Elinor Harriman is the backbone of her small family. Her
mother's ever-increasing madness and thirst for gaming has
left them penniless and stranded in Paris, one step away
from the bitter streets. Her blue blood is of little value
when it comes to survival, but she is doing her best to keep
her young sister sheltered from the reality of their
precarious existence. In a desperate attempt to save their
last coins, Elinor follows her heedless mother into the
night, to a house where carnal pleasures rule and there is
no safety.
Viscount Francis Rohan, Le Comte de Giverney, is trapped by
his past. Caught in a cycle of lust and licentiousness, he
is known as the King of Hell for hosting sybaritic house
parties where guests can revel in any and all acts of
pleasure without censure. He seeks anything to fight the
ennui and keep his despair at bay.
When Francis is confronted by Elinor and her pleas for the
return of her mother, his curiosity is sparked. Despite his
responsibility as host he sequesters himself with Elinor in
the private spaces of his home. Her stony
regard challenges him to break through, to show her the
passion which he knows flows in her veins.
Elinor is not surprised by the Viscount's salacious
companions, but the shabby parlor he calls his retreat shows
a different side to the man. Despite her strong will, his
touch fires her body in ways impossible to ignore.
Surprisingly, he allows her to escape unravished, and even
provides her with a carriage home. She has little time to
spend on the puzzle he presents when life takes another turn
for the worse and her sister is in danger.
Set in mid-eighteenth century France, RUTHLESS is darker
than your usual historical romance and offers a realism
usually absent in this genre. Elinor's mother is being
ravaged by syphilis. Viscount Rohan's parties include mock
Satanic rituals and opium in abundance. These themes only
highlights the
strong golden thread of the main story-- how Elinor and
Francis save one another. Usually, I am not attracted to a
harsh storyline, seeking escape above all when reading
romance. Despite my desire to be an impartial reviewer, I
began the book with a strong prejudice against it. Within
the first chapter I was won over. The dichotomy between
Francis's publicly effeminate persona and his nobility
behind closed doors was intriguing. Elinor's virginal
behavior contrasted with hints of her past sexual
experience. I needed to keep reading to solve the
mystery they presented. I was rewarded with a fully
satisfying conclusion. RUTHLESS was well worth my time.
RUTHLESS is the first in Stuart's new House of Rohan series
with Reckless and Breathless to follow.
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 appetites 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.
Passions will be loosed, egos will be tamed -- this is Rohan.
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