Customer Reviews

Ecstasy

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I discovered Nicole Jordan's books about two months back, by accident, and ECSTASY was the one I found. I could not put it down, literally, stayed up till 3 am to finish it the same day I got it.
Wow!!!!
I love the opening, incredibly sensual, and then it just grows from there... the slow romance between Kell and Raven is very believable, the tension/heat between them is searing, and I didn't mind one bit the early section where Kell has to 'tend' to her in quite a special way after Kell's drunken brother has abducted her... one reviewer thought it wasn't plausible. I *loved* it, it was terribly sensual, and actually very tender. Kell's restraint was extremely admirable (as is his devotion to his very sick/hurt brother), and their love story is simply beautiful. Terrific steamy love scenes, and just a lovely budding of their relationship. And an amazing twist ending which, although very sad in so many ways, was the only way the brother would ever have peace (poor guy!)....
THANK YOU for a FABULOUS book which I've already read twice and will re-read many times. All the NOTORIOUS books are amazing!

I read this book in less than five hours. I had a range of emotions such as anger, happiness, sadness, excitement, and some others. I felt like I was trully in the book. I was crying at certain points. I have never cried over a book. I would read this a hundred times.

Raven Kendrick (our leading lady), happily engaged to the somewhat stuffy and pompous Duke of Halford, is kidnapped by a scorned beau .... in the midst of the ensuing scandal, Raven weds the brother (yes brother) of said kidnapper, and as the story unfolds we encounter torn loyalties, bitter enemies, and reluctant love.

After reading "The Seduction" and "The Passion" I was really looking forward to reading this one .... and was unfortunately quite disappointed ... but hear me out.

Firstly, I think disappointment arose because I am used to a certain exceptionally high standard from NJ and this just isn't at that level .... secondly, I expected something a little more "risque" for Raven, I guess from the impression I had made of her from her appearance in "The Passion", also I had difficulty with her "pick" in Halford (stuffy and pompus just isn't attractive). I should also explain that I am not endeared to romance novels where the hero and heroine fight to the bitter end for their growing affection of each other .... and this, added to my comments from above, made me a little disenchanted with the entire story.

However, all is not lost, if this is your first NJ it is still a relatively good read .... a word of warning though, this is not for the TIMID romance reader, there is a lot of ranchy sex scenes that practically melt the pages away!

Favorite scene with Raven-
The morning after with Kell. Yes, even when she shot him. :)

Favorite scene with Kell-
The final showdown with his brother.

Together-
The pirate fantasy. HOT!!!! :)

What did you like about Raven-
She was headstrong and stubborn. She created a fantasy lover. :)

What didn't you like about Raven-
That she didn't want to fall in love with her husband.

What did you like about Kell-
Despite the things his brother did, Kell wanted to protect him, although Sean didn't
deserve it. Being kind to those less fortunate.

What didn't you like about Kell-
He let Raven think he didn't want her after Sean's death. And he seemed so
tormented by his past.

I kept this book for a special time so that I could relish every minute of it. I have read all of Jordan's books with the exception of 2 or 3 really old ones. My all time favorite romance, The Warrior, is written by Jordan. However, this entire series that includes Ecstasy is not an example of her great writing talent. The Seduction, The Passion, Desire, and then Ecstasy are the order of this series. I would have rated none in this series to date more than 4 stars. I was disappointed in Ecstasy. It was not the savored read I expect from this writer. I have given it a 3 star rating primarily due to the great respect I have for Jordan as a romance author. I think I have seen the best in The Warrior and now Jordan has set the bar very high when I compare her other novels to that great book.

Kell Lasseter, the hero in Ecstasy, owns one of the top gaming hells in London, and has become very wealthy despite his penniless youth. He is a strong, handsome, and dominating hero, as Jordan's heroes always seem to be, yet, in contrast, we recognize more tenderness in him early on. Kell has a very troubling brother, Sean, who is mentally unstable. He has been under Kell's care since he was a child and there is some horrible history between the two.

