Tempted

Clan Kennedy #1

by Virginia Henley

All men lusted for the firebrand they called Flaming Tina, famed for the molten fire in her hair—and for the hot temper running fierce through the noble Scots blood of Lady Valentina Kennedy. Forced into marriage with the fearsome warrior of an enemy clan, Tina vowed to use her wild beauty to gain mastery over Lord Ramsey Douglas.


From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Medieval, Scotland, Medieval Romance, Historical Fiction

529 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Virginia Syddall was born on December 5, 1935 in England, where her father, Thomas Syddall, taught her to love history. She obtained a degree in History in the University. In 1956, Virginia married Arthur Henley. They moved to America, and now they live most of the year in St. Petersburg, Florida, and they spend the hot summers in Ontario, Canada, where they have their two adult children and three grandsons.

Virginia Henley is a New York Times bestselling writer of historical novels. Her work has been translated into fourteen languages. She is the recipient of more than a dozen writing awards, including a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award, a Waldenbooks' Bestselling Award, and a Maggie Award for Excellence from the Georgia Romance Writers.

Reviews

[Erica David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Virginia Henley is totally that dirty grandma that none of your relations will cop to owning. You know she looks at men’s butts in the grocery store. She uses quaint, old-timey euphemisms such as “mons” and “Mound of Venus.” Graaandmaaaa! you think as you roll your eyes heavenward in utter mortification. Yet, Henley’s heroes are mythic. They mask pendulous tumescence in their doeskin breeches. They defeat entire armies single-handed. They spend days left for dead on the battlefield, impaled and pinioned beneath their warhorses, and are back to rutting within a fortnight. They are masculine to the very hilt, which is both risible and sublime. Tempted pits lusty Scot Ramsey “the Black Ram” Douglas against willful redhead “Flaming Tina” Kennedy in a battle of wits and rival clans. Hold on to yer sporran, dearie, Tempted is indeed a treat.

[Beatriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una de las mejores lecturas del año. La he disfrutado como posesa ya que combina magníficamente dos de mis géneros favoritos: el romántico y el histórico. Respecto de este último, con un estilo gráfico y apasionante, la autora nos lleva desde los bellos pero agrestes paisajes de las Highlands y las tradiciones de su gente, hasta la corte de Enrique VIII, horadando en sus superfluas y licenciosas costumbres. Con un nivel de detalle y realismo increíble, es imposible no imaginar las incursiones y las disputas internas entre los distintos clanes de Escocia que, a su vez, deben aliase en la defensa fronteriza con Inglaterra. La descripción de la batalla de Flodden Field, en que fue derrotado el ejército Escocés de Jacobo IV, es una de las más estremecedoras que he leído.

Por otra parte, reconozco que la maravillosa historia de la pareja protagonista tarda en arrancar, pero esto ayuda a justificar y comprender mejor cada una de las acciones de sus apasionados personajes y las muchas situaciones que deben vivir y enfrentar. Me gustó especialmente la evolución de Valentina, que pasa de niña caprichosa, vanidosa y consentida, a una mujer de convicciones y fortaleza increíble.

También me gustó mucho la forma en que la autora trata como protagonistas a los fantasmas del castillo Douglas, que permiten ir desmadejando antiguos secretos de amor, celos y traiciones. Los personajes secundarios tampoco se quedan atrás… adoré al señor Bourque, el chef.

Si hay un pero, es la portada… qué pena que se estigmatice una obra como ésta de esa forma, pero entiendo que era el tipo de enganche usado en los años en que el libro se publicó por primera vez.

[Dora Koutsoukou]

I managed to read 5 chapters, I liked the plot and the characters so much!!!!

Please, keep in mind that I am a novice hr reader!!
Since I haven’t read many hr reads as to be familiar with medieval language, I am not ashamed to admit that I had a very difficult time trying to comprehend the dialogues, due to the Scottish language.

“Is there any in this room dares tae hint I dinna ken what’s best fer ma ain family?”

“I’ll elucidate. Lasses, in especial ravishin’ beauties like yersel, are valuable tae forge marriages between powerful clans tae preserve peace, tae extend power, and tae increase wealth.” He turned on his wife again. “I shouldna listened tae ye. I shouldha sent her tae court—she woulda had a husband an’ a bairn in her belly by now.”

Although I wanted to read this story till the last page, I couldn’t and sadly dnf it @ 12%...
I hope to finish it in the future, after I gain more experience with the medieval language.

[Izzah ꒰Duchess of Cabria ಇ ⭑✧ ᴏɴ ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ ✧ ⋆꒱ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread held 🙌

You know why Virginia Henley is so hard to read? It's because the woman is a sadist that hides her delicious romantic leads beneath tons of historical bog. And I mean tonssssssss.

But you know what you'll get if you're willing to get down and dirty?
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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[Glamdring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re reading, first time in English.

