First let me make it clear that I only made it 15% into this book. But something happens in the first 15% that made me unable to finish this book.
Melissa and Anthony Craven, the Earl of Wickham meet at a ball. Anthony has the reputation of “Lord Wicked” because of the number of ladies he has seduced. He has his eyes set on Melissa’s cousin, Lady Cassie. But Anthony’s twin brother Richard wants to make a game out of it. They set up a wager, both trying to see who can get to Lady Cassie’s bed first that night. (Lady Cassie has already made it known she would love to have Anthony in her bed). Playing dirty however, Richard tells Anthony the wrong directions to Lady Cassie’s room.
Melissa is sound asleep when Anthony comes in thinking he is seducing Cassie. Because it is dark and Cassie and Melissa look similar, he doesn’t realize his mistake. He pursues with foreplay and then intercourse – finally Melissa wakes up thinking it was a dream. And here my problems begin.
First, I never buy into “I thought I was having sex in my dreams not in real life” scenario. She is a virgin. I don’t care if she had a couple of glasses of champagne – I don’t buy that you would stay asleep while a heavy man is penetrating you.
I could have lived with the dreaming sex, but I can’t get past the actual act itself. When Melissa wakes up and realizes Anthony is having sex with her –
“She gulped back a mortified cry. She tasted bile in her throat at the horror of the situation.”
But this is really the only terror she shows. Because in the next paragraph:
Melissa’s face flamed with shame and embarrassment. She had been enjoying his caresses, encouraging his attentions. (While dreaming) What would he think? She’d behaved so wantonly.
First of all, she was enjoying his caresses while dreaming. Apparently not in a conscious state. Shouldn’t she be screaming in rage? Horrified that a man just had sex with her? At this point, HE IS STILL INSIDE OF HER. Then Anthony realizes this is not Cassie:
“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.
So he realizes it is NOT Cassie, and still surges inside this woman? Why didn’t he immediately pull out? This is not consensual. And Melissa’s reaction makes no sense. First she feels abused, but then she is mad that he is not paying more attention to her. And that is maybe suppose to be an excuse for this to be okay?
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.
Isn’t she ruined? Possibly pregnant? No longer a virgin? Does she even care that a man took her virginity without asking? I don’t care if in the future she would have gone to Anthony willingly – he had sex without her consent. Yes, it is not black and white – Anthony up to a point truly thought it was Cassie who did want him in his bed. Maybe Melissa would have gone through with it if they had talked. But he didn’t ask.
I understand that eventually these two end up in love. But I can’t get over how they start. Even if Melissa was attracted to Anthony earlier in the evening, and even if she wanted to have wicked dreams about him – the act of him actually having sex with her, and not even trying to not orgasm inside of her completely turns me off. Worse, her reaction is so nonchalant. If she had been outraged, terrified, horrified at this act that had just occurred, maybe I could have stood behind her and wanted to see how this played out. But I just can’t accept the fact that he has non-consensual sex with the heroine, and her lack of reaction. Worse, his twin brother orchestrated this whole event just to win a wager. No thank you.
Invitation to Ruin releases March 1st.
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Oh yes, the virgin heroine is a wanton hussy, which the hero has a right to blame. How dare she be sleeping and not the woman he wanted while sneaking into her room. having sex with her while she is in a dead sleep.
How can you sympathise with a hero who molests the heroine while she's sleeping?
Am I wrong in assuming that he somehow blamed her for all this?
The quote “What sort of trick is this?” His voice was low and deadly in her ear. implied that as if the assault on a sleeping woman wasn't enough.
I know what the authors are going for and everyone ends up all wonderful and loving but sometimes I can't gloss over this crap either.
Ugh. I hate when a character has every right to be furious and want to kick someone's balls in, and they just roll over and take it or blame themselves. I want to see righteous indignation, screaming and attacking with a fireplace poker. You can fall in love later, but now? Oh no, you pay buddy. Ahem. Okay, revenge fantasy over but that just seems entirely too implausible and I have NEVER been so asleep/drunk that I wouldn't know a guys is having sex with me. Come on, that is some kind of guy fantasy.
THIS is why I left the historical romances years ago. The stereotypical assumption in those stories that no matter WHAT-the heroine is to blame. I mean, how dare she fall sleep in her own bed? The hussy!
And the fact they always fall in love afterwards cements the disgust.
Once, just once, I want the heroine to sit up, nail the SOB in the nads, and tell him off in as many cuss words as she can.
Thanks for taking one for the team sweetie. *MUAH*
The hero's lack of control is very unappealing on so many levels.
KB – neither hero nor heroine get my sympathy here.
