Rating: 
Summary: Sensuous arranged marriage story with some surprises
Review: "Never, ever, has it mattered what I want. Not to anyone". So says Anne Sinclair to her brand new husband. She is extremely unhappy to have been forced to marry Ruan Bettancourt, Lord Cynssyr - AKA "Lord Ruin", "Insincere Cynssyr". She had hoped to stop the rake from courting her sister, Emily, but not this way! Unfortunately, she and Ruan were caught in a scandalous position that she barely remembers (she was in a laudanum-induced stupor at the time). Anne is considered a spinster at 25 and though pretty, can't compete with her beautiful sisters. Most men overlooked her, but not Devon Carlisle who, beyond Anne's wildest dreams, had intended to marry her. Now all that has changed. "I am very good at making the best of things" Anne says with resignation. Soon she is pregnant and any remaining hopes of annullment or divorce are squelched. Ruan, on the other hand, is surprised to find himself almost content with his situation. Rather than rant, rave and take it all out on Anne by making her life miserable (though it was all his fault to begin with), Ruan decides to make the best of it and hopes Anne will too. Inexplicably, he is drawn to his wife with a passion that shocks him. Not only does he desire her desperately, he finds himself liking her, respecting her and comes to value her opinion. Though the sex is great, he's making little progress in tearing down the wall Anne has built around herself to keep him out. And Anne is desperate to keep him out. She knows his reputation for breaking hearts and knows she is vulnerable to his charms. When she asks to go to his estates in Cornwall until the baby comes, he looks for an excuse to keep her in town. On impulse he asks her to assist in his investigation of a series of assaults on women of the ton. Though he knows this is likely a mistake, he just can't let her leave - because he's falling in love with her. And so Ruan must try to prove his love to his disbelieving wife, solve the mystery of the assaults, and both must overcome their jealousy - Ruan of Devon and Anne of Ruan's mistress Katie. I enjoyed this story and I liked the lead characters. Ruan was a bit of a surprise in his actions and I liked that. Anne exasperated me bit with her disbelief in her husband, but I admired her strength of character and backbone. I understand their are possible sequels involving Devon, Emily, Lucy and Lord Thrale and I look forward to continuing to read about this circle of family and friends.
Rating: 
Summary: sorry, this book had promise but has problems.
Review: Carolyn Jewel set said to herself she was going to write a red hot regency. And she did. In spite of the characters she created. She shows a good flair for creating interesting characters, puts them in situations that should give you really captivating plot lines and character development. I like books that push the limit, but not at the expense of believability. It comes across as contrived. I think she show great promise as a writer, but she needs to listen to the characters she creates instead of saying "well how about having them do this" which is so AGAINST the person she has formed. Jewel plotted the book and then forcible formed the characters about the premise never once asking "would the character REALLY behave this way?" and it ruins her fine effort. It is just not believable. I am sorry, wallflower spinters, do not turn sex goddess because of a mild sleep draught. This book just left me frustrated that interesting premise and characters were secondary to sexual romps. Sexual scenes WORK because the characters come to that point in natural development. Not because of the writer decided to make a steamy scene. It just falls flat. She shows great potential as a Regency writer, a nice feel for the period. She just needs to learn her characters better and not insult them.
Rating:
Summary: a book of promise, with a few problems
Review: Carolyn Jewel set said to herself she was going to write a red hot regency. And she did. Maybe in spite of the characters she created.
She shows a super flair for creating interesting characters, puts them in situations that should give you really captivating plot lines and character development. I like books that push the limit, but not at the expense of believability. It can come across as contrived. Let me say Jewel is a sharp writer, and I am sure we will see more books from her, but she needs to listen to the characters she creates. I fully expect her second book to see her coming with strong. This is a first time book, after all. I doubt many of us are perfect first crack out. And Jewel comes bloody close!
Jewel plotted the book and but then had characters quickly acting our of role. Wallflower spinters, do not turn sex goddess because of a mild sleep draught, and Rogues do not instantly revert. It's the changes that show the character's growth that really keep us hooked.
It's an interesting premise and she shows a strong flaire as a Regency writer, for she has a nice a nice feel for the period and is able to convey that to the readers.
I am looking forward to her next release.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord Ruin is a Jewel of a Regency Romance
Review: Carolyn Jewel- "Lord Ruin" A+ This is a Regency that was fun and actually kept me guessing until almost the end. Which is unusual for me! I normally have the mystery solved pretty early in the book! She'll go on my list of authors to buy! This book had the flavor of being the middle book in a trilogy, which is what I'm hoping for! The next trip to the bookstore will hopefully net more of her reading! Her hero was a rake from the word go and intelligent which I adore. The heroine was an overlooked and attractive 'older than average' miss who had common sense with intelligence so I could really relate to her. The way they got together was exciting and, while not totally seeming to be 'accidental' on the author's part, was nevertheless sensuous and a bit startling with it happening so early in the book. A good solid read.
