HS Review: Shameless (The House of Rohan) [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Shameless" the 4th book in her House of Rohan series by Anne Stuart.

Book Description

A long string of tragic loves haunts Viscount Benedick Francis Alistair Rohan. Cool and cynical, he's weary of life's fickle games and wants a prim and proper wife he can ignore while indulging his sensual appetites.Lady Melisande Carstairs is nothing less than a tornado storming into Benedick's measured life. Possessed of boundless energy and the soul of a reformer, Melisande always conquers, whether it's saving the souls of soiled doves or seducing the man she's inconveniently fallen for. When she informs Benedick that his brother's newly revived Heavenly Host has graduated from simple carnal debauchery to sadistic violence, he's compelled to investigate, undercover. Under those covers, however, is Melisande herself, playing a dangerous game in the name of justice.

And the Heavenly Host has just seen her hand, and more …

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Mira; Original edition (June 21, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778312976
ISBN-13: 978-0778312970

My Review:

Lady Melisande Carstairs is widow who has little experience in the bedroom but hasn't experienced the true ecstasy of true sexual pleasure. She has used her husbands fortune to turn her inherited townhouse into a refugee for soiled doves (prostitutes) who have decided they want a better life.

Benedict has been married twice before and has decided it's time to find his third and hopefully last wife a plump mousy sort who'll give him an heir and a spare and then fade into the wallpaper while he continues his lifestyle of debauchery. They meet when Benedick sends for one of his past favorites for a brief encounter.  I was laughing very hard at this time, LOL!  You will have to read yourself to find out what one of her girl's special talent is!

Benedick and Melisande end up working together again when she comes to him asking for help. Girls have been coming to her house beaten and raped telling her the presumed defunct Heavenly Host a secretive club where the very rich engage in all sorts of devious and deprived sexual practices has been reassembled. The girls have told Melisande that acts with children at the club are no longer consensual and it's turned dark and violent and now a girl is missing. Benedick's ancestors were the founders of the club and Melisande goes to him for help in finding the girl. He's not particularly willing at first not only does he not believe her but he's not all that eager to spend any time with the sassy-tongued and disagreeable Melisande.

Benedick admits to himself that Melisande is maddening he's attracted to her and she's begun to realize that maybe there's a reason women enjoy sex with the right partner and Benedick might be just the right partner for her.

Benedick's brother Brandon who we last saw as a happy carefree man is now a scarred and disfigured wreck thanks to the Afghan War. He's been staggering around Benedick's townhouse for two months being drunk and most likely drugged and certainly up to something very bad.

Benedick's sister Miranda and her husband Lucien storyline was very funny and hilarious. She's as hoot as usual and Benedick hates him just as much as he always did, which is also a hoot.

5/5

Other Books in Series:

1.  Ruthless
2.  Reckless
3.  Breathless
4.  The Wicked House of Rohan (prequel)

Reckless (The House of Rohan) [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Reckless" the 2nd book in her House of Rohan series by Anne Stuart.


Product Description

Adrian Alistair Rohan lost his faith, and now, a dedicated member of the depraved Heavenly Host, he loses himself in his only pleasure: the seduction and debauchery of beautiful women. Rich, charming and devastatingly skilled in the arts of love, he never fails in his conquests…until Charlotte Spenser.
Charlotte is facing a desolate, passionless future, none of which matters to Adrian, who imagines her a toy until better prey arrives. But beneath her drab exterior, Charlotte is a woman as enchanting as she is brilliant and, lured into Adrian's world, soon she becomes the seducer, and he the seduced….

About the Author

Anne Stuart loves Japanese rock and roll, wearable art, Spike, her two kids, Clairefontaine paper, her springer spaniel Rosie, her delicious husband of over thirty years, fellow writers, her two cats, telling stories and living in Vermont. She's not too crazy about politics and diets and a winter that never ends, but then, life's always a trade-off.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Mira (September 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 077832849X
ISBN-13: 978-0778328490


My Review:

The hero of this book is Adrian the son of Francis and Elinor.  Their story "Ruthless" the 1st book in the series.

Charlotte isn't your typical woman she is very spirited and stubborn.  She even swears and doesn't let anyone tell her what to do.  She's a spinster at 30 yrs. old and is officially "off the shelf".  She has been in love with Adrian for years.

Adrian is a complete libertine and rake and loves "sowing his wild oates".  I loved how he knew it was Charlotte even though she was in disguise!

Their relationship was very passionate and you can actually see the sparks everytime both of them are on the same page.  Really loved their dynamics whether they were fighting, talking, ignoring or submitting.

4/5

Books in Series:

0.  The Wicked House of Rohan (Prequel)
1.  Ruthless
2.  Reckless
3.  Breathless
4.  Shameless - Jun 21

Ruthless (The House of Rohan) [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Ruthless" the 1st book in her House of Rohan series by Anne Stuart.

Product Description

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.

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Mira (August 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778328481
ISBN-13: 978-0778328483

My Review:

Elinor Harriman was born to a titled father and money hungry mother. When her mother left England for Paris, the downward spiral of their life began. Her mother moved from man to man, gambled and lost and eventually landed them in squalor. Now her mother is dying of the French disease and it's up to Elinor to protect the only thing Elinor truly values, her little sister, Lydia.

