Mo Daoust
Another code breaker is murdered, William de l’Isle, Viscount Ravenwood – Raven a spy for the Foreign Office – is told he is to protect Heloise Hampden, their best code breaker. Raven and Heloise are neighbours, but Raven has avoided Heloise for the past six years, even though she is the subject of his most erotic fantasies. Raven accepts his mission, he will do it, even if it kills him; he is the best at what he does. Heloise has been smitten with Raven for those six years, but she’s convinced he doesn’t want her, he told her as much, and that was even before she got that nasty scar. So both hide their feelings behind constant bickering and relentless teasing. Raven is hosting another one of his scandalous masquerade balls, and Heloise must see him to show him a translation she just finished. She’s never been invited to the yearly ball and she drinks in the sights. She is masked, of course, and so is Raven. She spots him immediately, he pretends not to recognise her for a while, and they flirt shamelessly. When they retreat from prying eyes, and Heloise shows Raven what she has deciphered, someone shoots at her. That’s when Raven decides to whisk Heloise off to Spain on his ship. Ms. Bateman is a wizard when it comes to descriptions, and Regency Spain came alive before my very eyes. Heloise is learned, she was always a hoyden as well, and she longs for an adventure and freedom. Raven is an intriguing character, and a dashing rogue for sure, however I could not grasp why he kept trying to antagonise Heloise so much, and at the same time behaving seductively, taunting her, while he knew he would not act upon it. It was either because he thought he was not good enough for her, he was “broken”, or because she was his best friend’s little sister. The former reason appeared to be the main one, but it was a tad hazy at times. Even though the relentless teasing banter between Heloise and Raven is very creative, and quite amusing at the beginning, I thought it became tiresome after a while, but for some reason Heloise and Raven seemed to find it highly stimulating. Also for some reason that remains unclear to me, Raven seemed to find highly entertaining to verbally arouse Heloise. On the other hand, the segments on code breaking are riveting, as are the historical facts that pepper the narrative and the dialogues. It’s a shame that Major George Scovell was a real historical personage, because he would have been perfectly suited to Heloise. A RAVEN’S HEART is a nice little story, beautifully written, and quite enlightening on several subjects, but in my opinion, it might have worked better as a novella. I somewhat got the impression that the author got carried away with her research, and I thought there were too many episodes that were unnecessary. I thought also a tad odd that Heloise’s scar – which didn’t seem that big a deal – was noticed by the ton, but nobody else really remarked upon it. I was also quite taken aback by Raven’s behaviour after “the deed” was done, and half a star fell here. A RAVEN’S HEART was not what I expected, but I’m sure many readers will enjoy it. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.
Sue Galuska
I just adored To Steal a Heart and couldn't wait to read this book. A Raven's Heart is William de l'Isle, Viscount Ravenwood's story, or "Raven" to his friends. Raven has been attracted to Heloise Hampden for most of his life. She is his best friends' little sister....so it's totally hands-off! Little does he know that Heloise has always been attracted to him too! After 6 years of imprisonment, Raven had a very bleak look on life and risked his life every day as a spy. It's England, 1816 and Raven has been summoned by his boss to protect Heloise since both of her brothers are out of town working on other things. Heloise uses her brains to decipher the secret codes of the French armies for the English and word has it that she may be a target of the French. Raven is not happy with this new assignment because he is not sure he will be able to keep his hands off of her for long. The two of them have sort of a love/hate relationship. Heloise tends to be sassy and speaks her mind, earning her the nickname, Hell-cat. Raven tends to be brash and constantly try to throw Heloise off her game. Together these two are explosive. So much chemistry and passion exists whenever these two are around each other. When Raven has to travel to Spain, he decides to "take" Heloise with him to keep her safe. I just adored this adventure they went on. The two of them brought out better qualities in each other. I love how stubborn Heloise could be and how Raven handled it. It just made their chemistry that much greater! The sexual tension between these two was awesome! Heloise wanted nothing more than be with Raven. Raven because of things from his past felt he wasn't worthy of someone as sweet and pure as Heloise. The ride these two went on was perfect. It was great seeing this sweet, sassy tart tame this fearless spy. I just loved their happy ending. It was perfect for these two.
2 people found this review helpful
Janice Hougland
I sure did enjoy this exciting historical romance! It had plenty of angst (heroine Heloise expected by parents to marry a title but loving from afar our hero Ravenwood who has refused a title due to a poor relationship with his Ducal father), plenty of intrigue (Raven serving the Crown during dangerous missions and Heloise working for the Crown as a code breaker) and plenty of scorching romance between Raven and Heloise as they fought their attraction for each other. This was the first story by K.C. Bateman that I’ve read, but I plan on reading much more of her writing.
1 person found this review helpful