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Georgian #1
The Seduction
After losing everything in a card game, gambler Viscount Gracechurch is given a single chance to regain his fortune--to accept his opponents' wager to seduce the enigmatic Juliet Seaton--but he soon discovers that his task could prove to be more difficult than he had expected.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 4, 2002
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298 people want to read
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Julia Ross
55 books29 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 25, 2019
3,5 Stars
"If the play is worthwhile, what does it matter who wins?"This was a delectably oh so luscious read, but also difficult to place and thus, difficult to rate as well for me. By place I mean that the uneven tone the story takes on when comparing the first and the second half of the book, from witty and lighter to much darker, made me often wonder to which category this story was really trying to ascribe to and how successfully so, as what started as a sophisticated comedy of manners ended on a way more melodramatic note. I’m not usually fond of major mood shifts in books no matter the genre. But that said I could have overlooked it here, being the writing very good, if I thought it served the story well, though I don’t think it did in this case, forcing all the action, twists, turns and revelations in the last third and consequently leaving the first half the role of a long, overdrawn and at times redundant premise.
It all starts with a daunting bet at the card table: bed the icy widow by next Friday or lose everything. But confident that no woman has ever resisted Alden Granville-Strachan Viscount Gracechurch’s charms, the notorious rake sets his seduction plan into motion with a sure hand and practised wiles. Though his well honed amorous skills have yet to meet with Juliet Seton’s dignified resolve, and when the solitary widow’s aloofness proves to be a veritable pièce de résistance, Alden must reckon with the fact that the actual and metaphorical game of chess he has engaged with lovely and mysterious Juliet may not have the outcome he too carelessly took for granted at the beginning. Even because something much more precious than money and prestige might be at stake now...
Ahh, the Eighteenth Century! How deep a cynicism or passion covered up by those thin veils of scintillating powder and hidden beneath those layers and cascades of filigreed lace? A precise date is not stated in the book, but a "recent Marriage Act" is mentioned and if I checked right, the 1753 one must be the correct reference here, with the story taking place during the last years of that same Georgian decade or so. In fact, Alden and Juliet look ready to pose for one of Hogarth’s or Gainsborough’s canvases, not a whiff of revolutionary egalitarianism has crept into the scene yet while the European aristocracy is still having some great ancien régime time.
And the evocative atmosphere is indeed one of the strongest features of the book, together with a really unique and elegant writing style. The speech, the poise, the mannerism, all the gracefulness and sensuality of the era conveyed through the deft and polished prose and the witty and playful banter. The characterisations are also focused and rounded, and though the heroine shows more rigid traits, both the leads make for quite a memorable couple, with a nice chemistry and behaving believably and accurately for the setting. Juliet is suspicious and wounded, having paid a high price for defying society rules, and a paragon rake and suave hedonist such as Alden is perfect to foil her reclusiveness and to win the fortress she has built around herself. The slow and languid seduction of the title, if overly prolonged in terms of page-counting, is the best developed part of the book but, reconnecting to what I wrote above, I had to lower my grade as I found that the passage from the flirting and courting to the real falling in love was overshadowed by all the plot twists crammed in the same space, distracting me from the characters’ emotions during this fundamental moment. Make no mistake, The Seduction remains thoroughly enjoyable and a notch above average, it’s just that I somewhat became detached from the romance at a certain point due to the unbalanced distribution of the tension along the storyline.
It’s a clever and refined book, more to admire than to feel, but the quality was such that I will surely backlist more by this author.
March 2, 2018
The Prologue:
Alden Granville, Viscount Gracechurch, was in a boatload of trouble. He wagered his estate and lost. If that wasn’t bad enough, he made an additional bet with the same men that he could seduce a woman -their choice- by midnight of the following Friday; he had less than one week to make good. If he was unsuccessful he would lose his home, an additional 5,000 pounds he did not have AND ”an amusing further forfeit of the Duke’s son’s choosing”.
The Plot:
From the beginning, I thought The Seduction was a game of cat and mouse. Granville was a dandy-like ladies’ man. He felt most comfortable with his rings and lace. He was the perfect libertine.
”He liked risk but this was the game he loved better: the ruin of a woman with her ardent consent, but only after a chase -a seduction- worth the effort.”
Granville was the ultimate rake-hell. When he met the widow, Juliet Seton, his elocution was polished. He formed a game plan. He set up The Tease. He offered her an antecedent, then he gave her the consequence. This took up roughly the first 2/3’s of the story.
Then the narrative picked up speed and repercussions came to a head. Like lava, intenseness boiled over. The Seduction encompassed temptation, greed and revenge.
Consider reading this story only if you are prepared for some anguish. There were many grey areas; I found no one completely likable. The upside is Ms. Ross doesn’t glorify or gloss over the romantic elements as another author might have done. She writes well and I would consider reading another story by her.
