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17th out of 93 books
—
262 voters
Ravishing in Red (The Rarest Blooms #1)
by
Madeline Hunter (Goodreads Author)
The first novel in a magnificent new quartet of historical romance
Audrianna Kelmsleigh is unattached, independent-and armed. Her adversary is Lord Sebastian Sommerhays. What they have in common is Audrianna's father, who died in a scandalous conspiracy-a deserved death in Sebastian's eyes. Audrianna vows to clear her father's name, never expecting to fall in love with the...more
Audrianna Kelmsleigh is unattached, independent-and armed. Her adversary is Lord Sebastian Sommerhays. What they have in common is Audrianna's father, who died in a scandalous conspiracy-a deserved death in Sebastian's eyes. Audrianna vows to clear her father's name, never expecting to fall in love with the...more
Paperback, 341 pages
Published
January 26th 2010
by Jove
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Jun 02, 2010
Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Historical Romance Aficionados
It's been a few years since I read Madeline Hunter. But, I didn't forget how good her writing is. Her style has an authentic feel that I love to read in historical romances. I like her choice of words and her use of subtle wit. This story wasn't particularly steamy, and at first, I was disappointed at how mild the love scenes were. But, as I continued to read, I came to realize that they fit this story.
I love books in which the couple marries early, and the progression of the book shows how they...more
I love books in which the couple marries early, and the progression of the book shows how they...more
33 likes · like · see review
view all 31 comments
I reread this because 1) I only got 1 1/2 books into the series and want to catch up and 2) I almost always find Hunter worth a second read. I think my feelings about it haven’t changed much, but on this reading I was struck by the dry wit and clever turns of phrase:
“‘I suffered Mama much better before I had some experience in not having to,’ Audrianna said as they strolled down the street.”
“He had not gone far. He knelt right in front of her. Her head cleared enough to realize he was going to p...more
“‘I suffered Mama much better before I had some experience in not having to,’ Audrianna said as they strolled down the street.”
“He had not gone far. He knelt right in front of her. Her head cleared enough to realize he was going to p...more
5 likes · like · see review
This book was good, but suffered to me in some of the wording used. The premise and the majority of the book was solid. But when it came to the love scenes they were so far removed from the act with the wording used. It became hard to connect to the emotions of the h/h. I do look forward to the next book, but can't wait for Lord Castleford's book, what a man-whore. He is going to have to do some major groveling to deserve Daphne...MAJOR! :-)
4 likes · like · see review
I listened to this as an audio book. I enjoy audio books while I do household chores and let me just say, my house is sparkly clean because I kept coming up with excuses to clean so I could listen to this book.
I chose this book because some of the reviewers at Fiction Vixen have reviewed and loved Madeline Hunter's books. I really like historical romances where the hero is a second son and so this book seemed a good one to start with. Sebastian was wonderful and the heroine, Audrianna was perfe...more
I chose this book because some of the reviewers at Fiction Vixen have reviewed and loved Madeline Hunter's books. I really like historical romances where the hero is a second son and so this book seemed a good one to start with. Sebastian was wonderful and the heroine, Audrianna was perfe...more
1 like · like · see review
Apr 01, 2013
Kaye
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-read-in-2011,
historical-romance
3-1/2 Stars
As mentioned in my review of Provocative in Pearls, I accidentally read the second book in this series first and had a few issues with it. But since many of the reviewers there said they liked the first book in the series better, I decided to give it a try. Ravishing in Red was definitely better than Provocative in Pearls as the resolution of the plot happened on page rather than just being summarized later, as an afterthought.
However, I'm getting somewhat tired of books in which the...more
As mentioned in my review of Provocative in Pearls, I accidentally read the second book in this series first and had a few issues with it. But since many of the reviewers there said they liked the first book in the series better, I decided to give it a try. Ravishing in Red was definitely better than Provocative in Pearls as the resolution of the plot happened on page rather than just being summarized later, as an afterthought.
