Seducing the Duchess
by Ashley March
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Signet
Available: October 5th 2010
Genre: Historical Romance
Gambling. Carousing. Flirting. Charlotte, Duchess of Rutherford, will do anything to escape her painful marriage and force her husband to divorce her. But when Phillip, Duke of Rutherford, promises a divorce if Charlotte will help him become a better husband for another woman, she wonders if she really wants to lose him…
Reviewed by: Catherine
I have to be upfront and say that I am not this book’s target audience. I didn’t know this until I started reading, but within the first 16 pages it was glaringly apparent. I hate reading about cheaters. If I hear a book has infidelity I’ve learned to just skip it. Otherwise I usually spend the whole book pissed off. It is a rare day when I believe in the relationship after they’ve cheated on one another. It has happened a time or two though, I have to admit, but those I liked despite myself. On the other hand, I am nuts for second chance romance stories. I love watching people work out their problems after they’ve grown wiser. I love knowing that two people love each other enough to put themselves out there even though they know they’ve already been burned once.
I struggled through finishing this book. To be honest, the only reason I read the whole way through was because I have a little OCD problem where I’m compelled to finish. It drives me insane to not have resolution! I spend way too much time wondering what happened and if the book got better. It’s better for me just to grit my teeth and finish it. Yes, I know I’m weird.
My biggest problem with this book was Charlotte. I thought they were both pretty shabby people, but because of how the plot of the book was set up my ire was focused on her. Because Philip was trying to win Charlotte back he was much nicer than she was. He just took whatever she threw at him and kept trying. It actually made me feel really bad for him, even after I learned about their past together. He was like that dumb little puppy that kept trailing behind someone even though it had already been kicked multiple times. You just want to save it from itself, you know?
I’m pretty sure that I was supposed to be on Charlotte’s side. I think I was supposed to look at her behavior and think Yeah! Girl Power! but I didn’t. Philip’s wrong (and it was a really bad thing to do) did not excuse her behavior in my eyes. I can see how she got to that point, but that doesn’t mean I like her and want to read about her. Maybe if I had gotten to know her before her antics came into play? I might have ended up more sympathetic. As it was, it was really hard to like her when I spent most of the book disgusted by her behavior.
Charlotte used men. She was very upfront about using her looks and seductive presence to manipulate men. She flat out reveled in her power over them. Whenever she was in a tough spot she turned on the seduction and tried to control people with it. It was very off putting for me. I don’t like modern girls who use their sexuality as a weapon, why would I like it in a historical? I find it pretty shady, and it really makes me sad for the character. Her behavior to men everywhere makes her just as bad and manipulative as Philip was.
Her constantly turning on the sex kitten routine made her look pretty slutty because she did it to everyone. The book opens with Philip coming and peeling her out of some guys lap. Her insolent sex kitten act when he did so was not a good introduction for me. Then he tries to take her to their country estate and when they stop at an inn she runs in first. When he catches up to her she’s offering to strip for all the men in the place and even starts to before he stops her. This all happened by page 18, by the way. I’m sorry, but debasing yourself because you think it’ll hurt your husband is the dumbest thing ever. I’m sure it happens, but I don’t want to read about it!
Philip is really no better than Charlotte. I had more sympathy for him, and I finished the book pitying him, but he was the one who screwed his own life up. He was screwed over in the past, there’s no denying it. But his revenge was a really, really jerk thing to do. It was also illogical because he trapped himself too! I’m not surprised by the current plots he cooked up—although those are pretty dumb too. I really think he needs to hire someone to come up with some plans that actually have a chance of succeeding!
I can see why he was constantly scheming though. When he was upfront it still didn’t work! Charlotte was just so back and forth about him that it made my head spin. She would do the exact same things that he did—like try to make her jealous—but then when she found out, it was just more proof of him being a controller. Even though she did the EXACT SAME THING! I just really think these people would have been better off apart. There was one “big reveal” about Charlotte that I think was supposed to make me grateful and relieved by the truth. (I can’t specify because of spoilers!) It didn’t work. I just shook my head over it.
One thing that really bothered me is the way Charlotte behaved. She went around cursing constantly in public and making insulting obscene gestures toward Philip. I just find it hard to believe that a squire’s daughter and a duke’s wife would run around comparing his head to a “horse’s testicles” in public. At the end there was a slight mention of the “stodgy” members of the ton and the “self-righteous matrons” making her feel like an outcast for her behavior. I honestly think that she would be a pariah everywhere, not just with the sticklers. Especially when all of society knows she’s estranged from her husband, so being nice to her won’t win them any points with him. Maybe there were duchesses running around like that, I could be wrong.
