The Raven Prince. As Julia Quinn said, "I didn't want it to end," and I cannot wait for The Leopard Prince to hit stands in April.
Book Review: Gosh.......
Summary: 5 Stars
.....I can't believe this book is actually as good as all the reviews say it is. I began to read it as soon as I got it out of the Amazon box. It has been my unpleasant experience with these reviews that a book which receives only super positive reviews just has to be too good to be true. But in this case, it is really as good as everyone says.
The hero and heroine are both believable people. They have flaws, both physically and emotionally but this author has allowed them to live normal lives in spite of their past histories. Anna is sweet, caring, competent and would make a wonderful best friend. Edward has some rough edges but then, most of us want our hero to need the association of a loving woman to help him overcome those sandpaper tendencies. Elizabeth Hoyt allowed this romance to progress slowly and naturally. It felt as if these characters fell in love because they got to know each other. Yes, there are very sensual love scenes in the book but they fit the characters and the plot perfectly.
If this is a debut novel, it is the best debut I've ever read. And believe me folks, I'm picky, picky. If I had to make a comment, it would be about the excerpts from the fairy tale which preceed each chapter. I wanted to get on with this story so much that I didn't want to slow down to read the fairy tale. I finally solved my problem by waiting until I had finished the book and then reading the fairy tale all at once. Wow, isn't that a huge problem???? There is an excerpt from the next book (The Leopard Prince) included and I see that the male lead is Harry Pye from this book. I'm glad. He had intrigued me. This book states that The Leopard Prince will be released in Fall of 2007 but I see that Amazon shows it to be released in April 2007. Hopefully we can all wait that long!!!!
Book Review: Four and a Half Stars
Summary: 4 Stars
The Raven Prince follows the developing relationship of Mrs Anna Wren and the Earl of Swartingham (Edward). Anna becomes the Earl's secretary to earn the money her household needs to stay solvent. However, when she learns the Earl intends to visit a brothel in London, she decides to take matters into her own hands and rendezvous with him there as a mystery woman rather than have him satisfy his desires with anyone else.
What makes the story for me, are the characters of Anna and Edward. They come alive on the page and you're completely pulled into their world. They are well-matched, Edward has a formidable temper - no china ornament is safe when he's around - but Anna is more than capable of standing up for herself.
He hesitated. "I wouldn't want to intimidate you, Mrs. Wren."
"You don't."
There's also a thread of humour that runs through the book, moreso in the early part before everything goes wrong, though it also pops its head up again towards the end. Edward is very sharp. And I could quote and quote from their snappy exchanges but I'll leave them for you enjoy when you read the book.
The story is beautifully constructed. I don't want to give anything away, but there are small incidents or things that are mentioned in passing that have greater relevance later in the story. So it's well worth taking the time to savour the story rather than rush through it. The secondary characters are also well written - whether villain or friend.
The love scenes are sensual but it is the relationship between the characters that I love, the little details that have raised this to a keeper for me. I can't say that The Raven Prince has converted me to historicals, but I'll definitely be picking up the rest of Elizabeth Hoyt's backlist.
Book Review: Not your typical hero helped make this a fantastic and fun steamy book
Summary: 5 Stars
Great novel. I would easily rate this book alongside the best of a Liz Carlye and Lisa Kleypas book. It has a great love story, deep and emotional plot, likable and unique hero/heroines, and is sensual to the point of steamy. Edward and Anna meet when she begins work at his Abby estate as his secretary. He has returned to the area after a 20 year absence, and the town folks are all excited to meet him. Anna and Edward spend many hours together, and he finds he enjoys her company and conversation a great deal. Their attraction quickly builds from a physical lust to a deeply emotional lust. You can feel them falling in love even before the first kiss. However, Edward has good reason to keep his distance from Anna, as he has proposed an arranged marriage with another woman. In addition, she is below his station and is most likely unable to have children. He desperately needs an heir. But his growing attraction to Anna causes him to exercise great restraint. Anna feels the connection too, and longs for his touch and embrace. He mesmerizes Anna to the point she takes a great risk to disguise herself in order to spend a steamy night with him in London. (Wow!!) So much else happens, but I don't want to spoil it. Take my word, it is a great book. I read it in one sitting.
Edward made a fantastic flawed hero. He has a bad temper and keeps to himself, and he is not considered an attractive man mostly due to pox scars on his face and body, and a large nose. But he has dark deep eyes, thick black hair, and a tall and muscular body that Anna can't resist lusting after. Deep down he also has quite a heart, and is essentially just a lonely man who has suffered great loss in his life. Anna was also great. Smart with a kind heart, she made a perfect "other half" for Edward.