Rating:
Summary: Lord Ruin is a Jewel of a Regency Romance
Review: Carolyn Jewel- "Lord Ruin" A+ This is a Regency that was fun and actually kept me guessing until almost the end. Which is unusual for me! I normally have the mystery solved pretty early in the book! She'll go on my list of authors to buy! This book had the flavor of being the middle book in a trilogy, which is what I'm hoping for! The next trip to the bookstore will hopefully net more of her reading! Her hero was a rake from the word go and intelligent which I adore. The heroine was an overlooked and attractive 'older than average' miss who had common sense with intelligence so I could really relate to her. The way they got together was exciting and, while not totally seeming to be 'accidental' on the author's part, was nevertheless sensuous and a bit startling with it happening so early in the book. A good solid read.
Rating:
Summary: Cyn is the key
Review: Cynssyr is terrific. What a guy! Not possible to say enough good things.
Anne...why won't she trust him? He proves himself over and over. She is not very intuitive about people; she is too trusting of everyone else. Otherwise she's a decent heroine, and I like that she's older.
The mystery was not very good; it seemed forced. But the love story is quite good. Three and 1/2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Ruined by an amateurish editor?
Review: I just finished this book last nite - truly could not put it down. There was something about Lord Ruin - Cynnsyrr and Anne that for me made them a very compelling couple. They were thrown together in a very unusual way and it would certainly seem that they were mismatched but early on you could tell how facinated Cynnsyrr was with Anne's qualities and he was nothing what Anne expected him to be. There was so much more depth to him as a person, she had expected just a rake and nothing more. She would eventually find out how wrong she was. The mystery of the abductions was an interesting storyline and it threw the couple into helping one another and showed Anne's value to Cynnsyrr and also how committed he was to the cause of these poor women. The ending was perfect - I kept wondering how Anne would eventually truly believe his love - and that was a perfect way. I would love to hear that Carolyn Jewel would write a follow up for Devon and Emily that would be a good read I am sure. To me Ms. Jewel reminds me of Stephanie Laurens - my absolute favorte author!
Rating:
Summary: Lord Ruin
Review: I just finished this book last nite - truly could not put it down. There was something about Lord Ruin - Cynnsyrr and Anne that for me made them a very compelling couple. They were thrown together in a very unusual way and it would certainly seem that they were mismatched but early on you could tell how facinated Cynnsyrr was with Anne's qualities and he was nothing what Anne expected him to be. There was so much more depth to him as a person, she had expected just a rake and nothing more. She would eventually find out how wrong she was. The mystery of the abductions was an interesting storyline and it threw the couple into helping one another and showed Anne's value to Cynnsyrr and also how committed he was to the cause of these poor women. The ending was perfect - I kept wondering how Anne would eventually truly believe his love - and that was a perfect way. I would love to hear that Carolyn Jewel would write a follow up for Devon and Emily that would be a good read I am sure. To me Ms. Jewel reminds me of Stephanie Laurens - my absolute favorte author!
Rating:
Summary: Sensuous love scenes but book suffered for it
Review: I liked this book and it is worth about 3 1/2 stars. The love scenes bordered on erotic but were not overboard - they were very sensuous. But anytime I felt Cynssr and Anne were going to come to any understanding in their relationship, there he was taking her against a table - all their furniture must have strong legs!! I would have liked a little more resolution of their feelings and a little better storyline. Cynssr seemed so loving and wonderful I got a little tired of Anne pushing him away (mentally NOT physically!). It was enjoyable that Cynssr thought she was beautiful when he first saw her asleep in his bed - though all he could remember was her spectacles. I found Anne was too good at hiding her feelings, almost cold. But her life with her father and very lovely sisters must have given her the ability to hide her emotions well. It was nice that Cynssr said he loved her first and was really the one more passionate in his feelings. Onto a few things I did not like. I almost needed a roster of the other characters in this book. I couldn't keep straight who was who! I even got confused about the victims of the mysterious abductors/kidnappers. It was not a very good mystery since as a reader, I couldn't solve it. I almost thought it was going to turn out to be one of the "good guys." Most of Cynssr's friends did not impress me. In the end I thought, thank goodness Anne didn't marry Devon since I didn't like him that much. The servants were interesting characters. I will look for the other books this author has written and may well buy others she writes but this book did not stir my emotions even though it stirred "other" feelings.
Rating:
Summary: Ruined by an amateurish editor?
Review: I liked this book, but it had serious subplot flaws. The author created two strong, archtypical yet individual characters, and developed real emotional tension between them that was poignant, satisfying and internally coherent. But the spliced-in afterward plot about a sexual predator was just too stupid to be overlooked, and was not woven into the narrative organically. As a reader, every reference to "attacks on women" hit me in the face as "What!? Did I miss something? What book is this from?" It seemed a "Publishing Industry 101" device to give the novel a standard structure. Having the climax be so peripheral to the emotional arc of the story, and the denoument the standard declaration of affection... it was a bad fit on material that was good. I think that this author should obey her inner muse, and not tailor her work to publishing industry standards. But I will certainly give Carolyn Jewel another try, because I understand that this may be her first published novel... and one has to do what one has to do to get published the first time. But now her editors should back way the hell off and give her space to do what she is capable of.
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