Rating: 
Summary: Luscious love story marred by who-dun-it
Review: If you are looking for a book about the ultimate rake being tame, this is it - complete with several hot scenes that actually mean something in the context of the story.The Duke of Cynnsyrr (a pun on Laurens's Cynsters?), one Ruan, is nicknamed Lord Ruin for his rakish ways. Together with his friend Devon Carlisle, now Earl of Bracebridge, "Lord Ruin" has been cutting his way through many society marriages and more. Lord Ruin aka Ruan aka Cynnsyrr [too many names] is however planning to start his nursey (i.e. get married and breed heirs for the title and estates), and naturally, he wants the most beautiful young lady around - one Emily Sinclair. However, due to a somewhat convoluted set of circumstances, he ends up married to Emily's oldest (and only other unmarried) sister Anne Sinclair, a bespectacled and downtrodden bluestocking who is no beauty. The circumstances of their marriage are scandalous and do not portend well. Ruan [as I shall call him] has seduced/ raped Anne, believing her to be a prostitute. Anne however was unconscious or semi-conscious during the incident, which in the legal system of the time, constituted grounds for declaring it a rape. Ruan has no choice but to marry her (since as a rapist, he would be socially ruined); likewise Anne has no choice but to marry him since she might be pregnant. The rest of the story flows from this incident. To his great surprise, Ruan is sexually obssessed with his wife from the outset. His bedding her starts out as efforts to satiate himself and then becomes efforts to involve her fully in the act. These scenes are hot, even if the first scene might require a little suspension of disbelief. Anne's feelings are mixed at best; she had no wish to marry Ruan, and she feels used at best during the earlier days of their marriage. She did not trust Ruan before the marriage, and in fact, she was trying to prevent a marriage proposed between him and her sister Emily. And to make things worse, she was attracted to his friend Devon (who had planned to marry her). So what went wrong with this story? To put it simply, apart from the confusing babble of names, there is a largely extraneous and bizarre suspense sub-plot involving virtually ever other character in the book. Not only does that sub-plot not make sense (although it serves to show us that Ruan is a "serious" person behind his rakish facade), but it takes away time and space from the development of the relationships that do matter in the book - between Ruan and Anne (the protagonists), between Ruan and his friend Devon (who was in love with Anne); between Anne and her father (a truly bizarre relationship not explained well at all); between Anne and her sisters; between Anne and the servants, and so on and so forth. There are so many secondary characters introduced in the middle of the book that you practically need to write them all down - and worst, every other character bears a grudge against Anne or Ruan or some other character. I believe this is the author's first book. She certainly created an arresting couple in Ruan and Anne as the rake forced to marry a plain woman, and then changed by his marriage. She created a interesting set of circumstances around them. Unfortunately, in an effort to add in the mystery/suspense sub-plot, she also failed to develop many of the other characters and the circumstances of the first meeting well. There are several improbabilities (both historic and character-wise) in the plot, but this did not detract from a swift read. What did detract was trying to keep track of all the names, and then figure out who was *not* involved in the climax to all that intrigue and suspense. And I wish very much that Carolyn Jewel had settled on a name (and surname) conclusively for the hero. It is hard to keep switching from Cynnsyr (the dukedom) to Ruan (the first name or the last?) to his nickname "Lord Ruin". And why Cynnsyrr in particular (when there is also Devon and several other dedicated rakes) is nicknamed "Lord Ruin" remains a mystery to this reviewer. Rating - 3.7 (barely rounded up to 4)
Rating:
Summary: Fine Regency with a refreshing who-done-it
Review: In 1818 London, Cynssyr does not believe in love though he plans to marry a beauty as demanded by his responsibility as a duke. Currently he courts Emily Sinclair. Her sister Anne, just coming out of a sick bed, decides to protect her sibling from the unwanted attentions of this rake. However, fate intervenes when Cynssyr is caught in a compromising position with the rather clumsy Anne, the "Angelic" Sinclair with the spectacles. Still, Cynssyr does the right thing marries Anne. To his surprise, Cynssyr finds making love to his spouse quite enjoyable, as he cannot get enough of her in and out of bed. He also realizes how intelligent his wife is. Anne knows she loves her husband, but doubts he will ever reciprocate the feeling; she does not compare favorably to Emily or Katie Forest. She also realizes he is much deeper than the womanizing cynic he portrays when he tries to end the kidnapping of young women by an unknown assailant. As he concludes that he has found a jewel, he decides he must properly court his wife to win her love though he believes she loves someone else. Though the theme is the classic Regency of an innocent female forced to marry a seemingly hedonistic rake, Carolyn Jewel keeps the plot fresh through a deep cast and the who-done-it. Fans will take delight in how Anne "ruins" Cynssyr for anyone but her. The secondary characters provide depth to the lead protagonists and several deserve their own tale be told. LORD RUIN is the perfect holiday treat for sub-genre readers. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: wonderful read, wonderful characters
Review: It turns out that men DO make passes at girls who wear glasses! In this wonderful seduction story, our hero marries the spectacle-wearing spinster after compromising her virtue. They both had hoped for better, but fate forces their hands; the rest of the book is the story of how they learn to love and trust, all enhanced by truly sizzling sensuous scenes. The secondary characters and subplots display everyone's integrity and social concern. A fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: Sensuous love scenes but book suffered for it
Review: It's nice to find a heroian that isn't "perfect"! But even nicer is when she turns out to be so real! And the hero, M-M Even better! Ms. Jewel, you're on my Keeper List! Thank you!
