Seduction In Mind (Mass Market Paperback)

by Susan Johnson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Johnson's latest Victorian-era erotic romance (following Tempting) thrills with each turn of the page as two reckless individuals tumble headlong into an explosive relationship. Alexandra Ionides, who occasionally poses as a nude model and also paints, supports her scandalous pastimes with her inheritances from her two deceased husbands. Her lush beauty and unusual lifestyle captivate Samuel Lennox, Viscount Ranelagh, a renowned rogue, lover and high-stakes gambler. Determined to own one of Alex's risque portraits as well as the lady herself, Sam interrupts a sitting with the famous painter Frederic Leighton in order to make his intentions perfectly clear. As a rule, Alex dislikes men of Sam's ilk, and she rejects his advances even though she finds herself fiercely attracted to his self-assured, sexy demeanor. Sam is persistent, however, and, within a matter of days, Alex is lodged in his bed and deep in his heart. Pages sizzle as the two discover that even in the face of scheming ex-lovers, disapproving parents and deeply imbedded fears of commitment, love can triumph. Writing with the same tried-and-true formula of her previous novel, Temporary Mistress, Johnson delivers another fast, titillating read that overflows with sex scenes and rapid-fire dialogue.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Intrigued by a beautiful nude in a painting, Samuel Lennox, the Viscount Ranelagh, traces the canvas to Victorian artist Frederic Leighton's studio, where he discovers the object of his desire is Alexandra Ionides, an occasional model, wealthy widow, and painter herself. Samuel invites Alexandra to join him in a no-strings, sex-only affair, but to his surprise, Alexandra turns him down. Now the renowned libertine and experienced lover must draw upon all of his powers of seduction to convince the lovely Alexandra to let him pleasure her. Held together by a gossamer plot, Johnson's steamy love scenes, which leave nothing to the reader's imagination, become the focus of the book. The sensually charged writing and occasional use of graphic language may rebuff readers looking for more subtlety in their romance novels, but Johnson knows exactly what her devoted readers desire, and she delivers it with her usual flair. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (July 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553582542
• ISBN-13: 978-0553582543
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #431,927 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Two steps forward, one step back, August 2, 2001

By	"moreland98" (Vacaville, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This is a difficult book for Susan Johnson devotees. I have read virtually everything by Susan Johnson, and have found that her books typically are either about interesting characters with some good sex thrown in (Temporary Mistress) or about some interesting sex with good characters thrown in (Wicked, Silver Flame).

Seduction in Mind seems to push the boundaries of character development in a romance: while the hero is a typical SJ tall, dark, handsome rake, the heroine is notably different. A twice-widowed artist who occasionally models nude, Alexandra has lovers, suggests the possiblity of bi-sexuality (in one brief statement only, and although the impression is of a comment made in a fit of anger, it is never explained fully nor revisited), and has enough money to do as she pleases. A side plot also depicts sibling incest - great big ICK, but effective as a startling plot development.

The whole book has the feel of SJ reaching towards new boundaries, but still halfway confined to the "typical" romance plot. For instance, while the heroine is a modern woman with lovers, she still blushes furiously at insinuations and has issues with Sam's (the hero) past reputation. Also, her constant agonizing over his reputation borders on hypocritical and naive at times. The sex scenes - Johnson's specialty - are more quantity than quality, particularly if you have read a few of her previous books.

For all the negatives, though, this has some true bright spots. The flashes of humor, the attempt to give romance readers something other than a 17 year old blond virgin as a heroine, the hero who takes the initiative in bringing up babies and marriage...

Bottom line: Johnson has written better, but she's also written much worse, and this seems like a book that's leading the way to a more mature, disciplined writer.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars From Lust to Love? ...in one week? Hmmm...., October 17, 2001

By	Abbys (Moreno Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

READ AMAZON SYNOPSIS and in addition to that:

This is my third book of Ms. Johnson and once again, compared to SINFUL, this one pales and is somewhat a disappointment. I find this book a little on the light-weight in terms of the plot, the romance and the character development. It is only heavy in one thing and that is sex. Sam and Alex are likable in most part but not impressive nor do they leave intriguing marks. Villains are effortless and twisters were too easy to feel any excitement or relief. There's inconsistencies here and there, in terms of character portrayals, dialogue and dates of scenes. What bothered me most are the sex scenes, which in most part I find rather unnecessary. It's too explicit and could be bordered to soft porn materials. The dialogue and some of the vocabulary used are also too obscene for my liking. Mind you, I've read and enjoyed light and even heavy sex scenes in my romance reading, provided it's mixed with passion or affection. I expect a more lovable and heart warming love-making scenes in my romance books. This is not under erotica genre, afterall. The main essence of SEDUCTION IN MIND is simply lust and sex. Since Sam and Alex couldn't keep their hands off each other, they decided they are in love and will get married to save the trouble! Ugh....not my kind of romantic reading material.

The reason why I didn't rate this book lower than 3 stars despite my above complaint is primarily because I read the book all the way to the end without having to drag myself. Base on the three books I've read of Susan Johnson, she is never dull. Her style of risque will challenge readers to read on. There's also moments of treats such as the tasty banters between the Sam and Alex - that have brought smile to my face. So, In fact, if you already have this book on hand, I'd say go for it and read it. Who knows you might enjoy it more than I have. However, I would not recommend this book as one of those MUST READ or the one you have to go out of your way to get.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Crudity rating 10; sensuality and romantic rating 0, January 13, 2002

By	Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Still engaged in my quest to find other historical writers worth reading, I decided to give Susan Johnson a try. But as soon as I turned to page 2 of the book and saw the baronet Frederick Leighton addressed as 'Sir Leighton' instead of Sir Frederick I knew I was onto a loser with Johnson.

Despite the author's prolific use of footnotes to demonstrate her knowledge of English history and customs, she gets some very basic elements completely wrong. Apart from the example above, her heroine, the twice-widowed Alexandra, is referred to throughout as 'Miss Ionides'. Whatever Alexandra's preference in the matter, any woman who had been married would have been called by the surname (or title) of her last husband. That was her name legally; Alexandra should have been referred to as Mrs Coutts.

The main characters, especially the viscount and his male friend, sounded far too contemporary; in fact, much of their dialogue was both modern and American, so I couldn't possibly take them seriously as Victorian aristocrats. As for Sam's language and vocabulary when with Alex... not credible. No gentleman would speak to a lady, even his lover, in those terms.

As for the story... sorry, but apart from when I was being jerked out of it by the anachronisms and inaccuracies it bored me from start to finish. As another reviewer commented, there was no romance in here. The book could have easily been marketed as an erotic novel, certainly; the sex scenes are detailed and very crudely described, with plenty of four-letter words. I have no idea how the characters fell in love with each other; there was no love story here.

Not recommended.