Sins of a Ruthless Rogue by Anna Randol

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Today I'm reviewing Anna Randol's Sins of a Ruthless Rogue! 

 

When apprentice Clayton Campbell discovers his employer is embezzling funds from his investors, he prepared to put a halt to it. But his plan is betrayed by his employer’s daughter, and he is framed and sentenced to hang. Fate instead hands him to the British Foreign Service.

Now released from his duty to his country, Clayton is free to seek revenge on the family that destroyed him. Then his enemy’s daughter approaches him for help deciphering a code she claims to have found in a dead man’s gallows confession. The code reveals the plans of a violent Russian spy ring long ago disbanded. His investigation into the cold, troubled palaces of Russia thrusts both of their lives into danger, and sparks fierce passion he’d thought forgotten. But is this tempting woman really the innocent she seems or a cold-hearted vixen pursuing a plan of revenge more intricate than his own?

When Clayton Campbell walks back into Olivia Swift’s life, she is elated—for a moment. But it becomes clear Campbell wants nothing but her ruin. Yet she cannot blame him, after all, it was her betrayal that sent him to the gallows. Time has carved the shy, awkward lad into a cold, ruthless man. A decade of poverty has taught her she’d be a fool to allow him close. But when she discovers a threat to his life, she sees a way to repay her debt. When she brings him the information, he makes it clear all he sees is another betrayal. He gives her an ultimatum—either prove the threat is real or pay her debt with her body and soul.

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Sins of a Ruthless Rogue is the second book in Anna Randol’s Sinners Trio. It’s an exciting tale of betrayal and forgiveness, all wrapped up in a story which proves that love really can conquer all – if you'll only give it the chance!

To say this story has everything is to say the least. Rogues and revolutionaries, treason and torture, murder and mayhem, blackmail, scandal, revenge… spies, agents, thugs, assassins, princes, princesses, czars, peasants… seriously… this story has it all, including a believable romance and some steamy lovin’. It’s a uniquely intriguing tale with compelling characters, and I loved every minute I spent reading it!

And speaking of compelling characters! The first glimpse we're given of Clayton and Olivia are as a young, engaged couple. Clayton is a noble, honorable idealist, and Olivia a fairly naive, spoiled young woman. They both think they're doing the right thing, for the right reason, but in the end, both are devastated. When next we see them, it's ten years later, and they are so far removed, so very different from the people they had once been. Both have been betrayed in one sense or another and they've learned that it's safer to trust no one but themselves. And this, believe it or not, in my opinion, is where the beauty of their love is born.

One of my favorite things about this story is the happy ending which, because it wasn't easy to get there, felt so real! So believable! To have any hope of surviving this deadly mission, Clayton and Olivia have to trust one another enough to share their secrets, and to put the past behind them. Trust... no relationship is worth having - or can survive - without it, and that's the lesson they have to learn. And their happily ever after, once they got it, was hard fought and well deserved.

Anna Randol is a unique, fresh voice in historical romance, and I am so looking forward to reading more by this very gifted writer!

My sincerest thanks to Avon Books for providing me with a copy of Sins of a Ruthless Rogue in exchange for an honest review. It's been such pleasure!

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The Romance Reviews
Tempting Reads

Ice Blue by Anne Stuart

 Museum curator Summer Hawthorne considered the exquisite ice-blue ceramic bowl given to her by her beloved Japanese nanny a treasure of sentimental value--until somebody tried to kill her for it. The priceless relic is about to ignite a global power struggle that must be stopped at all costs.

It's a desperate situation, and international operative Takashi O'Brien has received his directive: everybody is expendable. "Everybody." Especially the woman who is getting dangerously under his skin as the lethal game crosses the Pacific to the remote and beautiful mountains of Japan, where the truth can be as seductive as it is deadly....

*****

Ice Blue is the third book in Anne Stuart’s popular Ice series, and another exciting, sexy story. This time we're taken on wild ride as The Committee seeks to thwart a crazy villain’s attempt to “cleanse the world” with fire.

Well, I gotta tell you, there’s something wildly addictive about these books – in a twisted kind of way. The villains are always very ambitious in their evil plans for world domination, or as is the case in Ice Blue, True Ascension. In a note from the author, Ms. Stuart gives us a little background to this story:

The True Realization Fellowship and its leader, the Shirosama, is very loosely inspired by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan and their charismatic leader, Shoko Asahara. Most people remember the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subways twelve years ago, when terrorist attacks were less common, and there's something about cults, Jonestown and the like, that are macabre and fascinating. Believe it or not, the real characters were just as badly behaved as my fictional ones—sometimes more so. I simply used Aum as a jumping-off point to create my own delusional madman.

And what a madman he is! Knowing there are really people out there who believe they are "chosen" to cleanse the world added an element of evil to the story that was chilling.

I still can’t believe that I fall so in love with these “heroes” who are willing to do whatever they have to do to complete their mission, and I do mean “whatever” they have to do. This includes sacrificing the heroine to the bad guys, or as the case may be, in order to make sure the bad guys can’t get their hands on her, killing her himself! Luckily, Fate always steps in just in the nick of time and creates a diversion that allows the hero to put off the inevitable… until the inevitable is no longer, and he realizes that he’s screwed. Because that’s what falling in love is. Screwed.

Okay, so I’m speaking in generalizations here, this is true, but so far every hero in this series is amazing and I love them for the same reasons I hate them. They’re sexy and they know it. They’re smart and they know it. They’re without heart and conscience and they know it… and they use all of these things to their advantage. So do you see why I have the Love/Hate relationship with these men that I do?

