forced seduction Archives

Historical Romance Review: Passion’s Paradise by Sonya T. Pelton

May 11, 2022May 11, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Passion's Paradise by Sonya T. Pelton is a wonderfully terrible book. However, it was oddly entertaining, like a terrible movie you watch just to shout inanities at the screen. Read more

3 stars, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Kensington, Romance, year 1981, Zebra Historical Romance

Historical Romance Review: Shanna by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

May 7, 2022May 7, 2022 IntrovertReader

In 1977 Kathleen E. Woodiwiss’ long-awaited third novel made romance history as Avon released Shanna in trade paperback edition. I've long had a tenuous relationship with Woodiwiss' romances., but I am glad I read Shanna. 3.74 stars Read more

3 stars and a half, Avon, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Romance, Tom Hall, year 1977

Historical Romance Review: Bold Texas Embrace by Victoria Thompson

May 2, 2022May 6, 2022 Blue Falcon No Comments

This review is of Bold Texas Embrace, #4 in the “The Cowboy and the Lady” series by Victoria Thompson (Zebra/Kensington December 1989). It is my least favorite book in the series. 2.66 stars Read more

2 stars and a half, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Kensington, Romance, year 1989, Zebra Lovegram

Contemporary Romance Review: The Sheik by Edith M. Hull

April 21, 2022May 12, 2022 IntrovertReader 3 Comments

The Sheik by Edith M. Hull, published in 1919, is as influential to the modern romance genre as Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Perhaps, even more so. It was a blockbuster of a success, despite its many detractors. While some modern readers may cringe at its depiction of women, sexual roles, and racial attitudes, The Sheik remains a compelling read one hundred years after its publication. 5 stars Read more

5 stars, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Vintage romance, year 1919

Historical Romance Review: Rebel Vixen by Dana Ransom

March 26, 2022May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

In Dana Ransom's Zebra Heartfire romance, Rebel Vixen a Southern woman and Northern soldier find love during the Civil War. As the Civil War rages throughout the United States, Miss Savannah Russell is on a ship in the Caribbean where she saves a Yankee sailor's life. 5 stars Read more

5 stars, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Dana Ransom, Historical Romance, Kensington, year 1987, Zebra Heartfire

Historical Romance Review: Yankee Mistress by Ashley Snow

March 21, 2022May 2, 2022 Blue Falcon No Comments

This review is of Yankee Mistress a standalone from May 1989 by Ashley Snow, published by Zebra/Kensington as a Zebra Heartfire. 1 star Read more

1 star, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Kensington, Romance, year 1989, Zebra Heartfire

Historical Romance Review: Stranger in My Arms by Louisa Rawlings

January 23, 2022May 9, 2022 IntrovertReader 1 Comment

Harlequin Historical #90 Stranger in My Arms by Louisa Rawlings is a book I've read many times, and I love it more today than ever. Absolute perfection. 5 stars Read more

5 stars, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Harlequin, Harlequin Historical, Historical Romance, Sylvia Halliday, year 1991

Category Romance Review: The Honey is Bitter by Violet Winspear

December 8, 2021May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Along with Anne Mather and Anne Hampson, Violet Winspear was one of the three original authors for the Harlequin Presents line when it launched in 1973. Her bestseller, The Honey is Bitter, was originally published in 1967 by Mills & Boon. It had about 30 reprintings under Harlequin. Paul, a Greek tycoon, blackmails Domini into marriage. 4 stars Read more

4 stars, Book Review, Category romance, Contemporary Romance, Don Sinclair, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Romance, Vintage romance

Historical Romance Review: The Silver Devil by Teresa Denys

November 29, 2021May 11, 2022 IntrovertReader 2 Comments

I've put off posting an analysis of Teresa Denys' first book, The Silver Devil, for a long time because I didn't quite know how to critique it. If you're a hard-core lover of old-school romance or bodice rippers, you might be familiar with this legendary novel. 4 1/2 stars Read more

4 stars and a half, Ballantine, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Gothic Romance, Historical Romance, Romance, Teresa Denys, Tom Hall

Historical Romance Review: Paradise and More by Shirl Henke

October 30, 2021May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader 3 Comments

Paradise & More by Shirl Henke is memorable to me for having one of the most eye-catching covers in romance. A dazzling beauty by Pino Daeni, it features a fully naked couple in a glorious clinch, their nudity covered by some strategically placed flowers and the book's title. Lamentably, I have a later reissue, the stepback version, where their nakedness is hidden under a respectable-looking cover. This is the first book in the House of Torres duo that takes place in late 1400s Spain. 3 & 1/2 stars Read more