Raven Kendrick is not a very likable heroine. She is in England after being raised in the West Indies by her mother. Due to her mother's strong desires for Raven's future life, she has raised Raven as the English lady she once was and asks Raven, on her death bed, to go to England and marry a titled man. In the opening pages, we see a hard-hearted Raven dressing for her wedding to a nobleman who she respects but does not love. She has seen her mother suffer from a broken heart for years and refuses to ever fall in love and give her heart to a man. She is one of the most immature heroines I have ever read and she is very stubborn as well.

As Raven is entering the carriage that will take her to the church for the wedding, she is abducted by Sean Lasseter, Kell's mentally deranged brother, and taken to Kell's gaming hell. Sean considers himself a jilted lover and wants to get even with Raven for not returning his love and a few other items that you will discover when you read the book. Kell arrives at his gaming hell to find his manager frantic with worry and the news that Sean is brutally holding someone hostage in Kell's upstairs bedchamber. When he enters the room, he finds Sean drunk and seriously contemplating how he will abuse Raven next. He has already cut her clothes from her, hit her, drugged her, and tied her to the bed. Kell attempts to right the terrible wrong his brother has done to Raven but she is ruined by society's standards. He does not even know how he will keep his brother from prison or the hangman's noose after this escapade.

Many pages are contributed to the solution to Raven's dilemma and eventually Kell offers to marry Raven and they agree to a marriage of convenience. This marriage of convenience is one overused plot line that I am very wary of. Sometimes it is a basis for a delightful romance. At other times, it is used as the beginning of a serious romance. However, I see it mostly used as "I want you but can't have you because I may come to care for you. Wait, I have to have you! No, no - that was wrong. We can't do that again. Oh no! I have let you get to me again physically - it's only sex but I must build my wall stronger now so you can't get to me again." And that is exactly what this was. Yes, we will. No, we won't. And the thoroughly irritating "I love you but won't let you know" ploy is used so many times that I rolled my eyes more than once. Half way through this book, I put it down thinking how immature the leads were acting and that there had not been an original story plot line at all. I was reading a badly written romance. But, ever true to Jordan, I plodded on. The last half was much better than the first half of the book. But Raven remained impossibly immature, inconsiderate, and became even more stubborn in really stupid ways. Kell eventually looks like a really respectable guy compared to Raven's ravings and poor decisions.

The sensual scenes, which are not as plentiful as you would expect, were usually spaced far apart and for the most part were written as "just sex" as the leads continually reminded each other. I am a little old fashioned in that I want emotional commitment to eventually be a part of the sensual scenes. It does come but too little - too late in my opinion. The scenes rate about a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines).

There is another book coming out in this series soon based on Dare's character in Ecstasy. I will eagerly buy it and hope for more of Jordan's magical romance writing. I believe a large part of my disappointment with Ecstasy is the heroine. I just could not see her as a lovable person until the very end. The hero is always the one to risk his feelings concerning their relationship and Raven remains unbelievably dumb about it all until the last portion of the book. I will continue to support Jordan and will be gradually adding yet more reviews of some my favorites she has written. And let me emphasize again, Jordan has accomplished some of the best romance writing I have read and Ecstasy just pales in comparison.

While initially drawn into this story by the sordid kidnapping of Raven Kendrick on the day of her wedding by Kell Lasseter's brother, I found myself slowly drawn back out.
Raven Kendrick, a beautiful woman seeking to title herself through marriage in order to appease her mother's dying wish, finds herself at the infamous Kell Lasseter's gaming hall, tied to a bed and drugged with an aphrodisiac by his hateful brother Sean. Kell comes to her rescue and sends his violent brother away and finds he must "attend" to her needs as the aphrodisiac rages within her.

Soon after, Raven and Kell find themselves engaged in an attempt to save her reputation. Kell feels obligated to do this because of his brother's vile actions and the reader is led to believe this is as it should be.

I was game to accept these flimsy reasons and the storyline continues to fall flat from there. Towards the end my head was spinning with other secondary characters from previous books before this one and their obvious introduction was meant to tie all the books in. As a new reader of Nicole Jordan's novels, I found this befuddling and a tad on the ridiculous.

