Customer Reviews

Never Seduce a Scoundrel (School for Heiresses Series)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the first book in Sabrina Jeffries' new "School for Heiresses" series, and it is fast-paced and engaging, but less sophisticated than her previous series. The book's heiress is Lady Amelia Plume. The daughter of an earl, she has lived the majority of her 21 years very frugally, since her father had little money. Then two years ago, the earl married a wealthy American widow, Dolly, and Amelia's circumstances changed drastically. With Dolly's money, Amelia was sent to finishing school and gifted with a large dowry, and she is now considered a very desirable marriage prospect. Amelia has yet to find a suitor who appeals to her intellectual and adventurous nature, but that changes one night when she attends a London society party. On a dare, Amelia goes upstairs to sneak a love letter from her girlfriend into the host's bedchamber. She winds up in his American cousin's room, where she stumbles upon some very disturbing documents. This cousin, Major Lucas Winter, is apparently secretly investigating some criminals on behalf of the American government, and his primary suspect is none other than her beloved stepmother, Dolly. Adventure-loving Amelia immediately goes into espionage mode and begins a flirtation with Lucas in order to gain information and help protect Dolly. Lucas, who does not realize that Amelia is on to him, employs the same strategy, trying to wheedle or seduce as much information as he can from Amelia in hopes of incriminating Dolly. Of course, there is a remarkably strong attraction between two people "feigning" interest in each other. Soon the conflicted Lucas has become quite the jealous suitor, and Amelia is torn by her contradictory feelings towards him. How can this impossible situation ever be resolved?

I have always enjoyed Sabrina Jeffries fun style of writing, and this book is no exception. That said, this story is a little less romantic than some I have read by her, although certainly not short on erotic encounters. The romance seemed to lack a certain tenderness and maturity, and seemed more raw and purely physical. I did like Amelia as a heroine, however, and thought she behaved admirably and with a cool head under difficult circumstances. Lucas was more difficult to empathize with, for his sometimes overbearing military ways were a little hard to warm up to. The intrigue aspect was probably the strongest part of the story, as I remained curious throughout as to how the Dolly dilemma would be resolved. Overall, this was a good and a pleasant read, just not a momentous one. I look forward to reading the next installment, featuring Amelia's friend Louisa North, Marcus' sister from "To Pleasure a Prince."

Lady Amelia Plume was a graduate of Mrs. Harris' School for Young Ladies, more commonly known as the School for Heiresses. The very high-spirited young heiress sought adventure. In her second season she was growing bored with the balls of Mayfair offering the same dull fops and fortune-hunters. While attending Dowager Viscount Kirkwood's annual ball with Mrs. Harris as her chaperone she noticed the rakishly handsome yet arrogant American Major Lucas Winter. Even though he appered haughty, talk of his dangerous exploits appealed to Amelia's taste for adventure.

Doing a favor for a friend, Amelia innocently entered the wrong bedchamber and discovered Lucas' papers showing his true purpose in England of investigating rather than socializing. From the notes she saw, Amelia determined that the person he was looking for was none other than her beloved step-mother. Almost caught by the scoundrel, she decided that she wasn't about to let any insolent American destroy her family and that two could play the same game.

As they played cat and mouse with one another, each trying to ferret out information, their games took on a very sensual tone. When Lucas came to Amelia's rescue after a suitor kidnapped her intending to ruin and then marry the heiress, Lucas saved her and her reputation by marrying her himself. Further adventures on the way home from Gretna Green led to some enlightening truths as Amelia now found herself married to the enemy.

*** This was a sensually laden regency adventure featuring two lively protagonists who spiced up the pages sparring with snappy dialogs as well as some very hot physical encounters. In this first book of a new series, Jeffries introduces Mrs. Harris who has a mysterious and anonymous benefactor (think of Charlie's Angels) funding her school. Additionally she sets the stage for a sequel featuring Amelia's enticing friend Venetia and the `Scottish Scourge' who seems to hold a huge grudge against Venetia's father. If the sequels come anywhere near as hot and spicy as this initial entry Jeffries is bound to have another spectacular series on her hands and I for one will be anxiously awaiting those sequels!