Alden Granville, Viscount Gracechurch, was in a boatload of trouble. He wagered his estate and lost. If that wasn’t bad enough, he made an additional bet with the same men that he could seduce a woman -their choice- by midnight of the following Friday; he had less than one week to make good. If he was unsuccessful he would lose his home, an additional 5,000 pounds he did not have AND ”an amusing further forfeit of the Duke’s son’s choosing”.
The Plot:
From the beginning, I thought The Seduction was a game of cat and mouse. Granville was a dandy-like ladies’ man. He felt most comfortable with his rings and lace. He was the perfect libertine.
”He liked risk but this was the game he loved better: the ruin of a woman with her ardent consent, but only after a chase -a seduction- worth the effort.”
Granville was the ultimate rake-hell. When he met the widow, Juliet Seton, his elocution was polished. He formed a game plan. He set up The Tease. He offered her an antecedent, then he gave her the consequence. This took up roughly the first 2/3’s of the story.
Then the narrative picked up speed and repercussions came to a head. Like lava, intenseness boiled over. The Seduction encompassed temptation, greed and revenge.
Consider reading this story only if you are prepared for some anguish. There were many grey areas; I found no one completely likable. The upside is Ms. Ross doesn’t glorify or gloss over the romantic elements as another author might have done. She writes well and I would consider reading another story by her.
February 15, 2012
Amazing! The first half of the book is the seduction of the title, but the hero/seducer and the lady being seduced, unbeknownst to them, are actually just pawns in a horrible game of revenge controlled by the lady's enemy, her former fiance. The seduction itself is pure poetry. The second half of the book is a new game between the hero and the heroine's enemy, with their lives and honor as the ultimate stakes. Brilliant use of the chess metaphor in both parts of the story. Even more brilliant depiction of the Georgian setting - the clothes, the speech, the political and social realities of the time. And the 3 cats - just irresistible!
Julia Ross, the author of this wonderful book, should be much better known.
Julia Ross, the author of this wonderful book, should be much better known.
August 13, 2016
The Seduction, Julia Ross - I greatly enjoyed so much about this novel, not least of which is the Georgian setting. The Seduction feels very authentic and representative of the period in which it is set and there is great care taken of the role of a person's attire and the relevance of courtly manners and social hierarchies. The novel itself almost reads as two distinct acts, and I did actually prefer the first half of the book a bit more than the second half, as it focuses on the tense battle of wills and cunning skills of the hero and heroine in the game of seduction. Unlike many books that treat the theme of seduction and the characterization of the rake light-heartedly, this book is very serious and doesn't shy away from the consequences of what happens to a woman's reputation. In fact, it also doesn't shy away from the emotional consequences the rake faces once he succeeds in seducing the object of his attentions. I found both results almost equally painful to witness.
Alden Granville is initially represented as a wastrel and dandy, gambling his life inheritance and ancestral home away in a drunken card game. Nothing is quite as it seems in this novel though, and Alden is soon revealed as a complex man with hidden motives. While he accepts a terrible bet to seduce a secluded widow, it's not quite as easy to blame him whole-heartedly for his complicity in her ruin. Nevertheless, he does set out to seduce her and he does bring ruin upon her. There is something of the "be careful what you wish for" theme here because Juliet Seton's ruin is also Alden's, as by the time Alden succeeds in his goal, he is also in love with her. The second half of the novel requires Juliet and Alden to attempt to pick up the broken pieces of their lives and work together to get to the bottom of why both are pawns in a vicious game, far beyond what either earlier understood. The second half of the novel is heavy and a bit of a tear-jerker. I like emotional reads though, and so this book mostly worked for me. I loved both characters and greatly empathized with Alden's regrets and attempts to amend his wrongs. Juliet is very much victimized by a number of reprehensible men, but she's also very strong and resilient and not boxed in as an object of pity for very long. I wouldn't have minded a little less melodrama in the second half, but that's a slight criticism of what was a very powerful reading experience. Unfortunately, I don't really know if Julia Ross is still writing anymore. I definitely want to read some of her other books though.
