The Seduction of Sara

Rogues #3

by Karen Hawkins

The Seduction of Sara is the lively conclusion to Karen Hawkins's trilogy of passionate Regency historical romances. Saraphina Lawrence is a willful young woman, as magnificent as the Lawrence sapphires she proudly wears. She wed once for passion and was widowed scandalously when her bridegroom fell from a carriage while coupling with his mistress.

Now, faced with an ultimatum from her brothers -- remarry and live quietly and respectably, or lose the income that supports the independent life she loves -- Sara is quick to plan her strategy. Exiled to the dull town of Bath for the Season, she must find a gentleman who is socially acceptable, tolerable in looks and manners and, most important, willing to let Sara have her way in all matters.

Her search is going poorly when she hits upon a splendid plan involving Nicholas Montrose, the notorious Earl of Bridgeton (the irresistible villain in need of redemption who was introduced in Hawkins's first book, The Abduction of Julia). Nick wants Sara for his mistress, and she thinks it would be splendid to have such a masterful lover teach her the art of seduction, hoping to use those new skills to lure a suitably compliant man to the altar. It would be hard to say whether Nick or Sara is more surprised when Sara practices the wiles Nick taught her on Nick himself -- and the man who swore he'd never marry is tempted to propose to the one woman who has promised she will never be his bride.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Regency Romance

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2001

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Hawkins writes novels that have been praised as touching, witty, charming, and heartwarming. A native Southerner who grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where storytelling is a way of life, Karen recently moved to frosty New England with her beloved husband and multiple foster dogs. The Dove Pond books are a nod to the thousands of books that opened doors to more adventures, places, and discoveries than she ever imagined possible. To find out more about Karen, follow her at:
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Reviews

[Darbella · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 to 4 stars. I liked it. Sara is a widow. She married for love with her first husband, but he was never faithful and he died with his current mistress. Nick is "villian" from the first book of this series and after three years is back in the country. Sara gets banished to Bath by her brothers and she meets Nick. There is an immediate spark between the two. Yay! The romance continues nicely from there. However, to me, the ending felted rushed. Since, NIck had been not so nice in book one and had asked Sara to be his mistress before they were compromised and had to marry. It would have been lovely seeing them a little bit in the future still happily married.

[L H · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) half through the book he did everything to make her his mistress....but when get married he decides not to sleep with her so she won't get pregnant.....Haaaa?? how did he plan to make her his mistress?
2) did anyone think about consulting a doctor?
3) didn't understand how Nick kept insisting on making Sara his mistress when he can clearly see how young and relativly innocent she was...plus the fact that she was looking for a husband...it makes you think that he couldn't possibly care about her if he planned to (enjoy each other for few months) than let her find a husband....

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be a very old school romance novel. I found the issue keeping them apart a bit ridiculous. I found the heroine, Sara, to be vapid and annoying. I found the hero to be a melodramatic numbskull. I really didn't care if the got together or took a long walk off a short pier.

[Alina Acevlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where is the epilogue???!!!

I like the writing and the characters. Plot is lacking but it was very entertaining and enjoyable so I didn't mind their annoying decisions.

[Sharyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well Hawkins writing certainly has improved. Each book in the trilogy was better than the previous one. I did like Nick in the first book, and he was a wonderful character in this his book.
Sara is a widow who had married for love, but her husband was not faithful. Her brothers wanted to marry her off,
But she wanted to chose her own husband.
When Nick and Sara meet there is immediate attraction, but he has no plans to marry, and she is not looking for passion.
Of course their plans go wrong, and marry they do. But it is what happens after marriage that is the heart of the book.

[Lindsay Allyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been looking forward to reading this ever since I read the first two in this trilogy over a year ago. Luckily for me I was disappointed.

One of the interesting things about discovering an author a few books into their publishing career is that you can go back to their earlier works and see how they've grown as a writer. Not to say that this first trilogy is bad, far from it, but it's pretty neat to see how much better she has gotten since she first wrote these.

Sara Lawrence has been running around wild and reckless ever since her husband died. Bitter from being made to look like a fool after her husband's numerous instances of unfaithfulness, Sara had decided to live her life moment by moment and with no regrets. But when her spending gets out of control, her brothers come in and promptly send her off to the country so that she can find happiness.

Sara is furious and comes up with a plan: she is going to find a husband who will give her the freedom to do as she wishes. The bigger the rake, the better.

Nick Montrose finally returns to England after three years of banishment when he wins the deed to an estate in a game of cards. He is determined to be accepted into society and clear the cloud of scandal that has followed him his entire life.

He meets Sara and is instantly attracted to her. His attraction is strong enough to allow him to throw caution to the wind and forget his original intentions of remaining scandal-free. When she tells him she needs a husband, he refuses but does offer to teach her how to seduce a man. He is determined to take her as his mistress.

