A Hint Of Seduction (Berkley Sensation)

Rating:
Summary: A Hint of Seduction
Review: After taking a spill from her horse on a dawn ride in the park, Catherine absconds with the horse that caused that spill. Although the horse's owner was less than copacetic regarding her version of borrowing, John, the Earl of Chatwin and one of the ton's most notorious bachleor's, is intrigued with the mystery lady. Soon, the gossip column is hinting at there being something more to the affair than it is, since the horse in question is John's most prized stallion. Though the earl never really wanted to marry, he begins to rethink things thanks to Catherine. There is just one tiny problem- he might be her brother.

*** Fans of Regency romance will find this a comfortable read with most conventions of the genre observed. For a light and pleasant read, this will not lead you wrong. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore

Rating:
Summary: Another bestseller!
Review: Catherine Reynolds is in a bit of a predicament. After riding in the park before sunrise with her half-sister; Victoria, their groom has fallen off of his horse and now Catherine must go for help. Racing back to the carriage, her path is cut off by a rider on another horse. Scaring her horse, she fell to the ground and in the process, got the wind knocked out of her. Mercy, what else could go wrong?!

John Wickenham-Thickenham-Fines, the Fifth Earl of Chatwin cannot believe what had just happened. Where the devil did this young woman come from and what was she doing in Hyde Park before sunrise? Jumping down from his mount, he helps her from the ground, concern clearly written on his face. Just what he needed, a damsel-in-distress! But what kind of distress...that's the question.

Ms. Grey brings us another delightful story of fun, mischief and romance. A Hint of Seduction is all that and more. Catherine and John are wonderful characters! You'll fall in love with their constant bickering, stubbornness and the bond that develops between them. Throw in a full cast of secondary characters, a ghost and a gossip columnist, that just won't give things a rest; and you have a soon-to-be classis Regency romp.

This story is a very easy read with a, "I just can't put it down" feel. This is a top pick for your fall reading and I highly recommend it. Happy reading!!


Rating:
Summary: fine Regency
Review: Catherine Reynolds is in London with her much older sister Victoria allegedly seeking a match. Pont in fact Catherine is in town to learn the identity of her real father, as the late kind Sir Patrick Reynolds was not. Instead one of three men rejected by her mother two decades ago is that rogue.

Due to a couple of misfortunate incidents, Catherine cons Earl John Fine out of his horse. He already was attracted to her boldness and plans to not only get his steed back but to teach the angelic looking thief a lesson. When they meet again and again, they begin to fall in love and he agrees to help her with her quest. However, he and another suitor Lord Westerland agree to race with the stakes being her hand, something she refuses to accept so she takes control by entering the contest too.

The obsession and courage of the lead heroine makes Catherine an intriguing Regency protagonist; on the other hand the lead male is the typical sub-genre aristocratic John Doe with an unsavory reputation falling for a unique bold woman. The story line contains an historical amateur sleuth feel to the fine romantic plot while the support cast especially Victoria and General the thoroughbred impart insight into the lead couple. Amelia Grey provides her audience with another "A" novel.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Dead on the page
Review: Ever notice that some books suck you in, the characters are REAL for you (you laugh, you cry, make a fool of yourself on public transportation), and you CARE about them? This is not one of those books. The writing is flat and rather stilted, and the dialogue (the all important dialogue) is simply ghastly. People do not talk like this! They never have, and they never will.

I was also completely put off by the nit-wit heroine. If she'd simply TOLD the hero why she needed his horse (or better yet, his help) the book might have been readable. But with her high-handed "I need your horse, but I can't stop to tell you why" melodramatic crap, I just couldn't find it in myself to root for her. What a ninny. What a pain. What a drip. She did NOT deserve such a marvelous hero, and it was never plain why he would have wanted her (except that the author TELLS us over and over that he did, so I guess we were supposed to buy his being enthralled by such annoying antics).

I won't be buying anything else by this author, and in the future I'll pay closer attention to page count (trying hard to avoid short historicals, as they're almost uniformly awful).


Rating:
Summary: Actually 3-1/2* - Not exciting But Pleasant
Review: Everyone thinks Catherine Reynolds has come to London to make a match, but she's actually trying to find out which of three men mentioned in her deceased mother's journal is really her father. After three months of fittings for gowns in anticipation of the season, and no progress made in locating the three men who might be her father, Catherine needed to get out and ride to feel the wind in her face. When her groom's horse stumbled in a hole incapacitating him they decided that her sister and guardian, Victoria, would stay with the groom while Catherine would ride back to fetch a carriage. This would have worked out well if Catherine hadn't taken a spill when she ran into another rider. It was love at first sight for the stranger who was there to rescue her but as her later inquiries progressed, she discovered that there was a real possibility that he might just be her half brother!

John Wickenham-Thickenham-Fines, the Fifth Earl of Chatwin, was one of the more sought after bachelor nobles who had escaped being leg-shackled by the best of the matchmaking ton. He found himself clearly intrigued by the beguiling and cheeky miss that he'd almost run down. Her horse having run off, he endeavored to help her back to the stable to retrieve her carriage, but Catherine not wanting to take the chance of being seen before dawn in a gentleman's company had other ideas and ended up stealing his horse and leaving him stranded in the park. Catherine didn't know at the time that he'd been competing in a horse race and had all but forfeited the win to stop and help her. Furious, yet intrigued with the audacious chit who seemed immune to his charms, Chatwin was certain he would find her again along with his prize horse and regain his dignity if it were the last thing he'd do!

This was a pleasant read that had me thinking of another recent novel that uses the vehicle of a `gossip columnist' to fuel the protagonists actions. The search to locate Catherine's biological father in an effort to discover why he never married her mother, was interesting when it led to the door of the man who she fancied herself in love with, but then it seemed to fizzle out with no real joy or excitement generated over the ultimate discovery. The romance was sweet, if not earth shattering exciting, and the secondary characterizations, particularly Andrew (who I predict is soon to have his own story) and the lovely Lady Lynette who had a facial disfigurement, were interesting and well done along with the character of her older sister Victoria who would like a career as a ton matchmaker. While not an overly exciting read, it was somewhat predictable with a lovely romance that saved it with some very nice spicy scenes and cute dialogs. ---- Marilyn Rondeau, for www.historicromancewriters.com ----


Rating:
Summary: Another winner!
Review: Hint of Seduction is another charming winner from Amelia Grey. The story is a wonderful Regency romp with a hero who is both strong and kind, and a heroine who is courageous and headstrong. No silly miss here.

Rating:
Summary: A Nice Read!
Review: This was the first time I've ever read anything by Ms. Grey and I found this read to be enjoyable but it did lack some charm revolving around various plot engines that had potential but fell short on delivery. The idea of using a "gossip column" to further a storyline is not a new one and Ms. Grey had fun with this aspect of the story. The problem that I had with the story was the storyline regarding Catherine (our heroine) and her search for her father. This story had great potential and did bring Catherine and John together but then fell flat and the outcome was less then satisfactory. This was truly the only part of the story that was a let down and the characters and the chemistry between the two was nice.

Secondary characters add to the telling of the story and I look forward to reading Lord Dugdale's story and recommend this one as a nice way to spend an evening.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com