Alden Granville is initially represented as a wastrel and dandy, gambling his life inheritance and ancestral home away in a drunken card game. Nothing is quite as it seems in this novel though, and Alden is soon revealed as a complex man with hidden motives. While he accepts a terrible bet to seduce a secluded widow, it's not quite as easy to blame him whole-heartedly for his complicity in her ruin. Nevertheless, he does set out to seduce her and he does bring ruin upon her. There is something of the "be careful what you wish for" theme here because Juliet Seton's ruin is also Alden's, as by the time Alden succeeds in his goal, he is also in love with her. The second half of the novel requires Juliet and Alden to attempt to pick up the broken pieces of their lives and work together to get to the bottom of why both are pawns in a vicious game, far beyond what either earlier understood. The second half of the novel is heavy and a bit of a tear-jerker. I like emotional reads though, and so this book mostly worked for me. I loved both characters and greatly empathized with Alden's regrets and attempts to amend his wrongs. Juliet is very much victimized by a number of reprehensible men, but she's also very strong and resilient and not boxed in as an object of pity for very long. I wouldn't have minded a little less melodrama in the second half, but that's a slight criticism of what was a very powerful reading experience. Unfortunately, I don't really know if Julia Ross is still writing anymore. I definitely want to read some of her other books though.
July 28, 2015
I was really torn what rating to give this book, which doesn't usually happen to me. The things that were really good about this book were that it was a Georgian book with language and setting and everything that you should expect but usually don't get in novels set in that period. The author was able to make you feel you were set in that time with the language and grace and costumes of that time which was quite magical. And I thought the language of the book was really wonderful. I read some other reviews that people complained about the lace and wigs and patches the men wore, well, hello, if you don't want to read about Georgian times then don't read a Georgian book. Sometimes people make me shake my head and laugh at the stupidity of them, but anyway. For me, it was actually the magic of this book.
Probably the reason this book didn't rate higher with me was because even though it was well written, I didn't really much like either the hero or heroine. I just didn't get invested in their story. I think I was on the back foot with the story to start with as the premise was the hero met the heroine because he was blackmailed into seducing her to gain return of his property. It was hard for me to get invested in the story with the falseness of the hero working on the heroine, even though I know they both did really fall in love during the process.
It was a well-written book that I did enjoy, however didn't fall in love with. I might check out other work by this author though because she has writing skills enough to make a Georgian book actually seem like I was sitting in Georgian times. I don't think that's easy for a contemporary author to be able to do that.
Probably the reason this book didn't rate higher with me was because even though it was well written, I didn't really much like either the hero or heroine. I just didn't get invested in their story. I think I was on the back foot with the story to start with as the premise was the hero met the heroine because he was blackmailed into seducing her to gain return of his property. It was hard for me to get invested in the story with the falseness of the hero working on the heroine, even though I know they both did really fall in love during the process.
It was a well-written book that I did enjoy, however didn't fall in love with. I might check out other work by this author though because she has writing skills enough to make a Georgian book actually seem like I was sitting in Georgian times. I don't think that's easy for a contemporary author to be able to do that.
October 15, 2014
Oh mercy, mercy, mercy this was a good one. First, I am a sucker for a Georgian hero dripping in lace and more than confident and masculine enough to totally OWN that.
"His appearance was both beautiful and witty, almost as if he celebrated the irony of hiding masculine muscle beneath such essentially feminine frippery. For a woman to put her hand on a man's sleeve and feel the hard tension of his arm beneath the silk was intensely erotic. Perhaps no age had ever been as blatantly sensual as this one. No wonder men like Alden reveled in it, reaping woman after woman like a scythe harvesting flowers.”
Knock me over with a feather.
Second, exquisite chemistry, tension, conflict (both internal and external). Passionate fights, even more passionate surrenders. The hero and his lady were each others best matched adversary and drove each other crazy as a result. The first half of the book is an agony of seduction. This hero must work very hard, and the heroine gives no quarter. My favorite.
Third, the drama ratchets up pretty high past the halfway mark, but without doing one of those headlong rushes to the finish line that so many books do, once the action really hits. The pacing is just right.
Finally, three cats. Named Shadrach, Meschah and Abednego. I rest my case.
"His appearance was both beautiful and witty, almost as if he celebrated the irony of hiding masculine muscle beneath such essentially feminine frippery. For a woman to put her hand on a man's sleeve and feel the hard tension of his arm beneath the silk was intensely erotic. Perhaps no age had ever been as blatantly sensual as this one. No wonder men like Alden reveled in it, reaping woman after woman like a scythe harvesting flowers.”
Knock me over with a feather.
Second, exquisite chemistry, tension, conflict (both internal and external). Passionate fights, even more passionate surrenders. The hero and his lady were each others best matched adversary and drove each other crazy as a result. The first half of the book is an agony of seduction. This hero must work very hard, and the heroine gives no quarter. My favorite.
Third, the drama ratchets up pretty high past the halfway mark, but without doing one of those headlong rushes to the finish line that so many books do, once the action really hits. The pacing is just right.
Finally, three cats. Named Shadrach, Meschah and Abednego. I rest my case.
December 8, 2014
Rook to CoQ10 - No, no, that's not right - it's Rook to Queen's Bishop four.
