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The Seduction Expert #1
The Seduction Expert
She’s cold, narcissistic, conceited and she has no redeeming qualities.
She doesn’t care, she’s gifted.
She doesn’t care, she's the seduction expert.
Women contact her to take over their love lives. She steps in when they're lost, she's supposed to succeed where they failed. She handles their single status, their relationships, their breakups, and very often their partners' affairs. Her job is a life priority, she spends most of her time at the office or between two flights in business class and the fact of having a sports car that can reach one hundred kilometers in less than six seconds often make her feel like a superheroine in service to women.
Anyway, take her card.
You'll see, it's much better than spending holidays in St Barts.
She doesn’t care, she’s gifted.
She doesn’t care, she's the seduction expert.
Women contact her to take over their love lives. She steps in when they're lost, she's supposed to succeed where they failed. She handles their single status, their relationships, their breakups, and very often their partners' affairs. Her job is a life priority, she spends most of her time at the office or between two flights in business class and the fact of having a sports car that can reach one hundred kilometers in less than six seconds often make her feel like a superheroine in service to women.
Anyway, take her card.
You'll see, it's much better than spending holidays in St Barts.
156 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 26, 2019
108 people are currently reading
11521 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 385 reviews
August 31, 2019
Edit (1/9/19): Looks like GR has managed to weed out most of the fake accounts that gave this book 5 stars so we now have a much more accurate gauge of this book. Thanks GR!
***
I received a request from the publisher to review this book, but declined.
I'm always suspicious when I'm being asked to review a book that has a whole lot of 5-star ratings from people with little or no GR activity. So many of the top reviews for this book are from people with private profiles, and if you investigate the 80-odd people who have liked all these similar 5-star reviews, you notice that almost all are without GR friends.
That's highly suspicious to me, friends. Nothing gets my goat like books that have to rely on fake or false reviews.
I don't know what the deal is but I sure as heck ain't reading this any time soon.
***
Edit (10/7/19): Couldn't help but Google and here's a link people might find interesting ...
Edit (14/7/19): Thank you to all of the honest people who have left negative reviews despite being told by this publisher not to. Your voices deserve to be heard! I had no idea what kind of wormhole I was opening with my original review but the support from everyone has been amazing. Even from people who genuinely loved this book. Thank you to all who have commented and messaged! What an incredible community we have here on GR. :)
Edit (20/7/19): Can confirm fishiness. Thanks to all of the GR detectives and the work you put into uncovering this mystery! It has come to light that the author, the publisher, and most of the private-profile positive reviewers are the same person. VSP publishing is in no way related to Vision Sports Publishing, and some of the profile pics of private reviewers will show up with an unrelated google search for beautiful people.
***
If you are planning to read this book based on reviews, be wary of all the nice things being said. If you have been asked by the publisher to read and review, be wary of the abuse that may follow a negative review. If you have read and genuinely enjoyed this book, I'm sorry if you've been caught in the crossfire.
If you plan on harassing the author/publisher for her dishonest behaviour, you're only stooping to her level. It's disappointing that someone went to such lengths to get people reading a book, but it probably suggests the book doesn't really sell itself. Let's try to take the high road here.
The takeaway message: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
***
I received a request from the publisher to review this book, but declined.
I'm always suspicious when I'm being asked to review a book that has a whole lot of 5-star ratings from people with little or no GR activity. So many of the top reviews for this book are from people with private profiles, and if you investigate the 80-odd people who have liked all these similar 5-star reviews, you notice that almost all are without GR friends.
That's highly suspicious to me, friends. Nothing gets my goat like books that have to rely on fake or false reviews.
I don't know what the deal is but I sure as heck ain't reading this any time soon.
***
Edit (10/7/19): Couldn't help but Google and here's a link people might find interesting ...
Edit (14/7/19): Thank you to all of the honest people who have left negative reviews despite being told by this publisher not to. Your voices deserve to be heard! I had no idea what kind of wormhole I was opening with my original review but the support from everyone has been amazing. Even from people who genuinely loved this book. Thank you to all who have commented and messaged! What an incredible community we have here on GR. :)
Edit (20/7/19): Can confirm fishiness. Thanks to all of the GR detectives and the work you put into uncovering this mystery! It has come to light that the author, the publisher, and most of the private-profile positive reviewers are the same person. VSP publishing is in no way related to Vision Sports Publishing, and some of the profile pics of private reviewers will show up with an unrelated google search for beautiful people.
***
If you are planning to read this book based on reviews, be wary of all the nice things being said. If you have been asked by the publisher to read and review, be wary of the abuse that may follow a negative review. If you have read and genuinely enjoyed this book, I'm sorry if you've been caught in the crossfire.
If you plan on harassing the author/publisher for her dishonest behaviour, you're only stooping to her level. It's disappointing that someone went to such lengths to get people reading a book, but it probably suggests the book doesn't really sell itself. Let's try to take the high road here.
The takeaway message: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
June 11, 2019
Two and half stars rounded up, frustrated for reading a book about ambition and do whatever it takes to win when I was expecting a creative romance genre.
Oh boy, let’s meet with our ruthless and literally man eater baroness who helps the rich and famous women solve their troubled relationship issues!
Baroness standing between Devil Wear Prada’s Miranda Priestly and tv series Scandal’s Olivia Pope but with quite difference!!!She is not a fixer she is mostly absolutely truly executer, destroyer, predator!
Beware of the mad dragon queen! She can rip the betrayers’ heads off and spit them out!!!!She is incarnated version of Niccolo Machiavelli !
Pros about book
It’s sarcastic, intelligently written and some parts are really entertaining! You love to hate heroine and as long as you read you get used to her selfish, narcissistic attitudes ! She thinks she is the center of the universe and her inner monologues about her future dreams and her devotion to herself are so hilarious!!!
Cons about book
Lack of romance! The heroine’s obsession about her fiancé’s wealth more than his heart. There is no real love story! A real connection! A heartbreak! Nada!!!
This book kills your belief in true love!
Reading a heroine like Miranda and Olivia may be entertaining but even those two characters have soft spots ( Miranda’s soft spot was her twins! Olivia had already Fitz and Gladiators, come on) But our heroine is soooo merciless! Even she uses tons of lotions, she doesn’t any soft spot on her existence!!!! There is nothing to empathize her!
Her insulting attitudes against her customers were exaggerating! Sometimes you think she doesn’t want to defend them! She only wants to slap them over and over again !!!!
As a result, this was smartly written, romance-less novel with the worst heroine !
I still like ending with cliffhanger! But it’s still not enough for me to read the second book!
Maybe the genre choice just fooled me ! If this is advertised as fiction instead of romance or if it doesn’t have a name reminds us of some popular erotic romance novels, it may be more helpful for me not to expect something more emotional and sexy!
I want to thank VSP publishing for sending me this advance copy! I’m so honored!
I wish I enjoy this book more but this is my honest review! But I keep searching more good romance and dig more new releases!!!
Oh boy, let’s meet with our ruthless and literally man eater baroness who helps the rich and famous women solve their troubled relationship issues!
Baroness standing between Devil Wear Prada’s Miranda Priestly and tv series Scandal’s Olivia Pope but with quite difference!!!She is not a fixer she is mostly absolutely truly executer, destroyer, predator!
Beware of the mad dragon queen! She can rip the betrayers’ heads off and spit them out!!!!She is incarnated version of Niccolo Machiavelli !
Pros about book
It’s sarcastic, intelligently written and some parts are really entertaining! You love to hate heroine and as long as you read you get used to her selfish, narcissistic attitudes ! She thinks she is the center of the universe and her inner monologues about her future dreams and her devotion to herself are so hilarious!!!
Cons about book
Lack of romance! The heroine’s obsession about her fiancé’s wealth more than his heart. There is no real love story! A real connection! A heartbreak! Nada!!!
This book kills your belief in true love!
Reading a heroine like Miranda and Olivia may be entertaining but even those two characters have soft spots ( Miranda’s soft spot was her twins! Olivia had already Fitz and Gladiators, come on) But our heroine is soooo merciless! Even she uses tons of lotions, she doesn’t any soft spot on her existence!!!! There is nothing to empathize her!