However, I'm getting somewhat tired of books in which the...more
Erster Satz: Eine unabhängige Frau ist eine schutzlose Frau.
Also zuerst einmal, ich kann mich an den Covern des neuen Romantic History Genres des Lyx Verlages einfach nicht satt sehen. Leider sind die meisten Cover dieses Genres meistens ziemlich schnulzig und absolut nicht ansprechend, zudem sehen sie sich einfach zu ähnlich. Hier hat der Lyx Verlag mal wieder seinen guten Geschmack in Sachen Covern bewiesen und ist Gott sei Dank mit solchen Schnulzcovern verschont, weshalb ich die Bücher nur...more
Also zuerst einmal, ich kann mich an den Covern des neuen Romantic History Genres des Lyx Verlages einfach nicht satt sehen. Leider sind die meisten Cover dieses Genres meistens ziemlich schnulzig und absolut nicht ansprechend, zudem sehen sie sich einfach zu ähnlich. Hier hat der Lyx Verlag mal wieder seinen guten Geschmack in Sachen Covern bewiesen und ist Gott sei Dank mit solchen Schnulzcovern verschont, weshalb ich die Bücher nur...more
Sebastian is my favorite type of hero. A reformed rake, he's doing his best to keep his repaired reputation as spotless as possible, that's why when the fall out from the inn fiasco takes place, he feels that marriage is the best way to go. He's sensual, charming and understanding. He strives to do the right thing by his brother and Audrianna, even if that means his feelings are not acknowledged. Sebastian is for them the calm in the storm, even though he has is own raging storm inside.
It took m...more
It took m...more
Hmmmmm not sure about this one..... When I come across a good book I find it hard to leave it alone long enough to have a life but I didn't have that problem with this one.... I left it for days at a time while I was off doing better things.
It was slow to start and I found it hard to keep my focus on it, but having said that I did start to enjoy it more after the halfway mark. I didn't love either Audrianna or Sebastian at first but I must say that I did grow to like them as I got through the bo...more
It was slow to start and I found it hard to keep my focus on it, but having said that I did start to enjoy it more after the halfway mark. I didn't love either Audrianna or Sebastian at first but I must say that I did grow to like them as I got through the bo...more
This was hard for me to rate ... did I like it or did I really like it? I think I'm somewhere in between ...
The writing was solid, and it had enough twists at the end, so it can't be that. I can't really say what it is I found lacking in my overall enjoyment of the book, but I just had that feeling. The main thing I was looking for was the emotional connectivity between the hero and heroine, and as well as me, the reader (for me, it could be how certain things were worded; could also be that I...more
The writing was solid, and it had enough twists at the end, so it can't be that. I can't really say what it is I found lacking in my overall enjoyment of the book, but I just had that feeling. The main thing I was looking for was the emotional connectivity between the hero and heroine, and as well as me, the reader (for me, it could be how certain things were worded; could also be that I...more
I openly admit I'm not usually a reader of historic romance. I found the storyline to be believable though the romance itself seemed to be born out of sex rather than characters falling for each other--at least until later. The intrigue of the mystery kept the story moving but there were parts mostly pertaining to the greenhouse and plants that did not add to the story and slowed the pace as well as telling us things instead of showing how they happened. The frequent switches in many chapters fr...more
An enjoyable read. I like romances that have decent mystery plots behind them, so I was quite happy with 'Ravishing in Red'. I enjoyed Audrianna's determination to clear her father's name, and the careful way she went about it, even when she had to marry Sebastian who she knew was probably going to reveal her father's failure.
