Customer Reviews

Rules of Seduction, The

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the first novel I have read by Madeline Hunter and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I am now looking forward to reading more of her works.

Miss Alexia Welbourne and Hayden Rothwell are two characters who have been presented to the reader by an author who obviously wanted us to have a thorough understanding of what their personalities and histories were like. Alexia retained her personality and ideals throughout the entire novel. I appreciate that. Too often I find that romance novelists start a heroine out with the appearance of ideals and then have her immediately throw them out the window in order to jump into bed with the hero. Alexia was a complex person and her life underwent a fantastic amount of change and yet she handled all the new challenges with the calm, logical thinking which life had made her develop. She did not want to be attracted to Hayden yet her innate honesty would not allow her to deny that attraction nor did she blame anyone or any situation with causing it. She simply dealt with it by trying to understand him better.

Hayden was a love. He was kind, generous, honorable and a man after my own heart. He had his demons to confront and Ms Hunter allowed him to do that in a slow, sure process that made him grow and become that man I wish to read more about, a man who was not afraid to tell Alexia that he loved her. It was a very moving experience to read about the coming together of these two characters.

The next book in this series will be about Hayden's younger brother Elliot and Alexia's friend Phaedra. I'm actually sorry about that. Phaedra figured quite prominently in this book and I did not like her character and cetainly not her name. It was very hard for me to get a pronounciation formulated in my mind and I had to stop each time to figure out how to say it. Elliot yes, Phaedra no. Now Christian, wow, I can't wait to read about him. Wonder what happened to cause his behavior? Alexia said it best, he seemed to be just waiting for something. What? Or should we say who? (Should that be whom?)

Maybe in the next book we can find out more about the ship that sailed. I find I am exceedingly bloodthirsty. I don't want innocent people to die but I wouldn't mind seeing something happen to that boat.

No spoilers here. If you like Madeline Hunter, you'll love this. I think this is her most well-written novel. It wasn't her best story (that would be "By Arrangement"), but it was so well-told with great characterizations that I give it 5 stars. I appreciate the level that Ms. Hunter writes her books on. Lately, the historical romances I've been reading have been written at the 3rd grade level, but this one isn't dumbed-down at all.
This novel has no big misunderstandings--merely the honor-bound silence of a gentleman, no childish reactions--uncertainty and confusion founded on a budding relationship, and no overdramatization--just passion where it is merited. This book has a wonderful prosey style at times and an earthy realism at others, but I assure you, romance is written into every page. Thank you for restoring my faith in the romance novel, Ms. Hunter, Brava!

Madeline Hunter is a thought-provoking romance writer whose stories and characters linger with me long after I have finished her books - and this one is no exception. Its hero is the cool, confident and wealthy Lord Hayden Rothwell. Hayden's tightly controlled universe is thrown into disarray by his unexpected attraction to the spirited Miss Alexia Wellbourne, destitute cousin of a banker he is blamed for ruining. Unknown to Alexia, her cousin embezzled a fortune from his bank's customers, including a Rothwell aunt. Hayden, who is one of the bank's largest clients, discovered the crime. However, he did not make it public in order to save the bank and keep her cousin from hanging. Hayden is now working behind the scenes to help his friend, the bank's principal shareholder, quietly repay the stolen funds.

Alexia believes that her cousin is a wronged man who was forced to sell his bank shares and other assets (including the London townhouse where she lived with him and his two sisters) due to ruthless money maneuvering by Hayden. Owing to her cousin's reduced circumstances, Alexia - the poor relation - is left behind to fend for herself when the family removes to the country. Hayden's aunt now owns the house, and Alexia has no alternative but to accept an offer from Hayden to stay on as his cousin's finishing governess. She is now a servant of sorts in the same house that she once lived in as a member of the family! She despises Hayden and holds him responsible for her fall. It is therefore rather unnerving that she finds him so attractive. And Hayden is fascinated by Alexia, whose behavior to him often borders on uncivil, but is always electric. He is not sure what to do with her, but he is fairly certain he cannot let her go.