Oh Ms. Ross I wish you were still writing. You do know, Ms. Ross, that self-publishing has come along since your last book. That means you only have to argue with yourself when you're writing.
A long time ago there was a wonderful writer named Julia Ross who also wrote some traditional Regencies under the name of Jean Ewing Ross. I am the proud possessor of all of these books and I keep hoping that someday all of her books will be released in electronic formatting. There are all kinds of new generations of readers who could the experience the joy of reading one of her gems. However, at this time Ms. Ross has joined the ranks of "whatever happened to." Sigh.
As I read The Seduction, I once again marveled at the length of older books and this one was written in 2002, so it's not alllll that long ago. What could have happened in such a short time to change the length of books? We, the reader are missing so very much by not being able to read a story that is fully developed. It is always nice to pick up a book in which the author has been given plenty of space to expand their story.
The Seduction was a wonderful journey into storytelling filled with a variety of intriguing levels, all intricately intertwined together. This is a magnificent book. Is it perfect? Of course not. There were some things I had issues with, but not the writing, and overall this is a golden oldie. The romance world is a little empty because the voice of Julia Ross is no longer contributing to it.
The Seduction takes its time telling the story of the infamous rake Alden Granville-Strachan and the "I've got a secret" widow Juliet Seton. Ms. Ross is great in setting the scenes in the lush Georgian time period - the language, clothing, and surroundings are so well-drawn one can almost taste the era. Alden is a very sensual man; he loves women while at the same time using them. He wears satin, velvet and lace, but there is never any denying that he is allllll male. In fact all the frou-frou of the day only enhances his manly sensuality.
At the beginning of the story Alden is losing big time in a card game. Now, he seems to have a ton of responsibilities, so why he is in there throwing away his estate is never fully explained, but he is. He is the sole support of an orphaned child which makes him seem even more frivolous. Into this set-up slithers our shady villain Edward, and a wager is made. The wager involves Alden seducing our young widow within a week and returning with a locket she wears around her neck as proof. Alden has no other option but to accept this wager and he's off to the country. By the way, Edward is a very sinister villain. He's like a spider spinning his web, trapping his unwary victims within. While he doesn't have garlic breath, he does have discolored teeth so if there was even an inkling of a thought for a future hero in him - don't even think it, the teeth give him away.
Anyway, Alden has a plan - sort of. He appears in Juliet's garden only to find that she doesn't really seem interested in him. So, this calls for drastic action and drastic it is. He spots a bee and once spotting that bee he remembers a childhood incident in which he almost died from a bee sting. Well nothing can get the attention of a woman faster than a man falling down in a swoon at her feet. So, he deliberately encourages the bee to sting him and it does and Alden swoon's at Juliet's feet. Now, contrary to what you might think, Alden is really an intelligent man, he's just desperate. Juliet is forced to take care of an ailing Alden until he recovers. As luck would have it, Juliet falls under Alden's spell almost from the beginning, but she's no push over - she resists him for a long time. Actually, they don't even kiss until almost the middle of the book.
The book seems to be divided into two parts. The first part is the seduction and it is thick with steamy atmosphere as Alden challenges Juliet to a Chess game that of course includes another wager. The narrative changes from seduction in the second half of the book to more intrigue as the characters in the book move as if they were in a chess game. Some of the characters are more sinister and some are just pawns in the overall outcome of the book. There are numerous secondary characters, all weaving in and out of the tale - each adding their part to the story. There is no rush to tie up loose ends; instead each thread falls into place.
This is phenomenal storytelling. Now, I did mention before I had some issues and I did. I found Juliet a hard heroine to like, so it was really hard for me to cheer her on. Even before Alden's eventual betrayal she had quite a fish-wife of a mouth about her. She had an axe to grind with just about everybody and this grinding went on just a tad too long for me. However, there are some incredible moments with her in an asylum that are pretty powerful. Overall, this is a well-written book by a wonderful author and I wish she was still churning them out.
KaysBlog
Oh Ms. Ross I wish you were still writing. You do know, Ms. Ross, that self-publishing has come along since your last book. That means you only have to argue with yourself when you're writing.
A long time ago there was a wonderful writer named Julia Ross who also wrote some traditional Regencies under the name of Jean Ewing Ross. I am the proud possessor of all of these books and I keep hoping that someday all of her books will be released in electronic formatting. There are all kinds of new generations of readers who could the experience the joy of reading one of her gems. However, at this time Ms. Ross has joined the ranks of "whatever happened to." Sigh.
As I read The Seduction, I once again marveled at the length of older books and this one was written in 2002, so it's not alllll that long ago. What could have happened in such a short time to change the length of books? We, the reader are missing so very much by not being able to read a story that is fully developed. It is always nice to pick up a book in which the author has been given plenty of space to expand their story.