Rating:
Summary: What a Great Romance!
Review: It's nice to find a heroian that isn't "perfect"! But even nicer is when she turns out to be so real! And the hero, M-M Even better! Ms. Jewel, you're on my Keeper List! Thank you!
Rating:
Summary: A Definite Keeper!!
Review: Lord Ruin is intensely emotional, dramatic and one of the most sensual books I have read in a long time. It offers the perfect combination of compelling plot and sensual romance - a rare commodity in any genre.
You'll fall in love with the hero and long to change places with the heroine. I highly recommend this book and anxiously wait Ms. Jewel's next book.
Rating:
Summary: Another Author to look forward to reading her books!
Review: Lord Ruin is the first book of Ms. Jewel's that I've read, and I certainly was not disappointed! A Fun book to read, and very enjoyable!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: One of the best things that can happen to an avid reader like myself is to discover a new author and I am happy to say that Ms. Jewel's book became a keeper by the second chapter. I didn't even have to finish it! That is not to say that this book is without its faults. It isn't.But the awesome, larger than life hero and the breathtaking romance more than make up for any shortcomings. I will not discuss the plot since others before me have done so already. I will say that the best part of this book is Lord Ruin's evolution from a superficial, immoral rake to a tender, caring, loving husband. He finds that this time the tables are turned and the woman he has finally fallen irrevocably in love with does not love him. The sweet amd poignant ways in which he tries to gain that love and his inner turmoil at his failure to do so turned this reader's heart to mush. Also, Anne is the perfect match for Ruan in that she is intelligent, kind of heart and with a quiet strength that made her character virtually leap off the page. Without a doubt Ms. Jewel has created two of the most compelling characters I have ever come across in a romance novel. However, the story does suffer from a weak suspense plot. The book could've done without it but it is a small quibble on my part and I was able to overlook it because the love story makes it up for it very nicely. All in all this an excellent read and I will certainly be looking forward to Ms. Jewels next book which is hinted at through a very sensual scene towards the end of this book. Highly recommended. :)
Rating:
Summary: Very Emotional
Review: This is a quite well-written book, with lots of suspense and some really heart-pounding moments. The reason I gave it only four stars instead of five is that I really HATE it when there's a beautiful mistress hanging around and it's not clear (as in this case) that the hero hasn't entirely finished with her. Jealousy, whether in real life or on behalf of a fictional heroine, is one of my least favorite emotions. On the other hand, I do like a book with lots of sexual sizzle, and Lord Ruin certainly has that. That said, I did CARE about these characters, and I found their reactions believable and honest. I'm looking forward to more of this author's work.
Rating:
Summary: Very Emotional
Review: This is a quite well-written book, with lots of suspense and some really heart-pounding moments. The reason I gave it only four stars instead of five is that I really HATE it when there's a beautiful mistress hanging around and it's not clear (as in this case) that the hero hasn't entirely finished with her. Jealousy, whether in real life or on behalf of a fictional heroine, is one of my least favorite emotions. On the other hand, I do like a book with lots of sexual sizzle, and Lord Ruin certainly has that. That said, I did CARE about these characters, and I found their reactions believable and honest. I'm looking forward to more of this author's work.
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