Ignoring the characters and the plot… I see a lot of potential for the author. She had a smooth rhythm to her writing. Pages turned quickly for me, even when I was irritated. She also had quite a few funny one-liners. One of my favorites was on page 95:
“You must not stalk around the room–” “Stalk?” His brow wrinkled. “–as if you were a lion and everyone else is your prey.” “Do you really think I stalk? I must say, that is quite a stroke to my ego. I assume I appear quite dangerous when I do it?”
There isn’t a very strong period feel at all, the setting felt kind of tacked on with no real depth. I believe people refer to those as “Wallpaper Historical.” But I’m okay with that! Not every book has to be like that. I enjoy a lot of books that would fall into that category.
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About Catherine
Cheating plot themes are not my number one theme of choice because I get too attached to the characters. I can remember one book where the main hero cheated and it about broke my heart, I think I"m still recovering.
Nice review
Sorry this one was a miss Catherine. Cheating in romance novels is a tricky theme for me. Just depends.
KC–I'm kind of hit and miss on the cheating. It depends on how it's handled. I just read Seven Nights To Forever and there was "technical" cheating that didn't bother me. lol.
Comparing heads to horse testicles! LOL.
I read this latest and enjoyed it with some reservations because Charlotte was a fake scheming ho.
And I who just came from a happier review, great to see both sides. Makes me think
As you know, I had the opposite reaction to this book. I saw Charlotte flaunting her looks more as a direct result of the hurt Philip caused her. He threw her aside after one day of marriage, and once she realized other men found her attractive, it became a defensive thing to do. It also helped in embarrassing her husband. I actually wish Charlotte would have actually had an affair. Why is it ok for Philip to have a mistress but not for her? They had no real marriage and he refused to give her a divorce so she should have been able to do what she wanted.
So I found her funny. But I can see where you are coming from!
Smokinghotbooks – Thanks! I have a few books that I’m still recovering from. They just leave me so depressed.
Ficiton Vixen – I agree, sometimes it really depends on the circumstances surrounding the cheating. I’d say 99.9% of the time I’m still against it, but there is that .1%…
Katiebabs – I’m glad you enjoyed it. I thought the reveal about her indiscretions was rather lame. It seemed out of place to me too. Her inner thoughts did not match up with what we eventually learned.
Blodeuedd – I’ve only seen mostly positive reviews of this so far, so it made me feel weird to be the only dissenting voice. (there might be more negative reviews around that I haven’t seen)
Mandi – I totally agree that Charlotte’s actions stemmed directly from Philip’s actions toward her. But… (there’s always a but
) That still doesn’t mean that she’s a likable person, to me at least. If she would have pursued men for the personal joy of it I would have cheered her on. But she didn’t. She used those men just as surely as Philip used her. She played with them under false pretenses and got a power trip off of the way they panted after her. I found it repugnant.
I am with you about what’s good for the goose being good for the gander. I dislike reading about cheating in general, but I also dislike it being brushed over for the hero and made into a big deal for the heroine. How about some equal standards please.
I don't think I could get over the cheating either. It's nice to have the main characters work it out after a betrayal, but too many times it's not to my satisfaction.
But when it's done right? It's fantastic, so I think I'll wait and see if other reviews mention it to the extent you did, and go from there.
HighlandHussy – I think that's a good idea. Opinions are so subjective that it's hard to tell how you'll react to any given subject. If no one else says they have a problem with Charlotte then it will be a safe bet to say it's just me.
Mandi directed me here after I posted on her review on GoodReads
I’m sorry, but debasing yourself because you think it’ll hurt your husband is the dumbest thing ever.
*nods* Because whose repuatation ends up in tatters. And in the period setting of this book, when women had nothing but their reputation…I would have thought she would have been insane to do such a thing!
And I don't like sexuality used as a weapon either.
Lovely review FV – thank you!
orannia – Exactly! She didn't seem to care about her reputation at all. I just find that ridiculous because if she had gotten her way and she had gotten a divorce she still would have been a pariah because of her behavior. Let alone the scandalousness of getting that divorce! She never cared about that. It made her seem inauthentic to the time frame.
Catherine – yes! Which is why period books in which the heroine flaunts convention drives me batty. Behind the scenes, yes, but…in the open…and to the extent that you described in your review? And I know married women had less strictures than unmarried women, but…
orannia – I like a little bit of flouting convention, but I want it to have some awareness behind it. The characters have to show me that they know that they risk ostracism and that they're being semi sneaky and sly about their behavior.
Only an idiot would ruin their whole life to embarrass someone. And that's really what that behavior would do, ruin her life. I doubt her family would welcome her home either or they'd face scorn too. Not that they weren't already estranged anyway, but go with my point here.