Seduction Of A Proper Gentleman [Paperback]

Victoria Alexander (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Avon; First Avon Books Paperback Printing Edition edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061449466
• ISBN-13: 978-0061449468
• ASIN: B001I3SOT2
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

More About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.

Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written twenty-four full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife--originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008--hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.

Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON'T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.

During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She's interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor's helicopter. She's covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter's school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She's never looked back.

Victoria is a former president of the Omaha Press Club and in 2009 was named an OPC Face on the Barroom Floor. A caricature portrait of her joined previous faces including presidents, sports figures and politicians in a tradition that began in 1971.

Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.

Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband, a son in college and a daughter working in film.

Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam, the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie has now taken on the position of loyal companion and is doing a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!

They live in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal--she has to.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Man Standing conclussion., September 13, 2008

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seduction of a Proper Gentleman (Last Man Standing) (Mass Market Paperback)

Set in England, the year 1854. According to a legend, five hundred years ago this very season two border families, one Scottish and one English, were supposed to be joined in marriage to end the years of violence between them. But the marriage never occurred. An old woman, who had lost everyone she loved to the bloodshed, was furious that it would continue. She cast a curse on the families involved. If they did not join in marriage by the end of five hundred years, both families would cease to exist and terrible, dreadful things would happen.

Lady Kathleen MacDavid is the widow of Sir Kenneth. She is the granddaughter of the dowager Countess of Dumleavy, the niece of the current earl, Malcolm, and his sister, Hannah. Kathleen did not believe in the curse until recently and now seeks to wed Oliver Leighton, the Earl of Norcroft, to break the curse. Though Kathleen has come to accept this marriage between the two families as inevitable, she is still reluctant and uneasy. Kathleen and Hannah travel via train to the country, where Oliver is spending time at Norcroft Manor with his mother, Lady Norcroft (Edwina). Hannah, who dabbles with magic, wants Kathleen to pretend to lose her memory. When Kathleen refuses, Hannah casts her spell.

Oliver Leighton and his mother are surprised when the unconscious is brought to Norcroft Manor by two locals and a lady en route to Lord Darlington's current party. When the lady finally awakens, it is without her memory. The doctor is sure the memory will return eventually. Until then Edwina insists the lost lady remain at the manor. Oliver is suspicious and doubts the memory loss; however, it only takes a few days and tests to totally convince him. She is given the temporary name of Kate. Oliver cannot help but become smitten by the lady.

Exactly one week after Hannah's spell was cast, Kate wakes up with her full memory. But how will she convince Oliver of a curse, much less of magic? And once Kathleen/Kate tells everything, will Oliver believe her or hate her?

***** This is the last story in the The Last Man Standing saga. I dreaded seeing it end. Author Victoria Alexander breathes life into her characters and I feel as though I know them well. I will miss these friends terribly. However, this also means that the author is free to begin a new trilogy and I have no doubt I will feel as though I am making new friends. I have rarely found an author that can create such wonderful people, loosely link them all together in some manner, and do so in such a way that it all seems believable.

The couples from the previous novels are mentioned briefly at the beginning, to help refresh the memories of readers. Afterward, the entire story focuses on the main couple. There are some secondary characters, Oliver's cousins, who enter the story mid-way. I cannot help but wonder if these three female cousins will be the next trilogy. I can hardly wait to see. All-in-all, this is a light and romantic read that I found to be totally delightful. Brava! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The final book in the Last Man Standing series = A dash of magic, a 500 year old curse and good old fashion lust!, September 29, 2008

By 

cb (Minot, ND) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Seduction of a Proper Gentleman (Last Man Standing) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a historical romance with a dash of magic, a curse and good old fashion lust! Lady Kathleen MacDavid is told by her grandmother that she must marry the Earl of Norcroft to break a 500 year old curse. She ignores her grandmother then all the men she either love or is starting to have feelings for DIE. She decides to seek out the Earl of Norcroft but before she can come up with a plan her aunt (either pushes her/performs a spell) and she hits her head and looses her memory. She ends up at the Earl of Norcroft home where she attempts to remember her past while falling for the Earl. Enjoy!

The final book of the Last Man Standing series (I would recommend them all); A Little Bit Wicked (Last Man Standing, Book 1),What a Lady Wants (Last Man Standing, Book 2), Secrets of a Proper Lady (Last Man Standing, Book 3).

If you enjoy this genre I would also suggest; A Wallflower Christmas, The Wedding Ghost (Zebra Regency Romance), The Lost Duke of Wyndham (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 1) and A Rake's Guide To Pleasure (Zebra Historical Romance).

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Seduction of a Proper Gentleman, September 15, 2008

By 

Buffie (The South, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seduction of a Proper Gentleman (Last Man Standing) (Mass Market Paperback)

The fourth and final installment in the Last Man Standing series by Victoria Alexander is Seduction of a Proper Gentleman. The series is based around a wager made by four gentlemen - Viscount Warton, Viscount Cavendish, American Daniel Sinclair, and the Earl of Norcroft. The stakes of the bet are a shilling contributed by each gentleman and a bottle of cognac, all of which will be given to the last man of the group to remain single. Seduction of a Proper Gentleman is the story of Oliver Leighton, Earl of Norcroft, and his road to wedded bliss with Lady Kathleen McDavid.

Determined to end a 500-year old curse on her Scottish family, Lady Kathleen McDavid travels to London with her Aunt Hannah in search of the one man in the entire world she must marry to save her family. His name is Oliver Leighton, and he is the Earl of Norcroft. Upon arriving in London, Kathleen bumps into the Earl of Norcroft as he is leaving his club after an evening of leisure. But when he mistakes Kathleen for a beggar and gives her the winning shillings from the wager, she wonders what kind of husband this man will become. Aunt Hannah feverishly tries to convince Kathleen to use some family magic to snag Oliver as her husband. Kathleen steadfastly refuses as she wants to be honest with her future husband and quite frankly she doesn't believe magic will work. But Aunt Hannah has no qualms about a little magic and thus casts a spell upon the unbeknownst Kathleen. Kathleen wakes to find herself lying on a sofa in the country home of the Earl with no memory of how she got there, let alone of who she is. The only thing that Kathleen knows is there is an attraction between her and the Earl.

Oliver Leighton cannot believe he is the last man standing. Of all the gentlemen who took part in the wager, Oliver was the only one not opposed to the idea of marriage and yet here he is alone again. His friends have found marriage and happiness. And now, Oliver believes he is ready to find his. However, when a beautiful young woman appears at his country home supposedly suffering from amnesia, Oliver puts his quest for happiness aside to find out exactly what this woman is hiding or more importantly what this woman wants. Though he is suspicious of Kathleen's motives, Oliver finds it hard to control his desires and not fall for the captivating nuances of his houseguest.

I absolutely love books with wonderful dialogue, and this is just one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much. Victoria Alexander delivers the dialogue with finesse and humor. The lively banter between Kathleen and Oliver is perfect. Throw in a few meddling family members, a quirky butler, and a little bit of magic and you have the makings for a wonderfully delightful story. Be sure to pick up a copy of Seduction of a Proper Gentleman and enjoy the experience.

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