The Seduction of an Unknown Lady by Samantha James Published by Harper Collins on October 13th 2009
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Seduction is something Fionna Hawkes knows nothing about. So when she encounters a sexy stranger on a moonlit street, her first instinct is to defend herself against her darkly handsome suitor. But letting go of suspicion and allowing herself to fall for Lord Aidan McBride brings even greater danger. In his eyes, she glimpses a powerful passion she longs to fulfill. In his arms, she aches with the secret she longs to unburden. A secret that could cost her her livelihood—and her life.Aidan could never resist a mystery, especially one as mesmerizing as the lovely Miss Hawkes! Drawing her into the shelter of his embrace, he won't rest until he convinces her to reveal everything. Braving the danger that stalks Fionna at every turn, Aidan is determined to defend her—and just as determined to claim her as his own.
Fiona Hawkes, owns a bookstore and is secretly a writer of famous horror novels, that have swept across London. She is known as F.J. Sparrow, and everyone in London raves about her writings. However she has to keep her secret, it would be a great scandal if it would be found out that Sparrow is actually a woman writer. There is also another reason she keep such a secret, her father has passed away and her mother is in a Asylum, mad with grief. The best time for her to think is at night, where she goes for walks since she is a woman of the night, especially according to her novels. Then she thinks she hears someone behind her, like a ghost, but no one is there. But then she turns around and comes face to face with Lord Aiden McBride, so what does a woman do at night and there is a strange man behind her? Well you defend yourself but against a military man that may be more challenging which Aiden points out to her. Lord Aiden Mcbride has recently come back from India having resigned his commission over guilt of thinking he killed 47 of his men that were under his command. After coming home to England and he visits with his brother, he suggests to him what he needs most is the soft touch of a woman. So while out taking a walk Aiden is attacked by a beautiful and enticing young woman, or at least she attempts to attack him, and thus begins the road to their courtship. Aiden is captivated by this woman of secrets, who keeps to herself but has a hidden passion beneath that exterior that heats his blood. Fiona will learn the rough road of learning to trust and the true test of love, amidst the dangerous plot that may destroy them both.
The Seduction of an Unknown Lady is the second book in the MacBride Family Series. Which after reading this one I want to read the other two books in the series. This is one of her more newer books, since I haven’t read her in a few years, it was good to start a unknown series. Her other books and series I have read from, but this one is totally new to me, and it was a adventure. Its a little bit different than her other ones, since the ones I have read from her took place in the Highlands, so it was a chance of scene. But whatever she writes, she does good with and the same is true with this one. Fiona had her good and bad moments I think for me I loved her as a heroine but what I didn’t really agree with about her character is that she wasn’t willing to tell her secrets to the one that she fell in love with. Especially since he has this deep tormented past, that he can’t find himself to forgive for and has only told his brother about, but when he confides in her she is unable to do the same. For some reason, that was the only disagreement I had with the book. I mean it obviously caused some tense moments for sure, but what I loved about this book is that their love was strong enough to withstand anything coming against them. It had the perfect amount of passion, danger, suspense, strong characters that make for a spectacular read!!!
About Samantha James
Growing up in Joliet, Illinois, Samantha James had many childhood aspirations--being a writer was never one of them. When she was ten, she was certain she was destined to be an astronomer. That soon changed (happened a lot during those pre-teen years!) when she decided archaeology was in her future. Detective work was her next goal, thanks to the Trixie Belden mysteries she was reading, and before long, nursing beckoned (courtesy of the Cherry Ames series). In college, she set her sights on teaching history, then briefly entertained the notion of becoming a flight attendant, only to discover she did not like to fly.
Having been raised in a family of avid readers, she was rarely without a book in hand. Her tastes were rather eclectic. She got hooked on the Doc Savage series and Edgar Rice Burroughs after her older brother finished them, in her teen years, moved on to Agatha Christie, Daphne DuMaurier, and Phyllis A. Whitney.
In the meantime, the right guy came along. They met on a semi-blind date at an office Christmas party. She was told he wanted to go out with her, and he was told she wanted to go out with him. Six months later, the U.S. Army shipped him off to Germany--and she wrote faithfully at least three times a week--she often jokes this was the start of her writing career!
Marriage followed, as well as three daughters. Samantha left the detective work to her husband and turned her attention to raising their girls. When her youngest was six months old, two things happened: 1) she read Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain and scrambled to find every historical romance she could lay her hands on; 2) her older brother revealed he was writing and submitting his short stories to big-name magazines. As he put it, "I've been rejected by the best of 'em."
The seed was planted. Rejection was a dreaded word, but Samantha figured, "Well, if he can take it, so can I."
That summer, she wrote not one book, but three--longhand, in a notebook, during naptime. Bedtime. Any time she could. The burning desire to write was a long time in coming--she was nearing thirty by then--but she discovered that once she set pen to paper, she couldn't stop.
Those three manuscripts did get the dreaded rejection letter (they're still languishing somewhere in her attic), but she finally hit pay dirt with her fourth. Samantha's brother promptly proposed collaborating on a fantasy together--alas, still unwritten... Nowadays, she's firmly convinced she's the queen of rejected titles for her books. She's only managed to retain two original titles thus far, but writing is indeed a dream come true...
To date, her books have been published in numerous foreign countries (her daughters' number one choice for show-and-tell were always the foreign editions of Mom's books). Known for her heartfelt, emotionally charged "three-hanky reads", her books have been nominated for numerous awards, and have consistently hit the bestseller lists.
Maybe someday she'll do that fantasy-romance collaboration with her brother. For now, she's having a great time spinning dramatic, passionate tales of old...
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