Her insulting attitudes against her customers were exaggerating! Sometimes you think she doesn’t want to defend them! She only wants to slap them over and over again !!!!
As a result, this was smartly written, romance-less novel with the worst heroine !
I still like ending with cliffhanger! But it’s still not enough for me to read the second book!
Maybe the genre choice just fooled me ! If this is advertised as fiction instead of romance or if it doesn’t have a name reminds us of some popular erotic romance novels, it may be more helpful for me not to expect something more emotional and sexy!
I want to thank VSP publishing for sending me this advance copy! I’m so honored!
I wish I enjoy this book more but this is my honest review! But I keep searching more good romance and dig more new releases!!!
July 11, 2019
screenshot 1.
screenshot 2.
I just want to start by saying that no I have not read The Seduction Expert, nor will I ever after this email. I was contacted over a week ago and asked if I would be interested in receiving a ebook arc in exchange for an honest review and that upon receiving it, there would be a deadline to submit it by. That was fine, I was interested enough. Well, my ebook copy was sent to me today via email and as you can see, I was asked to pretty much lie about my rating if it didn’t meet 3 stars or above. I was told that if I didn’t like it, to message them directly instead of posting my thoughts online but that’s??? literally??? what??? I??? was??? asked??? to??? do???
I’ve never, ever had to deal with this kind of problem before personally. I know that it happens but it’s making me sick to my stomach because on top of this mess, my email is somehow in a thread with other reviewers who are also upset and the individual who contacted us through some kind of publishing is supposed to remain professional and isn’t. I haven’t responded to their original email and I probably won’t because my anxiety is now at an all time high. I don’t appreciate my email being exposed to countless others and I’m upset that other reviewer emails are too.
I’ve taken out any names shown, but keep this in mind if you’re also approached about the book.
screenshot 2.
I just want to start by saying that no I have not read The Seduction Expert, nor will I ever after this email. I was contacted over a week ago and asked if I would be interested in receiving a ebook arc in exchange for an honest review and that upon receiving it, there would be a deadline to submit it by. That was fine, I was interested enough. Well, my ebook copy was sent to me today via email and as you can see, I was asked to pretty much lie about my rating if it didn’t meet 3 stars or above. I was told that if I didn’t like it, to message them directly instead of posting my thoughts online but that’s??? literally??? what??? I??? was??? asked??? to??? do???
I’ve never, ever had to deal with this kind of problem before personally. I know that it happens but it’s making me sick to my stomach because on top of this mess, my email is somehow in a thread with other reviewers who are also upset and the individual who contacted us through some kind of publishing is supposed to remain professional and isn’t. I haven’t responded to their original email and I probably won’t because my anxiety is now at an all time high. I don’t appreciate my email being exposed to countless others and I’m upset that other reviewer emails are too.
I’ve taken out any names shown, but keep this in mind if you’re also approached about the book.
July 18, 2019
I’ll be honest—I DNF this book at 8%. That would be because the publisher sent me an ARC (email pasted below), asking me to review the book, but only post my review on GR if it’s above 3 stars. I thought the email was sketchy, but decided to be nice and give the book a go. Yet, the more I read, the more I kept thinking....nope. Fuck censorship. BYE GURL.
Hello Reviewers,
In attachment, the ebup/mobi file of The Seduction Expert.
Please do not forget to post your review before July 20 and if you doesn’t like the book, thank you to let us know by email instead of posting a bad review (less than 3 stars). Indeed, as you know each advance reading copy provided cost a fee to publishers, so we prefer to invest in a good marketing campaign.
Thank you and do not hesitate to contact me for further more information.
:)
Yours sincerely,
Jennifer Carlotti
Book Promotion Manager
VSP Publishing
Hello Reviewers,
In attachment, the ebup/mobi file of The Seduction Expert.
Please do not forget to post your review before July 20 and if you doesn’t like the book, thank you to let us know by email instead of posting a bad review (less than 3 stars). Indeed, as you know each advance reading copy provided cost a fee to publishers, so we prefer to invest in a good marketing campaign.
Thank you and do not hesitate to contact me for further more information.
:)
Yours sincerely,
Jennifer Carlotti
Book Promotion Manager
VSP Publishing
July 18, 2019
1.5*
Ok, lesson learned!🙋🏻♀️ I knew going in I wasn’t the right reader for this book! I should have listened to my little inner voice!
This book is listed as a romance, and that is the furthest thing from the reality! I was hard-pressed to find anything of a romantic nature in this book.
So now I’m left with the difficult task of describing this book. Where do I start? Women’s fiction? I think not! Thriller? Nope, that doesn’t work either. I’m at a loss....🤷🏻♀️
Now, I’m all in for unlikable characters! But they have to add something to the story! The “Baroness” just didn’t.
Unfortunately, it’s fundamentally just a book on arrogant narcissistic behavior. And, I must add, was way over the top.
Simply not the right book for me.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Ok, lesson learned!🙋🏻♀️ I knew going in I wasn’t the right reader for this book! I should have listened to my little inner voice!
This book is listed as a romance, and that is the furthest thing from the reality! I was hard-pressed to find anything of a romantic nature in this book.
So now I’m left with the difficult task of describing this book. Where do I start? Women’s fiction? I think not! Thriller? Nope, that doesn’t work either. I’m at a loss....🤷🏻♀️
Now, I’m all in for unlikable characters! But they have to add something to the story! The “Baroness” just didn’t.
Unfortunately, it’s fundamentally just a book on arrogant narcissistic behavior. And, I must add, was way over the top.
Simply not the right book for me.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
May 8, 2019
The Seduction Expert would be more correctly labeled The Extortion Expert or The Blackmail Expert. Her function has nothing to do with getting someone to love you and in fact, has nothing to do with love. The Baroness, as she likes to be called, has never been in love and doesn't love the man she plans to marry. Instead it's all about money, power, and destroying men who don't bow to the women in their lives.
The Baroness is a narcissist who plans to become more powerful, more famous, more wealthy, using the men she destroys (for their cuckold wives). She especially likes the cases that involve wealthy men although she will take on cases of love struck teenagers on occasion, make sure that the object of her affection will never come near the young lady again, and urge the girl to find someone who won't break her heart. That part of her job might be a worthy cause if she presented things differently and really cared about the lowly, young woman who she takes on as pro bono cases once a month.
The Baroness has met her match though, in the mother of the rich man she plans to marry and totally control. The mother is going to destroy the Baroness and the Baroness is set into action trying to cover up her past actions and get revenge on the mother while still snaring her son. I got to the end of the book, only to discover that the book ends on a cliffhanger so I have no idea what happens next.
The premise is interesting but terribly cold and at this point in the story I can't say that I'm cheering the Baroness on in her selfish and ruthless endeavors. The story takes place in France and was possibly translated from French because much of the wording is a bit odd although I could figure out what was meant. I will look for the second book to see if the Baroness has a change of heart in her manner of treating people or gets what she has coming to her from all sides, because of all the things she has done to other people.
Thank you to VSP Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.
The Baroness is a narcissist who plans to become more powerful, more famous, more wealthy, using the men she destroys (for their cuckold wives). She especially likes the cases that involve wealthy men although she will take on cases of love struck teenagers on occasion, make sure that the object of her affection will never come near the young lady again, and urge the girl to find someone who won't break her heart. That part of her job might be a worthy cause if she presented things differently and really cared about the lowly, young woman who she takes on as pro bono cases once a month.
The Baroness has met her match though, in the mother of the rich man she plans to marry and totally control. The mother is going to destroy the Baroness and the Baroness is set into action trying to cover up her past actions and get revenge on the mother while still snaring her son. I got to the end of the book, only to discover that the book ends on a cliffhanger so I have no idea what happens next.