When they are caught in a compromising position, they are forced to marry. Nick struggles to keep his secrets from Sara, who in turn tries to insert herself as a permanent part of his life.

I loved Sara. I thought she was lively and fun. I loved her strength and determination. She was a wonderful heroine.

I liked Nick. For the most part he was a great bad-boy-turned-good-boy. My only problem with him was that he was too eager to open to other people. He spilled secrets to Sara pretty early on. Then at the end when his cousin, whom he has been estranged from for years, comes to visit him, he just pours out his heart. I thought that was a touch unbelievale. Typically people with a history as dark and lonely as Nick's don't trust and won't open up that easily.

Other than that, I loved this book. Hawkins' wit and humor is what makes her books so enjoyable for me and this one was full of both. It's funny, light hearted, and quick. Just what I look for in a romance!

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Nicholas Montrose, the Earl of Bridgeton, was first introduced in The Abduction of Julia where he almost convincingly played the role of a villain. He didn't really fool me though. Even though he was the way he was in the first book, Nicholas Montrose was and is irresistible. I am very good at suspending my disbelief.

Anyway, Nick is back and he gets roped up by Sara to help her find a husband. She even has a list of requirements what the said husband should or shouldn't be. All she really wants is to get away from her brothers who love her too much. It is suffocating.
He accepts.

Surprisingly, there is a lot of humour in this book. Sara is wonderful. Nick stays as true to his character as he can (and there is one particular moment in the book when he messes things up pretty well), but the changes in him and around are inevitable.
The story needed Julia and Alec's appearance too. It is done subtly. They are there just for a moment or two, but both Alec and Nick needed that encounter.

[Elisa Vangelisti · Rating 3 out of 5]

recensione precedente: (Una ventata di freschezza per questa storia che procede un po’ lenta, ma intrigante. Non conoscevo karen e ora cercherò altre opere sue. Interessante la malattia del protagonista, quella che ai giorni nostri chiameremmo cefalea a grappolo e che all’inizio dell’800 veniva curata con la camomilla, nel migliore dei casi, o con il laudano, che creava la dipendenza e quindi la morte.) Dovendo fare una cernita, anche questo romanzo non regge alla prova del tempo. Letto oltre un anno fa e valutato a 3 stelle, giunta a un terzo sono piuttosto annoiata da una trama che non buca la pagina. La sorellina minore che deve sposare chi le pare per evitare il matrimonio con un uomo impostole dai fratelli non ha presa. Comunque non è malvagio, basta solo leggerlo una volta.

[Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author and i loved it,it was a wonderful emotional story of Nick-Sara,adored both of them,both have past baggage,both have their fears,Nick makes a blunder and Sara is really hurt but he realises it but Sara is not forgiving him and he has to work to gain her forgiveness and trust back after much hurdles they manage to take the leap and have their HEA

Very good read
Recommend it

[Carrie O · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book... but eventually we get to the hero being stubborn-dumb, and I just get annoyed. The dumb just lasts for too dang long. Eventually we get a good resolution, more or less. And I'm frustrated. It's not a bad story as such, simply too much conflict for comfort or enjoyment. But I will say this... our hero finally gets his stuff together.

[Miriamgreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

too much male pride, too much angst, too much sara, skipped delphina's romance
pace of story reminding me of walking the shoreline in the water up to my knees, plodding
water was more enticing
not one of her best
however, Nick well drawn and will not soon forget him

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it and kept me wanting to read more to find out what happens. I would recommend this book to others reader that likes this kind of books.

[amaareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three bare minimum stars because the banter was sharp, but Sara's judgment was sharper.......right into the arms of the guy who followed her around like a Victorian TikTok stalker😌

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a buffer book for me to read to try and get me out of a reading slump and it successfully did its job. throughout the whole series, I kept highlighting things that were nearly identical to the television series bridgerton. A sister with overprotective brothers, one who finds out his sister is dealing with a powerful earl who then challenges him to duel. that then ends in the sister and the earl getting married instead. both are deeply in love with the other but both also feel like they trapped the other. the earl swearing his bloodline ends with him not wanting children and Sara coming from a large family of love wanting kids. to top it all off the earl's is even the earl of bridgerton. I googled karen hawkins after though and it turns out she actually worked on two lady whistle-down novels, so it all made sense.
overall this book had a solid romance. the female lead had a mind of her own and wasn't afraid to use it and the male lead wanted her to and encouraged her too that he got disappointed when she didn't act willfully. the whole story line was predictable yet enjoyable.