Thankfully the heroines are not TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) though from time to time they do walk the edge. They’re strong, independent, compassionate, wise and insightful. And they have to be all of these things to bring their men out of the dark world they exist in, and into the light. But don’t worry, these gamma males never lose their edge, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I absolutely adore Takashi and Summer. They’re a perfect match in every way, even more than I could have imagined. Apart they are amazing, but their strengths and their weaknesses complement one another and together they make a perfect, complete whole.

I'm so looking forward to reading more of this series!

Ice Storm by Anne Stuart

 Behind her mask is a deadly secret.

The powerful head of the covert mercenary organization The Committee, Isobel Lambert is a sleek, sophisticated professional who comes into contact with some of the most dangerous people in the world. But beneath Isobel's cool exterior a ghost exists, haunting her with memories of another life?a life that ended long ago.

But Isobel's past and present are about to collide when Serafin, mercenary, assassin and the most dangerous man in the world, makes a deal with The Committee. Seventeen years ago Isobel shot him and left him for dead. Now it looks as if he's tracked her down for revenge. But Isobel knows all too well that looks can be deceiving - and that's what she's counting on to keep her cover in this international masquerade of murder.

*****

 
If you’ve been following my reviews of Anne Stuart’s Ice series, you know I’ve been saying basically the same thing throughout. Well, fasten your seat belts and get ready for more ranting and raving.

This is the fourth installment of the series, and it's awesome. Fast paced, edgy, intriguing, sexy... it's a great romantic suspense novel.

Killian, AKA Serafin - he’s a user, a player, an asshat and a cold blooded killer. He does whatever he has to do to get the job done, including killing women and ‘children’ if necessary. And he makes no apologies, whatsoever. He’s all of these things as well as heartless and without conscious, and he’s also amazing!

Yep, I can hear you now… “Blithely,” you’re saying, “what the hell is wrong with you? Have you completely lost it?” And my answer is yes. Yes, I have. Just trust me on this, because I have lost my heart to the men of this series, time and time again. I’d read one book and think it can’t get any better than this, until I read the next and I fall even harder for that hero. Bastien, Peter, Taka… I adore them all, but no one holds a candle to Killian.

And Madame Lambert… Isobel. What a fantastic heroine! I went into this book totally skeptical about being able to care for her. She’s cold. Frigid. Unfeeling. Uncaring. Just get in, get out, get the job done, take no prisoners. But in this story, it all comes together making her a heroine I can cheer for. A true force to be reckoned with. She's the perfect woman for an imperfect man and together they are phenomenal.

I can say, without a doubt, that Ice Storm is my favorite of the series so far, but Reno’s story is next and ho-ly hell, It’s going to be something else. I just know it!

Razing Kayne by Julianne Reeves

For two years, State Trooper Kayne Dobrescu has wanted only one thing: to understand why his wife inexplicably killed their children and then herself. Memories haunt his days and lay siege to his nights, leaving him questioning his reasons for living.

Jessica Hallstatt became a widow and single mother the night her firefighter husband died in a fiery explosion at an accident scene. While her husband may have died a hero, he left Jessica with deep emotional scars that haven't begun to heal.

When Kayne accepted a transfer to the mountain town of Payson, Arizona, he never expected to meet anyone like Jessica. From the moment he pulled her over for speeding, he was drawn in by her whiskey colored eyes and sassy dimple. But she and her children are a forever type package, and he's vowed never to give anyone the power to destroy him again. Yet fate has other ideas, throwing Kayne and Jessica together in a fight against an unknown enemy to save the life of a child—and hopefully one another.

**********

 

Razing Kayne is Julianne Reeves’ debut novel, and it’s a heart-breaking, heart-warming, heart-stopping, and sexy as hell story. It had me fighting back tears one minute, laughing the next, and kept me guessing what might really have happened to Kayne's family, right to the end.

While the plot itself is definitely exciting and intriguing, filled with twists and turns and things I never saw coming, it was Kayne and Jess who kept me turning the pages. For me, the real draw of the story is found in how deeply Kayne's and Jess's failed first marriages affected them, their attempt to leave their pasts in the past, and to make things work between them, despite the odds. In truth, while neither of their previous marriages was rosy, Kayne's was flat out gut-wrenching. I'm not sure how he was able to live those years with the demons - the horrific memories - that haunted him. He could have taken the easy way out and used his own service revolver to end his pain, but he kept on going, kept on serving, kept on existing, if not living.

Jessica is a caring, compassionate woman. Her husband died a hero, but Jess lived with the "real" man and it wasn't all that pretty. She could have become a very bitter person, but instead she focused on helping others, putting her own pain aside, and that's what I loved most about her.

The bottom line: Though not without flaws - what I felt were some unlikely coincidences - Razing Kayne is one hell of a debut novel. It's a sizzling hot, emotionally charged story with compelling characters, and even though they're both far from perfect - quick to fly off the handle, and stubborn as all get out - I found myself invested in Kayne and Jess from the start, and caring about them, each in their own right. But when they finally got together and began working through their issues and trying to solve the mystery surrounding the death of Kayne's family, that's when they became people I couldn’t help but love and cheer for. I didn't just want them to be happy, I needed them to be happy. I had to see them conquer their demons so they could have the happily ever after they both so desperately wanted – and deserved.

Nick Astenbeck's book is next in the Walking a Thin Blue Line series, and from what know of he and Sarah, it promises to an intense, poignant, and very sexy story.

3.5 stars

My thanks to Ms. Reeves for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure!

And now for your viewing pleasure, I'll leave you with this - this is the author's visual muse for Kayne Dobrescu. His real-life name is Pedro Marugan, but all we need to know is that he one fine hunk of manliness.