Rating: 
Summary: This romance will becomee a classic
Review: In 1834, Julian Dane feels like his world ended when his friend Adrian Spence was forced to kill another crony Phillip Rothembow in a duel. Two years later, the death still haunts Julian, who seems bored with everything, finding temporary amusement in the precarious arms of a parade of females. In his entire life, only his childhood friend Lady Claudia Whitney has rejected his charm. Claudia has labeled Julian as a Rake with a capital R.However, that changes when Julian and Claudia are caught kissing. To save her reputation, he knows he must marry her. She wants nothing to do with him, especially at the cost of her beloved independence. He broods over the death of Phillip, who Julian feels was Claudia's true love. Although passion threatens to enflame them, neither one is ready to admit, even to themselves, that love has blossomed between them. The ruthless charmer, the second novel in Julia London's "The Rogues of Regent Street" (See THE DANGEROUS GENTLEMAN) is a captivating historical romance. The story line continues the train of thought set in the first novel as readers gain an understanding of the psychological problems eroding Julian's well being. The era comes alive through the cast and Claudia is a wonderful, feisty heroine, but Ms. London's plot belongs to THE RUTHLESS CHARMER whose mind has frozen that one deadly moment, haunting him forever. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Julia, just gets better & better!!!
Review: It's hard to tell you how much I enjoyed this book!! I've loved ALL of Julia's books to date & wish she could write faster!! Julian & Claudia are a H/H to die for!! He is even better than Adrian from The Dangerous Gentleman.. Claudia is feisty & independent, you will love her she is SO before her time! Opening a home for battered women & using her influence in society to support her cause! It's a wonderful story & warms the heart!! Julian, is guilt ridden & tortured because he's loved Claudia for two years & feels he may have held back, helping his dear friend because of that love. When he compromises her at a party it's the beginning of the end of his bachelor days & his peace of mind! You'll love the ride this story takes you on & you'll feel like your watching a movie!! That is how vivid Julia writes!! The sexual tension keeps you turning pages to get to the "HOT" part.. *G* But really the story is written with the heart & feeling that makes you able to "SEE" the story as it unfolds!! This is a tribute to an author's talent & Julia sure has that & more. When you read an author this good you wish they had a back list that could keep you busy until her next book comes out!!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Julia London is an incredibly talented writer, but frankly: she needs to dream up better characters. The central character in RUTHLESS CHARMER is Claudia, and she is capricious, petulant, irrational, dishonest, spoiled, and annoying in the extreme. I kept rooting for Julian to dump her and look for someone else. How is that for romantic? Claudia can't seem to have a honest conversation with anyone, and repeatedly jumps to stupid conclusions about Julian that go against everything she knows about him. UGH. There are FOUR "big misunderstandings" in this book, a lame plot device that substitutes for a real plot. Rarely have I ever disliked a main character more. The only reason this book gets two stars is because of the high quality of writing. This author just needs to come up with a better conflict to further the plot, rather than resorting to turning the main character into a lunatic who doesn't behave rationally. It is a complete mystery at the end of the book when Julian proclaims his love for her. The reader is left wondering why on earth he would want to have anything further to do with her. I know I wouldn't.
Rating:
Summary: Unique plot devices and interesting characterizations
Review: Julia London is to be congratulated from veering from standard plot devices and resolutions in this masterful book. Our hero, Julian, has known our heroine, Claudia, for years since she was the childhood friend of his numerous sisters and spent many summers at his family's estate. She had long had a crush on him, but was crushed when he failed to return for a promised dance in her first season. This failure has led her to hold a grudge against him (which, frankly, was one of the many realistic touches in the book. Don't many of us hold grudges against the first man or boy to touch and break our hearts?) Later, Julian becomes attracted to Claudia, but bows out when a close friend evinces interest in her before Julian can speak of his own. This friend later dies of alchoholism and both Claudia and Julian blame Julian for failing to prevent the death. The novel begins at this point and the above is told through conversation between the characters and some descriptive prose. Claudia and Julian are caught in a compromising position and Claudia's father, who is more concerned about his political career than her happiness, forces her to marry much against her will. Meanwhile, Claudia has been anything other than the typical Regency miss concerned only with clothes and reading novels (ahem). She has begun a battered women's shelter, secret from everyone in her life. Kudos to London for introducing an important social issue without resorting to writing gratitious violence. All too often we forget that domestic violence has always existed and London educates us without ramming it down our throats. Claudia's knowledge in this area does not, however, permit her to see that her sister-in-law's suitor is a batterer waiting to happen and against her husband's wishes urges the sister-in-law to elope. Julian had known of the suitor's abusive nature and had done everything in his power to prevent the marriage, but had been unable to tell his wife or his sisters of the suitor's violence because of societal constraints against such conversation between men and women. I found this totally believable both for the time period in question (and unfortunately all too often in our own time). Julian, needless to say, has trouble forgiving his wife for aiding his sister's marriage to this abuser. In the end, Julian finds an imperfect solution to the sister's abusive marriage that, in contrast to most romances, does not involve the fortuitous death of the villian. I loved this book because the characters were realistic; the author not only developed the characters well but she was able to give them a history without getting bogged down in pages of descriptive prose; the hero was a rake (i.e. gorgeous, sexy and experienced)who was in fact loving and kind not only to his wife but to his family (I mean, who wouldn't want this guy?); the heroine had her own life and interests beyond Society; the love scenes were never perfunctory and always served to provide depth to the relationship; also the couple did not have fabulous sex even when they were angry or hurt -- their sex life did suffer as it would in reality. (I get so aggravated when I read love scenes in which the status of the relationship appears to be irrelevant to the sex life. I don't believe that would be accurate for the majority of women.) This book stands alone without having read any of the others in this series. A keeper of a book, full of depth and richness. Some of the plot devices are quite serious, but I never felt this was a gloom and doom book that was a chore or depressing to read. Even though there is not a lot of humor in this book, which is normally a requirement for a keeper for me, the characters and story are so compelling that I will return to this book again and again.