Lady Amelia Plume is pursued by beaux interested only in her fortune. But Amelia longs for adventure; something none of her suitors can provide. When Major Lucas Winter arrives from America, Amelia is immediately drawn to the mysterious man. Soon Lucas is pursuing Amelia and is wooing her with romantic kisses. As their passion increases, so does Amelia's suspicions. For Amelia suspects that Lucas' motive for courting her has little to do with marriage and could potentially prove disastrous to her family... and her heart.

I very much enjoyed Luke and Amelia. These two share quite a bit of chemistry that, at times, left me quite breathless. In fact, my favorite scene of the book involved a very romantic scene with Luke and Amelia onboard a ship. At the scene's end, I was panting for Luke more than ever before.

I am a fan of Sabrina Jeffries. When I discovered this newest series, I was very excited. Finding good historical romances is a hard task, but I have yet to be disappointed by Sabrina Jeffries. Strong character development adds to the tension-filled plot, creating a satisfying story. Never Seduce a Scoundrel was indeed a pleasure to read!

Annabelle
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

After reading Sabrina Jeffries' previous trilogy of romances set in the early nineteenth century England, I was interested enough to keep an eye out for her next body of work, to be collectively entitled, The School for Heiresses, set in roughly the same time period.

The tale opens at a fashionable London ball, where Lady Amelia Plume, the only child of the Earl of Tovey, is glancing over the Season's offerings of eligilble bachelors. Now that her father has married a wealthy widow, she has the funds that she needs to enter Society, and find a husband -- if she can find one that suits her. For Amelia isn't the usual sort of society miss, interested in only fine jewels, gowns and a titled husband. Amelia craves adventure and the exotic and little does she recognize that it's just about going to fall into her lap.

For it's going to be love at first sight when she meets American Lucas Winter, a Marine who scarcely seems to fit in the high society that he's in. While most dismiss him as a fortune hunter, his reasons for being in England is far more intracite. And when he meets Lady Amelia, he discovers that both of his worlds are about to collide in a rather messy way. Major Winter is on a mission to find the woman who has embezzelled funds from the fledgling American government, and as bad luck turns out, the woman may be none other than Amelia's beloved stepmother, Lady Tovey.

How the couple figure out their passion for each other, and the tangle of half-truths and sometimes lies that they have to tell each other makes for interesting reading. Lucas has plenty of problems, including his thirst for revenge, and general loathing for the English, resulting from an incident after the War of 1812. Amelia, on the other hand, is wondering how she can still love Lucas, and protect her family from the scandal if her stepmama is the deceitful woman that he says she is.

There is also a subplot involving Lucas' cousin, Lord Kirkwood, and a flighty heiress; a rival suitor for Amelia who boldly kidnaps her and tries to marry her against her will, and a bungled ransom demand in Scotland. While the subsiderary stories manage to give the story some padding, they also are rather flimsy, giving these minor characters not much more than cardboard to chew on. Too, the use of modern idiom and speech is annoying as hell, breaking the spell of being in Regency England far too often; the overall effect is distracting when the author tries to write a drawlin' American accent that sounds more in line with the Wild West than an educated man raised in Baltimore.

But what does make this novel interesting is Jeffries' use of an American as a hero, the letters that are exchanged between "Cousin Michael" and Amelia's chaperone, Mrs. Harris, and the touches of actual history that Jeffries tosses in now and then. One of them is what was known as the Dartmoor Massacre, where the British butchered and maimed imprisoned American sailors and soldiers after the peace treaties had been signed in the War of 1812; it was something that I had never heard of, and the author uses it to great effect.