However, it's less the plot that has me coming back to this book, and more the way it hits my personal "romance novel relationship" kinks - a marriage required to salvage a...more
However, it's less the plot that has me coming back to this book, and more the way it hits my personal "romance novel relationship" kinks - a marriage required to salvage a...more
Ravishing in Red is the story of how a young woman is compromised and how she and the gentleman involved deal with it. What I enjoy is the way that Hunter treats being compromised as a real disaster. There is genuine mortification involved when the heroine, Ms. Kelmsleigh, sees herself portrayed in lewd engravings sold on London street corners. The hero is an MP and the brother of a peer, and his career is totally run off the rails when gossip paints him as a ravisher of innocent young ladies. H...more
Stayed up way too late reading this. WAY too late. Heroine's dad committed suicide because of investigation into bad gunpowder sent to English army. He's assumed to be guilty. She refuses to believe it. Goes to meet someone who offers information, and meets the man she believes hounded her father to death instead (the hero, of course)-except each thinks the other is the "Domino" spy person at first. Stuff happens--hero kisses heroine, spy shows up, hero gets shot (bad graze), heroine is accused...more
Audrianna will do anything she can to help clear her father's name. Even if it means going to an inn alone armed so that she could meet a mysterious man - Domino - who claims to know something. But the man she meets isn't the one she seeks, but Lord Sebastian Summerhays a man whose investigation placed the blame on her father in the first place.
Sebastian is enchanted by the woman he meets. Too bad that she is totally unsuitable, mainly because of her father. But when they are caught together and...more
Sebastian is enchanted by the woman he meets. Too bad that she is totally unsuitable, mainly because of her father. But when they are caught together and...more
4 likes · like · see review
While there was nothing so terribly awful about Ravishing In Red, I just didn't care for it. For starters...
...
.....
In case you don't get my point, it was slow. The first half of this book was slower than a snail on morphine. I suspect it is due, at least in part, to the whole series-setup disease. But largely I think it's because the big 'conflict' in this story is largely passive. Which leads to a coma-inducing amount of narration and backstory, and little else.
Audrianna is trying to clear h...more
...
.....
In case you don't get my point, it was slow. The first half of this book was slower than a snail on morphine. I suspect it is due, at least in part, to the whole series-setup disease. But largely I think it's because the big 'conflict' in this story is largely passive. Which leads to a coma-inducing amount of narration and backstory, and little else.
Audrianna is trying to clear h...more
This was interesting in the love story was much more realistic than other historical romances. The circumstances for Audrianna and Sebastian getting together were a little odd. Her father was possibly involved in a war crime and he was the one who hounded him to find out the truth. They meet rather unexpectedly in a situation that can ruin them both. They get married as it's a suitable situation to resolve their problems. They are also very attracted to one another. So they enter a relationship...more
I absolutely loved this book. To my memory, this was my first Madeline Hunter book and I will definitely be reading more - especially the rest of the Rarest Blooms series.
There are a few spoilers in my review, but nothing that describes major plot points - just to let you know.
There was something different about this book than other historical romances. Although the marriage due to being compromised is not new, the way that Audrianna handled the situation was very different. When she finally ag...more
There are a few spoilers in my review, but nothing that describes major plot points - just to let you know.
There was something different about this book than other historical romances. Although the marriage due to being compromised is not new, the way that Audrianna handled the situation was very different. When she finally ag...more
1 like · like · see review
This turned out to be ultimately quite boring to me. Didn't draw much emotion from me at all. I think I'm just not into the Regency subgenre. All the worry over upperclass aristocracy and society gossip can be so dull. The romance was believeable between the two, but it wasn't emotionally consuming for me as a reader. The sex scenes erotic without getting too explicit, but not very satisfying. The main mystery to uncover wasn't very exciting, engrossing or dangerous. As I said, I was bored by th...more
Decided to re-read "The Rarest Blooms" series since it's been a while since I read the earlier books. "Ravishing in Red" is the first, and what a great introduction to the cast of characters that we will meet through the remaining three books.
