Virginia Henley

This book is so entertaining, with lots of humor. Antonia's experiences while disquised as her twin Anthony are a hoot (what she finds the men of the ton do after the ladies leave them to cigars and brandy after dinner is laugh-out-loud funny.) Ms. Henley excels at her descriptions of all the cities and estates, with Ceylon as my favorite. The erotic parts are very sensuous, well done, and not too prolonged as to be the major emphasis of this story. If you enjoy spicy Edwardian/Regency era show more romances with good plots, you can't go wrong with this one. show less

It is ironic that books are composed of words, because words cannot express how godawful this book is. THIS IS IRONY, people. Not fake mustaches; not retro furniture. THIS.

Nothing about it is worthwhile. Even title -- so promising! -- raises expectations that it fails to deliver. NO ONE IS SEDUCED. Not the virginal heroine Antonia and certainly not her disgusting skank of a lover, who beds approximately fourteen other women in the course of the plot before getting around to noticing Antonia. show more I am sure he has the pox.
Also? Her lover? His surname is Savage. And he sleeps with her mother.

... I could go on (there's a lot to work with here), but why bother?

(I did give one star for the term "manroot", which almost makes up in apt hilarity for pages & pages of tender clefts and tiny buds and, ohmygod, love milk.) show less

Been rereading this today and I found myself enjoying this again. I find myself falling in love with the characters again. The revenge, jealousy, redemption, pride and stuff. Still refreshing as the first time I read it as a teenager (and here's to folks defending physical book so much, my copy broke apart, literally. Probably because the glue hardened and became less flexible). A story of a forbidden romance between an English lady and a Scottish Gypsy bastard. Unlike the title, the tone of show more the story doesn't carry those "stockholm syndromes" criteria as a lot of historical romances with similar plot do. I enjoyed the part with the Dacre's animosity towards the Douglas and Kennedy which evolved into a much serious plot that follows the events in the previous book. Neither of the characters are quite one dimensional. The antagonists have great reason to hate the other, plot twist at the right part of the book. I like the part where both main character complement each other as soulmates. Although Tina and Ram are more erotically charged than the couple in this book, I find this book withstood the test of time in my case. show less

There is just something about these old [a:Virginia Henley|83397|Virginia Henley|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1266448096p2/83397.jpg] romances that I love. You feel like you have read a whole series by the time you have finished one book. They just don't write books last this anymore... and that makes me sad.

Like most heroines in these type of books, our leading lady in this story is a survivor. Lady Summer St. Catherine (Cat) is forced into a life of theft and smuggling to put food on show more the table for her and her younger brother, Viscount Spencer St. Catherine (Spider). Children of a wretched father who has gambled and mortgaged their property and ancestral estate, the pair have become a bit wild to survive. So when the father dies, Cat takes on her greatest undertaking yet, learning to be a lady so she can land a rich husband or protector. When she finds him, it all goes according to plan... until it doesn't.

Ruark is tall dark and broody... and a bit schizophrenic. I can't say much about his character without giving away spoilers, but I loved his dual-natured personality (even though sometimes I really didn't understand him).

This book was filled with the dramatic and catty court intrigue that I love so much. It takes place during the Restoration Period during the reign of Charles II. Our characters are intimates of the King, so we get a lot of the history of the monarch, not to mention London society. We go thru plague, the Great Fire of London, and the war with the Dutch. There was so much action and activity going on that I couldn't stop turning pages. When you pair that with the emotional roller coaster of our love story, you will be put through the ringer with this book (in a good way).

Full review posted at Bambi Unbridled show less