I definitely like this book. The storyline is excellent, the writing first-rate, and the leads compelling and sympathetic, at once drawing me into their plight. There is an intensity to their relationship that is present from the start. There are also some good emotional moments, as well as some slyly diverting ones, as the couple spar and spark and regularly misbehave while they inwardly debate what the hell they are doing. Alexia is an appealing blend of passion and pragmatism, which is not lost on Hayden. And Hayden's seductive mix of arrogance and compassion is hard to resist, as Alexia discovers. My one dissatisfaction is that a few of the love scenes feel a little hollow, but this is a minor point. Overall this is an excellent read - very intriguing - with a truly wonderful ending that could be among my favorites.

I have come to love Madeline Hunter and her writing. She is so good at bringing different eras to life. This book had that same high caliber of writing, and the type of realistic details that distinguish this author from others writing in the genre. I found the subplot about the bank's troubles to be very engrossing and there were several different 'reveals' about this story that kept me interested.

There's a lot to like about Alexia, who is frank and forthwright, but without being headstrong and willfully indpendent (re:spoiled) like so many novel heroines that have the same characteristics. A lot of the problems I had with the book had to do with Hayden. There are a lot of details given about his past - he fought in Greece, he used to be a gambler, he makes his mistresses visit the doctor, his fixation on mathematical equations, his dark moods, etc., but none of it really gels into a whole person. He also swings wildly between being autocratic and being accomodating for no particular reason. I have a feeling that a lot of those details have to do with setting up for the next few books (I'm assuming that Easterbook and Elliot will get there own stories, based on how much time we spent with them in this book), especially those related to his parents, but it just went nowhere in this book.

Chemistry is the problem in this book. There is so much rich detail provided about the characters that doesn't seem to have a place. More time should have been spent with the main characters instead of on details about math and hatmaking, etc. There are just too many secondary characters, time period details, and plots clogging the landscape. Honestly, as I said above, I did enjoy these secondary plots, I just could have used another hundred pages of interactions between the main characters.

Overall, I'm still giving it four stars because the writing is so top-notch and I would still recommend anything by this author over most of what's out there now. If you're new to this author, make sure you read her medievals.

I'm glad to see Madeleine Hunter has gone back to writing characters with depth and vividness. Alexia is sensible, realistic, and quite strong. A woman who has her own mind. Hayden is sexy, straight-forward, and passionate. The relationship between them has definite chemistry, though it was not as spicy as I had read in the previews, that did not bother me at all since the development of Alexia and Hayden's relationship was so well written. I loved her previous book, Lady of Sin and this one has joined that novel in my Keeper Shelf.

Also my first Madeline Hunter novel, and it slowly but surely sneaked up on me because it is the first "romance" novel I've read which I consider 5-star material.

The characterizations seemed poignant and strong, the plotting and romance meshed seamlessly, the prose was deliberate yet eloquent, the settings and imagery vivid almost dripping from the book into your room, the romance realistic, and of course true to the romance genre, the ending very satisfactory despite the real and gritty nature of the romance itself. The supporting cast of characters exhibited shades of gray, which I also appreciate. I have nothing but praise for Madeline Hunter's story and writing, which I consider top-notch, but interestingly enough, the characters, story, settings and imagery are all =captivating=, and overall, very =enjoyable=.

A rare combination: critically top-notch yet enjoyable at the same time.

The Story, possibly spoilers.

RULES OF SEDUCTION begins with our tall, dark and handsome Lord Hayden Rothwell casting a "shadow" on the Longworth home where a destitute yet strong-willed Alexia Welbourne lives, her Longworth cousins having taken her in after Alexia's own family is ruined. Hayden invades the Longworth home after Hayden discovers evidence of Timothy Longworth's embezzlement in the Darfield and Longworth Bank, a bank Hayden's wealthy family has invested in. Instead of removing his family's fortune from the bank and consequently thoroughly impoverishing the Longworths and destroying the bank, Hayden instead evicts Tim Longworth, his 2 sisters and Tim's cousin Alexia from their home and only partially ruins them. He doesn't disclose the embezzlement evidence which would take Timothy Longworth to the gallows, and leave his two sisters and cousin shamed, abandoned.