Although it lost a star, I had a good time re reading this book. Despite old fashioned words using now and then “Tempted” aged pretty well.

The story is set in Scotland’s borderlands around 1510, during King James IV of Scotland reign. The king wants to unify the Scots and order some of the clans to make wedding alliances. Ramsey “Black Ram” Douglas and “Flaming” Tina Kennedy are chosen for the Douglas-Kennedy alliance and none of them are eager to comply.

We see that in this kind of situation, as a man Ram has much more leverage than Tina and he isn’t afraid of using and stretching it. But Tina is no helpless heroine (and I loved that), she is a feisty beauty who knows how to make the most out of all her feminine assets and she’s also determined to give as much as she gets.

Another thing I loved in this book is its historical accuracy and how Virginia Henley intertwined her romance with the real history.

[Simona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book. The heat between H and h never disappeared whether they were in bed, in public or fighting against each other. It was so refreshing to see a H who was so overpoweringly masculine that by the end even a willful, stubborn chit like our passionate free-spirited h surrendered her heart. Even the characters name were so aptly chosen to highlight the contrast between the brash and brawn Black Ramsay Douglas and petite beauty of Valentina Kennedy.

The love scenes were filled with purple prose but were so fucking good. The wild abandon of Valentina as she buries her hatred of Douglas to enjoy the sins of flesh, the unleashed tenderness of Ramsay as he keeps losing his heart to his vixen and the heat between them as they go from hating to loving each other was so beautifully written.

It is always nice to read about H falling in love first and the h continue to deny her growing feelings. H made every effort to right his earlier wrong, but the tempestuous nature of h wouldn't let her give in. Kudos to Ms Henley for not shying away from treating her heroine's age as not just a number. The growth of Valentina from a selfish, self-absorbed adolescent to a woman who cares about her love, her new family and her responsibilities is so well done. She never shied away from drawing a contrast between h and her other female counterparts, who cowered under male authorities. So many authors refusal to be historically accurate about heroines' ages made me appreciate this book more.

The plot involved a past murder mystery, an attempted poisoning of heroine and the events before Battle of Flodden. The author took commendable efforts to be accurate about the geography of Scotland and various clans but that was unnecessary and made the book drag at moments. There's even a side trip to London where we are assaulted by the hedonistic nature of Henry VIII.

[Becky (romantic_pursuing_feels) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall: 3.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (There’s a number of scenes in the book but you could solidly count it as a 4 for sure. Might feel hotter to others. )
Humor: A bit

(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and Tartans Book Club )

Basic plot:
The clans Kennedy and Douglas have been bitter enemies for a number of years. Ultimately their clan antics lead the king to demand an arranged marriage for them to have peace. Lady Valentina, known as Flaming Tina, is betrothed to Lord Ramsey Douglas (Black Ram). I mean, could these nicknames get any better? Don’t worry, Tina’s hot for a good hard Ram.


Give this a try if you want:
- Crazy old school epic love story – content warning abound!
- Higher steam – large number of scenes here, not always between the hero and heroine but other random characters too. I will say I felt like a lot of the scenes were on the shorter end compared to some of her other work I’ve read
- Older hero (heroine is 17, hero is at least 30)
- Arranged marriage
- Enemies to lovers – the epitome of that trope!
- Hero loves first – the hero does chase the heroine and he admits his love for her long before she does
- Hero nurses heroine back to health
- You’re all right with a JERK hero. 5/5 jerk faces. Lol
- Rival family feel (Highlanders)
- Tudor time in Highlands (King James) – takes place around 1512


My thoughts:
Well, this story was crazy, like most of her others. And like the others, I really enjoyed parts of it and didn’t love others.

This book took me forever to get into. It seemed such a slow start where the main characters were separated and everyone seemed to be talking and having page time including random sex scenes between characters (many who would pop up once and you wouldn’t even know who they were and then never see them again…)

BUT around 200 pages in it finally started happening and the focus switched to Ram and Tina and they took over the book. This is 100% an enemies to lovers story, with tons of content warnings, pushy jerk hero and feisty heroine that fights him every step of the way.

They are passionate and volatile and swing between love and hatred for much of the book. When things are good they are amazing and when they go bad they are at each other’s throats ready to kill each other.

This book does have a touch of paranormal as there’s a, well it’s basically a secondary love story with ghosts. It’s one of the reasons the clans hate each other – there was a couple that was married to bind them and it ended in tragedy with grudges held and revenge wanted. No one thought having ghosts around the castle was strange.

Still I enjoyed some of it when the couple was together. When they were being playful, opening up to each other. The hero was fond of using sweet nicknames for the heroine, which was totally unexpected to me.

I do wish the book had ended about 100 pages earlier. It had the perfect ending feel, it could have felt complete. But it kept going bringing in some later unnecessary drama and time in the Tudor court. Personal preference, but I don't love real historical figures coming into the books like that, especially the monarchy. And you can see how much Henley was fascinated by them and did her research as she's included them in most of the books of hers I have read.

