The Seduction of Sarah (Zebra Historical Romance) [Mass Market Paperback]

Sarah Wellesley had been widowed for some time and was adamant she would never marry again. She delighted in her daily naked swim until the moment she was discovered by a cad who refused to honor her privacy. Escaping his embrace she was horrified to discover mere hours later that he was the long overdue Marquess of Caldern....her cousin Caroline's intended.

Alex Caldern had long ago learned the fickleness of a woman's heart, and cynically abandoned any hope of marrying for love. His upcoming nuptials would be held strictly for the purpose of obtaining an heir, but the chance meeting of the early morning `water sprite' left a lingering desire of lust. Discovering that the woman who'd ignited his passion was not some local harlot, but the exquisite Lady Caroline's quiet cousin Sarah, Alex began a devilish campaign of seducing Sarah.

While Alex was working hard at convincing his intended that they would never suit, several life threatening accidents seemed to continually involve him. Luckily Sarah always seemed near by to come to his aid. Alex who had never thought that love would enter into the equation had now begun to realize that with Sarah, his biggest challenge was not the seduction, but in convincing her that marriage to him would be a whole new adventure in love and passion.

*** This was a very pleasant and a lovely sensual read by a new author and is certainly one, which I can recommend. Her portrayal of the protagonists was very well done with Sarah having issues of trust after a cruel marriage experience and Alex assuming all women only married for money and/or prestige. The shrewish cousin Caroline was also a very interesting characterization as to why a man would want to stay single - talk about a witch! Surprisingly, it also gives a bit of twist as to the culprit behind the accidents, that was very interesting. Additionally, I rather enjoyed seeing the inclusion of the loving relationships Alex had with the many illegitimate off spring from his father's numerous affairs which I thought added an extremely original touch. I believe that this debut effort shows this author to have a lovely writing style and an original and rare talent that will only get better as time goes on. --- Marilyn, for www.romancedesigns.com ---

. . . there were just too many flaws to recommend. I love discovering new/debut authors and I was very keen to read this one but ultimately it's a disappointment.

Sarah Wellsley is a widow who has accompanied her spoiled, self-centered cousin Caroline to meet Caroline's prospective husband. Sarah's marriage was an unhappy one and she has no desire ever to marry again and give up her independence to a man. Since arriving at Caldern several weeks past, she has enjoyed a morning swim in a secluded pond on the estate. But one morning her solitude is interrupted by the appearance of a handsome stranger. They share a steamy kiss, neither realizing who the other is. When Sarah learns that the man who caught her naked and kissed her so thoroughly is, in fact, Caroline's intended, she tries to blend into the woodwork. Unfortunately, he has other ideas and refuses to let her.

He is Alex Norward, Marquess of Caldern who is recently returned from abroad to take up his duties, one of which is to marry and produce an heir. Unfortunately, it is not Caroline who warms his blood, but her unassuming cousin, Sarah. He is very attracted to her and she to him, but she is determined to resist him. He tries to back off and adhere to her wishes, but the more he is around her the more he wants her. He is certainly not going to marry the self-absorbed Caroline, but how to convince Sarah to take another chance on marriage - with him? But strange accidents begin to happen to Alex and he ultimately must face the fact that someone wants him dead - but who?

While I enjoyed aspects of the story and I liked Sarah and Alex, I found much of this a bit of a muddle. Alex is inconsistent in his actions alternately vowing to leave her alone and trying to seduce her. He initially singles her out for so much attention, in front of his entire family, guests and household, it would have surely been considered scandalous at the time. At one point he decides that she would be a good match for one of his stepbrothers but becomes furious when they speak together. His moods swing from brooding to mischievous and back again often. Caroline's character was so completely without merit that it seems inconceivable that anyone would want to marry her and given his apparent dislike of his step-mother, it seems unlikely that he would have left the choice of his future wife in her hands.

The mystery of who was trying to kill Alex was interesting (the culprit was a surprise) but could have been better executed. And I found there to be a few too many secondary characters - his step-siblings, his friend David, and his two (yes two!) bastard step-brothers - leaving the impression that, at least the last three were simply there to introduce future heroes for future books.

This author shows some promise but this attempt just fell a bit short of the mark. The cover art was very attractive, though - except they should lose the orange lipstick! It looks as though she has a book in the works for step-brother Nathan Carter and perhaps I'll give that a try, but first I'll wait to read reviews :)

Alex, the handsome Marquess of Caldern, returns from the navy and the war to an estate in ruins, a family plagued with troubles, and an arranged marriage he is not sure he wants. He then sees Sarah, the beautiful cousin and companion of his fiance Caroline, swimming nude in a pond on the estate. It is love at first sight for him. Not so for Sarah, who is drawn to Alex, but tries to fight his seduction - not only because of her cousin, but because a disasterous previous marriage. As Alex begins his seduction, so do the threats to his life. There is an intriguing set of characters woven into this story who are deep in deceit. Where is the danger coming from? - The angry step-mother, who dislikes Alex, but dislikes the illegitimate brothers more, the step-siblings, the cousins, friends, or some outside threat from the estate village? This well-written book captivated me from the very first page with its strong characters. I found that Sarah was not the only one seduced. I was too!