The premise is interesting but terribly cold and at this point in the story I can't say that I'm cheering the Baroness on in her selfish and ruthless endeavors. The story takes place in France and was possibly translated from French because much of the wording is a bit odd although I could figure out what was meant. I will look for the second book to see if the Baroness has a change of heart in her manner of treating people or gets what she has coming to her from all sides, because of all the things she has done to other people.
Thank you to VSP Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.
July 17, 2019
I received a e-copy of this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
And here is my review. First lets briefly touch on the "elephant in the room". There appears to be a little concern for some reason about the way that the publishers are searching for ARC volunteers and strangely also about the ratings this book has so far.
Well I can honestly say I am a real person (although of course I would say that wouldn't I ?) and that I am not a "thirty something women " with a "generic photo" and a "private profile", I am a fifty something male, with a profile of my cats and am open to all.
Right, elephant dealt with. This book is fun, it deals with a strong woman who has a job "helping" women to secure and keep husbands but also to dump them in an as financially beneficial way as possible, to the women . Yes she breaks the law, yes she's a bitch but she is ironically quite funny/amusing. I love the irony that she claims to be a feminist, but her dismissal of some of her clients is so non feminist its laughable. But that IS the irony, as her war against abusive philandering unfaithful husbands, and focus on empowering women, certainly is feminist.
It's a riveting novel with I'd say half a dozen major characters that are well written and make the story interesting, regardless of whether you love 'em or hate 'em, they make the book fly by.
Although not really my genre, well I say that as the title is not one I would have immediately thought I have to read, it has actually proved to be in my eyes more a thriller novel than really any other genre, and so I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the opportunity to read this book.
And here is my review. First lets briefly touch on the "elephant in the room". There appears to be a little concern for some reason about the way that the publishers are searching for ARC volunteers and strangely also about the ratings this book has so far.
Well I can honestly say I am a real person (although of course I would say that wouldn't I ?) and that I am not a "thirty something women " with a "generic photo" and a "private profile", I am a fifty something male, with a profile of my cats and am open to all.
Right, elephant dealt with. This book is fun, it deals with a strong woman who has a job "helping" women to secure and keep husbands but also to dump them in an as financially beneficial way as possible, to the women . Yes she breaks the law, yes she's a bitch but she is ironically quite funny/amusing. I love the irony that she claims to be a feminist, but her dismissal of some of her clients is so non feminist its laughable. But that IS the irony, as her war against abusive philandering unfaithful husbands, and focus on empowering women, certainly is feminist.
It's a riveting novel with I'd say half a dozen major characters that are well written and make the story interesting, regardless of whether you love 'em or hate 'em, they make the book fly by.
Although not really my genre, well I say that as the title is not one I would have immediately thought I have to read, it has actually proved to be in my eyes more a thriller novel than really any other genre, and so I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the opportunity to read this book.
July 16, 2019
UPDATE:
Yeah, I’m NEVER going to review for this publisher again! AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!!!
Check out the comments on my friends review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And this one:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Not to mention a screenshot I captured of the publisher being a B**CH before she obviously quickly changed her mind and deleted it! You can see that gem HERE
—-
I have been on a reviewing break for a few months due to a crazy uni workload. As much as I would like to keep going through the uni semester, I paid a lot for my course and don’t want to do badly because of my book addiction!
So I started back with this one in the holiday break. And unfortunately, I was extremely underwhelmed.
The Baroness is a seduction expert and uses her connections and dominating personality to get what she wants for her clients.. And herself.
Oh where do I start. I would have DNF if it weren’t for the fact that netgalley requires reviews now for DNFs or you don’t get it marked off in your overall percentage.
The story was quite short so didn’t take me long to get through at all.
I get that the Baroness was supposed to be all prim and condescending, but it was the entire tone of the book really. She didn’t grow as a character AT ALL. The whole book seemed like a giant teaser for more. It had no conclusion or point really. Nothing resolved. Cliffhanger. The end. The rest was just all Men are lying cheating bastards, Men are awful... etc etc...
There was a shining light when she started to have a war with the future mother in law. But again, cliffhanger. The end.
Would I recommend The Seduction Expert?
No.
What also grabbed my attention were the reviews. 4.36 on goodreads. Wow... However why out of my over a thousand well-read friends reviews, the HIGHEST was ONE 3 star review the rest were 1 or 2... On closer inspection of the community reviews, there are a LOT of reviews by private profiles with friends and books all hidden. I have been on goodreads for a long time and I have never seen so many private profiles reviewing one book before. Funny that all these people with their books and friends hidden are all liking each other’s reviews of The Seduction expert. It is strange and it doesn’t sit right with me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Seduction Expert to review. I think I will miss the next one.
Yeah, I’m NEVER going to review for this publisher again! AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!!!
Check out the comments on my friends review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
And this one:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Not to mention a screenshot I captured of the publisher being a B**CH before she obviously quickly changed her mind and deleted it! You can see that gem HERE
—-
I have been on a reviewing break for a few months due to a crazy uni workload. As much as I would like to keep going through the uni semester, I paid a lot for my course and don’t want to do badly because of my book addiction!
So I started back with this one in the holiday break. And unfortunately, I was extremely underwhelmed.
The Baroness is a seduction expert and uses her connections and dominating personality to get what she wants for her clients.. And herself.
Oh where do I start. I would have DNF if it weren’t for the fact that netgalley requires reviews now for DNFs or you don’t get it marked off in your overall percentage.
The story was quite short so didn’t take me long to get through at all.
I get that the Baroness was supposed to be all prim and condescending, but it was the entire tone of the book really. She didn’t grow as a character AT ALL. The whole book seemed like a giant teaser for more. It had no conclusion or point really. Nothing resolved. Cliffhanger. The end. The rest was just all Men are lying cheating bastards, Men are awful... etc etc...
There was a shining light when she started to have a war with the future mother in law. But again, cliffhanger. The end.
Would I recommend The Seduction Expert?
No.
What also grabbed my attention were the reviews. 4.36 on goodreads. Wow... However why out of my over a thousand well-read friends reviews, the HIGHEST was ONE 3 star review the rest were 1 or 2... On closer inspection of the community reviews, there are a LOT of reviews by private profiles with friends and books all hidden. I have been on goodreads for a long time and I have never seen so many private profiles reviewing one book before. Funny that all these people with their books and friends hidden are all liking each other’s reviews of The Seduction expert. It is strange and it doesn’t sit right with me.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Seduction Expert to review. I think I will miss the next one.
July 17, 2019
Um no...
This book was dry and boring. The men are made out to be nothing more than sluts or meat on a stick and the MC is a bitter snot who is used to always getting what she wants. She is mean to everyone and is completely unrelatable. There's really no storyline in play here other than that. No ups and downs no twists and turns. Just that.
I would definitely not recommend this book.
Side Note: after reading what this publisher has done to a few of my friends and others in the community, I can without doubt say that I would never review a book from them again. This book's high ratings are coming from fake profiles that have no doubt been set up by "someone" to promote the book further and those fake profiles are going around bashing us reviewers that are giving the book lower than a 4-star rating. This is not right! This is not appropriate. And this is not how the publishing world works. If you ask for an honest review then by God we're going to give you them. If you want BS reviews then you're going to have to sit and type them up yourselves from all the fake accounts that you've made. Don't bother coming to reviewers if you're simply going to bash their reviews. That is all.
Ladies and gentlemen it is worse than I could have ever imagined! Please read this article before even thinking about reviewing this book:
https://romancingthebooksandmore.word...
This book was dry and boring. The men are made out to be nothing more than sluts or meat on a stick and the MC is a bitter snot who is used to always getting what she wants. She is mean to everyone and is completely unrelatable. There's really no storyline in play here other than that. No ups and downs no twists and turns. Just that.
I would definitely not recommend this book.
Side Note: after reading what this publisher has done to a few of my friends and others in the community, I can without doubt say that I would never review a book from them again. This book's high ratings are coming from fake profiles that have no doubt been set up by "someone" to promote the book further and those fake profiles are going around bashing us reviewers that are giving the book lower than a 4-star rating. This is not right! This is not appropriate. And this is not how the publishing world works. If you ask for an honest review then by God we're going to give you them. If you want BS reviews then you're going to have to sit and type them up yourselves from all the fake accounts that you've made. Don't bother coming to reviewers if you're simply going to bash their reviews. That is all.