With that said, I still found this book entertaining and a fun read, without much depth. One should be prepared to be led along with story and if you accept the storyline and go where the author is taking you, as you are meant to, you will enjoy this.

This book starts out with a rather lame fantasy lover scene, and is all down hill from there.

After a long winded lead up to the abortive wedding to the guy she never cared about in the first place, we next get a scene where Raven is doped with an aphrodisiac. This is straight out of Johanna Lindsay, only far less well done. Kell feels sorry for her, realises she is a virgin, she writhes all over him, he goes to sleep!! She tries to ravish him, he still falls asleep!

She shoots him, he shrugs it off and tells her to marry him. In the most UNromantic wedding night in the history of literature he tells her to get on with it and lies back on the pillows with his arms behind his head! And there is another scene just like it later in the book! Sweep ladies off their feet much, Kell? I don't think so.

The book goes on forever, and fizzles to a halt at the end, where the rampant alpha male hero famous for having the most spectacular gaming den in London lives happily ever after looking for an orphanage to run.

I mean, really!

Every time the action slows, which is frequently, the author throws in a gratuitous sex scene with a fantasy lover, so that we never really get to see Raven and Kell interact apart from the three awful so called love scenes previously mentioned.

I also don't believe they ever spend enough time with each other apart from the last 20-20 pages of the book for them to get to know each other well enough to fall in love.

Everything was so restrained and tepid, and even the supposed really wild erotic scene in the make believe pirate ship in the brothel was dull and predictable. If I read the word breast one more time I was going to scream.

The villain of the piece is not in the least sinister, just mentally disturbed and rather pathetic.

I must say this has to be one of the dullest and most unromantic romances I've ever read. A bit of dialogue and bonding between the characters would have been welcome.

The sexual tension is almost non-existent: "You're my wife, so fulfill my physical needs." "All right, dear, it's only sex after all. You mean nothing to me."
"Fine. You mean nothing to me either."

Charming. We can well believe it for both of them. Give this one a miss for sure! Please, give the romance readers credit for some intelligence and taste, and stop presenting the reading public with such appalling drivel.

Ms Jordan just keeps getting better. Her books have not taken on the sameness of some authors. She writes passionate love stories. With heros and heroines that make you cheer when they finally understand that they love each other. This book is no different than the others.

Kell and Raven are made for each other. Kell fills Raven's fanasties and Raven provides Kell with the love that he has not had since his parents died.

This is also book of the price society pays when children are abused. I congradulate Ms Jordan for takling this topic. I look forward to her next book.

Raven Kendrick had two goals...to marry nobility and NEVER fall in love with a man. Raven seen the devastation of her mother when she fell in love with a man she couldn't have and Raven has vowed not to follow in her mother's footsteps. She is set to marry the Duke of Halford and is abducted on her wedding day as she is about to leave for the wedding. She is abducted by one of her suitors that she refused. Sean Lasseter is bent on revenge because Raven refused to marry him. He has set out to make her pay. Raven is rescued by Sean's brother Kell. To offset a scandal and to protect his brother Kell offers to marry Raven. It is to be a marriage of convenience only. After they spend an amount of time to show their marriage is one of love they will move into separate houses and live out their lives. Oh, if it were only that easy! Kell begins to have feelings for Raven and wants to protect her from his evil brother Sean. Raven denies any feelings she might have for Kell. But when the going gets tough these two stick together to conquer their problems.

This was a great book. The characters were interesting and well written. I found myself liking Raven and Kell from the beginning. Even the secondary characters were written as if thought were put into them and they weren't just fillers on the page. The plot was interesting and moved along at a fast pace. It was never boring reading about Raven and Kell. This book, even though 400+ pages, was very interesting and entertaining. This was my first Nicole Jordan novel and I purchased the other three books that went along with this book before I was halfway through with Ecstasy. What a great read to read again and again!

I loved this book because of the delightful characters and because the story kept me turning the pages. Kell is a scrumptious hero, one of my favorites in a long time, and his growing love for Raven really wrenched at my heart. Not only was their relationship hot and sexy, it was poignant and sweet and very witty. I highly recommend Ecstasy for anyone who likes great characters and story that keeps you up all night.