As a period piece, this is a hauntingly accurate one. Mary Wollstonecraft wrote that "marriage was little better than institutionalized prostitution". For the early 19th century woman, as Sophy finds herself, this was played out all to frequently. The jaded Earl of Ravenwood (Julian) offers marriage to a country gentry spinster (Sophy) expecting she can get no better offer and her aging grandparents need the funds he's offering. He'll give her a title and money if she gives him a son and no trouble or scandal. He's essentially buying a broodmare.

Sophy has loved him since she was 18 and thought he a dashing young lord. She agrees to the marriage as long as he agrees to give her time and respect. 1) Doesn't censor her reading, 2) doesn't control her father's inheritance (pocket money to him) and 3) gives her 3 months before consummating their marriage so she can know him better (and he might love her back). A week into the marriage and he's already breaking his word forcing her to sleep with him "as is his husbandly right". She retaliates by drugging him to sleep.

Good for her, I thought. If the man's going to be a pig and go back on his word to his bride, he well deserved any guilt he has over it. But time and time again Sophy lets the man off the hook. She allows him to bully her into sex, gets her pregnant, packs her off to the country, even tell her what she should and should not consider an issue of honor and family loyalty. He's a typical Alpha hero who never really gets his comeuppance.

Sure he was jaded by his first wife's adultery, but he never fully earned his second wife's love or loyalty. As the book closes, (and she is nursing their son after having been manipulated once again to do his bidding in wearing the family jewels) he asks her if she has gotten everything she wanted from the marriage. All I could think was that he got exactly what he wanted (an heir, a loyal wife) and she had surrendered herself to institutional prostitution.

Alas this is typical of Amanda Quick. She writes good mystery plots but has a poor grasp of emotional realism. There are no fireworks just paint-by-numbers plots.

This book was one of my favorites by Quick. The hero is a little domineering but if you take the time period in to account it seems pretty accurate. He was a man afraid to love because of his first wifes conquests. So he seems to have locked his heart away. It was delightfull to see how he comes to love the heroine and comes out of his shell. The heroine was a intelligent woman who has loved the hero since she was 18. I liked the duel between the woman. I found this book delightfull and one of her best works. Great read!

I have read several of Amanda Quick stories and I enjoyed them all. Amanda Quick does have a basic "formula" to her stories. The heroine is usually intelligent, but naive and her hero is usually viewed as dark and menacing by outsiders. The heroine of course always sees the soft side of the hero. I like the fact that her main characters aren't always beautiful and perfect, but are often somewhat flawed but basically very honorable.

The main characters in this book Sophy and Julian are easy to like. When I had to put the book down, I kept wondering how things would turn out. The villian is relatively easy to spot, but the precise details of his deceit kept the story moving. The heroine even saves herself at times. I would recommend this for a nice pleasurable read for which you don't have to think too much.

I had never heard of Amanda Quick until I read "Seduction". Now, I own 21 of her books - and they are getting very battered from being constantly reread. Obviously, she is a talented author, with a gift for creating extremely engaging characters. Her dialogue is realistic, frequently witty, and sometimes very poignant. There are certain similarities among her heroines, and even more so among her heroes, yet there are sufficient differences to make any resemblances seem comforting and familiar, rather than formulaic. She also handles the requisite sex scenes with a very deft touch.

"Seduction" is one of my favorites of all her books, although it is actually very hard to choose. "Ravished", "Mistress" "Scandal" - the list of great books goes on and on.

If you enjoy any type of romance novel, you will absolutely love "Seduction".

Seduction was my introduction to Amanda Quick's writing and I have been smitten ever since. This will always be my favorite book in her collection. The characters are witty and loveable (however, there are times where I want to slug Julian for being so overbearing). Certain dialoges between Sophy and Julian never fail to give me goosebumps (when he tells her that he loves her and would do anything to protect her). It is classic Amanda Quick and I wish she'd return to this older style in her new books.