Ladies and gentlemen it is worse than I could have ever imagined! Please read this article before even thinking about reviewing this book:
https://romancingthebooksandmore.word...
July 14, 2019
Unfortunately this book wasn't for me, the premise was interesting and it was funny in part but overall this was a chore to read.
I really had to force myself to get through this, i think most of my issues with this book come from not liking the main character but in all honesty the plot wasn't for me either.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really had to force myself to get through this, i think most of my issues with this book come from not liking the main character but in all honesty the plot wasn't for me either.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 9, 2019
CW: Lesbophobia and lesbian erasure, ableist language and fat shaming.
I had even forgotten that I had requested the ARC of this book more than an year ago, when it suddenly got approved this month. I obviously wasn’t interested anymore, but I also didn’t wanna abandon it and it has a lot of gushing reviews calling it an empowering feminist novel, so I wanted to give it a try. And wow was I absolutely wrong to do so.
The MC who is a narcissist dominatrix with a superiority complex, is a seduction expert and calls herself The Baroness. We never even get to know her actual name - surprisingly, not even her fiancé refers to her my her name once in the book. She is a self proclaimed devout feminist who utilizes her superior skills to provide services for women who are suffering due to their lying, cheating partners. She wants power and wants to rule over everyone, and she will resort to all sorts of intimidation tactics to gain the money and power, including manipulating and marrying a billionaire. I guess I could understand how her character could feel empowering because she was taking down men who were destroying the lives of women without any care for consequences, but I just didn’t like the execution of it all.
The story might have worked if it had stuck to the true nature of the main character, without her having to assert over and over again that she was a feminist. But except her lip service about being in the business of helping women, none of her thoughts ever reflected that. She is completely judgmental about every single client who comes for a consult, is utterly disdainful about the problems these vulnerable women may be having, and it’s very clear in her internal monologue that she is only tolerating them for the money and power trip they can provide. She calls her own employees (who are obviously female) little people, looks down upon them, is completely indifferent to their issues or maybe even enjoys the fact that their lives are not as sorted as hers, and expects them to be completely submissive and grateful to her. I’m not saying that female characters can’t be manipulative or power hungry, but I just found it very ironic that she would just assign all her narcissistic behavior to her feminist principles despite having no respect for any other woman in her life (except probably the ones who are totally onboard with her machinations and are powerful and important for furthering her interests).
The only good thing I found about the book is that it’s short and very quick to read. If it was any longer, it would have definitely been a DNF. The way it’s written also feels very formal and sometimes, quite high handed which didn’t work for me. For a book espousing to be empowering for women, it has a good dose of lesbophobia and lesbian erasure. There are multiple instances where the main character questions why anyone would want to be a lesbian, she has a very sneering response to someone when she realizes they assumed her to be a lesbian, and at one point she says that women who don’t find their Mr. Right inevitably end up falling into lesbianism. I was just horrified when I read this all. There is one instance of a sex addict being referred to as “psycho” which goes unchallenged despite the other character acknowledging that it’s a mental illness. But what pissed me off most was one particular incident of blatant fat shaming where our delightful MC mockingly thinks if another particular character needed two seats in the flight and if her office furniture is sturdy enough to seat her. If this wasn’t an ARC, I would have stopped reading right at that moment.
After reading all the gushing reviews for this book and it’s high rating, I’m just confused if I even read the same book. Despite the main character’s assertions, I found her to be exactly opposite and even downright insulting to be called a feminist, and I would definitely not recommend this book to anyone who wants an empowering feminist read. I found it to be full of harmful stereotypes and it could even feel triggering for some readers. I also find it very very wrong to refer to this book as a romance, because there is nothing but manipulation in this story and it doesn’t belong in the beloved romance genre. I’m not sure what audience this book is trying to cater to, but it definitely wasn’t for me and I call myself a feminist and am all for gender equality and women empowerment. I have also never ever written a rant review before, but this book made me very angry and I just wanted to share all my feelings about it.
I had even forgotten that I had requested the ARC of this book more than an year ago, when it suddenly got approved this month. I obviously wasn’t interested anymore, but I also didn’t wanna abandon it and it has a lot of gushing reviews calling it an empowering feminist novel, so I wanted to give it a try. And wow was I absolutely wrong to do so.
The MC who is a narcissist dominatrix with a superiority complex, is a seduction expert and calls herself The Baroness. We never even get to know her actual name - surprisingly, not even her fiancé refers to her my her name once in the book. She is a self proclaimed devout feminist who utilizes her superior skills to provide services for women who are suffering due to their lying, cheating partners. She wants power and wants to rule over everyone, and she will resort to all sorts of intimidation tactics to gain the money and power, including manipulating and marrying a billionaire. I guess I could understand how her character could feel empowering because she was taking down men who were destroying the lives of women without any care for consequences, but I just didn’t like the execution of it all.
The story might have worked if it had stuck to the true nature of the main character, without her having to assert over and over again that she was a feminist. But except her lip service about being in the business of helping women, none of her thoughts ever reflected that. She is completely judgmental about every single client who comes for a consult, is utterly disdainful about the problems these vulnerable women may be having, and it’s very clear in her internal monologue that she is only tolerating them for the money and power trip they can provide. She calls her own employees (who are obviously female) little people, looks down upon them, is completely indifferent to their issues or maybe even enjoys the fact that their lives are not as sorted as hers, and expects them to be completely submissive and grateful to her. I’m not saying that female characters can’t be manipulative or power hungry, but I just found it very ironic that she would just assign all her narcissistic behavior to her feminist principles despite having no respect for any other woman in her life (except probably the ones who are totally onboard with her machinations and are powerful and important for furthering her interests).
The only good thing I found about the book is that it’s short and very quick to read. If it was any longer, it would have definitely been a DNF. The way it’s written also feels very formal and sometimes, quite high handed which didn’t work for me. For a book espousing to be empowering for women, it has a good dose of lesbophobia and lesbian erasure. There are multiple instances where the main character questions why anyone would want to be a lesbian, she has a very sneering response to someone when she realizes they assumed her to be a lesbian, and at one point she says that women who don’t find their Mr. Right inevitably end up falling into lesbianism. I was just horrified when I read this all. There is one instance of a sex addict being referred to as “psycho” which goes unchallenged despite the other character acknowledging that it’s a mental illness. But what pissed me off most was one particular incident of blatant fat shaming where our delightful MC mockingly thinks if another particular character needed two seats in the flight and if her office furniture is sturdy enough to seat her. If this wasn’t an ARC, I would have stopped reading right at that moment.
After reading all the gushing reviews for this book and it’s high rating, I’m just confused if I even read the same book. Despite the main character’s assertions, I found her to be exactly opposite and even downright insulting to be called a feminist, and I would definitely not recommend this book to anyone who wants an empowering feminist read. I found it to be full of harmful stereotypes and it could even feel triggering for some readers. I also find it very very wrong to refer to this book as a romance, because there is nothing but manipulation in this story and it doesn’t belong in the beloved romance genre. I’m not sure what audience this book is trying to cater to, but it definitely wasn’t for me and I call myself a feminist and am all for gender equality and women empowerment. I have also never ever written a rant review before, but this book made me very angry and I just wanted to share all my feelings about it.
June 2, 2019
Okay guys, I'm about to lay it down and be real. The realest of the real. Prepare yourself.
This is without a doubt the worst book that I've read so far in 2019. No contest. From the content to the writing and editing, everything involving this novel was one hot mess. Before I had even completed reading chapter one I contemplated DNF-ing this book but I persisted (barely) until completion. Trust me, if I was less stubborn individual, I would have stopped reading and called it a loss after chapter one.
One term that I have heard being associated with this novel is "feminism". Let me be clear: this novel (and the main character) is not an example of feminism. The main character is arrogant, she's a bully, and she has no likeable qualities whatsoever. Some could potentially argue that she's a strong and independent businesswoman but I would strongly disagree with that. She's building her career and her 'status' in the worst possibly ways.
