At first I was gonna be like,



"um, it was meh. Didn't like it all that much" *ducks back down*

but you know what...


I happened to enjoy this story very much. And I don't care.


And to all you readers who are ashamed to like this story,



because you should never be ashamed about what you enjoy to read. People will have their opinions just like you are entitled to have your own. Read whatever you want, just as long as you keep reading!

I in no way agree with the way our main male protagonist, the earl, went about in seducing Cassandra. But it's was still a damn good story for me. The earl's intentions were selfishly conducted. He got to decide that he would become Cassandra's husband, not her, and that was not very.... loving nor understanding, something he kept telling Cassandra that he was. Why not woo her? Don't rape her and hope to gain her affections by seducing her with your apparently amazing lovemaking.

The only reason I was able to even like the earl's character was that he in no way wanted to "hurt" Cassie. He didn't want her just to take her for one night and abandon her. He wanted to marry her and please her... against her (very malleable) will, no doubt. I know that this sounds all wrong, it sounds wrong to me too. But if this is wrong........ well, then... I guess, I don't want to be right (I was being sarcastic....no? okay.)

Cassandra was cursed with good looks and arousing every man in sight. Mhm. Or so it seemed. She does actually get raped (in this instance not by the earl), which I believe is one of the negative things other readers are talking about in the book. It's kind of a brutal scene actually. But I really doubt this type of stuff didn't occur, and it just so happened to have happened to our protagonist; it was real, harsh and real, and yes, disturbing.

Anyway, I really did enjoy this story, just be aware of the contents in this book. Those other readers negative opinions/reviews on the book are there for a reason, one I don't quite agree with, but take in mind that not everyone hated it and not everyone loved it. Read for yourself, judge for yourself.

Now,

Good day.

It was boring.
Zero chemistry.
Also the fact that the H first liked the h’s mother was cringe. He is attracted to her because she looks like his mother.

What a beautiful book Despite some disturbing episodes like rape & gang rape this is one of the most interesting HR I have ever read .I loved how the relationship between the Earl & Cassandra grew into a strong bond of mind and body . When Cassandra leaves him and goes back to her 1st love Edward even sleeps with him the Earl accepts it & understands that she needed to do that if only to realise she never loved Edward .yes there is rape and gang rape but that is a part of reality that often happens , it is wonderful to see the Earl heal Cassandra back to normal .

The hero is a forceful, persistent_and not in the romantic kind of way_ demented rapist. The heroine was very childish and unlikeable.

Catherine Coulter's Old Skool, no holds barred, bodice-ripper, was over-the-top, campy fun the likes of which will never be published nowadays.

Just take a gander at this unforgettable scene:

She closed her eyes a moment, her body aching for his fingers to continue their movement, and leaned her head back against his belly. Long strands of golden hair weaved themselves into the thick black hair at his groin.

Purple Prose in all its Glory. To the happy few...:)

Honestly I don’t know what is worse.
The hero raping repeatedly the heroine after kidnapping her, his obsession with her mother ( seriously) or the heroine’s obsession with om.
I don’t want to spoil it too much because it would take away all the fun, since, besides the many traumatic and cringeworthy experiences in this book there’s not much more.
So that you know there is
- kidnapping
- rape
-gang rape
- miscarriage
- cheating
- awful detail of the hero doing surgery on the heroine. This scene will forever be imprinted in my memory because it was completely ott. Oh, for your info, it was not on a leg or an arm. Just have a guess.
The heroine having sex with om to prove a point was equally bizarre.
Aaaannnnnndddd the good part is: no PTSD for the heroine here after all she went through. Maybe those Victorian maidens were much stronger than women in these times because I felt ptsd only reading what she went through.
You may read it only if you are in a very good and serene mood, maybe after taking one Xanax or two.
No thanks

I’ll keep this simple…I was surprised by the rapiness of the book. So much rape. Not just by one man. Even so, it is always annoying to me when the man of the story justifies his relentless quest to win the lady (you name the actions) because what he’s done “must be done.” No, sir, it does not have to be done. The premise for the earl’s reasons (for his actions/quest) in this book are feeble and silly. The one resolution I was hoping would be made into a big scene was barely addressed in the last two pages of the book. The book is all “I hate you!” “Just kidding, you make me weak, take me now!” “I hate you again!” “Oh here I go again, you make me weak.” “I hate you!” “I can’t be without you.”