Audrianna is trying to discover details about a conspiracy involving her now deceased father; Sebastian is also investigating this conspiracy. They are caught in a compromising position, and are forced to marry. This "forced to get married" plot device is m...more
Audrianna is trying to discover details about a conspiracy involving her now deceased father; Sebastian is also investigating this conspiracy. They are caught in a compromising position, and are forced to marry. This "forced to get married" plot device is m...more
This is the first of the Rarest Blooms series, and it’s an absolute winner. This is by far the best historical I’ve read in a long, long time, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. The heroine is Audrianna Kelmsleigh, whose father committed suicide when accused of negligence that led to barrels of unusable gunpowder reaching the troops fighting in France. Audrianna is determined to clear her father’s name, and when she spots a newspaper ad from someone calling himself Domino, she arranges to m...more
I've decided that Madeline Hunter is currently my favorite historical romance writer. She cultivates these addictive stories about interesting people that manage to never drag.
I didn't like Audrinna much in the beginning of the book. She seemed a little stilted, a little too uptight and cynical. I don't like the over-bubbly Pollyanna types, but I prefer some humor at least. As I kept on reading the book, she grew on me. I liked Sebastian from the get-go. As the younger brother of a Marquess, he...more
I didn't like Audrinna much in the beginning of the book. She seemed a little stilted, a little too uptight and cynical. I don't like the over-bubbly Pollyanna types, but I prefer some humor at least. As I kept on reading the book, she grew on me. I liked Sebastian from the get-go. As the younger brother of a Marquess, he...more
I enjoyed reading this first book in the Rarest Blooms series. Madeline Hunter is a wonderful writer in the historical romance genre.
Hoping to clear her dead fathers name, Audrianna Kelmsleigh decides to respond to the advertisement placed by the mysterious "Domino" Armed with her cousin's gun, she takes a room at the Two Swords Inn. But the handsome man of commanding sensuality who shows up is not the Domino at all, but Lord Sebastian Summerhays one of her fathers prosecutors - who has been lur...more
Hoping to clear her dead fathers name, Audrianna Kelmsleigh decides to respond to the advertisement placed by the mysterious "Domino" Armed with her cousin's gun, she takes a room at the Two Swords Inn. But the handsome man of commanding sensuality who shows up is not the Domino at all, but Lord Sebastian Summerhays one of her fathers prosecutors - who has been lur...more
Quick review:
Audrianna Kelmsleigh and Lord Sebastian Sommerhays have an odd relationship from the start...they are enemies but never really dislike one another. Their relationship is never volatile and not quite passionate. Honestly, this whole book was rather bland even though it had the potential to be pretty explosive.
Hunter's writing is very sensual but not overly sexual, which leads to a somewhat PG rated romance. In fact, the storyline focuses as much on the "whodunnit" intrigue as it does...more
Audrianna Kelmsleigh and Lord Sebastian Sommerhays have an odd relationship from the start...they are enemies but never really dislike one another. Their relationship is never volatile and not quite passionate. Honestly, this whole book was rather bland even though it had the potential to be pretty explosive.
Hunter's writing is very sensual but not overly sexual, which leads to a somewhat PG rated romance. In fact, the storyline focuses as much on the "whodunnit" intrigue as it does...more
1 like · like · see review
SOA Listening Challenge 2012, Track 4: Historical 2/4
This was my first listen to narrator Polly Lee. The narration is not bad, but not great either. She's a bit . . . breathless. If that reading style annoys you, don't listen.
Plotwise, the hero Lord Sebastian and heroine Audrianna's first encounter at an inn is such a throwback to bodice rippers. Audrianna vows to clear her father's name and is at the inn to meet with some mystery man who might have information. Lord Sebastian seems intent on de...more
This was my first listen to narrator Polly Lee. The narration is not bad, but not great either. She's a bit . . . breathless. If that reading style annoys you, don't listen.
