Customer Reviews

Proof by Seduction (Hqn)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Prior to getting Proof By Seduction, I heard a lot of buzz about this book and debut author Courtney Milan. I was eager to get my hands on a copy, and I was just as eager to see how this book would hold up to all the talk. I am happy to say it held up well, more than well. Courtney Milan writes a very smart, funny, and romantic book.

Lord Gareth Blakely is a broken man, a cold, tortured soul. He was raised to take over his title, and it left little room for fun. He knows nothing of showing his emotions or how to interact with people. One of my favorite things is that Gareth stays broken throughout much of the book. There are no overnight miracles. He doesn't take one look at Jenny and start frolicking through a meadow the next day. He has been an emotionless being all his life, and it takes time, and as he learns, much determination, to become someone better.

Jenny is posing in her life as Madame Esmerelda, a fortune teller, who possesses no actual gift, except the gift of persuasion and trust. She has taken what life has thrown at her and made the best of it. Although she in essence swindles money out of people, she has a good heart and would not choose this life if there were other alternatives.

Gareth, a scientist is determined to prove Madame Esmerelda a fraud for his cousin's Ned's sake. Ned went to Jenny years ago with severe depression, with thoughts of ending his life and Jenny predicted a future of happiness and hope. Ned has prospered since then, and Jenny feels a fierce loyalty and protection over him. Blakely feels the same feelings toward Ned, and sees Esmerelda as a liability to him.

Ned, desperate to show Gareth that Jenny is the real deal, pleas with her to predict something. Jenny doesn't want to let Ned down, nor does she want to admit to Gareth that she is a fraud. So she comes up with this prediction - at an upcoming ball, at a certain time, Gareth will look upon the woman he is to marry and then he must perform three tasks, to be named at a future time, to secure this match. Gareth seeing right through Jenny's absurdities, makes her come to the ball with him, so she can be their to witness this great coupling. The more Gareth and Jenny spend time together, they more their shields start to come down, and love is allowed to seep out.

For as much as Gareth is the serious, stern character, I found myself laughing out loud many times during his scenes - and that is how you will start to root for him. Courtney Milan puts him in situations where you can't help but have a little pity for him and he melts some of that ice off.

There are ridiculously, funny moments in this book - Jenny "sacrifices" an orange on her first meeting with Blakely, looking into the pulp for clues to his future. Jenny knows this is hogwash, and she knows Blakely knows, but she is determined to duke it out with him. His first task involves carving an elephant in a piece of ebony to give to his future bride. Then he must compose a poem about Ned. Let's just say, Gareth has no talent in the art department, and my stomach hurt from laughing.

Jenny has her moments of contradiction. Matching wits with Blakely as Esmerelda she is strong and smart. Then there are times as Jenny, where she wants to prove to Gareth that she is better than a mistress, yet finds herself unable to deny him entry to her house at night. They both are yearning for companionship and love and their desperation to have it is what drives them together.

Jenny and Gareth both want Ned to be happy and towards the end of the book it felt like Ned is forgotten a bit. He is such an integral character at the beginning I kind of thought he got lost in Jenny and Gareth's romance. Jenny has her fair share of personal problems, but for as much as she fights for Ned at the beginning of the book, she lets him down towards the end.

Courtney Milan does a great job of writing two characters that each hide behind a mask. Gareth hides behind Lord Blakely and Jenny hides behind Madame Esmerelda. As the two of them slowly strip away their masks, their love story is truly wonderful. When Gareth strips away everything and looks at Jenny just as Gareth, it is beautiful and almost heartbreaking. A truly lovely story, that I can't recommend enough.

Not quite a 4, but a thistle seed could barely fit into the gap.

I selected Proof By Seduction because there was a lot of good buzz out there, but also because I'd seen the author around blogs and she seems pleasant, level-headed, professional, and appreciative of readers without feeling a need to sell her soul. After one particularly eloquent reply, I pre-ordered PBS. Ha, just noticed the initials -- for all the people who must contend with literary snobs, they can for a brief period say they were "enjoying PBS."

Set in 1838, we meet Jenny Keeble who has spent more than a decade masquerading as a fortune teller. Through this ruse she's befriended a young man named named Ned who is in line to be a marquess. Jenny, while taking Ned's money, has also used her "abilities" to improve Ned's sense of self-worth. The current marquess, his cousin, is determined to show "Madame Esmerelda" is a charlatan. As proof of her abilities, Jenny tells Blakely, our science-minded hero, that if he follows her instructions that she'll identify his future wife and that he'll be engaged within a month of that. Her out would that he didn't obey on some technicality.

The tasks she asks of him also serve to humanize him and make him reach out to other human beings.

There are many things to enjoy about this debut, and I can see why people are excited about Ms. Milan's future. The characters are all amusing in different ways and most are intelligent. The author is skilled at making you care about them, particularly Jenny. I liked that fairly early on the Madame Esmerelda ruse was disposed of between Jenny and Gareth (Blakely), if not Ned. There was also the wonderful idea what she was so good at pretending to be a seer, because she was a astute judge of people.