There is no redeeming qualities with this story to make up for the bad writing, the bad editing, or the horrible characters. I highly suggest bypassing this novel for one of the many that are far more superior.
**Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
This is without a doubt the worst book that I've read so far in 2019. No contest. From the content to the writing and editing, everything involving this novel was one hot mess. Before I had even completed reading chapter one I contemplated DNF-ing this book but I persisted (barely) until completion. Trust me, if I was less stubborn individual, I would have stopped reading and called it a loss after chapter one.
One term that I have heard being associated with this novel is "feminism". Let me be clear: this novel (and the main character) is not an example of feminism. The main character is arrogant, she's a bully, and she has no likeable qualities whatsoever. Some could potentially argue that she's a strong and independent businesswoman but I would strongly disagree with that. She's building her career and her 'status' in the worst possibly ways.
There is no redeeming qualities with this story to make up for the bad writing, the bad editing, or the horrible characters. I highly suggest bypassing this novel for one of the many that are far more superior.
**Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
July 14, 2019
Unfortunately, this was so freakin boring and frustrating.
I kept on waiting and waiting for something to happen, but it was just boring. The main character is so annoying, frustrating, and so freakin narcissistic. She believes that she’s god’s gift to the world, while she just walk around belittling females and stereotyping them. And she calls herself a “feminist”!
I. Hated. Her.
I couldn’t see any romance in this book. And I’ve got no idea why does she call herself the seduction expert!! There’s no seduction!!!
The only good thing about this book might be the cover. It’s kinda cool. The premise was interesting enough for me to take a chance on the book, but it ended up being a disappointment.
*I received a copy from VSP publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you. I wish I could have loved it, but maybe this one wasn’t for me*
I kept on waiting and waiting for something to happen, but it was just boring. The main character is so annoying, frustrating, and so freakin narcissistic. She believes that she’s god’s gift to the world, while she just walk around belittling females and stereotyping them. And she calls herself a “feminist”!
I. Hated. Her.
I couldn’t see any romance in this book. And I’ve got no idea why does she call herself the seduction expert!! There’s no seduction!!!
The only good thing about this book might be the cover. It’s kinda cool. The premise was interesting enough for me to take a chance on the book, but it ended up being a disappointment.
*I received a copy from VSP publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you. I wish I could have loved it, but maybe this one wasn’t for me*
June 5, 2019
I was excited to receive an ARC for a book that I thought may be interesting. Honestly, I love a good story where I cannot put the book down, but this book had the opposite effect. I read chapter after chapter trying to understand if this character was a protagonist or a narcissist, and over time, I no longer cared about the main character, and the plot if there was one, kept me unengaged.
July 13, 2019
I have a love-hate relationship (but more hate tbh) with this book. And for that reason I'm glad it was short. Honestly, I don't even know what to say. The Seduction Expert was sometimes cliché (and not of the best kind), there were useless scenes (in my humble opinion), and let's be real, the Baroness is a cold-hearted b*tch (bathing in luxury and destroying men for pleasure). Yes she's smart and funny (of course funny in a mean way) and really fascinating (because sometimes mean people fascinate me just because I don’t understand their behavior). But it doesn't change the fact that she's heartless. And while I kinda hated it, I also kinda enjoyed it at the same time. Or at least, my evil twin did. (My nice side gave up pretty quickly and went watching Finding Dory - no joke. I love Finding Dory. ^^)
Will my evil twin and I read the second book? Probably. Maybe. Not sure. To be determined. She wants more of the Baronness and I want to see how her character develops. (I'm curious and I like to torture myself.)
Will my evil twin and I read the second book? Probably. Maybe. Not sure. To be determined. She wants more of the Baronness and I want to see how her character develops. (I'm curious and I like to torture myself.)
July 21, 2019
2-2.5 stars
I received a free ARC from VSP Publishing in exchange for a review to be released by the 20th of July.
Man oh man, has this book caused some trouble with its rerelease. Like many others, I was sent a DM on Goodreads asking to review this book. The premise interested me and it is on the short side, so I agreed. They told me to wait until next week for my copy to be sent. Here is a part of the email message that took me by surprise: Please do not forget to post your review before July 20 and if you doesn’t like the book, thank you to let us know by email instead of posting a bad review (less than 3 stars). Indeed, as you know each advance reading copy provided cost a fee to publishers, so we prefer to invest in a good marketing campaign. The Publishers have deleted their account so our Goodreads DM thread is no longer available for me to view, but I never agreed to give it a certain rating in exchange for a copy. My reviews are honest and try to be helpful to fellow readers and authors.
The author and publisher wanted to redo the book somehow so there are reviews from the first release. My review is for the second release. I'm stating this because I don't know if there is a difference between these two version as I only have access to the second one.
This book is about a woman who goes by the moniker Baroness, her real name is never given, and she is essentially a person whose business is to help women who hire her find out if their husbands are cheating and if they are use illegal tactics to get them to finance their soon to be ex-wife's new lifestyle. Another aspect to her business is to help women attract the man of their desires through calculated means. The title "seduction expert" is used as she not only helps women seduce men but seduces women into trusting her while they're in the most vulnerable, scared position they could be in. She's used her skills to build a business, become a respected member of upper class Parisian society, create and head a secret feminist organization with a vast network of fellow wealthy and well-regarded women (some of who were past clients), and land one of the most wealthy and handsome eligible bachelors in all of France. We as readers follow her around throughout her life in a sort of diary format while she deals with professional and personal highs and lows.
Just to be clear there is no romance in this book. Just because a character’s job deals with breaking and building a relationship doesn’t mean it’s a romance. If you’re reading this expecting romance of any kind then skip this book. This is more slice of life Contemporary as we’re watching Baroness live her life and seeing her inner thoughts. Definitely feel this book has been mislabeled on Goodreads.
For almost half this book I didn't feel too bad about this story; a more accurate description would have been "it's not bad but not great" viewpoint. This character is probably one of the most unlikeable females I've read about, and I can see many people being unable to finish this book out of annoyance with her attitude and personality. For me, I didn't really mind it as it's just another side of how certain people are in real-life. Maybe dealing with someone who is quite similar to Baroness has left me more tolerant to her thoughts and actions? Who knows.
While reading this book I noticed several issues of awkward phrasing that could have been fixed with a different word choice, missing words, a capitalization issue, and numerous typos. Since this is the second release of the book, I didn't expect these errors and became frustrated with how frequently I found them in the latter part of the book. Another slight issue came from the characters themselves. They all seemed pretty two dimensional. You have the characteristic mama's boy, evil future mother-in-law, super nice yet gullible future father-in-law, meek secretary, alcoholic troubled P.I., sketchy Serbian bodyguard (in truth I found this character kind of racist), and evil beautiful, popular rich female who uses anyone in her path. Usually characters like this, while a dime a dozen, can bring a plot along, but these characters took the plot from "meh," "slightly interesting," to flat out "messy" and "cringe worthy". With the introduction of Baroness's love interest, I did become more invested in the story but all the issues compounded together to leave me frustrated in the end.
My biggest issue deals with how the author chose to handle the topic of feminism. Baroness is a self-proclaimed feminist and seems proud of it. She claims to be helping women who have been used by their husbands restart their lives and realizing they don't need men to be happy and fulfilled with their lives. They can instead find it by giving back to other women who have gone or are currently going through similar situations. It sounds nice, right? Yet, the way the author handles feminism throughout the book seemed negative instead of empowering. Baroness is constantly belittling EVERYONE she meets, regardless of gender; she constantly has inner monologues of how practically everyone is of lesser quality than her in numerous ways. Honestly, she uses everyone to her advantage to climb her way to the high life especially financially. [She's a gold digger.] This isn't really feminism as she's just being a man hating witch but uses the guise of feminism to excuse her terrible actions. I get that it's part of her personality, but it's damaging and misleading to what feminism actually is about.
