Then Comes Seduction by Mary Balogh
- By Mary Balogh
- Editions: audiobook, ebook, paperback
- Published: March 24th 2009 by Dell
- Genre: Adult Historical Romance
- Disclaimer: I was hired by a publisher in my country to translate the title into my first language.
- Source: own copy
- In a Flutter: Amusing, but not too exciting
In a night of drunken revelry, Jasper Finley, Baron Montford, gambles his reputation as London’s most notorious lover on one woman. His challenge? To seduce the exquisite, virtuous Katherine Huxtable within a fortnight. But when his best-laid plans go awry, Jasper devises a wager of his own. For Katherine, already wildly attracted to him, Jasper’s offer is irresistible: to make London’s most dangerous rake fall in love with her. Then Jasper suddenly ups the ante. Katherine knows she should refuse. But with scandal brewing and her reputation in jeopardy, she reluctantly agrees to become his wife. Now, as passion ignites, the seduction really begins. And this time the prize is nothing less than both their hearts.…
~ Goodreads
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: The regency setting of Then Comes Seduction with the ton and its values was well put together and permeated everything as it should. I enjoyed it.
Characters: Katherine was an interesting character. Something of a rebel for her times, in fact. More of a free thinker and quite independent, and opinionated – as I was saying, a rebel for her times. I really liked her.
Jasper was somewhat annoying, I’ll admit. The whole betting and romping around bit kind of bugged me, but it was no fault of his own. Rather an air du temps that I don’t much enjoy. That being said, he was charismatic enough, funny, witty, and the banter between Katherine and him was delicious. In fact that was what made the read entertaining, their chemistry and their banter.
Plot: The bet-based story relied heavily on ton expectations and appearances, something very regency-like. The rekindled romance trope on top of the bet trope was fun and exciting, though I rarely find it so. Probably because the separation period was short. I loved the slow burn and slow falling in love aspect of the story, though the one on one happened sooner than one might expect in regency romance – liked that too. It felt a bit too slow-paced for me, turns out I’ve become a bit of an adrenaline junkie lately, lol.
Writing: Third person past tense narrative, his and her POV. I loved their voices.
Curb Appeal: Hot cover, hooking blurb – awesome pitch.
All in all, this was a fun, quick read. I wasn’t nuts over it, but I think I’m not much of a Regency romance kind of gal. So many rules not getting spectacularly broken…it’s sort of depressing, in a way. But if you’re into historical romance, this is a super fun read I think and I recommend it. The couple was totally a riot.