Rating:
Summary: I loved Julian !!
Review: Like all of her stories this one is beautiful. Julian is the type of guy we all would want to meet, he is very sensitive and caring, to Claudia and to his sisters.
Don't miss the three books of these series, here is an author who writes arguments that make sense. The problems of the characters could happen in real life to anybody the way I see it.
Rating:
Summary: ok
Review: The book is just ok. Nothing to write home about
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: the first half of the book is still ok......... But after the somewhere in the middle where they finally got married it start to get real boring. No offense to London's fans. But this is my first and last London's book Though i admit the part where she finally save julian's sister is heroic but ..........i have to say not v well developed. The story juz keeps go on and on........ abt "i love him/her but i cant let him/her know else she will make me weak"
Rating: 
Summary: Great addition to the series
Review: The Ruthless Charmer starts at the same point as 'The Dangerous Gentleman', with the death of one of the Rogues of Regent Street, Phillip. This is Julian Dane's story. Of the four Rogues, Julian is the most suave ladies man of the group. He always gets the girl. He's raised his sisters, who are fast friends with one Claudia Whitney, whom Julian hasn't seen for a time now that his sisters are older and with the exception of one, live away from his residence. Julian is wracked with guilt over Phillip's death, because through the downward spiral, Julian was at Phillip's side, drinking and partying with him and just not realising the desperation that Phillip was feeling. Add to that a large portion of jealousy that Phillip received the attention of the lovely Claudia, just as Julian himself realised what a jewel had been hiding in plain sight. Claudia, for her part, had always had a huge crush on Julian, but knew that nothing would ever come of it. Julian, knowing Phillip's dire financial striates, had warned Claudia from Phillip, which she misinterpreted. Following Phillip's death, Claudia holds Julian at least partly responsible for exactly the same reason Julian blames himself - because he was there, right next to Phillip. There are several things that these two must overcome. Their own grief, the misconceptions that they have for each other, the scandal they are part of that forces their marriage to save Claudia's reputation, and then the situation that Claudia involves herself in which causes Julian's sister to be placed in harms way. Each have rather violent feelings towards each other for most of the book and for the most part they are negative ones - hurt, anger and jealousy. This means that the love they also feel for each other is equally as compelling and deep, but the hurt and anger especially do seem to collect on top of each other until the reader wonders how they will ever pull out of it. London has written another good story, full of powerful emotion and a book that builds on a former story and sets up the next, while being able to fully explore the relationship of the central characters in it's own right.
Rating:
Summary: 2nd in the series of Rogues
Review: The Ruthless Charmer starts at the same point as `The Dangerous Gentleman', with the death of one of the Rogues of Regent Street, Phillip. This is Julian Dane's story. Of the four Rogues, Julian is the most suave ladies man of the group. He always gets the girl. He's raised his sisters, who are fast friends with one Claudia Whitney, whom Julian hasn't seen for a time now that his sisters are older and with the exception of one, live away from his residence. Julian is wracked with guilt over Phillip's death, because through the downward spiral, Julian was at Phillip's side, drinking and partying with him and just not realising the desperation that Phillip was feeling. Add to that a large portion of jealousy that Phillip received the attention of the lovely Claudia, just as Julian himself realised what a jewel had been hiding in plain sight. Claudia, for her part, had always had a huge crush on Julian, but knew that nothing would ever come of it. Julian, knowing Phillip's dire financial striates, had warned Claudia from Phillip, which she misinterpreted. Following Phillip's death, Claudia holds Julian at least partly responsible for exactly the same reason Julian blames himself - because he was there, right next to Phillip. There are several things that these two must overcome. Their own grief, the misconceptions that they have for each other, the scandal they are part of that forces their marriage to save Claudia's reputation, and then the situation that Claudia involves herself in which causes Julian's sister to be placed in harms way. Each have rather violent feelings towards each other for most of the book and for the most part they are negative ones - hurt, anger and jealousy. This means that the love they also feel for each other is equally as compelling and deep, but the hurt and anger especially do seem to collect on top of each other until the reader wonders how they will ever pull out of it. London has written another good story, full of powerful emotion and a book that builds on a former story and sets up the next, while being able to fully explore the relationship of the central characters in it's own right.
Rating:
Summary: Fun and Worth Reading
Review: This book gets four stars and not five because the heroine is a stubborn idiot and because the two main characters could have solved all their problems in the first 20 pages if they'd only had a single serious conversation. Other than that, what makes it worth reading is that it's very engagingly written by someone who can write decent sentences; it's consistent in its pace and doesn't degenerate into mindlessness in the second half like so many romances do; the plot is intriguing without pretending to be deeper than it is; and the characters -- especially Julian -- are charming and likeable despite having glaring flaws. I like this series enough to keep it, something I rarely do.
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