Ravished

Rating:
Summary: Ravished offers much to relish on
Review: A departure from her medievial Scotland romances like Border Hostage sends Virginia Henley hurtling towards Regency era for her latest historical romance - a saga on the Hatton twins in their conquests, rivalry and outcome.

Virginia Henley's novel while retaining her bawdy sensual style and fascinating historical tapestry sags in the middle with the lovers separated. The characters are thankfully colourful and shrewd especially the women. Alex, a bohemian at nature charms with steely independence to restore the fortunes of her languished estate. She ventures into the underbelly of seedy London, writes mordant political criticism and undertakes scandalous posing for debauched gentleman's bar. The strong female traits are also found in Dottie, her grandmother while the male gender takes a backseat with Rupert her brother unconsciously cuckolded by Kit and the unrepentant wastrel deep in alcohol and gambling. Nicholas and Alex represent the untainted protagonists in the treacherous English ton of betrayal and their love shines in the bleakness of their milieu. They equal each other in spirits and wits.

Ravished certainly lacks the former indulgence of romance and passion evident in her classic Desired and Enslaved but compensates with a solid and unexpected ending of mixed identity and an unconventional cunning heroine. Though the passion in Ravished emerges relatively tamed to her previous books, there are certainly parts of her style that readers will no doubt relish.

Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: Another great book from Virginia Henley. Long time fans will appreciate this book even though it is slightly less exciting than some of her previous novels. Maybe this is the wrong book to start with if your just being introduced to Henley. Read her other books first then get around to this one. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Completely unbelievable...
Review: As someone else so aptly put it, this is a Regency romance in name only. The heroine behaves unbelievably, even for a much later period in history!

She dresses as a man and wanders seedy parts of town in the company of her maid, she takes a job in a brothel to pay her bills (not as a prostitute, of course), she wears a costume to a masquerade that seems to be totally out of keeping with the clothing of the time period - particularly for a well-born unmarried young lady ... it was completely unbelievable and boring the way the author tried so hard to make the heroine's odd and daring behavior titilating.

The situation with the twin brothers was stereotypical in the extreme (in the scene which is supposed to set up their characters, one is good, the other is considered "evil" by their father) and I was surprised at how many times the heroine was completely fooled by whichever twin she was with into thinking she was with the other brother. It's normal for someone to be confused at first, since the twins are identical, of course, but she was supposedly madly in love with one of them. You would think that, if nothing else, instinct would guide her to deduce what was going on.

Perhaps that is oversimplifying the matter, but I was bored by the constant role-playing by all the characters.

There was very little romantic tension to be found in this book, and the romantic scenes seemed tacked on as they came so late in the story. And the resolution to the issue of the twins seemed contrived to me.

I was not satisfied by this book at all. I will probably not be reading another of her books. It just left such a bad taste in my mouth, as in why did I bother to finish this?

To give you a better perspective on my opinion, I enjoy early Amanda Quick and early Brenda Joyce. (I think they've both gotten off track recently). In my opinion, they write very entertaining, sexy, historically grounded (though not perfect) romances.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and enjoyable
Review: Courtesy of A Romance Review

Ravished proves to be an entertaining and enjoyable read with this particular heroine, Alex Sheffield. She is a spirited beauty and breaks every rule that the society forbids at that time. Her desperation in writing and reforming the society makes her so attractive and draws the readers' attention. Readers will love the last part of the story when Alex finds herself not an heiress and goes ahead to work in a brothel as a stripper in order to take care of her family. An usual woman who is admirable or like Nick said - a hellion.

Rating:
Summary: Oh wow!. . .but maybe not the good kind.
Review: I feel like I owe this author, not this book, a five star rating. The book is far from perfect and, honestly, not at all like her previous novels. I have read every Henley novel and with the exception of two or three they have all been extraordinary. Like so many other reviewers I strongly recomend reading her earlier works first if you are new to Henley. Check out Seduced, Enslaved or The Pirate and the Pagan for some examples of classic Henely. Ravished is not all bad. The heroine is likable and it is amusing that the money situations involving the characters get so messed up and miscontrued throughout the novel. Also,It surprised me that this book delt so much witht he fact the the male twins were born under different signs of the zodiac. It was an interesting concept, but overall I really think the metaphors about the lion and the crab and their subsequent natures were a bit ... oh ... predictable? Be aware too, that the main characters do not get involved with one another untill almost the end of the book. The actuall ending is a big surprise. Be ready to ask yourself "could they really get away with that?" Anyhow, enjoy this lighthearted overall good read and just suspend common sence for a while and all will be well.

Rating:
Summary: I Love It.
Review: I love this book!!! I have read all of Henley's books and this is one of my favorite books. The best part of the book is that the two main people have grown up together and they have loved each other for a while.

You have to go through most of the book before they get together, but for me that just made me keep reading.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Virgina Henley's books. It is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: I Love It.
Review: I love this book!!! I have read all of Henley's books and this is one of my favorite books. The best part of the book is that the two main people have grown up together and they have loved each other for a while.

You have to go through most of the book before they get together, but for me that just made me keep reading.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Virgina Henley's books. It is a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Uneven, ultimately unreadable...
Review: I wanted so much to like this book, and, on the surface, there's much to like. Alex is a spirited, unconventional heroine. Nick is a noble, conscientious hero. Side characters are given fleshed-out plots of their own.

Ultimately, however, the plot and characters degenerate into implausibility, and we are asked to suspend all credulity. We are expected to believe that Nick and his twin can pass for each other at will, in front of family and friends, without making any attempt to mimic each other's personality or traits. We are expected to believe that Alex, a gently bred 17 year old, wanders the seamiest streets of London dressed as a man, becomes a stripper in a brothel, and marries the twin she loves, but thinks she has married the brother. There is also a coincidence involving Alex's maid that goes beyond silly.

There is a decided lack of passion in this book, with almost no romantic tension - something that Henley has achieved before. The sex scenes, while steamy, feel perfunctory and emotionless.

This is a Regency in name only - the characters never behave in a manner keeping with the time. In spite of all this, I plowed through (well, skimmed mostly) the whole thing, interested only in how Henley resolves the conflict between the brothers. I should have saved myself the time, however, since the ending only made me dislike the characters, and the book, even more.

Rating:
Summary: Harm & Hazard
Review: The name of the characters itself should tell you how this book is going to go. I don't think it was the best book I have ever read but it wasn't the worst. Most people don't read these books for the plot. If you do this isn't the book for you. You pretty much know where this was going from the first time the author described how no one could tell the twins apart. Hmmmmm..... If it was summer I would say this was a beach book instead I will say it is a hot cocoa and a fire book.

Rating:
Summary: Nice but not up to par
Review: This is a nice little love story, but if you are expecting the same type of hot love scenes that can be found in "The Dragon and the Jewel" or any of Henley's older works, this is not the book for you. Most of the time the two main characters are apart and when they finally do "get together" the scene is somewhat hot, but more romantic than anything. If you are looking for a nice (if a bit goofy) love story, this is the book for you. Otherwise, try out her older stuff.