How to Seduce a Scoundrel by Vicky Dreiling
Historical Romance
July 1, 2011
Paperback
Grand Central

Reviewed by May

Favorite Quote: He swallowed, remembering the horrible things he’d said to her. “I plan to spend the rest of my life making it up to her.”

“No, you will not. Hang your guilt. Spend the rest of your life treating her as if she were the sun and the stars combined.”

That scene between our hero (Hawk) and his Aunt Hester is one of my favorites – the quote above absolutely slayed me. This book had such shining moments, such memorable dialogue and emotion packed moments, it was truly a pleasure to read.

It is a story we’ve all heard too many times throughout all genres: the boy falls in love with his best friend’s sister. He is angst filled over it. In this version we’re in Regency England and our hero (all around rake/scoundrel) has an aunt who the sister (Julianne) is living with for the season. The aunt (she’s buried five husbands) is one of those eccentric old ladies of the ton who speaks shocking truths and is just on that edge of being thrown out for it. Julianne, of course, is in love with the Earl of Hawkfield (aka Hawk) and has been since she was a child. Now she just needs him to see her as a woman, want her as a wife. Hawk sees her as a woman alright – but he can’t possibly consider any woman as a wife. He’s got a past that is simply too dark and twisty for that.

Sound familiar?

It felt familiar. Reminiscent of my favorite Bridgerton novels and so many others I’ve read – and yet it was well done. We are shown each character in vivid detail, their personalities and motivations are clear and relatable, and I was utterly sucked into this story. I was so intrigued as to what could have our hero obsessed with protecting innocents and so sure he would never marry. He is really intense and tortured over events that happened to him as a young man – and the author spends much of the novel teasing and hinting at what it might be.

That turns into a problem, and ultimately it significantly affected my feelings about the book. While building suspense and creating tension, this particular “big secret” was overplayed. I believe my exact words when it all came out was “so the F*** what?! Seriously pansy boy? THIS is why you can’t marry? I call bullshit!”

Oh no really, I yelled at the book. I felt like the author used his unfortunate incident to manufacture extra drama and it would have been better with less, or with a more shocking secret. The downside of playing up the mysterious emo character is that if your big secret isn’t twisted, surprising, and awesome enough to shake the reader then it’s a let down.

Ah but I still enjoyed it overall. I liked how the author gave so many moments to the elderly aunt, that Julianne’s friendships were shown in detail and let to shine, and the overall pace and plot of the book.  The author had so many great moments and she even made me cry at one point – something this reader does not often do! She also had me laughing at scenes like this:

“I know lots of dirty words. I can say them in French if you like. Italian, too.”
“International dirty words. Oh, my.”

The romance was believable, the characters likeable. If I sit and analyze it I’m not happy with the lack of spine the heroine showed around her one true love, and I would have liked some more heat to the book as well (that’s something I never say!). If you like the best friend’s sister trope, and you’re looking for a nice Regency book then check it out.

I do like this author’s style and I hope to see more stories that interest me coming from her in the future. I will definitely be checking out her next installment in this series.

Grade: B

Recent Reviews:
The Book Pushers – D
Caught in a Fab Romance – 4/5
Fiction Vixen – D
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