Customer Reviews

Seduced

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The story actually has a very promising beginning: Headstrong beauty with plans to marry only for love meets dangerous rogue, rumoured to have shot his heir for a dukedom. They dislike each other passionately at first sight. Yet because of a compromising situation the duke is forced to marry Elizabeth. She refuses to bed him, though and of course the duke rises to the challenge and tries to seduce her. Quite conventional and somewhat hackneyed but I admit I love that plot!

Elizabeth make a compelling heroine with enough spine and flaws to make her interesting. Lucien is the classic bad boy, but not of the unredeemable sort. He's never abusive to Elizabeth or too manipulative.

However the couple (at least for my taste) needs much too long to get closer together and to develop sweeter feelings beyond mere sexual attraction and an initial, reluctant infatuation. After such a long time of patient waiting for some romantic and loving interaction (It's supposed to be a romance after all!) their first actual intimate encounter was quite disappointing for me, too loveless, violent and frantic to make up for the lack of romantic interaction. Instead of armorous talk the hero even curses the heroine in between (the most unrealistic deflowering scene I ever read-even considering that it takes place in a romance which are per se unrealistic in that respect!)

And even after that unromantic coupling there's not much sweet and romantic love to be found to make up for it and the end is somewhat rushed.

Only worth your time if you love bickering couples who are at cross purpose most of the time, with a tortured hero constantly distrusting his feelings, compulsively trying to avoid emotional and physical intimacy with the heroine most of the time .

It might be a good romance for people who love angsty romances but after my high expectations at the beginning it was a letdown for me.

I picked up "Seduced" after reading great reviews about it, and I admit, I was disappointed. While the beginning starts off great with an amusing introduction to the "Duke of Death," the story falters about the time the two main characters reached the castle home of the hero.

At that point, the whole book began to sag at the seams, and started becoming quite Politically Correct. Hero...A duke mind you...Treats servants like equals and labors in the dirt like a construction worker. The maid hired to see to the heroine's needs, lectures her, and the heroine takes it... Ummm...Right.... Hero tells servants it okay to wander around the castle in casual dress.... Mmmmm.

I found myself skimming the love scenes, to find out what happened in the main plot because I didn't feel the two main characters had any chemistry whatsoever.

Worth reading for the first half, but I grew tired of the bickering and the modern values in historic characters.

This was not a bad book, though I found the humor and the parenthetical sentences, and the authorial stance with the whole first chapter introducing the hero and heroine in a very laboured manner, very off putting.

The main problem with the book is that Elizabeth is never seduced at all. A couple of moderately warm scenes and 'a first time together scene' worthy of only the worst in 'romance' are totally forgettable. Tying up virgins and abandoning them without a word of explanation is really not the way to their heart. There isn't enough heat between them to sustain these scenes. A romance is the hero and heroine falling in love, not arguing continually and talking about nothing but sex (which they never do!)

Lucien is also completely inconsistent at times and there are big gaps in the story re the pirates and the death of his brother. Our heroine is a worthy match for him, but Elizabeth is apt to be far too changeable at times.

The comedy is clever and witty one minute, downright vulgar the next. This would have been a much better book without it on the whole; after what Lucien has been through the brooding hero in the ruined castle is more consistent than the man who decides to ruin her reputation at a ball because he is bored, and ends up having to marry her to save both their reputations. Witty repartee is one thing, challenges to seduce the servants (which she does go through with) and detailed descriptions of male anatomy quite another. not to mention deliberately embarrassing each other in public all the time because they have so little respect for one another, especially at their own wedding.

The whole of the book is littered with grammar and punctuation errors, making the whole seem even more slap dash. Ms. Britton writes with verve but she loses sight of what she is writing and the style and tone swings are far too glaring to make this a smooth easy read. She has some interesting and sexy characters and does not need to try so hard to make them so with feathers and powdered sugar and bananas. It just doesn't work. And has been done far better elsewhere, lots of times before.

One final point-most of the action takes place over 2 days on their honeymoon-all of her anguish and love is just not believable given the extent to which she and he hardly know each other.

Having said that I really like Lucien despite the flaws in the writing and his character, though the whole is he a rake or not was really not handled very well or clearly at all. I would love to have seen some real intimacy between them in the epilogue. On the whole, an entertaining read, but I hope the next book will be a lot better.

Lucien St. Aubyn is called the Duke of Death because so many of his relatives and friends have died. Most recently his brother was killed by Lucien's own bullet.

Elizabeth Montclair is the daughter of an Earl who has very recent connections to trade and is barely tolerated by the ton.

One night at a party Lucien compromises Elizabeth and he does the honorable thing and offers for her. Will they live happily ever after when they say they don't want each other and Lucien still has his brother's death hanging over his head?

I found the beginning of this book very entertaining. I loved the push and pull between the characters. The end lost me completely. I found myself skimming pages just to see how it ended.

I would not recommend this book.

'Seduced' by Pamela Britton is humorous historical romance novel. I enjoyed the batter between the two main characters was funny and real. The storyline that Lucien losses a bet and has to wear a dress is very funny. I cried, laughed and over all ended the book satisfied to have enjoyed magnificent story. I would recommend this novel and The Lady Lies by Samantha Saxon.