Karen – he definitely blames her at first until he figures out it was his brother who told him the wrong directions to the room. The brother actually ends up barging in to make sure he catches them in the act so hero is forced to marry heroine (or at least that is where I stopped)
Tam – yes – if she had reacted in a different manner, maybe I could have gotten behind her. I still can't get over what the hero did though.
Tori – I wish she would have acted that way! Instead, her reaction makes no sense – you can't have bile rising in your throat, and feel sad when the hero rolls away from you. HUH?
Jessica – yes it is.
It does get worse – I read the whole book and there was so many things wrong. Like issues about rape/sexuality as well as historical accuracy. In fact that beginning isn't as bad compared to what happened.
Has – so glad I didn't continue!
Oye, Thanks Mandi for giving me a warning. This is definitely something I wouldn't want to read.
Okay, let's just give him the benefit of the doubt here that he genuinely did believe she was someone else, but even with that enormous benefit, he still has sex with an unconscious woman. Um, I'm sorry romance hero, but that is unforgivable. So he thought she was Cassie, well whether she was Cassie or not, she was still ASLEEP!!!! Does he often have sex with sleeping women? And her reaction is absurd, I want to throw things at her.
I think this is a good reason for an author to have a critique group. Issues that may not occur to you will infuriate/confuse/confound other readers. But unless you are getting feed-back from a wide range of people, you won't realize it. Especially if your editor has the same way of thinking.
Very nice review.
I agree with Jenny – she was asleep! Regardless of her being the right person or not, why would he have sex with her when she's asleep?? That's weird on it's own, but wouldn't he have wanted her to feel something? To enjoy it with him? Him having sex with her while she's asleep would put me off straight away.
LAME. This sounds like a Susan Johnson novel I read back in the '90s. And even then it was dumb.
I haven't read this book and likely won't, given your review of the first 15% and I have to add – this is a real problem in BDSM fiction too.
The key words are "Safe, sane, consensual," but so often the dom (it's always the guy who's the dom) forces himself on the sub because he knows she really wants it and when she fights back it's because she likes it rough.
Well if there's no consent, it's not BDSM – it's rape. Naturally they always fall in TWU WUV in the end because us ickle women don't really know what we want and need a man to rape us into submission and…blech.
Sorry. My hot button topic.
I hate, hate, hate, when the genre is misrepresented like this. It perpetuates the myth that BDSM is all about a guy having sex whenever, wherever, in whichever orifice, he pleases.
Okay. Breathe, Scarlett…
Blaming a sleeping virgin, though. Jesus. I was drunk and stoned when I lost my virginity and there's no way I could have slept through it. And I live in Scotland, so if you're gonna sleep through sex, it'll happen with a Scot, believe you me…
Nicole – :)
Jenny – so true! I mean come on – wouldn't he have said – "Hi Cassie" something – anything??
Penny – good point :)
Ailsa – Yes – sleeping sex is weird. NOT realistic
Heidenkind – *nods*
Scarlett – LOL @ last comment. But I agree with your beginning comments…the whole – women don't know what we want and at the end if true love comes into play who cares what happened at the beginning? Umm..I DO!
I agree with you…and good call I think stopping when you did. What a strange idea for a ROMANTIC story. @-@
I find it amusing that when it's historical dream sex, it's appaling. But when it's paranormal dream sex, it's okay. I don't like any dream sex…PERIOD. If it ain't real – it ain't happenin'!
I don't know what this author why trying to convey, but, nah, not my type of read.
After reading your summary, I would also take offence at the title; 'Invitation to Ruin'.
There seems to have been no 'invite' – just rape.
Oh yeah, Susan Johnson did this exact same thing and I wanted to throw that book against the wall because of it.
Julie – Yes it is
Artemis – Sometimes in PNR, there is magic involved like dreamwalking or whatever – BUT – I wouldn't agree with non-consensual in pnr either.
Danielle – Yes…exactly.
KB – Susan Johnson's name has been mentioned a lot to me..I haven't read any of her books.
Susan Johnson's books are very.. WTFckery. I read her one contemporary where in the middle of having sex, the hero starts to strangle the heroine because he thinks she's reaching for a lamp to smash him in the head in order to kill him.
I do not like non-consensual sex in any form in my romance novels. Seems both the hero and heroine have strange reactions in this case. Not for me.
Fantastic post. Thank you so much for sharing this. I'm with other posters – dream/sleepting sex is a big no-no for me in any genre. How the heroine and hero act does influence how I feel, but it still never feels right because it's still rape.
How had I missed this?! Sheesh, not reading!
I could not stand this book. The prose was vile, juvenile and clunking.The hero was beyond belief. Characterizations non existent. The sex was an insult to women. I binned this book after the first few chapters.