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

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