There is a possibility of a future plot as this book is the first in a series. As I stated before, Baroness from the beginning has a superiority complex over everyone but one individual. The only individual she even likes is her best friend Chloe. They actually get along with each other and Baroness seems to be her truest self with Chloe. Even “gracing” her with genuine smiles and laughs. There were hints that Baroness may be attracted and even in love with Chloe, but didn't realize it even though she believes almost everyone she knows to be hopelessly in love with her and she's always the smartest person around. It'll be interesting to see if she happens to figure that fact out.
This book just went down hill for me in the later part. The cover is reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada and the book seems to be trying to have a character like Miranda Priestly with Baroness. These reminders are its greatest downfall as we've already seen these characters and plot in many other books. I'm not sure I can recommend this book as there are others that have more engaging characters and better driven plots. If you like reading about unlikeable characters living their lives through manipulating others than give this a shot but keep your hopes low.
I received a free ARC from VSP Publishing in exchange for a review to be released by the 20th of July.
Man oh man, has this book caused some trouble with its rerelease. Like many others, I was sent a DM on Goodreads asking to review this book. The premise interested me and it is on the short side, so I agreed. They told me to wait until next week for my copy to be sent. Here is a part of the email message that took me by surprise: Please do not forget to post your review before July 20 and if you doesn’t like the book, thank you to let us know by email instead of posting a bad review (less than 3 stars). Indeed, as you know each advance reading copy provided cost a fee to publishers, so we prefer to invest in a good marketing campaign. The Publishers have deleted their account so our Goodreads DM thread is no longer available for me to view, but I never agreed to give it a certain rating in exchange for a copy. My reviews are honest and try to be helpful to fellow readers and authors.
The author and publisher wanted to redo the book somehow so there are reviews from the first release. My review is for the second release. I'm stating this because I don't know if there is a difference between these two version as I only have access to the second one.
This book is about a woman who goes by the moniker Baroness, her real name is never given, and she is essentially a person whose business is to help women who hire her find out if their husbands are cheating and if they are use illegal tactics to get them to finance their soon to be ex-wife's new lifestyle. Another aspect to her business is to help women attract the man of their desires through calculated means. The title "seduction expert" is used as she not only helps women seduce men but seduces women into trusting her while they're in the most vulnerable, scared position they could be in. She's used her skills to build a business, become a respected member of upper class Parisian society, create and head a secret feminist organization with a vast network of fellow wealthy and well-regarded women (some of who were past clients), and land one of the most wealthy and handsome eligible bachelors in all of France. We as readers follow her around throughout her life in a sort of diary format while she deals with professional and personal highs and lows.
Just to be clear there is no romance in this book. Just because a character’s job deals with breaking and building a relationship doesn’t mean it’s a romance. If you’re reading this expecting romance of any kind then skip this book. This is more slice of life Contemporary as we’re watching Baroness live her life and seeing her inner thoughts. Definitely feel this book has been mislabeled on Goodreads.
For almost half this book I didn't feel too bad about this story; a more accurate description would have been "it's not bad but not great" viewpoint. This character is probably one of the most unlikeable females I've read about, and I can see many people being unable to finish this book out of annoyance with her attitude and personality. For me, I didn't really mind it as it's just another side of how certain people are in real-life. Maybe dealing with someone who is quite similar to Baroness has left me more tolerant to her thoughts and actions? Who knows.
While reading this book I noticed several issues of awkward phrasing that could have been fixed with a different word choice, missing words, a capitalization issue, and numerous typos. Since this is the second release of the book, I didn't expect these errors and became frustrated with how frequently I found them in the latter part of the book. Another slight issue came from the characters themselves. They all seemed pretty two dimensional. You have the characteristic mama's boy, evil future mother-in-law, super nice yet gullible future father-in-law, meek secretary, alcoholic troubled P.I., sketchy Serbian bodyguard (in truth I found this character kind of racist), and evil beautiful, popular rich female who uses anyone in her path. Usually characters like this, while a dime a dozen, can bring a plot along, but these characters took the plot from "meh," "slightly interesting," to flat out "messy" and "cringe worthy". With the introduction of Baroness's love interest, I did become more invested in the story but all the issues compounded together to leave me frustrated in the end.
My biggest issue deals with how the author chose to handle the topic of feminism. Baroness is a self-proclaimed feminist and seems proud of it. She claims to be helping women who have been used by their husbands restart their lives and realizing they don't need men to be happy and fulfilled with their lives. They can instead find it by giving back to other women who have gone or are currently going through similar situations. It sounds nice, right? Yet, the way the author handles feminism throughout the book seemed negative instead of empowering. Baroness is constantly belittling EVERYONE she meets, regardless of gender; she constantly has inner monologues of how practically everyone is of lesser quality than her in numerous ways. Honestly, she uses everyone to her advantage to climb her way to the high life especially financially. [She's a gold digger.] This isn't really feminism as she's just being a man hating witch but uses the guise of feminism to excuse her terrible actions. I get that it's part of her personality, but it's damaging and misleading to what feminism actually is about.
There is a possibility of a future plot as this book is the first in a series. As I stated before, Baroness from the beginning has a superiority complex over everyone but one individual. The only individual she even likes is her best friend Chloe. They actually get along with each other and Baroness seems to be her truest self with Chloe. Even “gracing” her with genuine smiles and laughs. There were hints that Baroness may be attracted and even in love with Chloe, but didn't realize it even though she believes almost everyone she knows to be hopelessly in love with her and she's always the smartest person around. It'll be interesting to see if she happens to figure that fact out.
This book just went down hill for me in the later part. The cover is reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada and the book seems to be trying to have a character like Miranda Priestly with Baroness. These reminders are its greatest downfall as we've already seen these characters and plot in many other books. I'm not sure I can recommend this book as there are others that have more engaging characters and better driven plots. If you like reading about unlikeable characters living their lives through manipulating others than give this a shot but keep your hopes low.
July 13, 2019
I got this book sent to me for a review and it amazes me how I've been told that "if you doesn’t like the book, thank you to let us know by email instead of posting a bad review (less than 3 stars)". Well, I'm sorry but my love for books DOESN'T let me do that, so here I am.
In The Seduction Expert we follow Baroness, who is supposed to be that professional, who helps women with their relationships problems. And I mean, that sounds great. If only she wasn't an asshole bringing other women down and hating men in the process.
Our main character is overly confident, of course, and I wouldn't even bring this up if it wasn't portrayed in the way that it is. I am pretty sure the author never heard of "show, never tell", because she constantly explaines EVERYTHING to us. I am a reader. I am stupid. Please explain. NO.
Oh, the funniest thing about the whole book is that our beloved Baroness is supposed to be a feminist. Why, you ask me? Because she hates men. Let that sink in. She's even a president of some Feminist Society in Paris and when I read it, I laughed out loud for the first and last time.
Then of course, she's only with her fiance for his money and she has this big conflict with his mother, but honestly, at this point of the book, I just didn't care anymore. I'm happy I finished it, because I'm sure the next thing I read, I will love even more, just by comparison.
In The Seduction Expert we follow Baroness, who is supposed to be that professional, who helps women with their relationships problems. And I mean, that sounds great. If only she wasn't an asshole bringing other women down and hating men in the process.
Our main character is overly confident, of course, and I wouldn't even bring this up if it wasn't portrayed in the way that it is. I am pretty sure the author never heard of "show, never tell", because she constantly explaines EVERYTHING to us. I am a reader. I am stupid. Please explain. NO.
Oh, the funniest thing about the whole book is that our beloved Baroness is supposed to be a feminist. Why, you ask me? Because she hates men. Let that sink in. She's even a president of some Feminist Society in Paris and when I read it, I laughed out loud for the first and last time.
Then of course, she's only with her fiance for his money and she has this big conflict with his mother, but honestly, at this point of the book, I just didn't care anymore. I'm happy I finished it, because I'm sure the next thing I read, I will love even more, just by comparison.