Will I try more of Henley? Yup. I think I’m addicted in some strange way. hahaha



Here’s a few random parts that I wanted to note from the book

There’s a lot of focus on fainting being a dead giveaway you were pregnant. The heroine wanted to faint while dancing but she couldn’t because people would think she was pregnant. Then later when she’s married, the feast of roasted pig makes her faint and the hero is pissed because she could be carrying someone else’s child. Just kind of weird??

When she bursts into tears during sex

Instantly he was contrite, cradling her. “Honeylamb, did I hurt ye?”


And when he gives her a huge orgasm with his mouth and she finally, finally, says his name “Ram” instead of “Douglas” (his surname) and he quickly captures it on her mouth in a kiss – love that!

There’s a scene where he tells her to marry him and she says no and he declares his love for her and she refuses him. He leaves and says “I am your destiny. When I come next, I’ll fetch the priest.”


Content Warnings:

heroine referred to as a “bitch” from her joking brother
Romany referenced as gypsies
Zara (Romany woman hero spends the night with) referred to as exotic
Animal cruelty – hero punches his horse with his fist to control it
Uses sex to get what he wants from Zara (information)
violence, including against a child (14 years old)
domestic violence between main characters (she slaps him, hits him with a riding crop, he kicks her down)
murder suicide talked about regarding the ghosts haunting the castle
boar attack with injuries and boar hunting/death
thoughts of abortion for side characters and later note that they followed through with it
extremely jealous hero
insensitivity to infertility – hero has never had bastards so he’s slightly worried he can’t have kids but he knows his heroine will give him children (like if you were just with the right woman it would work out!)
torture by prinking
poisoning
miscarriage, on page


Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:

Pg 25 – hero has fade to black sex with a romany girl (Zara) with a pierced clit
Pg 77 – almost sex between hero and Zara – some kisses, dry humping and 3 thrusts inside her then he takes her outside and begins again, some fingering, one thrust, then stops again, eventually he gives her an orgasm and leaves
Pg 144 – kiss between Tina and Patrick – Patrick then has a threesome with 2 other women
Pg 150 – sex scene between side characters Robert and Ava
Pg 201 – kiss between Tina and Ramsey
Pg 242 – first sex scene – she’s terrified, he comes in and mounts her and basically thinks its her fault she didn’t have a great time. Missionary, she’s a virgin, he thinks she’s experienced.
Pg 272 – kisses, playful banter, missionary sex
Pg 286 – kisses, breast play
Pg 290 – oral for her, followed by vague sex (brief, about a page)
Pg 300 – she bathes him, missionary (kind of short)
Pg 312 – sex, blowjob (it’s like a paragraph and not to completion), missionary
Pg 336 – her on top
Pg 348 – chinese pleasure balls used but taken out before orgasm, her on top of him on the swing
Pg 405 – dream sex
Pg 434 – heroine has sexual harassment from another man and then the king (Henry)
Pg 483 – kisses
Pg 492 – sex (short)


Euphemisms:
long, hard manroot
letting down her love juices
dark side of paradise (orgasm)
mon
gates of paradise
titty/tits
marble shaft

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite by this author, though may not be others. The male lead is very alpha and heroine is a spoiled, interesting lead. The fighting between them is sizzling. Great history as well.

[Auj · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I was craving another Virginia Henley novel. The first half was definitely 4 stars. I found the book really hard to put down. (I was just busy and this book is lengthy that's why it took me a couple of days to finish it.) Saying that, the romance doesn't really start to around page 200. Yes, the hero and heroine have already met, but they haven't kissed by page 200 I don't think.

I read "Valentina shrugged a shapely shoulder" too many times. I get it, she's beautiful, in both body and face and I can only hope to achieve such perfection. Enough already. Part of me also feels like the author fat shamed a lot of characters. Janet Kennedy was remarked as being thicker in the middle than Valentina. Henry VIII's gross, fat body was mentioned a lot too when Valentina met him.

The romance lacked a little something for me to give this more stars. I couldn't really see the hero and heroine talking for hours. However, I did like how the hero fell in love with the heroine first!! Too often in the romances I've read, the heroine always falls in love with the guy first. I read something (nonfiction) that said that men actually fall in love faster with women than vice versa.
FYI, there's a 15 year age gap. Tina is 17, Ramsey is 32.

At the end, at the Battle of Flodden, it seemed like Ramsey (the hero) might have died. But I wasn't going to be fooled after "The Raven and the Rose" haha (if you know, you know ;)). I really liked how Valentina was like no, I must find my husband's body. I know he's not dead yet. I would have done something similar. I would need to see that my love is dead and hold him one last time before he's away from me forever.

I liked it but it definitely wasn't my favorite Virginia Henley book. I loved "The Raven and Rose" & "Seduction" though and would recommend those books instead for someone wanting to read Henley.

