Audrianna Kelmsleigh is unattached, independent... and armed. Her adversary is Lord Sebastian Sommerhayes. What they have in common is Audrianna's father, who died in a scandalous conspiracy - a deserved death in Sebastian's eyes. Audrianna vows to clear her father's name, never expecting to fall in love with the man devoted to destroying it... The first novel in a magnificent new quartet of historical romance.
Ravishing in Red: Rarest Blooms Series, Book 1
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Determined to clear her deceased father's name, Audrianna Kelmsleigh defies all risks to her reputation to answer an obscure advertisement promising information. Unluckily for her she isn't the only one seeking the same source. When a pistol is accidentally fired and she is found alone with Lord Sebastian Summerhays, the night takes an unexpectedly unwelcome turn.
Being found alone with any man is enough to ruin a girl's reputation, but Lord Sebastian led the investigation against her father. When talk fans the gossip into outright scandal, threatening to ruin them both, there's only one option left to them both...
With this story of scandal, a family in disgrace and a marriage of convenience, the opening of Madeline Hunter's RAREST BLOOMS series shares much in common with the first of her last series, The Rules of Seduction. Like many a Hunter heroine, Audrianna is loyal, intelligent and trusting, refusing to believe the worst of the ones she loves, and resentful of her attraction to Sebastian, even as she succumbs to him. But she's no fool, and still manages to see the best in people, even when they might not deserve it.
However, most of this story focuses on Sebastian and the struggles he faces - investigating the disaster, exploring his feelings for Audrianna, the relationship with his brother Morgan and the responsibilities he doesn't want to have to take. A typical Hunter hero he is strong-willed, handsome, brooding and smart enough to keep up with the heroine. He also has a rakish reputation, but there's so much more to him than that.
Filled as always with the rich details and powerful emotions that Hunter is so good at, her tale of attraction, sensuality and love is a decadent read. Yes, aspects are familiar (Rules of Seduction, Lady of Sin in particular), but this story is enjoyable for its own sake. The next in the series - Provocative in Pearls - looks to be a fascinating read too.
Being found alone with any man is enough to ruin a girl's reputation, but Lord Sebastian led the investigation against her father. When talk fans the gossip into outright scandal, threatening to ruin them both, there's only one option left to them both...
With this story of scandal, a family in disgrace and a marriage of convenience, the opening of Madeline Hunter's RAREST BLOOMS series shares much in common with the first of her last series, The Rules of Seduction. Like many a Hunter heroine, Audrianna is loyal, intelligent and trusting, refusing to believe the worst of the ones she loves, and resentful of her attraction to Sebastian, even as she succumbs to him. But she's no fool, and still manages to see the best in people, even when they might not deserve it.
However, most of this story focuses on Sebastian and the struggles he faces - investigating the disaster, exploring his feelings for Audrianna, the relationship with his brother Morgan and the responsibilities he doesn't want to have to take. A typical Hunter hero he is strong-willed, handsome, brooding and smart enough to keep up with the heroine. He also has a rakish reputation, but there's so much more to him than that.
Filled as always with the rich details and powerful emotions that Hunter is so good at, her tale of attraction, sensuality and love is a decadent read. Yes, aspects are familiar (Rules of Seduction, Lady of Sin in particular), but this story is enjoyable for its own sake. The next in the series - Provocative in Pearls - looks to be a fascinating read too.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By britgirl
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the first in the Rarest Blooms series with Summerhays and Audrianna.
Audrianna lives in Cumberworth in a modest house with three other young women. Neither know each others secrets and are happy to keep things that way. Audrianna 'borrows' her friend, Daphne Joyes' pistol, and goes to meet the 'Domino' who may have answers surrounding her father's death. Not believing any of the rumours surrounding her father's involvement in corrupted gunpowder, she vows to clear his name. But the person she meets is none other than Lord Sebastian Summerhays, the MP who's been accusing her father of the crime. In a panic, she accidentally shoots Summerhays. The innkeeper finds them, and wants to have Audrianna arrested, but Summerhays comes to her defence and says the real culprit got away. Forced to marry after being caught alone together, Audrianna is still adamant her father is innocent. Summerhays agrees to help her find the truth, but he's still certain her father was involved. Over time, they develop feelings for each other, and Summerhays shows jealousy when Audrianna spends time with his disabled brother. But when they find out the truth about her father's involvement, both must put aside their differences if they want to be together.
Overall, the book was good. It did drag on a little, but it didn't put me off reading the next in the series with Hawkeswell and Verity/Lizzie.
3/5
Audrianna lives in Cumberworth in a modest house with three other young women. Neither know each others secrets and are happy to keep things that way. Audrianna 'borrows' her friend, Daphne Joyes' pistol, and goes to meet the 'Domino' who may have answers surrounding her father's death. Not believing any of the rumours surrounding her father's involvement in corrupted gunpowder, she vows to clear his name. But the person she meets is none other than Lord Sebastian Summerhays, the MP who's been accusing her father of the crime. In a panic, she accidentally shoots Summerhays. The innkeeper finds them, and wants to have Audrianna arrested, but Summerhays comes to her defence and says the real culprit got away. Forced to marry after being caught alone together, Audrianna is still adamant her father is innocent. Summerhays agrees to help her find the truth, but he's still certain her father was involved. Over time, they develop feelings for each other, and Summerhays shows jealousy when Audrianna spends time with his disabled brother. But when they find out the truth about her father's involvement, both must put aside their differences if they want to be together.