Timothy Longworth however is outraged at Hayden despite Hayden's leniency. Timothy Longworth prevaricates to his sisters and cousin Alexia that Hayden removed his family's fortune from the bank and Hayden is responsible for ruining the Longworths. Hayden is honor-bound not to refute Longworth's deception and bring to light Timothy's embezzlement which would not only kill Timothy but permanently shame his sisters and cousin. Alexia slowly but surely builds an unwarranted animosity towards Hayden because of Timothy's lies, and finds herself again without a home or protection as the Longworths can no longer support her. Alexia is very bitchy towards Hayden, but Hayden slowly but surely breaks down her defenses.

The story takes off there as Hayden honorably attempts to assuage Alexia's untenable position after the Longworth demise, while Alexia desperately tries to maintain her enmity towards Hayden. Hayden is intrigued by Alexia's quick mind, sharp tongue and brutal honesty. While Hayden is described as a rich, handsome man, Alexia is described as a very ordinary woman, plain-looking, not necessarily beautiful. Hayden however finds himself drawn to her and Alexia just can't seem to resist Hayden's advances.

Another character's shadow unfortunately haunts our leading pair forming the link between them: that of Benjamin Longworth, Timothy Longworth's older brother, Hayden's friend, Alexia's love. When Benjamin drowns on his way home from a war, Hayden blames himself that he couldn't do more since he was on the same ship and spoke to Ben last. Whereas Hayden is dark, austere and calculating, Benjamin is described as flamboyant, sanguine and smiling.

Benjamin & Hayden are polar opposites and Alexia's journey of love from the bright Benjamin to the dark Hayden comprises the crux of the story.

After a moment of weakness over reading Ben's love letters and discovering of another woman in Ben's life, Alexia grieves, and Hayden is there to lend a comforting hand. After Hayden's unintentional seduction, the rules of seduction are laid out, and Hayden propositions to marry a stunned Alexia, who only expects a status of mistress, not wife. Similar to Hayden, Alexia is very practical and cannot afford to flaunt her pride or wait for love, she accepts her relationship to Hayden for nothing more than a sexual desire and abandons her little girl's dreams of true love. Little does she know...

Even though most romance novels belong to the heroine and her plight, this novel belongs to the character of Lord Hayden Rothwell. Not to take away anything from Alexia, but a cold and calculating Hayden learning to love Alexia and fight for her at the end really represents the heart of the novel.

I only have one complaint: the love scenes are too often described as an analogy, very allegorical. Often the allegory supersedes who is doing what in the love scene.

Overall though, this book is 5-star material without a doubt, and I look forward to reading other Madeline Hunter novels.

"Rules of Seduction" approaches the tenderness of "Lord of a Thousand Nights." I admire the strong heroine in this. Alexia's wit and pragmetism allow her to marry despite realizing that her groom's appeal is mostly sensual. As the mystery unravels (what Hunter novel is complete without a mystery?) she finds herself emotionally caught up with him. I love it that he is secure enough to loosen his grip, allowing her to explore choices. If, in the future, the minor characters inhabit their own novels, I'll be thrilled. Christian (Easterbrook) is especially compelling.

As you may have noticed, if you have read any of my reviews, I typically review a book if it has touched me and it is ab-fab - a work to be remembered - and sometimes, re-read.

I this case am at a loss as to how to rate this book. Never had read any of Madeline's works before, I became intrigued by the rave reviews on her books by other readers and decided to give it a try.

No doubt, the book is very well written and the plot well executed.... Although at times difficult to follow because of all the machinations regarding the bank frauds and all the related characters involved.

By saying I am at a loss, I mean that I wasn't sure if I enjoyed the book or her writing style until I was almost 3 quarters into the novel. I was captivated by the character's story but truthfully, I was more intrigued by the other two brothers in the story... ultimately want to read the story of the older brother, Christian, patriarch of the family.

The developing story between Hayden and Alexia was good but not fabulous. You never get to know about the demons haunting the brothers and how their father's treatment has affected them, in this case namely Hayden.. only that he retreats to numbers and logarithms when he is plagued by his temper... He is a man ruled by honor and the book revolves about the debt of honor he owes Benjamin, Alexia's cousin (the man she was in love with before he died at sea). The character development lacked depth of emotion and sexual tension captured by other authors. Their development seemed trite and rather stilted, their dialogue at times flat and lacking emotion, although you do witness the budding relationship between the two protagonists, it is somewhat dull in their advance. By the time Hayden comes to realize that he loves her, it seems a little incongruous, after he has showed little or no emotion throughout the whole novel.

