A SEDUCTION AT CHRISTMAS -- Cathy Maxwell
Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-135098-6
November 2008
Historical Romance

England - 1809

Dominic Lynsted, Duke of Holburn, has finally realized that his roguish behavior has gone too far. After having his family ring stolen, presumably by his Spanish friend, while carousing in Greece, Nick comes to the sobering conclusion that his life must change. After seeing the vision of a beautiful woman at the Oracle of Delphi ruins, Nick returns to England to mend his ways. He suddenly finds himself unable to lose at gambling, even when he tries. Has his luck turned? But he still doesn't have his ring, or the lovely woman he has now seen across the room at a party who is the image of his Delphi lady. When he gets a message to meet the man who may have his ring, Nick walks into a surprising situation.

Fiona Lachlan has left Scotland and all of the horrid memories. After her beloved brother and his wife sailed off to America, Fiona chose, instead, to find a new life in London. But it hasn't been easy, so now, scrambling to feed herself and her dog, Fiona agrees to take the place of another girl and pretend to seduce a man for money while slipping a concoction into his drink. Unfortunately, the man she meets is not the man who is supposed to be there; instead, it's the handsome, rakish Duke of Holburn, the very same man she remembers from a party, and one of the reasons why she chose to come to London. Still, she does manage to get him to drink the tainted liquid; although when they are attacked, it is Fiona who must rescue the very sick duke, for it seems that he is the target of the thugs.

So begins Cathy Maxwell's newest series, Scandals and Seductions. Fiona just wants to get on with her life, lonely as it is, and escape the darkness of the past. Nick wants to do the same. As the pair try to avoid being one of the mounting number of people who are killed by the unknown pursuers, the two also begin to actually like each other. Nick, of course, has to get over the fact that Fiona made him horribly sick and held him captive in her tiny room. Fiona has to overcome the dreadful nightmare of what happened to her in Scotland and learn to trust Nick.

A SEDUCTION AT CHRISTMAS is, despite the death toll, a delightful, imaginative tale of two lonely people gravitating to one another, despite their surface differences. The villains are unknown for most of the story, and secondary characters, while essential to the plot, do not shine as much as Fiona and Nick. There are plenty of exciting scenes, and a few steamy ones, as the two team up to uncover the plot against Nick. Readers will be surprised by the conclusion.

For a fun, well-written novel with a unique plot and endearing lead players, A SEDUCTION AT CHRISTMAS shouldn't be missed.

Jani Brooks