Good book with some deeply emotional scenes. Anthony is a well-known rake who has made it clear that he will never marry. His reputation has earned him the name Lord of Wicked. When we first see him, he is making a bet with his brother as to which of them will sleep with a particular woman first. Even more disturbing is his intention to "stir the pot" by dancing with the woman's innocent cousin.

Melissa wants nothing more than to find a husband she can love and who will love her. But her wastrel brother is determined to sell her off to the highest bidder for his own benefit. Though she knows that Anthony is not the man for her, she can't deny her attraction to him. Her dance with him leaves her flustered and even more enamored of him.

Thanks to interference and a bit of trickery, Anthony ends up in Melissa's bed instead of Cassandra's, which he doesn't realize until it's too late. Anthony may be a rake, but he is also an honorable man and proposes marriage. He's a little surprised when she resists, but he prevails. The dilemma he faces is how to resist his attraction to her.

Overall, I liked both Melissa and Anthony, though Anthony took a while to win me over. He comes across as very cold and manipulative at the beginning, as he deceives Melissa about his plans for their marriage. I began to soften toward him as more of his background was revealed, and how the horrors he experienced made him fear treating his own child the way he was treated. Avoiding the prospect altogether seemed his only option. Melissa was a terrific heroine. She is feisty and independent, determined to get the outcome she wants. She is also a kind and caring woman, as shown by the type of charity work she does. I liked the way she doesn't just sit back and accept others' decisions but stands up for her own needs.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Anthony and Melissa. The sparks between them are strong from the beginning. Anthony is determined to keep Melissa at a distance, but she doesn't make it easy on him, to the point where he uses some truly cruel methods to drive her away from him. I loved that Melissa isn't quite so easy to drive away. It takes her a few days, but she realizes that while his words say one thing, his body says something entirely different. I loved the way she used her intellect to learn the ways of love to win him over. It was great fun to see Anthony tormented by his desire for his wife, to the point of being unable to carry on the way he had planned.

There were several misunderstandings between them, brought about by their differing outlooks on life. Melissa tends to see the good in people first and foremost, and acts accordingly, while Anthony always sees the worst. The first major misunderstanding, regarding the London slave market, ended up showing that they had more in common than they knew. Sometimes their misunderstandings caused them to behave badly toward the other, but eventually, they would learn the truth and find ways to make amends.

One of the things I loved best about Melissa was her refusal to give up on Anthony. The more she learned about his past, the more she admired the way that he had overcome it, even if he didn't think so. I was in tears for her as he pushed her away in ways that did his best to destroy her dreams and make her hate him. Even though it broke her heart, she still couldn't stop loving him. I ached for Anthony, who was so consumed by guilt over things in his past that he couldn't see the things that he did right. He really wanted to be the husband that Melissa deserved, but believed that he was unredeemable. I loved that it was his friends Samantha and Freddie who finally broke through his walls, and how they showed him that he would never be like his father. Having seen the light, Anthony has to find a way to win back Melissa. I loved seeing him expose his vulnerability to her. Even more, I loved how she was able to make him see that it wasn't her forgiveness he needed. I loved the epilogue and seeing the huge difference in Anthony and the happiness that radiates from them both.

One of the most unusual things about this book is that it deals with a subject rarely seen in Regency romances - slavery. I don't think I've ever read a book that talked about the selling of black slaves in England during that time period. I loved that both Melissa and Anthony were involved in fighting it, though in vastly different ways. There was an element of suspense in the book also, as Anthony's fight became far more personal than he ever expected. My heart was in my throat as Melissa became the focal point of Anthony's greatest enemy. The final confrontation was intense with several twists before the ultimate resolution.

I thoroughly enjoyed Anthony's friends and relations and their determination to save him. Though Richard and his mother's methods were underhanded, they were effective. I liked Richard's obvious love for his brother and his efforts to help Anthony and Melissa after their marriage. Rufus intrigues me and I look forward to reading his book, as well as Richard's. ( )

Full Review to be posted soon.

