The first novel in a magnificent new quartet of historical romance
Audrianna Kelmsleigh is unattached, independent-and armed. Her ... read full description
Audrianna Kelmsleigh is unattached, independent-and armed. Her ... read full description
reviews
Jun 02, 2010
Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress"
rated it: 
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 boo More...
I love books in which the couple marries early, and the progression of the boo More...
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Sep 16, 2011
willaful
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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 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 More...
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Nov 10, 2010
Keri
rated it: 
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! :-)
Jun 26, 2011
FictionVixen
rated it: 
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, Audrian 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, Audrian More...
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Sep 13, 2011
Brie
rated it:
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.
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Aug 31, 2011
Tegan
rated it:
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 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 More...
Jul 02, 2011
Diana
rated it:
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 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 More...
Mar 30, 2011
Tracy
rated it:
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
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Oct 27, 2010
Seldear
rated it:
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 r 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 r More...
May 04, 2010
Erica
rated it:
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
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Apr 01, 2010
Gail
rated it:
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 i
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May 08, 2011
Ana
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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 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 More...
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Oct 01, 2011
Maniai
rated it: 
While there was nothing so terribly awful about Ravishing In Red, I just didn't care for it. For starters...
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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 lit More...
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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 lit More...
Oct 08, 2011
Tanya
rated it:
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
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Mar 21, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
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. 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. More...
Jun 09, 2010
Renee
rated it: 
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
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Jul 01, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
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
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Jun 28, 2011
Donna
rated it:
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 prosecut 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 prosecut More...
Aug 01, 2011
Heather
rated it:
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, th
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Feb 09, 2010
E.
rated it:
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.
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Feb 07, 2010
Kindaangelic
rated it:
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
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Feb 25, 2010
Marisella
rated it:
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"
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Mar 12, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
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
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Feb 21, 2010
Donna Jo
rated it:
Somehow I couldn't get too excited about this Regency. There were too many elements swirling around. It's the first in a series, so that was being set up with the four women who lived together and never say anything about their backgrounds, just raising flowers and making beautiful music. There was the mystery about Audrianne's suicidal father--was he or wasn't he the heartless war profiteer. And then there was the romance with Sebastian, which didn't seem all that probable. About the time a
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May 24, 2011
Patty
rated it:
I am fairly sure that this is the first book I have read by Madeline Hunter. It won't be the last. I am intrigued by the series that begins with Ravishing in Red. Audrianna lives with three other women in this book and it seems obvious that there is a mystery with each. It would (I think) have been unusual for this to happen in the Regency era. But if I wanted reality I would read a history of the timeperiod.
Once again I found a romance that would give me an escape from the stre More...
Once again I found a romance that would give me an escape from the stre More...
Feb 24, 2010
Kathleen
rated it:
Actually I give this book a 4&1/2 stars. I'd have given it 5 stars if it would have been a tish hotter, lol! It did have enough heat to keep me satisfied though. The story line was really good. One I had not read about before. I LOVED the H&H's characters in this book, they were both well done. I also like knowing that a lot of the other characters in this book will be written about in books to come in this series. I hope that Audrianna and Sabastian turn up during the following books since this
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Aug 14, 2011
Sheery
rated it:
This is the first book I have read by Madeline Hunter and I can say I will definitely be reading more. Her story telling is exquisite and passionate.
In this tale, Sebastian and Audrianna are brought together by the same cause but find themselves on opposing sides of the cause. Then a scandal ensues that changes their lives rather dramatically. As they try to uncover the truth surrounding the mystery in the book - they find themselves entwineed in the mystery of their own emotion More...
In this tale, Sebastian and Audrianna are brought together by the same cause but find themselves on opposing sides of the cause. Then a scandal ensues that changes their lives rather dramatically. As they try to uncover the truth surrounding the mystery in the book - they find themselves entwineed in the mystery of their own emotion More...
Mar 21, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
Ravishing in Red was good! I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely made me want to continue reading the series so I'll be sure to pick up the next in line! I loved the characters and can't wait to find out more about their mysterious pasts.
The hero and heroine were fantastic. The story was fun and I always enjoy a hasty marriage of convenience.
Enjoyable but not amazing. It's a good, quick read. More...
The hero and heroine were fantastic. The story was fun and I always enjoy a hasty marriage of convenience.
Enjoyable but not amazing. It's a good, quick read. More...
Sep 25, 2011
Denise
rated it:
This was my first book by this author and I was very impressed. The h, Audrianna Kelmsleigh has been living with a female relative, who owns a florist called The Rarest Blooms, along with two other women. They all have some sort of scandal attached to them which is why Daphne took them in.
Audrianna's father had committed suicide after being blamed for war crimes having to do with gun powder. She lost her fiance' because of this as well as the family honor. She sets out to clear her f More...
Audrianna's father had committed suicide after being blamed for war crimes having to do with gun powder. She lost her fiance' because of this as well as the family honor. She sets out to clear her f More...
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Jun 10, 2010
Jill
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Ravishing in Red is the first book in Madeline Hunter’s new Rarest Blooms quartet. Audrianna's father committed suicide after being accused of approving a bad batch of gunpowder the resulted in the deaths of man soldiers. Audrianna is positive that her father was unjustly accused and vows to clear his name. When she sees an advertisement in the paper that is meant for her father, she plans to attend the meeting herself. Lord Sebastian Summerhays, one of her father's persecutors also sees the
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