The Raven Prince
by Elizabeth Hoyt
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.52 You Save: $4.47 (64%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Raven Prince
Book Review: "The Raven Prince"
Summary: 5 Stars
Anna Wren is a widow living with her mother-in-law. Her
husband didn't leave her financially secure after he died.
She found herself in desperate need of employment.
Edward de Raaf, The Earl of Swartingham, hired Anna as
his secretary knowing her husband left Anna with a lack
of funds. Edward had smallpox when he was a child. It
left him with scars on one side of his face and his back.
He was insecure with his deformity. Edward felt no women
could ever truly love him. He decide he needed an heir.
He went to London looking for a debutante to be his wife.
Anna grew fond of Edward when she read on a note pad
that he was going to London to visit The Aphrodite's
Grotto a high priced Bordello. She decided she was to
to be his lover. Anna made arrangement with the
proprietor and part owner of The Aphrodite Grotto to
be his lover for the night. Anna put on a satin mask
and disguised herself. Edward had no idea it was Anna.
Elizabeth Hoyt is an excellent writer. The story was
beautifully written. I like the characters, they came
alive as Anna and Edward were a great match. You
can feel the love between the two characters. There
were parts throughout the book that were humorous.
The Raven Prince even though, it's an erotica historic
regency, set in 1700's, however, with a twenty-first
century theme. The sex scenes were explicit and may
offend some. This is an outstanding book is not for
everyone, except the open-minded.
I highly recommend!
Book Review: Had potential but was left disappointed.
Summary: 3 Stars
I really really liked Edward and Anna, and liked the fact that they were average looking people. I was enjoying the story immensely even though it had flaws like Anna caring for and going to London with Courtesans and her reputation not being ruined. But how else would she disguise herself and seduce Edward? So i pushed it aside since the sex that came out of that meeting was hot!! But after he discovers that it was Anna who had secretly seduced him, it all went downhill from there for me. It was just one unbelievable scene after the next. (Possible spoilers ahead) Was the character of Felicity and going back to the brothel near the end of the novel really necessary? I think not! And that while they were at the Brothel, it was basically a huge commotion and Anna's rep was unaffected by it? Yea, right!
And Anna got annoying at times too like when Edward discovered it was Anna the masked lady he had sex with and she just lets him assume she did it to make fun of him or something... she let, what, a whole week go by before she finally explained herself? She should have explained herself at the moment because i could not think why Edward still wanted her to work for him after he thought she did it out of spite or whatnot. Then she is being blackmail and doesn't tell Edward but leaves him instead, i wanted to strangle her. I was so happy that Edward did not go after her when he realized she had left him.... Overall, it was just an OK (and frustrating) read for me which is too bad because it had the potential to be better but instead came out more like a soap-opera than a romance novel.
Book Review: So much potential, yet fails to really satisfy
Summary: 3 Stars
THE RAVEN PRINCE is my first introduction to Elizabeth Hoyt, and this book represents what frustrates me so greatly about today's historical "wallpaper" romances. If the author had not told the reader on page 1 that the story was set in the late 1700s, and if she had not provided the basic period trappings of long gowns, phaetons, swords, and "macaronis" dressed in foppish clothes, I would have thought I was reading a contemporary. The characters have a 21st-century feel to them in their behavior, their relationship with one another, and their general mindset. There's not a lot of historical authenticity, and certainly no rich historical backdrop to the story. My other major complaint was that the sex really overshadowed the story and the relationship. I liked the characters and I did think they had good chemistry, but I kind of felt that the only thing they really had going for them was that they were great in bed (and chairs!) together. The sex scenes were well-written and steamy without being particularly vulgar, but when I read a romance, I want to know more about the characters -- who they are as individuals, why they're drawn to one other, what obstacles they overcome to keep their love alive. In the case of Anna and Edward and their relationship, I was perfectly willing to believe that they loved one another, but their relationship just lacked depth and emotional impact, and this story ultimately left me feeling a little disappointed. There's a lot of potential here, but it just didn't deliver what I was wanting.
Book Review: Loved it! Loved It!
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow! I am blown away by this debut novel. I simply could not put it down until I had read every steamy page.
Edward is a broody discontented earl that at heart is just lonely. He's not your typical hero. He is scarred, has a big nose, thin lips and is described as unattractive. He does have a gorgeous body, though. His scars run beneath the skin as well and he carries some real emotional baggage. He reacts by lashing out and throwing fits of temper thus scaring off his previous secretaries.
Anna has fallen on hard times and shows up for the position of secretary while Edward is away. Upon his return, Anna has firmly settled into her role and Edward is enchanted by her tantalizing mouth. She is plain, but he cannot stop thinking of her mouth. He has no one else to replace her so what's an earl to do when faced with temptation? He keeps her in his employ, much to his future...ahem...discomfort.
What follows is page after page of sexual tension that Ms. Hoyt cleverly builds to a climax that is so hot even I, who am pretty jaded, was left breathless. The love scenes are exquisitely and graphically written, however, not in a clinical way. For those who love hero-jealousy and emotional angst, there's a bit of that as well. As they fall in love I felt they were meant for each other.
The story moves quickly-too quickly as I didn't want it to end-and I never felt it bogged down at any point. I highly recommend this book. I wouldn't have changed a single thing.
Book Review: Fails as a romance...
Summary: 1 Stars
Romances are not works of allegory, they are works of escapism. Why then does this book feature a pock-marked, thin-lipped, evil-smelling hero and a plain but allegedly kind and pure heroine?
I say allegedly because in reality I'm fairly sure the author is mistaken in assuming 'kind' is a synonym for 'slow-witted' and 'tedious' and 'pure' for 'horny voyeur'.
The author's style, which at first I assumed to be a refreshing experiment into using a children's fiction style narrative voice is quickly exposed simply lazy writing on the author's part and really distances the audience from the characters. It's also ridiculously annoying that she continually has her characters constantly describing their own superior quality instead of letting the narrative speak for itself, and really a cheating, ugly hero? I have some difficulty imagining the type of woman that inspires fantasies in.
The plot, which would have been barely acceptable in a well-written piece of fiction, is ridiculously predictable and attempts to compensate with sex scenes which are more vulgar and tiresome than inspiring. It is also semi-depressing to see an historical romance, which I always associate with sweet, exciting ventures into romance, resort to that.
In conclusion I would like to add that anyone who enjoys historical romance by such authors as Monica McCarty, Kresley Cole, Melissa Marr, Nora Roberts and Karen Marie Moning, save yourself a pretty penny and DON'T buy this book.