[Darbella · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Valentina and Ram. This one is a very long epic story (41 chapters) that has a lot of Scottish history, a smidgeon of paranormal, and two leads who are very hot headed and passionate. Expect to see the word manroot and honeypot a lot. This is old school bodice ripper type of story and has a handfasting, kings, fashion, court life, ghosts, villains, horses, jealousy, clans, gypsies, food, etc.

[Jo Bennesch · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5⭐️
4/5🌶

Pedazo de libro!
Romance histórico intenso, complejo donde pasan muchas cosas. De los de antes, cuando las autoras no solo escribían bien, sino que investigaban y uno aprendía historia.

Ambientado en escocia en 1512, la relación entre los protagonistas es explosiva e intensa, acorde con las descripciones de paisajes, de la corte y de las costumbres de la época. Es un enemy to lovers justificado por el contexto histórico. Unos toques sobrenaturales completan el cuadro.

Nada está edulcorado, la época era brutal y así se refleja en el libro. Las escenas spicy son muchas y muy creativas. No solo entre los protagonistas sino también de personajes secundarios.


Quizá el punto flojo es que hay muchas idas y venidas entre ellos, pero de ninguna manera eso hace que uno pierda en gancho. Al contrario, pasan tantas cosas que te mantiene pendiente de lo que vendrá a continuación.

Muy recomendable. Si aun no descubriste a esta autora, no re la pierdas.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es el primer libro que leo de esta autora la tenía desde hace mucho tiempo pendiente. Y bueno me habían dicho muchas cosas de la autora, que era muy histórica, de la vieja usanza y con mucho sexo no solo de los protagonistas.
Y debido eso yo pensaba que sería una autora densa.
Y bueno debo decir que este libro me ha enganchado desde el principio, por momentos me ha hecho reír me ha parecido muy ameno. A mi me encanta la historia pero tampoco me gusta que esa parte eclipse a la romántica y en este caso aunque tiene mucho contenido histórico no considero que se haga aburrido y pienso que la autora ha sabido combinar muy bien el contenido histórico con el romance. Además he aprendido un montón de cosas que no sabía de los reyes de esa época y muchas cosas más y eso para mí siempre es un plus. También me gusta que la autora no tenga reparos y muestre como era la época sin ser politicamente correcta.
El romance aunque ha tardado en arrancar y aunque empieza con los protagonistas " odiándose" y empieza con un matrimonio a prueba y aunque la primera vez para ella es un poco traumática porque el pensaba que no era Virgen y no tiene miramientos. Cuando por fin empieza es muy apasionada (aunque el lenguaje de estas escenas a veces me chirriaba mucho no sé si es culpa de la traductora o de la autora porque expresiones como "los jugos del amor" me tiraban para atrás).
Ellos son tal para cual, ella es una mujer al principio descarada, malcriada, terca que quiere hacer cosas de hombres, valiente.y por eso el piensa que tiene experiencia. Y el es un guerrero dominante, arrogante y valiente acostumbrado a que se haga su voluntad.
Y en este libro el reconoce primero mucho antes que la ama y que quiere casarse con ella y desde entonces es un amor con ella, y ella es mucho más terca y tarda más en aceptarlo aunque en el fondo lo ama. También hay una historia del pasado no resuelta con fantasmas y es el origen de la enemistad de los clanes. También es verdad que el libro tiene mucho sexo de personajes secundarios y al principio del protagonista con Zara una gitana de los que merodean por allí. Me ha encantado Heath uno de los gitanos que luego se sabe que es hermano de Valentina y me he llevado una alegría cuando he visto que el segundo libro de esta saga es de el.
Aunque la historia es larga no sé hace aburrida porque siempre están pasando cosas y a veces pasan cosas que te dejan con el corazón en un puño.
Y aunque también tiene cosas que hoy estarían mal vistas como que el protagonista tenga pieles de animales, que en una escena le pegue un puñetazo a su caballo o que la protagonista estando embarazada beba vino sin ningún problema, también la diferencia de edad entre ellos es bastante grande ella tiene 17 y el 32 razón por la que tenga sentido que ella al principio sea tan caprichosa y consentida. la historia es del año 1992 y la autora es muy mayor.
En fin le pongo 4 estrellas por esos pequeñas cosas que he visto que hacen que no sea redondo la historia me ha encantado, pero a veces el lenguaje en la escenas de sexo y estos detalles hacen que no sea un libro de 10.

[Regan Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating Story of Scottish Love in the Borderlands

In a complex, lusty tale of feuding Scottish clans during the time of James IV of Scotland and Henry VIII of England, Henley serves up a story that will grab you from the first page and will not let you go. I loved it. Henley has the ability to capture not only the time period, but also the culture of the borderlands between Scotland and England and the difficult but wonderful relationship between two stubborn, courageous people. I highly recommend this one.