Overall, the book was good. It did drag on a little, but it didn't put me off reading the next in the series with Hawkeswell and Verity/Lizzie.
3/5
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars
40 reviews
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lovely
28 Jan 2010
By NM Reader
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Kindle Edition
What a thoroughly enjoyable book. Good, even by Madeline Hunter standards. The plot is solid, the characters are fully developed.
Audrianna is the daughter of a government official who committed suicide. He was implicated in a scandal resulting in the deaths of soldiers on the battlefield. Sebastian is the brother of a marquess, an MP, and Audrianna's father's accuser. They encounter each other as the result of a newspaper advertisement soliciting a meeting with Audrianna's father. The result is Audrianna and Sebastian being caught in a compromising situation and their eventual marriage. The understanding and love between them grows gradually, hampered by their adversarial history.
Well-written, great attention to detail. I always appreciate an author who can get the titles and addresses of British aristoracy right. A breath of fresh air in a genre crowded with poorly written dreck.
Audrianna is the daughter of a government official who committed suicide. He was implicated in a scandal resulting in the deaths of soldiers on the battlefield. Sebastian is the brother of a marquess, an MP, and Audrianna's father's accuser. They encounter each other as the result of a newspaper advertisement soliciting a meeting with Audrianna's father. The result is Audrianna and Sebastian being caught in a compromising situation and their eventual marriage. The understanding and love between them grows gradually, hampered by their adversarial history.
Well-written, great attention to detail. I always appreciate an author who can get the titles and addresses of British aristoracy right. A breath of fresh air in a genre crowded with poorly written dreck.
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasure to read!
30 Jan 2010
By K. Reinke
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
After reading many forgettable historical romances over the past few months, it was a true pleasure to pick up Madeline Hunter's latest. She has always been one of my favorite authors, but lately even that usually safe method of selecting investments had not always paid off. How relieved and happy I was to find that this book was a delight!
This first installment of a planned quartet involving "The Rarest Blooms" - a group of women who live together in a country house raising flowers, hiding their pasts and attempting to forge their independent futures- did a good job of introducing a series of interesting and compelling characters. "Ravishing in Red" focused on Audrianna, a not-so-young women seeking to clear her father's name in a war-time scandal. I found her characterization, motivations, thoughts, and dialog particularly believable and sympathetic for a woman of her time. From details regarding her relationships with her mother & sister, to her sometimes awkward yet beautifully poignant confessions to Sebastian, I felt I truly understood and respected her as a character and a Woman. Sebastien is a gentleman and a rake, forced to give up his wild times, in order to look into the war-time scandal for his disabled brother, a Marquess and an influential member of the Commons. The brothers' relationship is a refreshing and pivotal plot point of the story, underscoring Sebastien's character and motivations.
Though I have read this type of story before, Ms. Hunter's characters are fresh, honest, and compellingly mature. I can't wait to read the next in the series.
This first installment of a planned quartet involving "The Rarest Blooms" - a group of women who live together in a country house raising flowers, hiding their pasts and attempting to forge their independent futures- did a good job of introducing a series of interesting and compelling characters. "Ravishing in Red" focused on Audrianna, a not-so-young women seeking to clear her father's name in a war-time scandal. I found her characterization, motivations, thoughts, and dialog particularly believable and sympathetic for a woman of her time. From details regarding her relationships with her mother & sister, to her sometimes awkward yet beautifully poignant confessions to Sebastian, I felt I truly understood and respected her as a character and a Woman. Sebastien is a gentleman and a rake, forced to give up his wild times, in order to look into the war-time scandal for his disabled brother, a Marquess and an influential member of the Commons. The brothers' relationship is a refreshing and pivotal plot point of the story, underscoring Sebastien's character and motivations.
Though I have read this type of story before, Ms. Hunter's characters are fresh, honest, and compellingly mature. I can't wait to read the next in the series.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A historical romance that's romantic and historical.
26 Jan 2010
By Old Latin teacher
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
After a few weeks of reading historical romance releases that everybody but me seems to like I finally found a winner. I buy without reservation any book written by Madeline Hunter. For me, even the ones others say are bad, are good. She puts me back into the historical period her characters are living in, whether it be Victorian, Regency or medieval, and gives me a good romance at the same time. I don't skim or skip pages but rather savor the whole reading experience and don't want the book to end. In contrast to the characters found in many other romances, her characters speak and behave much more closely to the way I imagine people would at that particular time. If we do find a heroine doing something inconsistent with what is expected it is not an annoying, cutesy, immature action, but rather something circumstances have forced her to do in spite of customs of the times. Because of this, the dialogue in a Hunter book is not full of contemporary American speech patterns and vocabulary and may sometimes sound a bit stilted to the fans of certain other historical romance authors whose characters speak and act in a way that makes me feel as if modern-day people had time-traveled back in history. So, this review is not a summary of the plot. That can be found here online or on the back of the book. Suffice it to say that this is a great Regency romance with an interesting plotline and a great cast of characters in addition to our heroine and hero. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series which will develop the love story of two of the secondary characters we meet in this one.
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