However, I did have an issue with the hero's easy compliance. This isn't the first novel where the hero is suppose to be this unapproachable creature and the heroine has him become a lamb by spring shearing. I understand this to a large extent, because we want to believe that these people bring out the best in one another. I thoroughly enjoy it as a plot line and find it satisfying. It just seemed to be in this case that it was ridiculously easy for him to reach out to others 'cause Jenny said so. Jenny was clearly smart enough to have gotten there, but it just seemed all a little -- just a little -- too simple for someone who we're told is cold and logical. As much as I believe he wanted out of his shell, and the author did a wonderful job of showing the man underneath, the ease of the change took away something for me. Also, other than the needs of the plot, I was confused as to why Gareth couldn't have just told Ned that Jenny had confessed. Sure, Ned could have disbelieved him, but Gareth was considered almost painfully trustworthy, and Jenny would not have lied to Ned if confronted in that manner. The only reason not to do it that way is so that the hero could continue on his path to improvement.

The character of Ned, for the most part, seemed bacon-brained in the manner usually reserved for a young Hugh Laurie, if anyone is familiar with his pre-House work. Occasionally he'd get off a really good quip though, leading me to believe the author didn't plan him to be as dense as I'd assumed, but just young. He needed to do idiotic things in order to advance the story, but was smart when the story called for it. Along with my issues with the Gareth transformation, it led me to the feeling of plot-driven character inconsistencies. In a mystery, this makes sense, but a romance begs to have characters be understood.

The few issues I have, along with the feeling that Ms. Milan is still finding her footing, makes me rate this book as just a sliver under a 4. However, although I don't have my trusty Tarot before me, I see a very bright future for Courtney Milan!

I like authentic period romances, and really could not believe that class lines could be crossed so easily. Instead of an Earl if she had picked a younger son as the hero who was
a real scientist, I could have gone for the story, but it felt totally unbelievable that a
foundling who had been another mans mistress and was a fortune teller would attend ton parties and marry an Earl. On the other hand the plot and the romance and a lot of the writing was funny and engaging so I gave it three instead of two stars. There were also some inconsistencies in writing about the hero. On the one hand he was an outcast from society and on the other he was brought up by a rigid grandfather who taught him to understand his duty to his land and dependents. So if he could not leave those things to a bailiff for a day or week, it was strange that he had abandoned those very things for science for dozens of years in Brazil etc...

STORY BRIEF:
Jenny was abandoned at four years old. An anonymous person paid for her to attend a school for ladies until she was eighteen. She was unable to get a job as a governess, so she became Madame Esmerelda, a fortune teller. She has great insight into people and is able to successfully support herself and save for the future. One of her clients Ned has depression issues. She is a great help to him. He is living a better life because of her. Ned's cousin is Gareth, a marquess. When Gareth learns about her, he brings Ned to her demanding she confess her lies. They agree to a contest to test her psychic abilities. She tells Gareth he will meet his future bride at a coming ball, and then he must complete three tasks before the wedding will happen. The three of them go to the ball, and Madame Esmerelda points out Lady Kathleen as the future bride. Gareth and Jenny begin falling in lust with each other. Gareth would like Jenny as his mistress, but she refuses.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I don't like a smart heroine doing stupid things to create conflict. I enjoyed Jenny's intelligence prior to the following events. Her life savings is stolen. She did nothing intelligent to prevent it or get it back. I didn't buy the reason she gave for passively walking away. And then later she again does something foolish with her remaining funds, which means she will starve. Yes it was interesting what she did with that money, but to face being homeless and starving because she threw away her money? See Spoiler below for another.

The rest of the story had a lot going for it. It was enjoyable. I loved the way things wrapped up in the end. I loved learning that even though she was bullied and abused growing up, she always saw the strength and goodness in others.

I wish the author would have written more about Lady Kathleen, a minor character in the story. I wanted to know why she took walks away from the balls, why she liked Ned, and in general more about her. She intrigued me. I also wanted to know more about Jenny's past and who paid for her schooling.

CAUTION SPOILER:
Jenny had great insight into people and provided value as a therapist. Her advice helped Ned through his depression episodes. Yet when she decides to be honest and confess to him, she simply says she lied about everything. This was insensitive and not in character for her. She was too smart to do it this way. This sent Ned back into self destructive behavior. She should have said "I gave you truths about yourself, even though I lied about myself."

DATA:
Story length: 337 pages. Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 13. Setting: 1838 London. Copyright: 2010. Genre: historical romance.

I have just finished reading Milan's "Proof of Seduction" for the fourth time; months after having read her book three times in a row. Why read a book four times? Because she is brilliant in setting the stage for a comedic scene. In each of my re-reads, though I know what is coming next, I laugh at the same part of the book and laugh louder than the prior reading. As an example, by page 15 we see the heroine who is the gypsy fraud fortune-teller, we see the hero (uncle) who is the scientist and skeptic, and we see the nephew who is the supposed dupe.