Set in Scotland in 1512, TEMPTED is the story of clans Douglas, Hamilton and Kennedy. Beautiful Valentina Kennedy, the oldest of the Kennedy daughters, was known as Flaming Tina for her glorious red-gold hair and her feisty temper. She was raised with her sister and brothers in Castle Doon in Ayr on the Southwest coast of Scotland where her father ruled as the Lord of Galloway. Tina despaired the lot of women that prevented them from enjoying male pursuits, and she frequently joined her brothers in their activities. But when she turns 17, her father insists she say yes to one of her many suitors. Tina thinks to marry the Hamilton heir but is happy when the Gypsy tells her there will be no wedding for her this year. In a surprising turn of events, she is hand fasted to her enemy, the powerful Black Ram Douglas, who she considers to be a brute of a man. Tina intends to have her revenge...

Henley develops some wonderful characters, including the ghosts of two star-crossed lovers from the past (another Kennedy and Douglas pairing), who constantly entertain. She paints vivid word pictures of the food, clothing and castles that really drawn you in and help you experience the times--and she does it very well. In a fitting climax to the story, she superbly describes the battle between the English and Scots at Flodden where Scotland went down in terrible defeat.

This is going on my Best Scottish/Highlander Historical Romances list! The second in the 2-book Clan Kennedy Saga is THE BORDER HOSTAGE.

[Slavena · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only thing Scots hate more then each other are the English. This book has more clan chiefs that I can imagine, unfortunately lots of chiefs not enough Indians. First part of the book is presenting the different clans and feuds, they all hate other clans and some hate each other within the clan. I found that very funny, however first part of the book drags due to all this information and all the people involved in the story. After everyone was introduced the story picked up and I loved it from that point on.

I can not describe the full story because there is so much going on but the main romance line is that neither Tina or Ramsey want to be together, however by the order of the king there must be truce between the clans and marriage as well. Ramsey hates being shackled to a woman who is being called “honeypot” and Tina just detests him for everything he is and also the family feud between the clans, which started with her aunt being married to a Douglas and poisoned 15 years before (there is a nice ghost story too). He compromises and suggest hand-fasting and huge compensation from her father. From here on we experience lots of ups and downs in the relationship as well as some historical evens that truly did happen. I enjoyed reading this book. I recently discovered this author and will continue to read her books. They are old fashioned but still keeps you interested.

[Mermarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

To surmise what the author's visionary was that inspired this piece, I can only quote, "All ye bastards know how tae do is drink, fuck an' fight!"

Tempted by Virginia Henley is the garden variety romance. I believe the author felt that there were no boundaries that she couldn't simply gallivant across to what outlandish behavior and/or socially engineered(decline?) which further perpetrate the sheer audacity this book invokes. This bit o' Scottish debauchery is hardly a bastion of proper society decorum or standards. The heroine, whilst not entirely unlikeable, is a regular spoiled spitfire cunningly preserved for the 'canna love ye, 'less yer pure 'nough tae destroy' type of hero; sparing the heroine of any naughty guilt and all that. Once her heavily scrutinized innocence is acknowledged as genuine, the entire premise of their hatred/sworn-enemy relationship is rocked to its foundation. When a hero recognizes that his assumption of the heroine had been nothing but prejudice--it always strikes me as the insistent chide, 'you had better never enjoyed sex before I came along'. Oh, but fear not--if the Black Ram doesn't make it with Tina, her blood uncle has already offered his firewood for her warm hearth, or her gypsy bastard half-brother could very well roll her out a bed in his travelin' show caravan.


Oh yes, she went there. Incest is best x2, thus far. (That's deep, dark sarcasm, jus' in case you assume I praise incestial relations!) I'm giddy with anxious depravity to unveil what else lurks beneath what isn't blatant and apparent. In other words, imagine what ISN'T said?

Mrs. Henley, up to this point, has kept me guessing as to the hero's truest nature, and upon his early admission of undying affection for the heroine--Surprise surprise! --you got me there; I never suspected he would ever confess to such, even under rigorous torture or a proper maiming. I commend Henley, it came unexpectedly!


(page 113 of 528)
I'm on page 113 of 528 of Tempted: The Black Ram is quite engaging. When he restlessly paces his own castle or charges into enemy territory, the testosterone driven tenacity floating in the air, makes me think...'Oh hell, he's airborne, someone's gonna be pregnant by sheer presence alone.' His sweat should be bottled for liquid aphrodisiac.

(page 354 of 528)
I'm on page 354 of 528 of Tempted: Seriously...if I hear, "God's nightgown' or, "God's bones" one more time, I'll fling daggers. Her shrugging is becoming repetitive, and gives further indication that most of these heroines aren't spirited, wild and rule-breakers; they're immature children. :D

Amid the explicit discourse of the book and barely-restrained orgy breakouts threatening every page-- I engorged upon each delectable word as if struck dumb by a Viking thunderclap or some sort of visual magpie syndrome-- ill prepared for the shameless lasciviousness it offered in great, unyielding abundance. God's nightgown! When a damsel saunters into an area where males are holed up(even some relatives), you damn well better expect boners to salute full staff in waves like a sporting event's team sweep in the bleachers.

