I like The Ravishing One but more for sentimental reasons that are quite divorced from the practical merits of the book itself – it’s of that batch of romance books that first came my way around the time of high school and I loved the McClairen Trilogy then. Rereading them more recently, I still love the books, but have to acknowledge the weaknesses of this last installment. As always, Connie Brockway writes beautifully, and the atmosphere of the previous two books, haunting, tragic, wild and dramatic, permeates The Ravishing One as well. I think Lord Carr is a great villain, a big evil spider spinning his webs of manipulation, blackmail, and power plays throughout all three books. He’s a bit over the top, especially in this last book as he slips into madness, but I’m happy to go with it.

As for the hero and heroine, even though the set up for their romance was perfect, they still managed to fall a little flat somehow. Fia Merrick didn’t really grab my attention. She’s supposed to be “bad” – she has that evil Merrick blood flowing in her veins, after all. She’s Carr’s favored daughter, his creation, his (s)pawn. But it’s soon apparent that she really isn’t bad at all. She’s just good at pretending, and hides her sweet, shy, mushy interior very well. But not good enough to keep Thomas Donne from eventually finding it out and falling in love with her. As for Donne he seemed kind of stiff and one dimensional to me. A very upstanding, strong type of guy, but not as thrilling or arresting as some other heroes I’ve come across. Though when he starts battling all comers in defense of Fia’s honor near the end, I admit I was moved by such dramatics. All the same though, I would have liked a bit more from their relationship, especially some more development for Fia, and wish the series could have ended on a stronger note. ( )