Review: A Season of Seduction by Jennifer Haymore (and giveaway!)

From the author's website:
Although the widowed Lady Rebecca has sworn off marriage, men are another matter. London’s cold winter nights have her dreaming of warmer pursuits-like finding a lover to satisfy her hungry heart. Someone handsome, discreet, and most importantly as uninterested in marriage as she is. Someone like Jack Fulton.

A known adventurer and playboy, Jack seems like the perfect choice. There’s just one problem: Jack isn’t interested in an affair. He needs the beautiful, mysterious Lady Rebecca to be his wife. And he doesn’t have much time to persuade her. A secret from Jack’s past is about to surface, and by Christmas Day he’ll be either married to Rebecca or dead.

______________________

A Season of Seduction is the third book in Ms. Haymore's Tristan Family series. I read the 2nd book, A Touch of Scandal (my review here), and really liked the heroine of this book, Rebecca.

As the story opens, Lady Rebecca (Becky) is about to embark on an assignation with Jack Fulton, a sailor recently embarked in London, whom she's become almost intimately acquainted with. Whom she wants to be intimately acquainted with. After the death of her husband four years ago, Rebecca hasn't wanted anyone like she wants Jack. She knows it's improper, but with the help of her dear friend, Cecelia, she's arranged to be with him tonight - alone. Things are moving right along, and then...her brother bursts into the hotel room and catches them, undressed and in bed together! Of course there's an audience to her disgrace, and she knows propriety dictates that she accept Jack's proposal of marriage. The problem is, she just can't do it.

Lady Rebecca's last marriage was so horrible, she doesn't ever want to be married again. He wooed her and convinced her he loved her, then planned to kill her for her money! She never wants to be dependent on a man again. What she doesn't know is that Jack needs to marry her because he is being blackmailed; he needs her dowry. He's got a history he's briefly told her about, but didn't give her all the facts, and is trying to manipulate her into marriage.

I enjoyed A Season of Seduction, Ms. Haymore's writing is descriptive - I could picture the events as they were unfolding. I liked Becky, and I wanted to like Jack, but I just couldn't. He was earnest and he loved her, but when you got down to it, he was using her. I was frustrated that when he finally decided to tell her the truth, his first thought is that his family would help him with his "issues" - that seemed kind of smarmy to me.

My feelings about the hero aside, it was a good story. Becky was a sweet heroine, and it was nice to see the characters from the previous book. (It can definitely be read as a stand-alone though) We met some new characters, Becky's friend Cecelia, and Jack's friend, Lord Stratford, whom I hope to see in the next book :)

Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Forever
Release Date: October 1, 2010
ISBN-10: 0446540285
ISBN-13: 978-0446540285

My Rating:

I have an ARC of Book 2 (A Touch of Scandal) and A Season of Seduction to give away (obviously I've read them but they're still in good condition) to one lucky commenter. Just leave a comment telling me you want to win them. Must be a GFC follower. Ends November 29.

Extra entries:
+1 tweet (leave link)
+1 blog post/sidebar (leave link)

This book was received by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.