When the vagina insertion sex-toys were proposed & taken into testfire by the oscillating motion provided whilst you shag rotten on a swing--I nearly scolded--as I dearly consider 'contraptions' a mark of male inadequacy, albeit the hero swept in and declared himself fully capable of bringing her to fruition, instead of relying on such devices. Brava sir, Henley's hero training camp brand is still healing, I see. Hehe.

How can we justify this sinfully delightful piece? Too many coup de grace marring it to be acceptable by everyday romance readers, but in my bodice-ripper circle, it's just the right amount of wicked indulgence to set your eyelashes & toes a curlin'.

We have the dirty uncle, half-brother in love with heroine, sex-toys galore, twins-on-anti-climatic-would-be-hero, maid keepin' heroine's father's chamber clean, if you know what I mean. ;) Lingerie-introducing seamstresses. Gypsy harlot with a penis ring with a legendary appeal(or the highest paid fuck in Scotland), where upon hero prolongs orgasm with interrogation tactics. Pregnancy by proxy! Ancestral (from both rivaling families) ghosts haunting the hero's home...a madman upstairs, a French chef shaggin' the other cook's wife. A then-virginal heroine making a grocery-list like requirement of the only male c*ck sizes she’ll take. A maid educating the heroine like a high-priced courtesan, which included the cleanliness of her ‘young, sweet & fresh' body, and hushing her fears as to the likelihood of exhibiting any stenches during oral sex preformed on her by the hero, and instructed to return the favor, which she rightly did.

And the last, but hardly suckin' hind teet here, the ever infamous: I'm sorry I raped you, but I thought you were a tart. Magnifico.


This isn't romance's sweetheart, but by-cracky, it's a realistic rendition what would most likely emulate a tryst in our own lives!

[Lady Whitbrooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re read still LOVE it.

Just RE-READ this book is fabulous!!! Probably my fav from this author, whom I enjoy a love/hate relationship with.
Highly recommend ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Oh wow!!
Well I can definitely say I was engaged from the beginning. There was lots of history back story. I was irritated close to the first half with an abundance of antagonism but it worked out. There was a lot of side characters at times was a little confusing but the main story was good. I was in love and heartbroken over Damaris and Alexander but you will have to read it to find out why…,,they where not the H and h but had shall we say a strong presence through the majority of the story.
Overall a good read. Plot 8(1-10) steaminess 8(1-10)

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started out loving this book. Feisty and arrogant heroines normally annoy me, but Tina was just the right amount of sarcastic and wild. Ram was your typical alpha and together they made a wonderful couple. The sexual tension was scorching in this one. Unfortunately I got really bored at the 50% mark and then by 75% I lost all interest. I am not going to lay that blame on Mrs. Henley, I think I was just in a weird head space. I love her writing, but I guessed the villain from the beginning and I wasn't too interested in the battle scenes...they were historically accurate, so I am not missing much.

[Maria Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me lo devoré.
Es adictivo,me gusto como esta escrito,y adore a los protagonistas.
Es cierto que la parte histórica está bien llevada porque no se hace pesada,ni irrelevante. Pero hay ciertos detalles que si no lo contaba no pasaba nada.

[Elis Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

James IV's Scotland, leading up to and including the battle of Flodden Field. Actual historical figures abound, tho as always, quite a bit of license is taken.

Heroine is Valentina Kennedy, who is, as all Scottish heroines tend to be, willful and beautiful and determined to do things her way. Hero is Ramsey Douglas, who is, as always in these stories, dominant to the point of turdishness. They meet, they instantly clash, and then of course, the king more or less orders a wedding between their feuding clans and they end up as the "lucky" couple. He's a jerk about it, so he's constantly humiliating and hurting her. She gets this wonderful advice from her friend and maid, that the best way to win a power play between them is to sex him up. Because that'll teach the bastid.



Meanwhile, he occasionally realizes he's been a jerk and feels bad about it (for, like, a second) before he makes up his mind to fix things—by being even more of a turd. Because how dare she take offense at being treated like crap pudding—she should be thrilled, dam the beeyotch! Anyway, nothing like humiliating a runaway bride by making her walk—barefoot—several miles behind your horse, to make her realize she really loves you. Yup, another genius contributes to the gene pool!

Oh, and just for fun, the author throws in a murder mystery (I saw the killer coming the first time the character was introduced, but it was still pretty good) and a ghostie love story. I'm not so much into paranormals—I'd really like to think that in the life to come we have better things to do than lurk about our old hangouts making people shiver and curtains flutter—but the story was cute and worked anyway. Just at 3.8 stars.

