Lord Ruin

This is by no means a perfect book, but it's on my keep and re-read shelf. The hints of the characters' backgrounds are so rich and complex, you want to know more than Carolyn Jewel can give you in the length of this book. There is material and characters enough here for 3 books. The premise is pretty well-worn and quite an old one in the romance genre: Nobleman has his way with a gentlewoman and marries her to save their honor -- his as much as hers because he is a duke with an excellent social and political reputation as well as a notorious sexual one. The initial sexual encounter is not a rape; it positively sizzles. Though (or perhaps because) the heroine is under the influence of laudanum, an opiate, she lose the constraints of her inhibitions. Georgette Heyer's The Devil's Cub (1932)is the most famous and perhaps the first Regency/Georgian based on a potential rape. Laura Kinsale is the only other author I know of to turn a potentially cringeworthy "rape" scene (her hero in Midsummer Moon is the drugged one) to such advantage. Anne Sinclair is the eldest and plainest of the 4 beautiful Sinclair sisters of Barclay Green -- 1 widowed, 1 married, the remaining 2 spinsters. Ruan Bettancourt, the duke of Cynssyr, is interested in courting Anne's younger sister, Emily. He barely noticed Anne 4 years ago at the wedding of her sister to his good friend Baron Aldreth. They meet again at the country estate of Devon, Baron Bracebridge, also a close friend of Cynssyr. The day after her sexaul encounter with Cynssyr, during which they were discovered in flagrante delicto, Anne is confronted by her brother-in-law and Cynssyr with a proposal of marriage. During this formal encounter in a country estate drawing room, Anne begins to remember in flashbacks what happened. She is forced to marry the duke of Cynssyr. Jewel doesn't hide the duke's basic selfishness or cynicism nor Anne's surface passivity. And all this happens while Anne has yearned for years for another man who is Cynssyr's best friend, and he for her. The charm of this story is that so many of the characters are totally surprised by the directions of their feelings, and take each other by surprise. The contrast between the Regency's rigid social structure and the characters' sensuality is emphasized here and elsewhere in the book. The complexity of the relationships is fascinating. Another fine little fillip of sexual tension is the hint of exhibitionism/voyeurism present -- so many of the sex scenes happen in their home's public rooms with potential for discovery by servants. It is years since this was published and I still wish there was a sequel that gave us more information about the relationship between selfish and somewhat authoritarian Thomas Sinclair and his daughters, Devon Baron Bracebridge's past and future, Thrale and Lucy, and how Mary and Aldreth met. Jewel should spend more time writing historicals than paranormals.

I just finished this book last nite - truly could not put it down. There was something about Lord Ruin - Cynnsyrr and Anne that for me made them a very compelling couple. They were thrown together in a very unusual way and it would certainly seem that they were mismatched but early on you could tell how facinated Cynnsyrr was with Anne's qualities and he was nothing what Anne expected him to be. There was so much more depth to him as a person, she had expected just a rake and nothing more. She would eventually find out how wrong she was. The mystery of the abductions was an interesting storyline and it threw the couple into helping one another and showed Anne's value to Cynnsyrr and also how committed he was to the cause of these poor women. The ending was perfect - I kept wondering how Anne would eventually truly believe his love - and that was a perfect way. I would love to hear that Carolyn Jewel would write a follow up for Devon and Emily that would be a good read I am sure. To me Ms. Jewel reminds me of Stephanie Laurens - my absolute favorte author!

With the words, "I am sure Miss Sinclair, we will get on splendidly", Anne Sinclair felt the noose tighten around her neck. Granted she would have done anything to save her youngest sister Emily from the clutches of the Duke of Cynssyr, the most notorious womanizer in London leaving so many broken hearts in his wake, but this was not exactly what she had in mind. Besides being titled, wealthy, and handsome as sin, Ruan, or Lord Ruin didn't believe in love - but as befits a duke he would have married for beauty - until fate stepped in, only it would not be Anne's sister, the divine Emily.Through a case of mistaken identity, and a night of unforgettable passion which found he and Anne totally compromised, Lord Ruin found himself marrying the bespectacled spinster sister. Although one night of love with Anne found the `insincere Cynssyr' ruined for any other woman. Anne, try as she might to remain emotionally unattached, would find herself tested day and night as Ruan, would worship her body and try his best to win her confidence in his quest to earn her love.Let me say that this was my first book by this author and it was one that I hated to see end. I absolutely loved these two - Ruan the rake with no conscience, hence the reputation that he rightly deserved, so it was justice that Anne, bespectacled, and not the most beautiful woman would so effectively bring him to his knees! Both, these characters were so richly complex I found it delightful to see them look deeper than the outer skin to discover more than what they appeared to be. Ruan would find that Anne was the most beautiful and passionate `soul' he had ever encountered, and Anne would find Ruan to be more than the womanizing cynic he appeared. They also had a most amazingly hot and steamy sexual attraction that just sizzles!Additionally, the numerous secondary characters along with the mystery of the serial rapists and killers that are intertwined into the story give the book a depth that is quite intoxicating and hard to put down. I sincerely hope that Ms. Jewel continues with sequels to include stories for Devon and Emily and for the other wonderful characters who deserve their own stories. Most definitely, put this on you buy list and `keeper' shelf to enjoy again.

Lord Ruin is intensely emotional, dramatic and one of the most sensual books I have read in a long time. It offers the perfect combination of compelling plot and sensual romance - a rare commodity in any genre. You'll fall in love with the hero and long to change places with the heroine.I highly recommend this book and anxiously wait Ms. Jewel's next book.