I hate heroines who are shrews and termagants, forever sniping at the hero. And I also get irritated at stories where the hero and heroine constantly bicker - it gets tiresome really quickly. Alas, these are exhibited in abundance in this book, so much so that it got to be too painful to finish it. Elizabeth's conversion from shrew to devoted, loving wife was too jarring and unconvincing. Some of the humor worked well, but the humor didn't make up for the bad qualities of the story. Would not recommend.

This book was on its way to a 5 star review from me, but the author cheated me out of a true "love" scene. Yes, there was a well-written sex scene, but the characters were only acting out of lust at that point. I assumed I would get a glorious, tender encounter made special by their admission of love for one another, but alas, I did not. So I docked a star for that disappointment. Other than that, the hero and heroine both have compelling personalities and the author has written some terrific dialogue for them. So I still recommend the novel, but if you need the couple to truly make love at some point, you won't get it here.

I had not read Britton before picking up this copy of "Seduced" - it is a fact that I am soon to remedy after finishing this wonderful Regency-era romp. The hero, a purported rake, is the quite charming Lucien St. Aubyn, Duke of Ravenwood who is also dubbed the Duke of Death - mainly because people close to him tend to die (including his father and brother). He is also known for debauching innocent young women.

Our heroine is the very lovely, Lady Elizabeth Montclair - daughter of an Earl. One would think that having that lofty title would make her quite eligible but for the fact that her grandfather was made an earl by virtue of a whim of King Edward I who thought he was "one fine cobbler". Naturally, title not withstanding, and of low-born birth she is not taken seriously, but has through sheer fortitude composed herself to be above reproach with nary a hint of scandal - which was one of the reasons why Lucien had singled her out to be his next victim - that and the fact that she went out of her way to let people know how much she loathed him. When they're caught together without a chaperone, she's forced to marry him to save her reputation.

Yes, we've all read the marriage of convenience theme many times over but this author has contrived to make it all the more memorable for me with intense visual imagery and strong emotional feelings. She has developed the personalities to a point that you are truly rooting for these two to come to terms with one another and make a go of this marriage. The dialog is fresh and witty with several instances of deep down belly aching laughs as they constantly bait one another with some pretty outrageous seduction quips and dares, then turns the tables completely to give you tremendous emotional depth -particularly when Lucien is charged with the murder of his older brother and the suspense builds - enough to make you cry. It is a roller coaster ride by an author I can't wait to read more of.

Lucien St. Aubyn has been labeled the Duke of Death. Everyone close to him has died over the years, including his older brother (although that death is attributed, whether rightly or wrongly, to Lucien's own hand).

Elizabeth Montclair's time is running out. This is her third season to be paraded around looking for a husband, and, as a result, her family is nigh onto penniless. It's do or die time for Elizabeth to procure a husband; however, she is not interested.

Enter Lucien, who is suffering from a deep feeling of boredom. He spies Elizabeth across a room and immediately devises a plan. How about by seducing a woman who loathes him? Could there be a greater challenge? It doesn't hurt that Elizabeth is not really considered of the upper class and no one will care if he seduces and ruins her.

Elizabeth has heard all the rumors about Lucien and knows that they must be true - the Duke of Death has crossed her path before and left only a negative impression. She would rather expire than have anything to do with him.

Lucien maneuvers circumstance to capture Elizabeth alone at this soiree...and they are caught - compromising her totally. He offers marriage, and trapped, Elizabeth accepts. Although he doesn't and won't allow himself to love her and she loathes him, can they make this marriage work?

This book was a very entertaining read. The adversarial nature of Lucien and Elizabeth's relationship allow for lots of sexual tension and fun and games between them. Seduction is the theme and it is well represented here. I have never heard of such inventive eating of fruit before in my life! There is also a wager between them later in the book which made me laugh out loud at the consequence of poor Lucien's loss.

On a more serious note, as they learn to know each other, as Lucien is slowly revealed to Elizabeth through experience and the comments of others, we are allowed to see what is really driving this tormented soul. How could anyone help falling in love with him?

I recommend this book highly!!

I can't believe that someone would say this book *fizzles*. I honestly read this book because I had to judge it in a contest and I couldn't put it down from the moment I started it. As a matter of fact, I've been dying to review it for weeks but was afraid to tip my hand in saying that I'd loved it. The book made it to the finals of the contest, and a search of this author's web site (because I want to read more of her wonderful books!) revealed that it's won lots of award. Apparently I'm not the only one that was captivated by the tale.

About the book: The heroine was someone I could identify with from practically the first page. She's an outsider and yet instead of moping or getting whiny (like so many heroines), her outlook on life is a kind of stoic acceptance tinged with humor that I really loved. The hero starts out as a stereotypical hero. You know the kind, rake, rogue, blah blah blah. But instead of falling back on same old same old plot devices to excuse the hero's bad behavior, Ms. Britton creates a real and complex character that had me crying for him by the end of the book.

By far, my favorite part of the book was the ending. I was guessing until the last page what would happen. I applaud the author for keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Great work, Ms. Britton!!! I came here to buy *Tempted* and from the reviews of that book, I won't be disappointed either.