[Katherine (GoldMidnight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is slightly hard to rate. Most characters in the book were so obsessed with sex, it felt porny. The hero was very old-type, unapologetically alpha and masculine. He doesn't have too may soft spots in his heart. The heroine was a brat in the beginning, for sure. But she evolves and becomes easier to like. There's so many plots in the story and there's a thread of paranormal too. I could have done without that. The whole story structure feels too real, as with all her books, Ms. Henley weaves her stories into history.

I don't agree with some reviews that state that the heroine was turned to a doormat or that the hero dominated the heroine so much that her spirit broke or that she was cowed. It is definitely not the case. They both evolved, the heroine became gentler, less hoydenish. She was still strong and courageous, but less brattish and prone to tantrums. The hero, became kinder, sweeter, more understanding. He wanted to give her the moon. But this doesn't mean he becomes beta, he's still him. It's how the story should progress. It's not about dominating the other, it's about growing together and priorities changing. I'm not sure that this book is for everyone, but it's definitely worth a read.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe because it was such a long book, I started skimming through the boring parts. But then I found myself skipping over the lovemaking too, which I normally never do. It's like, I get it already; you're two wild hearts that need to mate to quiet the beasts within! Honestly though, I found Tina to be a spoiled, annoying bitch, and I got tired of her "shrugging her delicate shoulder" at everything, and Ram was a possessive, violent, raging asshole. The ghosts were a nice touch though, but you can't like a story just for ghosts, a goofy butt dog, and a beautiful horse. I still gave it 3 stars though, because it was well written and richly detailed. I just wish it was shorter. I think the story could have been told in 350 pages.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une belle RH avec tous les ingrédients pour la rendre intéressante: le mariage forcé, les héros qui se détestent et s'attirent à la fois, la passion bestiale de l'époque, tous les codes de la société en Ecosse et en Angleterre au XVI siècle, une intrigue remplie d'événements historiques et de personnages illustres (Jacques Stuart, Henri VIII...), de l'aventure, des drames etc... Bref tout ce qu'il faut pour passer un bon moment.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

2nd read 5 stars. worthy to be in All Time Favourite Bookshelves

1st Read 5 stars. My Favourite Historical Shelves

[Севдалина · Rating 3 out of 5]

Лейди Валентина Кенеди е една от най-красивите жени в Шотландия. С буен характер и още по-буйна червена коса, тя преминава през живота като вихрушка, повличайки всичко със себе си. Мъжете щом я зърнат падат в краката й. Тя е непокорна, разглезена и твърдоглава. Обича да се занимава с мъжки хобита или да бяга в циганския катун. Тя е щастие за баща си и разочарование за майка си. Когато братята й, решават да нападнат могъщия клан Дъглас и да ги окрадат, набеядайки за това клана Хамилтън, най-малкият брат на Валентина е заловен и тя отива да го освободи, влизайки в дома на прословутия Рам Дъглас, преструвайки се, че е загубила паметта си. Младото момиче дори не подозира, че тази среща от отприщи куп събития, които завинаги ще я свържат с Черният Рам Дъглас.

Рам Дъглас е един от най-могъщите барони на Шотландския крал. С уменията си в битките Рам защитава пограничните райони на Шотландия от нападенията на Англичаните. Когато момчетата Кенеди си позволяват да нападнат земите и да откраднат овцете му, Рам е решен да им върне всичко тъпкано. Това води до негласна война между клановете Дъглас, Кенеди и Хамилтън. Разярен, че три от най-големите му кланове са във война, краля обаявава, че ще се сключи примирие, чрез брак. Един от синовете на Кенеди, ще се ожени за момиче от Хамилтън, наследника на Хамилтън ще се ожени за Валентина Кенеди, а по-малката сестра на Валентина ще стане жена на Рам Дъглас. Всичко обаче се обърква, когато мъжа за който трябва да се ожени Валентина, бива принуден да се ожени за друга жена, която твърди, че той е бащата на детето й. Майката на Валентина убеждава баща й, че тя, а не сестра й, трябва да стане жена на Черният Рам Дъглас. Рам обаче има други планове, и заявява, че ще сключат брак за една година, ако през тази година Валентина забременее, той ще се ожени за нея. Тина е повече от разярена и се заклева, че ще накара арогантния леърд да се влюби в нея... преди да го напусне.