- warning there is a pregnancy trope
- there is also a " she is my wife" trope. lots of lines of " I would like to speak to my wife now"
- there is a slight LGBTQ mention but I don't like the way it was handled by the characters. Nick makes a comment like "a man forgetting to be a man"... toxic
- arrangement/ deal trope
- A brother that seriously asks if he wants her to kill him and tries

romance/spice 4/5
plot 1/5 didn't read it for the plot
world building 0/5
character development 3/5

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Copyright 2001. My copy is from that date. Although this is a reread, I remember NOTHING about it.
This is Rogues #3, but ties into the Talisman Ring series. The next book is Alexander & Anna's story, Talisman Ring #1.

So, Sara has 5 brothers - all older than her. All overprotective. We really only meet 2 - Alexander & Marcus. She's widowed & was unhappily married to a cheater. He died falling out of a carriage while having sex with his mistress! She wants to get married again to someone who will let her have her way & stay out of her life so she can get her brothers off her back. She meets Nick, who agrees to find her a suitable husband. Or not...

Nick was the villain in Rogues book 1. He's been redeemed for this book. He has a tragic backstory.

So, this was a bore. Both H/h act like idiots & improbable things happen to move the story along.
Nick thinks he's going to die of a laudanum overdose in the future because he has migraines like his mother & that's what she died of. It takes a long time before he talks to the heroine about it. She wants to help him, but he shuts her down. A lot of miscommunication. Yawn.

An odd cover art thing : the cover is a typical romance novel nothing. The back has a winter background with lots of snow. The couple shown look like they belong on a medieval cover, not a Regency. The heroine (who has black hair in the book) has brown hair. The hero (who is a blonde) has auburn hair. Wow! Do the publishers even look at the time period for their books?

[Yvonne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read HRs with the plot involves the hero having some sort of illness that is not understood & all the angst with that. What makes those so much better is that the hero has been to countless doctors & has tried countless remedies & at some point he feels like there is no hope. There was none of that here. I mean at least try.
I also didn't really see that much character development in Nick. He was big ass jerk in the first book & I don't think he made much progress in this one.
I wish we had gotten a little more info about his mother & father. His mother died when he was 13 but what about his father. There is no mention of him. I got the impression that maybe the man who was married to his mother was possibly not his father but that was not made clear. If you are going to use a horrible childhood as a reason for a character's flaws then you may want to give us a little detail.
It just felt like there was a lot missing in this book.

[penelopewanders]

This is the third in the series and although I had hoped to mooch the second (I had the first and third), I finally went ahead and bought it. On the whole I enjoyed the first and was keen to continue the series. I have enjoyed all three, but more on a light entertainment level.
There is the amusing situation where it's not clear who is trying to seduce whom here... although Sara's intent is matrimony and Nick's is decidely not.
I was rather hoping for some sort of medical breakthrough, but I think we were a century or two too early for that.
Given the sparks between Sara's brother and her best friend, it would seem there was room left for a fourth in the series which has apparently not come.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Womp-womp. This book was so disappointing. I’m giving it two stars because the writing was good... but the pacing, the characters, the romance? All severely lacking.

I felt for Sara. To be betrayed by her first husband and humiliated in his death would be awful. But the way she went about seeking a new husband was pathetic and a bit bratty. And Nick - he went from wanting her as his mistress to agreeing to marry her. Why, when he was already threatened with a duel?

The “betrayal” was sad. The reason he wanted her back was sad. I don’t even think he really cared for her, because it didn’t seem like it even as he was declaring his love.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book when I started it, but then I put it down and didn't pick it back up for almost a week. By the time I finally picked it up again it had lost a lot of its charm. Nick teaching Sara how to seduce men so she could get an uninvolved husband was amusing, but by the time it got to just their relationship I was just meh about the whole thing. I did enjoy the Aunt Delphi-Henri story and I hope that Anthony and Anna get their own story. Overall, not bad. I think my review would have been better had I not put the book down.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of the premise of this one made no sense and then the author deceived a gay man as a man who forgot that he’s a man. That kind of homophobia is not what I need in my reading, not even historical fiction. Every other author I’ve read in this entre makes it a point to address the hypocrisy of those kinds of statements. All in all an unnecessary set of books.

[Tabetha Waite · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a nice read. Nick was absolutely wonderful, but Sara seemed a bit too strong willed for my liking. Also, there were two other romances going on at the same time when I would have preferred the story to focus on the MCs.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the story and the characters. I have read the St John series first so I had trouble with knowing each brother's story. I wanted a better ending....

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. This ending made me a tad nauseous. The fact that a woman could forgive a man so conniving and manipulative is beyond me. Yuck.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

and the headaches?

[Wildwhuck · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Aurelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 stars for the story and another star for the hero.

The story is boring but I continued reading for the sake of hero

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was not as interesting as the other two in the series.. quite disappointing for me..

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically, a mess, but not as long of a mess as the previous book.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Reagan Heckathorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good! The end betrayed me a little bit