Seducing the Heiress
Grade : C+

Seducing the Heiress caught my eye because it sounded a little different. It's the first in a series about three sisters from a wealthy, upstart family. Raised in India, they are now back in England - where their mercenary mother intends to marry them all off, preferably to titled gentlemen. It's not bad for a first effort, but there are several issues that keep it from being much more than an average read.

Portia Crompton is the oldest of the three sisters, and the only one to be formally "out." While she humors her mother, she has no intention of encouraging any suitors; her heart is still in India, with her childhood love, Arun. Arun is a maharajah's son, and, as one might expect from the time period, neither his family or hers thinks that a union is possible. Portia has been secretly writing him anyway, and has vague plans to escape after a time and run back to India.

Colin Byrd, Viscount Ratcliffe, has other ideas. Even before he meets Portia, he decides that he wants her. He is low on funds and has an estate to run, so it's essential that he marry an heiress. When he actually catches sight of Portia and hears her tell chocked listeners at a dinner party how she shot a tiger, he is even more captivated. He distracts a disapproving society matron with a well-aimed strawberry, then draws Portia into conversation. However, Colin has a rather shocking past. Though acquitted in the courts, he was accused of killing his father in cold blood - a sin society will not forgive. When Portia's family won't let him call, he climbs a trellis and appears in Portia's bedchamber. Her sisters catch him there, and he manages to get away with Portia's prized locket - which has a miniature of Arun. They then enter into a battle of wills, with Portia attempting to retrieve the locket, and Colin attempting to charm Portia into forgetting Arun.

Colin is not Portia's only suitor. An older man, the Duke of Albright, is determinedly courting her as well. Since he is a duke and a perfectly respectable member of society, Portia's parents favor his suit. There also seems to be an unexplained enmity between the duke and Colin. Portia still insists that she will be leaving the country any time, but she can't help feeling attracted to Colin - and wondering why he and Albright hate each other.

You can, of course, see where this is going. You can tell that Colin is a better man than people give him credit for being, and that the Albright is likely a worse one. And given the time period, the romance with Arun is likely to remain a pipe dream. It mostly plays out as expected.

That's not to say that Seducing the Heiress is without charm. I liked that Portia and her family were on the fringes of society, wanted for their wealth but looked down upon for their humble origins. I also liked Portia's sisters, Blythe and Lindsey (and not just because one of them shares my name). Lindsey in particular acted like a sister, helping Portia at times, but making sure Portia knew her opinions as well. It's a realistic and interesting sibling relationship, and it occurred to me as I was reading it that we don't really see enough of those.

I also liked Colin, at least most of the time. It's obvious early on that his scandalous reputation is not actually earned; you can see that he is protecting someone else. At heart, he's a decent guy. And pretenses aside, he's not really after Portia for her money. His frosty relationship with Albright is actually pretty intriguing as well; it provides one of the more interesting plot lines in the book.

But one of the problems with the book is that Colin doesn't let Portia see his better side. He goes a little too far in his protection of others, and doesn't really make his case very well. At the same time, I had some frustration with Portia because of her failure to put all the pieces together. She says over and over again that she cannot marry Colin, not only because she thinks she wants to be with Arun, but because she won't marry a profligate gambler who will just waste her money. The only problem is that there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Colin is, in fact, a gambler. She never sees him spend money unwisely. Every shred of evidence indicates that he's a good guy, and yet late into the book she still believes him to be a wastrel. When coupled with her completely unrealistic plans to run away to India, this makes Portia look both naive and judgmental.

But while the book is flawed, it's also fair to say that it gets better as it goes along, which is a trajectory I vastly prefer to the alternative - the book that starts out in a promising way only to go rapidly downhill. So while I can't quite recommend this one, I think it's a promising start for Olivia Drake, and I wouldn't be adverse to trying her next effort.

Reviewed by Blythe Smith
Grade : C+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : November 25, 2009

Publication Date: 2009/12

Review Tags: 

Recent Comments …

Blythe Smith

I've been at AAR since dinosaurs roamed the Internet. I've been a Reviewer, Reviews Editor, Managing Editor, Publisher, and Blogger. Oh, and Advertising Corodinator. Right now I'm taking a step back to concentrate on kids, new husband, and new job in law...but I'll still keep my toe in the romance waters.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
What's your opinion?x
()
x