Ох, ами честно казано, доста се изнервих с тази книга. Като изключим дългите исторически описания, имахме дворцови интриги, имахме очеваден убиец, който никой не можеше да заподозре, два духа, които се дърлеха през голяма част от времето, и двама главни герои, които си умираха да се нараняват един друг. Валентина и Рам бяха непрестанна контра, в един миг се разбираха, в следващия се мразеха, обиждаха и наказваха. Тина беше като биполярна. Всичко е наред и в следващия момент изперкваше и почваше да ръси неща, така че да разяри Рам и да го нарани. В тези случай той веднага й отвръщаше със същото. И всеки път щом си помислех, че нещата вървят към оправяне, те пак се захапваха за врата. Когато Валентина му каза, че е бременна и смята да направи аборт, беше само за да го нарани и ядоса, което за мен беше доста детинска постъпка. И такива постъпки следваха една след друга. Двамата непрестанно се нападаха и това ме изнерви до крайност. Не усетих как се влюбиха. Не усетих между тях да се заражда дори приятелство. Дори това, че Тина едва не умря и изгуби детето им, пак не успя да ги сближи. Бяха просто адски упорити в държанието си и ме дразнеха до крайност. Чела съм книгата преди доста години и имах спомен, че ми е харесала, но явно с времето, като с всичко останало и вкуса ни към книгите се променя. Тази книга ми отне доста време да я прочета и не останах доволна от прочетеното., а по-скоро изнервена и щастлива, че най-после свърши.

[Mary23nm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tempted is definitely not your average medieval romance. It has Scots, Gypsies, crazy relatives, ghosts, and a proliferation of characters boinking multiple partners that I couldn't help but wonder about disease. The writing is engaging, even though somewhat repetitive, and definitely has its controversial moments. I give it a 2 for story line and a 4 for entertainment value. 3/5 stars

[S Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars
What a story! The history, the romance, the detail, the passion…there were even ghosts!
This is not a Sunday afternoon quick read, the story builds slowly, setting the historical and relationship backgrounds. There was some detail that I skimmed but I don’t think I lost anything. I was thinking 4 stars but the ending moved me and pushed it to 5.

[3moopydelfy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brut. Etonnant. Captivant.
https://www.newkidsonthegeek.com/mari...

[.phoebe. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a love hate relationship with this book. The format was very interesting for me, it's the first time the love story is led this way. Truly unique!
The writing style is pleasant and the characters are flawed enough to be believable.
What I did not like is mostly the relationship between the two heroes because there's no real trust and comprehension until the very end (and even then...) First, the real beginning to their story does not occur before nearly a half of the story. There was much teasing for it to happen but nothing. At this point, while I thought the premise was very intriguing, it still felt long to me, a bit boring. Moreover, the heroes go from ordeal to ordeal (haunting, false memory loss, infiltration, deceit, emprisonnement, charming, near rape, kidnapping, war, poisoning...). It felt crammed to me, as if the author had forced it in (I mean, for a trilogy, it could have worked but not a standalone novel) in order to hide the flaws of the book: the characters.
Black Ram is an unlikable fellow and DOES NOT Change or grow up in any way, he still feels women are "bitches" though he does love Tina. He trusts her in nothing, he has an overinflated ego, he can even say very cruel things when piqued and never admits to being in the wrong at all throughout the book. Tina does evolve from a more childish flirt (a little self centered) to a strong and indépendant woman. To me, she is the saving grace of the whole book.
Last but not least, the bad guys of the story are dealt with without being heard and they remain one dimensional. We don't understand what makes them do what they do and what their past is. For example, Davie is a mean idiot but nobody knows why. The mother is also quite awful and we really don't get much of an explanation. That's a shame, truly. All in all, if you are looking for something that's a bit different to the norm, this will pleas you very much but if you are craving a romance story with a swoon worthy male lead, don't bother.

[Jena · Rating 3 out of 5]

From 4 stars to 3 on re-read. Slow burn that drags. This one didn’t age well.
Sad, because this used to be one of my favs from VH.

Beginning is 5 stars, middle is 1-2, and the ending is about 3 stars.

It’s a thick book, about 1000 pages on my ereader (modern day romance is about 350 to give you an idea),
and most of the pages were filled with WAY too many secondary characters. This story even had a a ghost couple with a ghost cat 🙄, and unless you’re seriously into politics and history, this book will bore yo to tears.
Also the couple spent most of the first 60% of the book apart.

- things I lovd:
Feisty, strong h. She’s bitchy but not annoyingly so. She’s Scarlett O’Hara but nicer.
I need to mention again how strong and smart this girl was…because I kept reading this boring convoluted book, due to her.
I love that for once, it’s the h’s beauty that’s talked about every 5 pages and not the H. She was so popular that her nickname in Scotland was honeypot, and she gave no shits that the H was hot. She had him wrapped around her finger lol.
- all the scenes when the MCs are together.

- H fell for her first, and it wasn’t just because of her beauty, it’s was her personality too.
- the funny moments. (He grabbed her boobs to check if she padded her chest area, so she grabbed his dick to make sure he didn’t pad his codpiece lol. This is when she’s still a virgin, and they re still strangers and hated each other😂.)


- H is with ow after meeting the h, the sex scenes are descriptive, but they truly hated each other the first half of the book, so I didn’t care. With that said, since this is slow burn, and they don’t get into a moc until halfway into the book, the H is with Ow half the book, sigh.
- no cheating once they’re together.