The Seduction was a wonderful journey into storytelling filled with a variety of intriguing levels, all intricately intertwined together. This is a magnificent book. Is it perfect? Of course not. There were some things I had issues with, but not the writing, and overall this is a golden oldie. The romance world is a little empty because the voice of Julia Ross is no longer contributing to it.
The Seduction takes its time telling the story of the infamous rake Alden Granville-Strachan and the "I've got a secret" widow Juliet Seton. Ms. Ross is great in setting the scenes in the lush Georgian time period - the language, clothing, and surroundings are so well-drawn one can almost taste the era. Alden is a very sensual man; he loves women while at the same time using them. He wears satin, velvet and lace, but there is never any denying that he is allllll male. In fact all the frou-frou of the day only enhances his manly sensuality.
At the beginning of the story Alden is losing big time in a card game. Now, he seems to have a ton of responsibilities, so why he is in there throwing away his estate is never fully explained, but he is. He is the sole support of an orphaned child which makes him seem even more frivolous. Into this set-up slithers our shady villain Edward, and a wager is made. The wager involves Alden seducing our young widow within a week and returning with a locket she wears around her neck as proof. Alden has no other option but to accept this wager and he's off to the country. By the way, Edward is a very sinister villain. He's like a spider spinning his web, trapping his unwary victims within. While he doesn't have garlic breath, he does have discolored teeth so if there was even an inkling of a thought for a future hero in him - don't even think it, the teeth give him away.
Anyway, Alden has a plan - sort of. He appears in Juliet's garden only to find that she doesn't really seem interested in him. So, this calls for drastic action and drastic it is. He spots a bee and once spotting that bee he remembers a childhood incident in which he almost died from a bee sting. Well nothing can get the attention of a woman faster than a man falling down in a swoon at her feet. So, he deliberately encourages the bee to sting him and it does and Alden swoon's at Juliet's feet. Now, contrary to what you might think, Alden is really an intelligent man, he's just desperate. Juliet is forced to take care of an ailing Alden until he recovers. As luck would have it, Juliet falls under Alden's spell almost from the beginning, but she's no push over - she resists him for a long time. Actually, they don't even kiss until almost the middle of the book.
The book seems to be divided into two parts. The first part is the seduction and it is thick with steamy atmosphere as Alden challenges Juliet to a Chess game that of course includes another wager. The narrative changes from seduction in the second half of the book to more intrigue as the characters in the book move as if they were in a chess game. Some of the characters are more sinister and some are just pawns in the overall outcome of the book. There are numerous secondary characters, all weaving in and out of the tale - each adding their part to the story. There is no rush to tie up loose ends; instead each thread falls into place.
This is phenomenal storytelling. Now, I did mention before I had some issues and I did. I found Juliet a hard heroine to like, so it was really hard for me to cheer her on. Even before Alden's eventual betrayal she had quite a fish-wife of a mouth about her. She had an axe to grind with just about everybody and this grinding went on just a tad too long for me. However, there are some incredible moments with her in an asylum that are pretty powerful. Overall, this is a well-written book by a wonderful author and I wish she was still churning them out.
KaysBlog
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2013
I was just looking at this book on my shelf and thinking about how much I just love, love, loved it and that I have to reread it. The conflict here is so taut and compelling, and the characters just sparkle. It is one of those hero-makes-a-wager he-totally-shouldn't-have-made books.
January 19, 2021
I waffled with this rating, but the second half of the book was so strong and wonderful I felt I could give it a 4.5-5 stars.
How wonderful to find characters who really change and shift. The H analyzes his emotions and feelings on such a way it gives their relationship depth and meaning, not just because the author said so.
The author tributes this to Lymond, and a good tribute it is.
How wonderful to find characters who really change and shift. The H analyzes his emotions and feelings on such a way it gives their relationship depth and meaning, not just because the author said so.
The author tributes this to Lymond, and a good tribute it is.
August 1, 2019
Wow. Just wow. This one is a winner. I had never read Ross before (and it looks like she's no longer writing HRs), but I'm on a mission to read the rest of her books.
This one sucked me in almost instantly, and that says something, because in general I'm not a huge Georgian era fan, what with the patches and the lace and all the "demme" this and that. I immediately fell for this book due to the clear quality of Ross' writing. While the writing style dances on the edge of purple prose, she would nimbly pull back before things went too far. Plus, I thought it worked well for the era she was writing in.
I liked the H/h. Both were mature in the sense that they went into the relationship with a pretty clear idea of the baggage each brought to the table, along with sharing a realistic sense that given the constraints, they might not get their Happily Ever After (it's not a spoiler to tell you that they do, though). I loved all of the twists and turns and the secondary characters were wonderful as well. Each twist and each character encountered served to further develop the romance between the H/h.
