The Raven Prince

The Raven Prince By Elizabeth Hoyt

Publisher’s Description:

There comes a time in a lady's life...
Widowed Anna Wren is having a wretched day. After an arrogant male on horseback nearly squashes her, she arrives home to learn that she is in dire financial straits.

When she must do the unthinkable...
The Earl of Swartingham is in a quandary. Having frightened off two secretaries, Edward de Raaf needs someone who can withstand his bad temper and boorish behavior.

And find employment.
When Anna becomes the earl's secretary, it would seem that both their problems are solved. Then she discovers he plans to visit the most notorious brothel in London for his "manly" needs. Well! Anna sees red—and decides to assuage her "womanly" desires...with the earl as her unknowing lover.

Ratings:

(1=unacceptable, 2=poor, 3=acceptable, 4=good, 5=excellent)

Continuity/Flow – 4

The book stays solid to the storyline and true to the characters.  There are no divergences, despite the many subplots, which are handled with class.

Sex – 3

The sex scenes are a bit risqué, even for the genre.  There is quite a bit of graphic language describing body parts and the use of those body parts.  That being said, at least these scenes are kept within the plot and do not take away from the overall flow of the story.

Language – 2

The hero is extremely foul-mouthed and vulgar.  He is bad tempered and as such spends much of the time spouting off his discontent with a number of colorful curses.

Storyline – 5

The storyline was superb.  I liked the intricacies in the subplots, particularly Pearl’s, and I loved the humanizing moments that were added with regular flare to keep the pace from getting bogged down.  Without providing too much of a spoiler, my favorite of these moments was Anna finding Edward downstairs at Rebecca’s house after the baby is born.

Historical Accuracy – 5

The time period in late Georgian, just prior to Regency.  The style of dress is kept in the forefront of the book is very accurately portrayed.  I particularly like the air of distain used when discussing the Macaroni style, which was quickly losing its hold on society at the time.

Overall – 4

Having read, and enjoyed, “The Four Soldiers” Series by Elizabeth Hoyt before, I was fully expecting to enjoy this series.  While I was not disappointed, I definitely enjoyed these books for much different reasons than my expectations allowed me to believe I would.  This book was funny, touching, frustrating and thrilling all at once.

Rant:

This is a rather weak rant, but I wish I could have liked the heroine better.  She is completely likeable in her mannerisms, but for some reason I find it hard to actually like her.  She makes too many off the wall, boneheaded decisions that completely put her, and the people she cares for, in danger (both physical and social).  I am not saying that Ms. Hoyt wrote her poorly, or could have written her differently.  In fact, I believe she is written very deliberately, and I love that.  You just can’t love every heroine, and I don’t love Anna.

Rave:

Straight out of the gate, much like she did with Sam in To Taste Temptation, she makes Edward completely unapproachable.  He is vulgar, haughty, heavy handed, gruff, rude, a loose cannon, etc.  But then she does something wonderful.  Without making excuses for his behavior, or making him change, she forces the reader to see him in a light that makes him wonderful.  He is smart, loyal, appreciative, meticulous, and vulnerable.  He is unapologetic about the way he does things and looks to Anna to keep up.  Only for modesty and propriety’s sake does he ever take her gender into account while she is doing her job.