I really love historicals that feature redeeming a rake trope but sadly this didn't really hit my buttons. There was historical inaccuracies and the romance wasn't that believable for me. But the compromising scene was very uncomfortable to read because the heroine didn't consent. ( )

INVITATION TO RUIN by Bronwen Evans is an amazing historical romance set in 1808 London. This is her debut book.The plot is well written with twists and turns.The characters while are pure evil,the rest are enchanting,engaging and will capture your heart. This is an incredible story of love,trust,forgiveness,the struggle for forgiveness,and desire for true love. It is story of one man's struggle for something he thinks is unobtainable...love and forgiveness. One woman's desire to be needed,wanted and most desperately wanted....love.Together Anthony and Melissa will struggle with Anthony's hidden anger,his need to overcome his deep need for forgiveness and his horrible upbringing by his father.While Melissa struggles with her need for family,children and Anthony's love and wanting her.This is story of inner struggles with turmoil,betrayal,survival,putting the past where it belongs in the past and moving forward to a future of complete love,peace and happiness.BE AWARE while there are many sex scenes it is an incredible story of not only the fight for love,it is also the fight to abolish slavery,human trafficking and the fight for freedom.I would highly suggest this incredible story for it will stay with you long after the story ends.If anyone is looking for an interesting twist on historical romance,with a dark, gritty, sensuous Regency romance this is the story for you.It is fast paced and a page turner.and as a debut author,this author is one to keep an eye on.I know I will be waiting for her next book to appear.This book was received for the purpose of review from the publisher and details can be found at Brava,Kensington and My Book Addiction and More. ( )

Oh, where do I begin? I guess with a warning that there are some SPOILERS (and I NEVER do the spoilers) ahead, so read this review at your peril!

Before buying the book, I read some of it and thought it would be really very good. It had a lot going for it even though we read this theme many times before. The opening scenes in this book promised so much, but by the second chapter the Author lost me completely. Our Hero and Heroine's "ruin" moment was rushed and forced, no pun intended. It lacked emotion and movement, again no pun intended. It left me rolling my eyes and feeling cheated somehow.

They meet at a ball, and while he fully plans on making her cousin his mistress and thinks Melissa a poor imitation of her cousin, she on the other hand has had fantasies of him, knowing his interest in her cousin. Fast forward to her bedchamber, and she's sound asleep, he comes in thinking he's in her cousin's room and proceeds with intercourse. SHE THINKS SHE'S DREAMING!!!
At this point I'm annoyed with this scenario, but hey! I bought the book, so let's continue with this torture, shall we?

Now we come to the part that just gets me angry! Our Heroine is a VIRGIN, for crying out loud! Am I to believe that she slept through this? Oh, but wait...what do they do when they both realize the "mistake"? They both jump out of bed? She is angry at him? He's angry with her? I mean what would a normal virgin do when she awakes in the middle of the night with a man INSIDE her? Our Melissa lets him STAY there!!! I just couldn't see it; it made no sense, no logic. I'm giving you a taste of what comes next:

"'What sort of trick is this?' His voice was low and deadly in her ear.

She tried to turn to face him, wiggling in this strong grip.

`Christ, do not...move...do not...wiggle...oh my God.'"

Melissa felt him surge inside her. Once, twice, his grip on her arms vice like. She knew her skin would be bruised in the morning. He all but roared in her ear, his breath coming in ragged pants. He was trying desperately to withdraw from her, but in her frantic panic they seemed to tangle further."

GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!

So our Hero KNOWINGLY takes a woman without her consent. And what do we call this? There's only one name for it: RAPE!

At this point I'm just fuming for paying $14.00 for this "book".

Our Heroine shows array of emotions and none make sense to me as a reader, and I'm sure to her either! Is she hurt because she's been abused, or are her feelings hurt because he's not paying more attention to her? Just read it for yourself:

"Stunned, she curled into a ball and lay completely still. She was the one who had just been violated, yet he rolled away
from her as if he'd been burned by a flame. He made sure he was no longer touching her, as though she were diseased.

Her temper flared at his dismissal of her. She rolled onto her side, facing him, trying to ignore the dull ache between
her thighs, noticeable, along with the wetness."

That's what's on your mind at a moment of being raped? REALLY? SERIOUSLY? You've been ruined and possibly (at the end did) end up pregnant and this is how you react? Not buying it. From there on, I just skimmed and wanted to get the torture over with.

Their romance wasn't that believable to me and the compromising scene was very uncomfortable to read. Our couple lacks a strong emotional connection. I guess I was supposed to read between the lines and understand "the connection", but I didn't. And until almost the end of the book (the ONLY part of the story that has some tension) where he shares his past with her, and even then it is almost not as climactic as it should have been, it all seems stilted, underdeveloped somehow. Everyone in this story was one-dimensional, uninspiring, predictable and plain boring, even the villains! It's not that only the characters are poorly developed, even the plot is boring. I just couldn't get over the beginning of the story. This could have been such a great story of redemption, but it felt flat and boring.

Celeste Bradley's debut novel "Fallen (2001)" was somewhat on this theme, so please find it and read it so you can compare the two. In it you'll find out how a heroine should and did react to a man coming into her room uninvited. I highly recommend it.

I usually give an author a second chance, but I simply do not see the point here. ( )