However, and there is always a however it seems, the quality of the novel plummetted towards the end of the novel for me. The sequence where Lucas treats Amelia as a servile, mute servant is downright disgusting to read, with sex used as a weapon, and whatever liking I had for the hero went right out the window. I suppose it would have been more tolerable if it had happened earlier in the story -- maybe -- but throughout the novel, Jeffries had been building her hero up as a sensitive, caring man under a rough exterior, and then he treats the woman he loves in a barbaric manner? Somehow, I just could not believe it, and it pretty much ruined the novel for me. If I had been that heroine, I would have cracked him a good one in the private parts and walked out; nothing is worth the loss of self-respect, no matter how skilled the man is in bed, or how good-looking he is.

I suppose that some would like the novel, if they can get through the last quarter of the story. Lucas and Amelia do make a fiery, believable couple, and there are a few clever, fun twists to the story. Unfortunately, there's just not enough of them.

Jeffries has released a second novel in the series, Only a Duke Will Do and there are plans for an anthology of stories based around the theme due for release in January 2007.

This would have gotten nearly four and a half stars from me if it wasn't for the last part of the novel, and so I must settle for three and a half, rounded up to four out of pity's sake.

Somewhat recommended.

I won't include a synopsis, that has already been done.

I just finished this book a couple of hours ago, and I didn't enjoy it at all. I found both Lucas and Amelia to be fairly unlikeable. I get really annoyed when reading romance stories that skip around from misunderstanding to small spat to angry tirade. I won't speak for anyone else's marriage, but I don't consider conflicts to be any sort of highlight of mine. It is hard to believe these two fell in love when there just seemed to be one issue after the other between them. Other than when they were in the midst of some steamy moment, there never seemed to be much happiness or love between them. Anyway- just my two cents.

First of all, let me just say that I'm not a stickler for historical accuracy in all of my books. I have an idea of how they really talked in this time period and find I can't force myself to follow a story when they talk "accurately". That being said, I found the book to be fantastic! I fell into the reading very easily and refused to put the book down. The love scenes were very steamy, though they started much earlier in the book than I anticipated. As for the character of Major Winters I must say I was prejudiced in his favor having been married to a Marine. There's just something inherently sexy about a man in uniform. I also liked the heroine a great deal. Smart and daring and with a sense of humor. Great qualities. I'm sorry some people found the book disappointing and either didn't read it or stopped reading it, but I loved this book and would read it again anytime.

This was my first Sabrina Jeffries book but certainly not my last. I have just ordered 5 more! I LOVED the rapor between Amelia and Lucas. Talk about funny! I caught myself laughing out loud a few times as well as crossing my eyes at others. The love scenes were so steamy but at the same time new and refreshing! I also respected the fact that Amelia was not a simpering, bubbleheaded debutante. She gave just as good as she got. If you love romance with a plot and exceptional characters who know how to steam up the sheets - this is the book. I have been reading books like this for close to 30 years and it gets hard to find new and inventive stories. Sabrina Jeffries has done it. She has become my new fave!

Sorry, but I just couldn't get into this book. First off I hate when the expressions used are like it is the current date in time. This was supposed to take place in 1818 but sounded like 2006! I just don't think young misses answered sarcastically with the word "right" when they meant the opposite. Anyhow I won't go into the plot as that's been done and much better than I could ever do. I just wish I would have read the other lesser starred review before I bought this and saved my money. As it is it's going into the give away bin.

I didn't really care for the sex scenes either. He was a jerk.

This seems to be a book you either love or hate. I didn't even read it until now because of all the negative reviews, but I am sorry I didn't read it earlier. Sabrina Jeffries has always been one of my favorites, starting with The Pirate Lord. I just loved Gabriel Horn and Lucas Winter was right up there with him. He was a very good hero and Amelia didn't push any of my yech buttons. I actually liked her. This book got a bad rap because of the quick intimacies between the two, but, I think in the circumstances, it was believable. I could see a situation like that getting out of hand. After that, they settled down and really got to know each other. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and can heartily recommend it to anyone. It was a fun read.

This is the first that I read in the Heiress series and I loved it! Amelia was so adorable, especially when she was switching back and forth being flighty and her normal, smart self. And Lucas, definitely liked him! Of course he had several "dumb man" moments :) but what good romance would be complete without them. This couple was so good together and I can't wait to read the rest of this series!