Heroine explains she cannot be more precise in her fortune-telling because "In ancient days, soothsayers predicted the future by studying the entrails of small animals... I have been trained in those methods." Called on her abilities, the heroine steps away to retrieve a burlap bag that they fear contains a small animal she intends to eviscerate in front of them. Milan writes: "Lord Blakely gaped. `You kept a small animal in a sack, just sitting about in the event it was needed? What kind of creature are you?'" And our heroine, ever the sham artist, replies arrogantly: "I was expecting the two of you. ..." What follows is a visual scene not written since the Marx Brothers' or Oliver and Hardy movies.

What a talented gift! I love to read Regency romances for the Oscar Wilde wit and thigh-slapping Marx Brothers' scenes and humor. Milan gives us both here and I hope she can keep it up.

I found it hard to finish this one. It is not a bad book but very run of the mill, if you have read many regency harliquins this is same old, same old. It has a very traditional plot and a happy ending. If you like this type to book you will probably like it. I am a bit tired of these and it is unfair to compare a new author to Georgette Heyer or Loretta Chase who are my favorites in this genre. So if others give it a 4 star I am explaining why I gave it a 3.

If you are looking for a book that will help you escape the realities of life then this one will definitely do it. However I did not find them to be overly believable. The characters are warm in their own way Jenny being portrayed as a strong willed woman and Garreth as the man looking for answers. The scenes and events in which they are placed and the circumstances leading up to them made the book unbelievable. It's a light ready, but not to be taken seriously. Pretty good for escapism just on principle but not one that would stay with you for overlong. I enjoyed reading it the first time but definitely will not be returning.

This was a so-so book for me.

It was taking a while for me to get into the book and I wondered why? Seemed like this story line should hook me in! Lady poses as a fortune teller. Man tries to use science to disprove her abilities. Lots of conflict and sexual tension... but, no. It never worked for me and I really wanted it to! Oh, well.

It's not a badly written book or totally uninteresting. For some reason it just never did it for me.

Read the other reviews as there are others who LOVED this book. And you may, too! Wish I did!

I long ago burnt out on Regency historicals (yes, the novel is set in the earliest part of Victoria's reign, but there was nothing "Victorian" about the characters, the plot, or the setting), but decided to try Proof by Seduction because of the buzz surrounding the book. At best it's a very well written and competent romance novel, with excellent pacing and above-average characters. There is nothing technically wrong with Proof by Seduction and Milan proves that she is earmarked as the next generation of great romance writers, but there is a distance between myself and the characters due to the incessant naval-gazing. The book was comprised of many tiny conflicts both external and internal, but they were solved the moment they cropped up, which made me frustrated by the extreme consciousness on the part of Jenny and Gareth as to their faults and flaws. For all that Jenny was supposed to shake up Gareth's life, it was her life that was ultimately destroyed. As a result, my entire sympathy lay with Jenny, particularly when the little bit of independence she'd gathered for herself was torn from her grasp by not only other characters, but by Gareth as well. By the end of the book, Jenny was a sad, soggy mess, and her obsequious contrition for claiming the only kind of independence a woman could have, short of selling her body, left a sour taste in my mouth. Ultimately, I was disappointed with Proof by Seduction because instead of being an intelligent, adult and romantic romp featuring my favorite trope (uptight man undone by a care-not woman), it was the story of an independent woman made low. I actually rooted for Jenny to make her way to America and start over again after Gareth dashed her dreams because becoming his marchioness cheapened her story.

Courtney Milan is a very talented, creative romance author. While the book lagged at certain moments, it was overall a fresh and engaging read.

Jenny, the heroine, is masquerading as Madame Esmeralda, a fortune teller, when we first meet her. She's good at giving advice that sounds a lot like a prediction. She gets to the heart of her clients and she's been able to save a nice little nest egg and manage her meager expenses.

One of her clients, Ned, is the cousin of Gareth, our hero. Ned is completely taken with Madame Esmeralda and lives and breathes by her advice. Gareth aims to put a halt to this relationship.

Gareth, a marquess with the social adeptness of a hedgehog, could use some advice himself. As he verbally spars with Madame Esmeralda, he finds himself in deeper than he intended, agreeing to rise to several challenges.

The book is funny and the characters are extremely likable. The romance is believable and well written. Jenny, however, does a few things toward the end that seem like forced plot manipulation. She suddenly acts like a heroine from another, less well written story. Unfortunately for Milan, the book is well enough written that the bar is too high for this kind of divisive writing to get a pass. This is why she loses a star.

Milan is a very exciting new voice in romance. Readers who like historical with a fresh plot, witty dialogue and genuine chemistry between the leads will want to give her a look.