An Invitation to Seduction [Mass Market Paperback]

The duke, a close friend of Kitty's fiancé, is instantly taken with the beautiful red headed American heiress after he encounters her near his home on the coast of Cornwall. Knowing that Kitty's fiancé has a dark secret, Weddington is convinced that Kitty will never be happy with the man she has chosen and decides to pursue her himself.

At the beginning of "An Invitation to Seduction" I liked Weddington. His character showed some hints of depth regarding a tragedy in his past and some lingering physical ailments, but any interesting character development is lost in the overwrought plot of this story--though I did like the fact that he had his own money and didn't need Kitty's, but liked her for herself.

I find Kitty to be a very grating character, with little to recommend her beside the facts that she is beautiful, rich, and American (in that order). The primary issue driving her life choices is so silly and immature that even the author ends up brushing it off as an over-complicated hang-up toward the end. I must say that she did seem to have grown up a bit by the end of the book, but it wasn't enough to make her sympathetic or likeable.

One of the redeeming points of this story is that Kitty's fiancé is a relatively three dimensional character and is not conveniently vilified as is so often done in the romance genre. His secret, however, is painfully apparent from the beginning.

There are occasional hints at what the story could have been if it had been drawn out with a more subtle hand, but that's not enough to make "An Invitation to Seduction" a good read. It does pick up a bit toward the middle, but by the last thirty pages it was so ridiculous that I put it down for a week, only bothering to finish it when I got sick of seeing the book on my night stand.

If this is your first Lorraine Heath book, I'd encourage you to try some of her others, like the very good "The Outlaw and The Lady" or even "To Marry an Heiress".

Unfortunately I can not say the same thing about the heroine "Kitty". I got tired of her rejection of Richard in favor of Farthingham. Her fears and worries do seem rather foolish, and somewhat annoying, but to be fair, she is quite young, inexperienced and raised in a society that had very rigid moral standars, so I guess her position is understandable. It is just that I fell in love with Richard since the moment he sends her the 1000 flowers that he had grown himself. Talk about a romantic gesture! I admit that the logical side of my mind thinks it was a little exagerated, but the romantic side thinks that is precisely what makes it more endearing.

The story is engaging and entertainning. The first chapter had a surreal quality to it. As if it were something out of a dream. I don't know if I was the only one that got that impression, but the dawn, the desserted beach and the nature of their encounters seem just the stuff romantic dreams are made of. The sex scenes passionate and well written.

What else can I say? The book is great all around. I just hope Loraine Heath keeps writting about Victorian England, because as much as I like her writting, I'm not really into cowboy stories.