I'm looking forward to reading the next one--Dove seems like a great character.
This one sucked me in almost instantly, and that says something, because in general I'm not a huge Georgian era fan, what with the patches and the lace and all the "demme" this and that. I immediately fell for this book due to the clear quality of Ross' writing. While the writing style dances on the edge of purple prose, she would nimbly pull back before things went too far. Plus, I thought it worked well for the era she was writing in.
I liked the H/h. Both were mature in the sense that they went into the relationship with a pretty clear idea of the baggage each brought to the table, along with sharing a realistic sense that given the constraints, they might not get their Happily Ever After (it's not a spoiler to tell you that they do, though). I loved all of the twists and turns and the secondary characters were wonderful as well. Each twist and each character encountered served to further develop the romance between the H/h.
I'm looking forward to reading the next one--Dove seems like a great character.
August 26, 2011
At times this novel irritated me - but on the whole it's quite the moving read. The Georgian fashion is so outrageous, and as is emphasized in the novel, the contrast of masculine virility with a wash of lace and ruffles is arresting. The chess game/seduction, the pawns used and discarded, the symbolism of imagery - between the cats, the garden, and the costumes made this a rich and fascinating read. The irritation arose when the dithering to and fro went on too long for my taste. The intrigue was good and not overly predictable. Also nice to have a hero who is not superman but a good, but not great swordsman, is not omniscient, does make mistakes etc.
For some reason, my copy, which I had bookmooched, had lots of pencil markings in it - paragraphs crossed out, sections marked - which was a bit irksome because I kept trying to figure out the significance of the marking - had someone edited the book for a recording? I guess I'd need to track down where I got it.
For some reason, my copy, which I had bookmooched, had lots of pencil markings in it - paragraphs crossed out, sections marked - which was a bit irksome because I kept trying to figure out the significance of the marking - had someone edited the book for a recording? I guess I'd need to track down where I got it.
January 4, 2014
This was rather melodramatic, as Georgians tend to be. I suppose it is impossible to write something restrained and reasonable when the characters are swanning about in patches and powder and yards of lace. I tend to like that sort of thing, and there were several moments when the plot hit high points and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The problem for me was the hero and heroine's conversations, which are really the backbone of most romance novels. These didn't do it for me. They were always having these interminable conversations that I suppose were meant to be comprised of scintillating repartee, but they went on and on. I found Juliet bit tedious as well; she spent too much time feeling sorry for herself and not accomplishing much of anything. I didn't really understand her or her choices by the end of the book.
The problem for me was the hero and heroine's conversations, which are really the backbone of most romance novels. These didn't do it for me. They were always having these interminable conversations that I suppose were meant to be comprised of scintillating repartee, but they went on and on. I found Juliet bit tedious as well; she spent too much time feeling sorry for herself and not accomplishing much of anything. I didn't really understand her or her choices by the end of the book.
August 27, 2013
I loved the premise of this book, and the first half of the novel fulfilled its promise: well-written, vivid, and very sensual. Unfortunately, the second half brought in a lot of unnecessary and uninteresting plot elements. A romance doesn't need tons of plot: the idea of the seduction could have carried the entire book.
I notice that several readers on Amazon disliked the hero's "feminine" lacy handkerchiefs and so forth. That didn't bother me at all. It's a historical novel, and different time periods have different ideas about masculinity. He was quite masculine enough for me, lace and all!
I notice that several readers on Amazon disliked the hero's "feminine" lacy handkerchiefs and so forth. That didn't bother me at all. It's a historical novel, and different time periods have different ideas about masculinity. He was quite masculine enough for me, lace and all!
June 23, 2010
Ms. Ross was not only able to turn it around for me and make me care of Alden. She also made me care about him and Juliet's situation. It was a lovely, well-written book. She writes metaphorically in some places, so you had to pay attention to what was going on. The last 1/2 of the book was full of suspense and the realization the Alden and Juliet loved each other, even though they both wanted to deny it.
February 14, 2024
An offbeat older-ish histrom. Ross certainly writes in a unique style and takes some risky plot swings, I can see why she's more of a hidden gem than a huge name for these reasons. But it's a really uneven reading experience, so I'll just go good/bad.
The Good: I picked this up because I'd heard it described as a book that goes hard on being set in the Georgian period and the guy is modelled on Dorothy Dunnet's Lymond. And both great points. Ross really luxuriates in describing the clothing from the time period, all heels, tons of lace, wigs and face patches. It feels like the only time I get mmc's who revel in their clothing is in this period, so I thank her for it.