October 1, 2019
When I started this book, I was surprised by the subject, this book is about. It is unique and something different than the usual books around. So that was a plus point. However, I found this book lacking on a few points. The main character is under developed. During reading this book I only saw part of the negative egoistic side of the main character and that was it. Nothing about her past, nothing about her as person etc.,. Next to that the story got repetitive. It is a shame because it could have been more. At the end it wasn't for me.
This is a ARC from the publisher via Netgalley, which I got for an honest review.
This is a ARC from the publisher via Netgalley, which I got for an honest review.
June 13, 2020
Este povestea unei femei egoiste și lipsite de scrupule, care urmărește atingerea propriului interes: să se îmbogățească. Un personaj aparte, Baroneasa se folosește de investigații și șantaj pentru a ajuta femeile să iasă din căsătorii cu soți care le înșeală sau să prindă în capcană anumiți bărbați.
O lectură interesantă, dar și dezamăgitoare.
Mă tot întreb de ce “Experta în seducție” a fost încadrată de editura Trei la categoria eroscop când nici măcar nu se apropie de așa ceva???
O lectură interesantă, dar și dezamăgitoare.
Mă tot întreb de ce “Experta în seducție” a fost încadrată de editura Trei la categoria eroscop când nici măcar nu se apropie de așa ceva???
September 22, 2023
What is this book? The most highly anticipated romance book of 2019 they said! I couldn't wait to read this, the release date has been pushed back so many times, my anticipation has grown and grown and my verdict, I'm flatter than a pancake.
Firstly, the title, where is the seduction people? I was expecting smut, I was in the mood for smut dammit and you didn't give me one single line of seduction. If this is seduction, consider yourself dumped.
Secondly, what is this story line, these characters, I love trash, but this didn't even make the trash bar, I have no words, and I like words, to be out of them is something else entirely.
And thirdly, the spelling! Clearly this has been proofread by spell check, we have 'this' instead of 'his' as an example throughout the book, and this is one example of many.
Needless to say, if this series continues, I won't be reading it.
I was going to go with one star, but actually a book that has given me this much feeling (albeit negative) deserves two.
Firstly, the title, where is the seduction people? I was expecting smut, I was in the mood for smut dammit and you didn't give me one single line of seduction. If this is seduction, consider yourself dumped.
Secondly, what is this story line, these characters, I love trash, but this didn't even make the trash bar, I have no words, and I like words, to be out of them is something else entirely.
And thirdly, the spelling! Clearly this has been proofread by spell check, we have 'this' instead of 'his' as an example throughout the book, and this is one example of many.
Needless to say, if this series continues, I won't be reading it.
I was going to go with one star, but actually a book that has given me this much feeling (albeit negative) deserves two.
May 5, 2019
I’m a consultant. A seduction expert, to be precise. Women contact me to take over their love lives. I step in when they’re lost, I’m supposed to succeed where they failed. I handle their single status, their relationship, their breakup, and very often their partner’s affairs.
Her job was catching cheating husbands and destroying them.
Everyone calls her baroness. She has a huge client list.
She was too self loving. And she HATES men. She only saw them as some kind of dirt. Also she is not too friendly with women either.
I thought she was kind of an EVIL woman.
That’s why I do this job. To shape women in my image: combative, proud, worthy, and respectable. One day, I will enroll them in an army of dress-suit feminists, that I will lead, and we will quite naturally reign at the top of the world.
Then she also has a super rich boyfriend. No, she doesn’t love him but definitely loves his money. So when he proposes her, she is very happy.
I may well have no feelings for Louis, the sexual awakening he provokes in me holds no comparison. This probably due to the fact that he detains everything that can excite me: wealth, power, nobility. So many points that constitute what I have always worked to achieve.”
“I chose him on a description. The amount of his wealth was as important as his three-piece suits and his Italian shoes. They match my tailor-made suits and my sharp stilettos and are the ideal fashion accessories for me to make an impression.
We are done with 50% of the book and we have nothing but she boasting about herself, her style, her money, her intelligence....
There’s seriously no twist or anything. But then enters her boyfriend and we have some plot.
I didn’t find this book that interesting. The main character is very unlikable. Too self loving and treating people like dirt. Still I might read the second book for the conclusion.
Her job was catching cheating husbands and destroying them.
Everyone calls her baroness. She has a huge client list.
She was too self loving. And she HATES men. She only saw them as some kind of dirt. Also she is not too friendly with women either.
I thought she was kind of an EVIL woman.
That’s why I do this job. To shape women in my image: combative, proud, worthy, and respectable. One day, I will enroll them in an army of dress-suit feminists, that I will lead, and we will quite naturally reign at the top of the world.
Then she also has a super rich boyfriend. No, she doesn’t love him but definitely loves his money. So when he proposes her, she is very happy.
I may well have no feelings for Louis, the sexual awakening he provokes in me holds no comparison. This probably due to the fact that he detains everything that can excite me: wealth, power, nobility. So many points that constitute what I have always worked to achieve.”
“I chose him on a description. The amount of his wealth was as important as his three-piece suits and his Italian shoes. They match my tailor-made suits and my sharp stilettos and are the ideal fashion accessories for me to make an impression.
We are done with 50% of the book and we have nothing but she boasting about herself, her style, her money, her intelligence....
There’s seriously no twist or anything. But then enters her boyfriend and we have some plot.
I didn’t find this book that interesting. The main character is very unlikable. Too self loving and treating people like dirt. Still I might read the second book for the conclusion.
May 15, 2019
I was send a ebook of this from VSP Publishing through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Award for the most hate-able MC in the world goes to...
The Baroness!
Good points:
I read this book in one sitting.
Bad points:
Just as the book is finally getting into things it finishes with 'TO BE CONTINUED'...
The Baroness.
She calls herself a feminist when all she does (literally every other sentence) is put other women down whether it be in her head or to their faces. Anyone that isn't as attractive as she is called an 'Ugly Betty' and she shames women that carry a little extra weight. I don't understand how this has so many 4/5 star ratings? It was one of the most infuriating things I've ever read in my life.
No she doesn't give off the persona of a no bullshit business woman, she just sounds like an entitled, impulsive gold-digging bitch! She has never loved anyone and actually says she doesn't care about anybody else. I really hoped the whole way through she would get what was coming to her, I suppose I will never know as I wont be reading the next book.
I really hope this is Saya Lopez Ortega taking the mick out of these 'high-flying' types and in the end the MC will get her comeuppance...
Also it could do with another read through by the copy-editor before its published as there are quite a few mix ups when it comes to the words 'he/she' which proved confusing as when the Baroness said something it ended with 'he said'. And there were a few sentences that didn't make any sense.
There may be those of you that love it but it wasn't my cup-of-tea.
Award for the most hate-able MC in the world goes to...
The Baroness!
Good points:
I read this book in one sitting.
Bad points:
Just as the book is finally getting into things it finishes with 'TO BE CONTINUED'...
The Baroness.
She calls herself a feminist when all she does (literally every other sentence) is put other women down whether it be in her head or to their faces. Anyone that isn't as attractive as she is called an 'Ugly Betty' and she shames women that carry a little extra weight. I don't understand how this has so many 4/5 star ratings? It was one of the most infuriating things I've ever read in my life.
No she doesn't give off the persona of a no bullshit business woman, she just sounds like an entitled, impulsive gold-digging bitch! She has never loved anyone and actually says she doesn't care about anybody else. I really hoped the whole way through she would get what was coming to her, I suppose I will never know as I wont be reading the next book.
I really hope this is Saya Lopez Ortega taking the mick out of these 'high-flying' types and in the end the MC will get her comeuppance...
Also it could do with another read through by the copy-editor before its published as there are quite a few mix ups when it comes to the words 'he/she' which proved confusing as when the Baroness said something it ended with 'he said'. And there were a few sentences that didn't make any sense.
There may be those of you that love it but it wasn't my cup-of-tea.
July 6, 2019
Thank you VSP Publishing for an eCopy of the book in exchange for a review
Unfortunately, this book wasn't really my type and I kind of knew it from the beginning, but I still wanted to give it a shot. I am not really the chick-lit kinda gal, but some books surprise me sometimes so I still hoped. But even though I appreciated the fun parts of the novel and also the unique idea, I still couldn't make myself enjoy it.