The same goes for Alexia... I was annoyed by her somewhat misguided sense of loyalty to her cousins.. maybe to Rose, but certainly not Timothy. Although, I must say it was refreshing to see that she retained her personality and sense of commitment, never veering from her convictions. Eventually she comes to realize that the man she has married is loyal, true and very devoted to her, although she judged Hayden at the beginning, she strived to understand him and see the man behind his mask of indifference. I think it is that perseverance that makes Hayden fall in love with her.

He exhibits tremendous kindness for Alexia's female cousins. Rose is too bitter and resentfully proud to allow Hayden any kindness from Hayden, as they believe he caused their impoverished circumstances... little do they know it is because of him that Timothy has not been taken to jail for extortion and theft.

The sexual/love scenes were explicit, but not lurid. It amazed me that after the sexual attraction and physical tenderness in the bedroom, feelings of love took such a long time to emerge, and only towards the end of the book.

I have ordered the next book so that I can read Phaedra's and Hayden's younger brother, Elliott's story.. although I cant wait to read Christian's story... That is going to be a turbulent one...!!! What could have happened to make him behave the way he does and disdain most of everything in life? One can only hope that Rose will swallow her resentment long enough to realize that Christian really needs her!

This is the first of a quartet of Georgian romances involving members or friends of the Rothwell family, the head of which is the Marquis of Easterbrook.

The quartet consists of

1) This book, "The Rules of Seduction"
2) "Lessons of Desire"
3) "Secrets of Surrender"
4) "The Sins of Lord Easterbrook"

At the start of the book, Alexia Welbourne experiences financial ruin for the second time. After her father had lost all his money shortly before his death, she had been taken in by her cousins, the bankers Benjamin and Timothy Longworth. Benjamin had died while fighting on the side of the Greeks in their war of independence. Now his former friend Lord Hayden Rothwell, the devilishly handsome brother of the Marquis of Easterbrook, arrives to see Timothy Longworth.

Timothy tells Alexia and his sisters that Rothwell has ruined him: Alexia finds herself homeless and penniless and is encouraged to believe that this is all the fault of Hayden Rothwell's cruel whim. Offered a position as governess and companion to Rothwell's aunt and cousin in the home where she had previously been a member of the family, Alexia has little choice but to accept. Yet despite her anger with Lord Hayden, she finds him strangely fascinating - and begins to wonder if the story she has been told is not completely true ...


The book is set at the time of the war of Greek independence from Turkey, which has affected the lives of a number of characters in the story. There is a reference to the siege of Messolonghi which appears to place the action of this book between April 1825 and April 1826. (A character who mentions "the current siege" of that city is almost certainly referring to the third one, when the Turks secured a military victory but incurred a propaganda disaster.)


I refer to these books as Georgian romances rather than regency ones for two reasons:

(i) they are set after the Prince Regent had ascended to the throne as George IV
(ii) they are more "modern" in tone and plot than the style associated with the term "regency romance."

In particular these books are rather less focussed on the intricate style of the "ton" as high society in London was known in the late 18th and early 19th century and more on the emotional development of the relationship between the main romantic protagonists. And they contain rather more sex than is normal for the regency romance genre.

Amazon reviewers have criticised one or two recent novels by Stephanie Laurens, a prolific writer of romances set a decade or so before this book, for containing too much sex for their taste. If you are one of the readers who agreed with this criticism of "Bastion Club" novels such as "The Lady Chosen (Bastion Club)" you will probably think the same problem applies to "The Rules of Seduction." By the same token, if you like the Bastion Club or Bar Cynster series there is a good chance that you will like this book.

Although this is a modern romance set in the 1820s rather than a historical romance, it is reasonably entertaining and well crafted. The complex plot is a bit implausible, but not so much so as to make it impossible to suspend disbelief while you are enjoying the book.

I've read a few of Hunter's books before. I must say that this one takes the cake by far. The story moved along nicely. The hero/heroine were interesting and had depth. There was a good development of their relationship...they didn't just suddenly realize they were in love overnight. It naturally progressed and their chemistry was great. The plot was interesting as well. The only thing that could've been a little more "steamy" were the love scenes. They were all pretty brief and the first I had to reread because I didn't realize it was happening. Other than that the book is pretty good.