And the mmc is a well-constructed character. First, an HR rake that lives up to the name! We hear about his past exploits and it's not the normal HR version of rake (which mostly sounds like they're describing a present-day party boy's 20s, but move him into ballrooms and gambling dens). Alden tore through women, genuinely upended lives, and while he had some lines he wouldn't cross, Ross doesn't act like that makes this all okay. He as a character and the book itself really reckons with this behavior and the effect it has on other people. I particularly liked when he keeps going on in this flowery language about how the only real truth between people is desire, and it certainly sounds like the faux-edgy bullshit of a player, and then he really does need to finally be admit a lot of that was bullshit, and he never had such pure motives in this pursuit. Instead, he needs to understand why he was living life this way for so long.
Would have liked more of his Lymond-esque, insouciant attitude, though. There's one scene where he just walks in and immediately insults every man in the room that was great fun and I was like more of this! I think there should be some levity to a character in this mold, but Ross errs quite serious for most of the book.
And relatedly, I did like that Ross takes quite seriously complex emotions here, even as the plot goes full soap opera. I really liked that most of the time, although I think at others in maybe just undercut the reader's own emotional response a bit. But overall, I liked that Ross was willing to deal in some ugly emotions (they have a knock-down, drag out fight that was great, allowing the fmc to vent some incredibly justified anger, but also not making her a saint in the process, as she goes too far in the fight too).
The bad (or just not-so-good): The plot does feel all over the place. I see reviews here saying it's like it has two parts that are tonally different, but I don't think so. I think there is a lingering darkness in the first half that then comes to fruition in the second. It's more like once plot points star comin' they don't stop comin' (credit: Smashmouth). So we have a really character-centric, languid (quite literally set in the hot, languid days of summer) first half and then all of a sudden it's like run out of your home! false imprisonment! murder! secret heirs! treasure! And that makes the characters feel like they're constantly just being pushed and pulled between these points as well. The careful but complex emotional exchanges between them just become completely tangled at this point for me. Like oh, we're declaring love? oh now we're saying there's no future? We're back to love?
And I feel like the fmc had a lot of wasted potential. We're led to believe she's holding a lot in reserve, that she is smarter than any of these men using her as a pawn anticipate. And sometimes that comes through. I liked at the beginning when she can immediately sense there is something strange about Alden's approach of her, that his pursuit is just a little too aggressive to make sense, but of course she wouldn't assume he's bet on seducing her. And it really seemed like she had pulled a fast one halfway through, I was thrilled when it seemed she had turned these men's schemes back on them. But then nope, just kidding. Our villain - who's powers to predict complex human actions/reactions borders on the God-like (a thing I'm learning is not uncommon for these ott histrom villains) - has actually planned it all, and she's fallen right into his dastardly trap. And then she's just toggled between plot points, playing no part in the scheming. It's a real letdown, since I felt like she had so much potential as a character.
So there were some flashes of greatness here, but lots of frustrating parts or unfulfilled potential, making for an uneven reading experience that sort of all comes out in the wash as just middle of the road.
The Good: I picked this up because I'd heard it described as a book that goes hard on being set in the Georgian period and the guy is modelled on Dorothy Dunnet's Lymond. And both great points. Ross really luxuriates in describing the clothing from the time period, all heels, tons of lace, wigs and face patches. It feels like the only time I get mmc's who revel in their clothing is in this period, so I thank her for it.
And the mmc is a well-constructed character. First, an HR rake that lives up to the name! We hear about his past exploits and it's not the normal HR version of rake (which mostly sounds like they're describing a present-day party boy's 20s, but move him into ballrooms and gambling dens). Alden tore through women, genuinely upended lives, and while he had some lines he wouldn't cross, Ross doesn't act like that makes this all okay. He as a character and the book itself really reckons with this behavior and the effect it has on other people. I particularly liked when he keeps going on in this flowery language about how the only real truth between people is desire, and it certainly sounds like the faux-edgy bullshit of a player, and then he really does need to finally be admit a lot of that was bullshit, and he never had such pure motives in this pursuit. Instead, he needs to understand why he was living life this way for so long.
Would have liked more of his Lymond-esque, insouciant attitude, though. There's one scene where he just walks in and immediately insults every man in the room that was great fun and I was like more of this! I think there should be some levity to a character in this mold, but Ross errs quite serious for most of the book.
And relatedly, I did like that Ross takes quite seriously complex emotions here, even as the plot goes full soap opera. I really liked that most of the time, although I think at others in maybe just undercut the reader's own emotional response a bit. But overall, I liked that Ross was willing to deal in some ugly emotions (they have a knock-down, drag out fight that was great, allowing the fmc to vent some incredibly justified anger, but also not making her a saint in the process, as she goes too far in the fight too).