When Elinor's mother escapes in a moment of clarity from their home with the last of their meager valuables and cash, Elinor is forced to follow her. She locates her at the Heavenly Host, a place where anything goes and not a place for an innocent young girl. The Heavenly Host is run by the infamous Viscount Rohan and when Elinor is brought to his attention; he finds himself interested for the first time in years.

Francis Rohan is your typical alpha male but you just can't help liking him.  He's very quite unconventional and deviant.

Elinor isn't beautiful but she's selfless and witty while her younger sister Lydia is beautiful and not cold or shallow but warm and caring. 

I really enjoyed the love story between Charles (Francis's good friend) and Lydia.

3.5/5

Breathless (The House of Rohan) [Mass Market Paperback]

I've finished "Breathless" the 3rd book in her House of Rohan trilogy by Anne Stuart.

Product Description

Ruined beyond repair and shunned by London society, lovely Miranda Rohan rebelliously embraces the freedom that comes from having nothing left to lose. However, this dangerous course throws her under the power of the darkly enigmatic Lucien de Malheur — known to many as the Scorpion.

Seeking to destroy the Rohans, Lucien traps Miranda in a marriage she thinks is based on friendship but instead is rooted in vengeance. Yet even when she realizes the truth, their enmity fuels a shocking passion—and perhaps even more.

Such a man might drive anyone to murder….

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira; Original edition (October 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778328503
ISBN-13: 978-0778328506
My Review:

WARNING:  This book has rape and dark themes!

Lucien was too dark, brooding, scarred and vindictive.  He's from a dysfunctional family who is seeking revenge for his stepsister's suicide, after the Rohan's oldest son for said suicide, and so goes after the Rohan's sister Miranda who teaches him about love and understanding.

Miranda is beautiful in a plain sort of way, witty, intelligent, reckless, brave, saucy, high spirited, ruined from being abducted, deflowered but can she tame the scarred, soulless and dark Lucien who she learns is only out for vengeance.

I love the story of Jacob Donnelly and Jane Pagett, because they're so different and great together. She's a naive lady and he's a dissolute jewel thief. The way they met was a great scene!

3/5

Nightfall (Paperback)

I've just finished reading "Nightfall" by Anne Stuart.

Product Description

A woman in love with convicted murderer Richard Tiernan will do anything to have him--even when she learns the truth about his wife's death and his children's disappearance.

When Cassidy receives the call from her father Sean that he is ill and would like her to visit, she takes his word as a banker would a convicted bank robber's word. She doesn't trust the sitation or the man.

Her father, Sean, is a tabloid-like writer who searches for the most gossip infested stories to untangle and break wide open to the public in books. When he stumbles upon his new pet project, Richard Tiernan, he once again has the writer's lust to ferret out the tale, grit, and details. He will do nearly anything to accomplish his greatest percieved novel. Even take the suspected murderer into his own home and entice his eldest daughter home to unknowingly serve as a temptation for Richard.

Cassidy is unable to explain her attraction to Richard. She is aware of his suspicion of murder and half believes the rumors are true that he has murdered his wife and children and is hiding the bodies of his children where they cannot be found and yet there is something about him that moves her. That challenges her. The mystifies her.

When Cassidy agrees to take on Sean's project of editing Sean's novel and leave her own job behind for a while she plays the cat and mouse game Richard weaves for her and the game seduces her beyond her wildest dreams.

If you're tired of the cliche hero..this one's for you!, May 19, 2008
By Krista Lyn (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews


This is not a book for everyone. It's dark, dangerous, and is borderline unhealthy at times. It defines why Anne Stuart is unique and dares to go "where few will go".

Richard Tiernan is a convicted serial killer, out on bail, awaiting the outcome of an appeal. He is sentenced to die for the murder of his wife, children, and the suspected death of his mistress.

Sean O'Roarke is a nationally reknowned author who has just posted Richard's bail in exchange for his cooperation in a book detailing his crime and also offering readers a glimpse into his mind.

Cassidy Roarke, Sean's daughter, is a part of the deal. Richard wants her involved and Sean agrees to "bring her in". The reader does not understand why, and we are only given bits and pieces of the "why" until the last part of the book.

5/5

Silver Falls (Mass Market Paperback)

I've just finished reading "Silver Falls" by Anne Stuart.

Product Description

Rachel is finally getting it right. After years of wandering, she's married the perfect man and settled into the ideal life. But as her sleepy little town turns into a killing ground, she realizes that this new life might come at too high a price.

Caleb Middleton says he's returned home to set things right. But as her husband's dangerous brother circles like a hungry wolf, poking holes in her perfect world, Rachel draws her young daughter in close. The rain and violence keep coming, and Rachel must decide whether to trust her dream life or her instincts…before the town of Silver Falls becomes her grave.

My review:

Spoilers:

Good stuff: Sophie, the bantering between Caleb and Rachel

Bad stuff: The Killer, Rachel acts like an idiot

4/5