*Also* If you have children or grandchildren around, you better darn well keep this book well hidden, out of reach, locked in a safe, whatever because it’s shocking even to me and it would be tragic if someone young happened to open it and read any of the “romance” scenes or rape scenes. It will no longer stay in our house now that I’ve finished it.

I'm torn about this book. On one hand I loved it and another I took great issue with it. I am not a fan of rape. Pure and simple that is what the "hero" Anthony Welles,Earl of Clare does to get and keep the woman he says he loves. He was in love with her mother and followed her growing up and at some point fell for her. As she is about to marry he decides he will have her and nobody else. He kidnaps her onto his ship and takes her innocence so that she is forced to be his wife. He has land and titles in Italy as well as England so he takes her there. Our heroine, Cassie is not so easily swayed. She has been in love with her soldier most of her life and doesn't want Anthony. By the end of the book there is a HEA for Cassie and Anthony but it took me awhile to deal with the way the hero handles the scene with taking Cassie against her will. It was a great story. I am sure it was like real life in those days. Men took what they wanted. Anthony's actions however cause terrible actions of others that put Cassie's life and sanity on the line. The story spans from Englands shores to pirates, Italy, America and back to England. Will keep your interest.

what on God’s green earth was this book?? i genuinely have no words for how wrong everything about this book is. i actually can’t explain—nor wrap my head around—how many wrong turns this book took. it’s actually mind-boggling—it just kept getting worse.

i think i have to read a lisa kleypas book to heal my romance reader heart after this one.

CW: rape, gang rape (EXTREMELY graphic and detailed), marital rape, miscarriage, blood, grooming, emotional abuse, stockholm syndrome, blood, death on the page

I dont remember the ending,maybe will give it another try later

Oh wow, Jesus Christ on a crutch. This literary piece emphasizes and stands as a catalyst against for every arbitrary guideline by an author, that we've embraced even in the most shoddy of stories(Stormfire?).

He practically had her floor-planned since she was FIVE! And this is why, in my abject misery, I strive to discern its meaning; I knew from the very instant when she shot the hero, and didn't reload, that her usefulness and entertainment factor was at its end for me.

Generally in most bodice-ripper pieces, we're accustomed to the hero's unruly antics--torture tactics and control management, but I've found it's mostly a product of revenge. This novel accumulates every dastardly premise and attempted to gloss it over as an act of affection. The cocktail of nefarious scheming, life-long plans against a motherless child, eventually leading to training rapes, clown-car rapes by hired thugs, keep-me-pretty confinement, and all I've left out--were implied to be conditions of love itself. It really adds insult to injury, because the hero started off in this mindset, and never really purged himself of its vulgar ideology..or perhaps the author assumes the reader isn't capable of discerning the revenge-driven plot actions to that of actions manifested on the hero's own accord for the heroine's own good and well-being.....

Book #2... Anthony buries Cassie alive but promises her a shopping spree, once she's thinned down enough to wear his mother's exhumed ballgowns. >.<

So appalled, I barely even blinked through the flies rollerskatin' across my eyeballs. Sorry, Coulter..I need a purpose driven evil, not a figure who has the rudimentary senses of a reptile.

What is it with me and bodice-rippers with sea captains?
This heroine endured a lot of violence though (and not in an entertaining story kind of way, more of a hard to read kind of way) and the whole spurned ex-lover meddling in the relationship was done TWICE this time. I'm getting kinda sick of that trope, it's so predictable. I still enjoyed it though.