The bad (or just not-so-good): The plot does feel all over the place. I see reviews here saying it's like it has two parts that are tonally different, but I don't think so. I think there is a lingering darkness in the first half that then comes to fruition in the second. It's more like once plot points star comin' they don't stop comin' (credit: Smashmouth). So we have a really character-centric, languid (quite literally set in the hot, languid days of summer) first half and then all of a sudden it's like run out of your home! false imprisonment! murder! secret heirs! treasure! And that makes the characters feel like they're constantly just being pushed and pulled between these points as well. The careful but complex emotional exchanges between them just become completely tangled at this point for me. Like oh, we're declaring love? oh now we're saying there's no future? We're back to love?
And I feel like the fmc had a lot of wasted potential. We're led to believe she's holding a lot in reserve, that she is smarter than any of these men using her as a pawn anticipate. And sometimes that comes through. I liked at the beginning when she can immediately sense there is something strange about Alden's approach of her, that his pursuit is just a little too aggressive to make sense, but of course she wouldn't assume he's bet on seducing her. And it really seemed like she had pulled a fast one halfway through, I was thrilled when it seemed she had turned these men's schemes back on them. But then nope, just kidding. Our villain - who's powers to predict complex human actions/reactions borders on the God-like (a thing I'm learning is not uncommon for these ott histrom villains) - has actually planned it all, and she's fallen right into his dastardly trap. And then she's just toggled between plot points, playing no part in the scheming. It's a real letdown, since I felt like she had so much potential as a character.
So there were some flashes of greatness here, but lots of frustrating parts or unfulfilled potential, making for an uneven reading experience that sort of all comes out in the wash as just middle of the road.
November 18, 2022
I originally read this when it was first published and remember liking it but it didn’t stick with me at the time. What I like about it… Georgian heroes are just something else. They are the peacock of romance heroes, all lace and bling and swords and danger. I don’t know why they are so sexy but they just are. And the intelligent banter, so sharp so witty. Ms Ross’s writing reminds me of Judith Ivory/Cuevas with all the tension between the characters, banter and sexual tension. This one is not high on the steam level, more suggestive than descriptive but that is ok. I wish Julia had kept writing but I’m guessing she was too niche and it was not yet the age of ku publishing.
September 25, 2020
3.75 stars, rounded up
October 7, 2024
It's criminal how unknown this book and this author is
October 26, 2023
I was debating between eating this 5 star and 2 star because that’s how I felt the whole time. This book filtered through all of my emotions, a must read but also so hard to love, but yet I do? Honestly been sitting in this review for 2 days and just don’t know how I feel still. Recommend reading for sure though! Do want to give a trigger warning there is slight SA in this book. But the way the author does inner dialogue and explains feelings is to good not to read.
January 30, 2010
This book started out really promising. I loved the interaction between Juliet and Alden. He's amusing, charming, and attractive even though his motives for seeking her out are contemptible. Unfortunately, as soon as Juliet's secret came out it all went downhill rapidly for me. I'm not a fan of romances where the heroine is torn between her abusive husband and the man she loves. If not for that, this might have been a good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2012
Una copertina volgare e al limite del porno, per un libro invece delicato e sensuale, dove ogni gesto del protagonista, tal togliersi la giacca a tagliare l'erba, diventa un gioco di seduzione che l'autrice riesce a descrivere in modo suggestivo e ipnotico. Ho trovato impossibile non lasciarmi affascinare da Alden, biondo libertino disperato ma non meschino. Meno simpatica lei, ma non si può avere tutto...
December 24, 2010
Non mi è piaciuto.
Nella prima parte regna la noia per buone 150 pagine, poi si risolleva un po' nel ritmo nella seconda parte, dove la storia si sviluppa in maniera più intensa, arrivando a toccare anche toni drammatici soprattutto nella parte ambientata nell'ospedale psichiatrico, ma in generale mi ha preso davvero molto poco e ho fatto fatica a finirlo.
Nella prima parte regna la noia per buone 150 pagine, poi si risolleva un po' nel ritmo nella seconda parte, dove la storia si sviluppa in maniera più intensa, arrivando a toccare anche toni drammatici soprattutto nella parte ambientata nell'ospedale psichiatrico, ma in generale mi ha preso davvero molto poco e ho fatto fatica a finirlo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2008
Poor writing + unlikeable characters = AVOID
October 27, 2008
An excellent historical romance novel. A game of chess leads to seduction.
August 25, 2009
Not so good. The premise was charming, but it just dragged on. Plus the drama/conflict was all in her head, so it was just tedious.
January 3, 2011
Not bad for an easy smut read!
February 19, 2013
A baron must seduce a beautiful young woman to save his manor. The story was a little slow, but it was pretty good anyway.
February 3, 2024
Wonderful
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