I wasn't a fan of the main character, I found her too much of herself to trust her persona. She built a world of her own, but this world wasn't appealing enough for me to lure me into it.
Unfortunately, this book wasn't really my type and I kind of knew it from the beginning, but I still wanted to give it a shot. I am not really the chick-lit kinda gal, but some books surprise me sometimes so I still hoped. But even though I appreciated the fun parts of the novel and also the unique idea, I still couldn't make myself enjoy it.
I wasn't a fan of the main character, I found her too much of herself to trust her persona. She built a world of her own, but this world wasn't appealing enough for me to lure me into it.
July 9, 2019
To be honest, this book didn't work for me. I read it until the end because it was a short read, and I really wanted to know when all of Baroness' little universe was going to crumble. She is a vain and futile woman, and I disliked her deeply. Maybe that was the plan, but I won't read another book from this series for sure. Maybe it'll work for you, if you like strong female characters that feel like they are at the top of the world and everyone else is scrap.
July 13, 2019
i was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
dnf @ 24%, see below:
blog post on romancing the books and more
krystal's review
megan's review
first off, that cover is a complete rip-off of the devil wears prada. the shoe and the words look almost the same. i mean, they could have been more creative and at least changed the color of the shoe, but lol no, they didn't even bother doing that.
also, i hated the men-punishing and the inaccurate portrayal of feminism in the book. i was cringing the whole time i read the conversation between the baroness and her best friend and here are some quotes to prove my point.
(doubled level of disgust since the man-hater shares my name.)
i'm a consultant. a seduction expert, to be precise. women contact me to take over their love lives. i step in when they're lost; i'm supposed to succeed where they failed. i handle their single status, their relationships, their breakups, and very often their partner's affairs. my job is a life priority, and i spend most of my time at the office or between two flights in business class.
dnf @ 24%, see below:
blog post on romancing the books and more
krystal's review
megan's review
first off, that cover is a complete rip-off of the devil wears prada. the shoe and the words look almost the same. i mean, they could have been more creative and at least changed the color of the shoe, but lol no, they didn't even bother doing that.
also, i hated the men-punishing and the inaccurate portrayal of feminism in the book. i was cringing the whole time i read the conversation between the baroness and her best friend and here are some quotes to prove my point.
chloe duly hates all men.
(doubled level of disgust since the man-hater shares my name.)
and let's be honest: i like to hunt down men and punish them for their wrongdoings.
April 13, 2020
Callous, manipulative, power hungry and narcissistic in the extreme! Someone to be loved and adored! At least that’s what the Seduction Expert (aka Baroness) would expect you to think…
Baroness’s perception of those around her is unerringly accurate; the reality of women scorned, the virgin eagerness to be loved or a simple need for connection is both cliché and oddly insightful. Sometimes uncomfortably so. I don’t think many women could say that they haven’t fit into one of those categories at some point in our lives. It’s easy to lose sight of ourselves by becoming lost in those feelings. Though not meant to be entirely altruistic, she does empower the women she helps.
And since it’s told from her POV I could really appreciate her view of the world; like her talent at dissecting and manipulating the emotions of those around her. I had a huge grin on my face during her more narcissistic moments.
My only issue was that the story didn’t grab my attention right away. However, with that said, this was enjoyable quick and not what I expected. I look forward to the next book in the series.
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. This review is voluntary and all opinions and thoughts are my own.
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Baroness’s perception of those around her is unerringly accurate; the reality of women scorned, the virgin eagerness to be loved or a simple need for connection is both cliché and oddly insightful. Sometimes uncomfortably so. I don’t think many women could say that they haven’t fit into one of those categories at some point in our lives. It’s easy to lose sight of ourselves by becoming lost in those feelings. Though not meant to be entirely altruistic, she does empower the women she helps.
And since it’s told from her POV I could really appreciate her view of the world; like her talent at dissecting and manipulating the emotions of those around her. I had a huge grin on my face during her more narcissistic moments.
My only issue was that the story didn’t grab my attention right away. However, with that said, this was enjoyable quick and not what I expected. I look forward to the next book in the series.
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. This review is voluntary and all opinions and thoughts are my own.
Follow Crack A Book Cafe :)
Website / Twitter / Facebook
July 12, 2017
I'd like to begin by thanking NetGalley, VSP publishing and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review. I must say I found the description of the book intriguing but honestly thought it was a novel. Perhaps it is supposed to be a novel, but it reads much more like a self-help book.
I rarely give a book one star but this book was not to my liking. There are run-on paragraphs that take up 2-3 pages. The author goes on and on about how wonderful she is and how much she has helped all the poor women that can't get a man. Seriously? I find it hard to stomach when someone is that focused on herself and how wonderful she is. All people have good and bad points and I don't want to listen to someone expound on on their personal perfection. Perhaps this book would work for someone who is 20, but for the over 50 crowd it fell on deaf ears. Actually, this reminded me of some of the posts on Facebook where the poster thinks everyone in the world just can't wait to hear what they had for breakfast!I Frankly, I couldn't care less about that information. I couldn't believe that the author has such a huge following and so many 5 star reviews. There must be something wrong with me because I quit reading before the end of the first chapter.
I rarely give a book one star but this book was not to my liking. There are run-on paragraphs that take up 2-3 pages. The author goes on and on about how wonderful she is and how much she has helped all the poor women that can't get a man. Seriously? I find it hard to stomach when someone is that focused on herself and how wonderful she is. All people have good and bad points and I don't want to listen to someone expound on on their personal perfection. Perhaps this book would work for someone who is 20, but for the over 50 crowd it fell on deaf ears. Actually, this reminded me of some of the posts on Facebook where the poster thinks everyone in the world just can't wait to hear what they had for breakfast!I Frankly, I couldn't care less about that information. I couldn't believe that the author has such a huge following and so many 5 star reviews. There must be something wrong with me because I quit reading before the end of the first chapter.
July 12, 2019
VSP publishing is unprofessional and manipulative and I suggest all book bloggers steer clear.
May 21, 2019
***3 Stars***
Expected Publication: May 27th, 2019
One of the most anticipated romance books of 2019? WHATTTTT??? What romance?
The Seduction Expert, known as the Baroness, is a lady who extorts men caught cheating on their wives and makes a ton of money off of them.
I guess let's start with the positives: I enjoyed the writing style and the short chapters; this was a very fast read I read within a couple hours. It had so much potential but here's where it fell short for me. It took until 75-80% of the book for the plot to be revealed. I kept thinking where is this going? This lady just gets paid by wives to find dirt on their cheating husbands. I also missed the romance part just because the baroness had a rich fiance?
FINALLY when the plot revealed itself that the Baroness' soon to be mother in law was trying to destroy her and her business did my interest peak. It was a little late and then the book ended. However because of the ending, I probably would give the next book in this series a read.
Special Thanks to NetGalley and VSP Publishing for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Expected Publication: May 27th, 2019
One of the most anticipated romance books of 2019? WHATTTTT??? What romance?
The Seduction Expert, known as the Baroness, is a lady who extorts men caught cheating on their wives and makes a ton of money off of them.
I guess let's start with the positives: I enjoyed the writing style and the short chapters; this was a very fast read I read within a couple hours. It had so much potential but here's where it fell short for me. It took until 75-80% of the book for the plot to be revealed. I kept thinking where is this going? This lady just gets paid by wives to find dirt on their cheating husbands. I also missed the romance part just because the baroness had a rich fiance?
FINALLY when the plot revealed itself that the Baroness' soon to be mother in law was trying to destroy her and her business did my interest peak. It was a little late and then the book ended. However because of the ending, I probably would give the next book in this series a read.
Special Thanks to NetGalley and VSP Publishing for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 15, 2019
This was a really fun read. It did take me a little time to warm up to the main character, but I ended up enjoying her and the story. This is a great book for all the girl power feelings.
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