Plotwise, the hero Lord Sebastian and heroine Audrianna's first encounter at an inn is such a throwback to bodice rippers. Audrianna vows to clear her father's name and is at the inn to meet with some mystery man who might have information. Lord Sebastian seems intent on de...more
Hunter makes good use here of the "we have to get married" trope popular in a lot of regency fiction, spinning out the story in a way that ends up being both believable and entertaining. Audrianna is already in disgrace thanks to a family tragedy when she's accused of shooting Lord Sebastian Summerhays. The two find out that they're investigating the same crime, only from opposite sides when it comes to who they believe is guilty. When the shooting scandal forces them into marriage, they have to...more
I finished this within a day or so, which I don't usually do because I like to read several novels at once. I really appreciated how there were no inconvenient or drawn-out misunderstandings, as can be rampant within this genre, and how the characters actually spoke to each other -- with honesty, at that. Even when one or the other thought it'd be better to keep their mouth shut or was afraid of the answer, it didn't stop them from voicing their feelings, which I found refreshing.
Their relations...more
Their relations...more
Ok....when the back of a book states:*a dazzling new tale of erotic passion...* you expect a very hot book....and Ms Hunter usually delivers said HOT book...but not this time. It was tame to the extreme except for one very brief allusion to a 3 some. I thought this book seemed like it was written by someone other then MsHunter. It didnt seem like her regular work. Thats just me tho. I like a hot book and was expecting even a LITTLE hotness..but too much time was spent using flowery words for bod...more
Ravishing in Red is a beautifully written romance. Audrianna is no coy insipid miss, but is never vulgar or anything but honest. Sebastian is an intriguing male; a solid character real enough that we may doubt his intentions but never his honor. The plot progesses easily, with no haste, interruptions or doubling back. The words themselves are as well crafted as any Shakespeare could have put out. At one point Sebastian says of a friend, "... Thus does even mild discretion breed obscurity". A ver...more
This is my first Madeline Hunter's novel. I find the premise of being introduced to the Rarest Blooms (4 friends) are wonderful.
Audrianna, the heroine is an independent woman. She travelled to this one inn to gather information about her father's death. There she met Sebastian, the hero, who is also investigating about her father. Thus, their marriage of convenience was because of the scandals.
I so love the stories based on 'marriage of convenience' premise.
Too bad that I cannot love the book....more
Audrianna, the heroine is an independent woman. She travelled to this one inn to gather information about her father's death. There she met Sebastian, the hero, who is also investigating about her father. Thus, their marriage of convenience was because of the scandals.
I so love the stories based on 'marriage of convenience' premise.
Too bad that I cannot love the book....more
Hunter always delivers a reliable, solid romance. I think my only reason for not giving it more stars is that us is a touch formulaic for her- while she writes different novels from other historical authors, she is getting a little to similar to herself. Still, nicely dark, restrained and emotional. Hunter is a good writer and I like how restrained, internal, and controlled her characters' emotions are. The emotions seem all the more real and passionate for boiling under the service. Her novels...more
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Madeline Hunter is a nationally bestselling author of historical romances who lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons. In a parallel existence to the one she enjoys as a novelist, she has a Ph.D. in art history and teaches at an East Coast university.
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“I did indeed say you could have lovers. But I never promised that I would not kill them.”
—
24 people liked it
“You will have to forgive me, Major Woodruffe. I am new to marriage, and perhaps more given to jealousy than some of the more experienced husbands that you know. It is possible that you seek only friendship with my wife. If, however, you entertain any other--"
-Sebastian to Woodruffe
"I assure you that such a thing is the furthest thing from my mind."
-Woodruffe to Sebastian
"Come now, Major. We are both men. Such ideas are never far from our minds at all. But if you do anything that causes me to think that your mind dwells long on that particular idea, I will thrash you, I will ruin you, and I will probably kill you.
-Sebastian to Woodruffe”
—
4 people liked it
More quotes…
-Sebastian to Woodruffe
"I assure you that such a thing is the furthest thing from my mind."
-Woodruffe to Sebastian
"Come now, Major. We are both men. Such ideas are never far from our minds at all. But if you do anything that causes me to think that your mind dwells long on that particular idea, I will thrash you, I will ruin you, and I will probably kill you.
-Sebastian to Woodruffe”