3 stars and a half, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Dorchester, Historical Romance, Leisure, Pino, Romance

Historical Romance Review: First Love, Wild Love by Janelle Taylor

September 29, 2021May 2, 2022 Blue Falcon 2 Comments

This review is of First Love, Wild Love by Janelle Taylor. The book begins begins in Texas, where Calinda Braxton, the heroine, has come from England to investigate the disappearance of her father... 4 1/2 stars Read more

4 stars and a half, Book Review, Historical Romance, Janelle Taylor, Kensington, Romance, Zebra Lovegram

Historical Romance Review: Virginia Vixen by Kay McMahon

August 26, 2021May 2, 2022 Blue Falcon No Comments

This review is of Virginia Vixen by Kay McMahon. Published in May 1989, this book is part of a series connected to four other books by Ms. McMahon. The book begins in Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1774. Rebecca Wilde, a reporter for the Virginia Gazette and the heroine of the book, is investigating the murder of a slave who was a childhood friend of hers. Arriving at the same time is Alec Stone, the hero of the book, who has come to Virginia from England for two purposes; to find his father’s identity and to investigate the disappearance of one of his employees. 2 1/2 stars Read more

2 stars and a half, Book Review, Historical Romance, Kensington, Romance, Zebra Lovegram

Historical Romance Review: Passion’s Wicked Torment by Melissa Hepburne

August 8, 2021May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader 1 Comment

Pinnacle Books' Passion's Wicked Torment is a balls-to-wall 20th-century bodice ripper set in the gangster era during American Prohibition. From New York to Chicago, from Alaska to Europe, this book hops around the globe and features lots of mutually lusty sex scenes, rapes, and gangbangs. It stars a heroine so stupid and dumb, she could only have been written by Mr. Melissa Hepburne himself, the author of the blockbuster bestseller (I'm not kidding, it sold over a million copies!) Passion's Proud Captive. 3 stars Read more

3 stars, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Pinnacle, Romance

Historical Romance Review: Wicked, Loving Lies by Rosemary Rogers

April 28, 2021May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Wicked Loving Lies is "The Queen of Historical Romance" Rosemary Roger's best book! It's a bodice ripper classic, not for the faint of heart. Read more

5 stars, Avon, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Robert McGinnis, Rosemary Rogers, year 1975

Historical Romance Review: Rapture’s Rebel by Iris Bancroft

April 18, 2021May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Rapture's Rebel by Iris Bancroft is the first non-Viking historical romance set in Scandinavia that I've read. Sadly, it's disappointing. 1 1/2 stars Read more

1 star and a half, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Pinnacle, Romance, year 1980

Historical Romance Review: Purity’s Ecstasy by Janette Seymour

April 14, 2021May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader 1 Comment

Michael Butterworth's (aka Janette Seymour) second entry into his Purity trilogy, Purity's Ecstasy, is a tawdry, rollicking ride filled with just about every 'ripper trope and then some. 3 1/2 stars Read more

3 stars and a half, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Harry Bennett, Historical Romance, Pocket Books, year 1978

Historical Romance Review: A Pirate’s Love by Johanna Lindsey

April 13, 2021May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader 1 Comment

In a Pirate's Love by Johanna Lindsey Bettina Verlaine travels across the sea to an unwanted fiance when she is captured by the pirate Tristan Matisse. 1 star Read more

1 star, Avon, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Johanna Lindsey, Robert McGinnis

Historical Romance: Passion’s Proud Captive by Melissa Hepburne

April 8, 2021May 2, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

Passion's Proud Captive by Melissa Hepburne is not a book for modern readers, but it's tailor-made to suit my tastes. A hilarious bodice ripper! 4 stars Read more

4 stars, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Pinnacle, year 1978

Historical Romance Review: So Wild a Rapture by Andrea Layton

April 7, 2021May 6, 2022 IntrovertReader No Comments

From the opening pages of Andrea Layton's So Wild a Rapture, we are introduced to the 16-year-old heroine, the noble Juliette de Condillac, and her "one true love" Francois du Quesnay, Read more

2 stars and a half, Bodice Ripper, Book Review, Historical Romance, Playboy Press

Neo-Bodice Rippers

April 6, 2021April 11, 2022 jacquelinediaz 4 Comments

While many people still use the phrase bodice ripper as a catch-all term for historical romance or for the romance genre in general, the true definition is much more narrow. A bodice ripper is a specific type of historical romance that existed starting in 1972 and more or less came to a halt somewhere in the mid to late 1990s. Read more

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