Jennifer Ashley's Seduction of Elliot MacBride

Lynda X · Joined: 05 Apr 2007 Posts: 1250

I was hoping that THE SEDUCTION OF ELLIOT MACBRIDE would be as good as one of the all-time top romances, THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN, but alas, it is not. Not even near. Yes, we have a troubled man, with a touch of madness, isolated and mistreated (greatest understatement), and yes, he's fixated on one woman. However, Elliot is a card-board, flat character, married to his match. Jennifer Ashley has the post traumatic stress disorder attributes down fine, but her characters are, well, boring. Flat. Frankly, my dear, I didn't care, so much so that I didn't finish the book. Yeah, I know that some of you will say that I should not post my opinion unless I wade through the whole thing, but there are too many great romances calling to me.

Kayne · Joined: 31 Mar 2007 Posts: 783

The hardest part for me was reading about Elliot's torture. It was discussed throughout the book and it was sad. Also there were a lot of characters in this story. I liked the location of the castle in the Highlands and reading about the fete with the sword dancing, etc. I liked this story better than the reviewer but found myself easily setting the book down to take breaks. I don't feel like Daniel is old enough yet for his own story even through the preview sounds good.

I had just finished Grace Calloway's new book Her Wanton Wager and found myself thinking about it instead. It was my favorite historical that I've read in some time.

erika · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 290

I ordered this from a local indie bookseller and I'm curious what the heroine is like. Is she sophisticated or average? I noticed Ms Ashley has done many a sophisticated heroine and I'm hoping for different in this book.

Eliza · Joined: 21 Aug 2011 Posts: 714

Deleted. No longer relevant.

Kayne · Joined: 31 Mar 2007 Posts: 783

Tinabelle · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 853 Location: SE Wisconsin

I had preordered this and it is now in my Kindle queue. I have enjoyed this series and am looking forward to reading Elliot's story. Since it sounds like this is a "dark" book in many ways, I'll have to be in the right frame of mind to read it.

NOTE: Could the OP correct the title of the post? The hero's name is MacBride, not MacKenzie. Thanks.
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Lynda X · Joined: 05 Apr 2007 Posts: 1250

Oh, Tinabelle, I had originally written MacBride, but then thought, "No, it's in the MacKenzie series!" I should have checked. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

erika · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 290

misty9 · Joined: 11 Jan 2009 Posts: 68 Location: Italy

I found it boring.
The only thing interesting happens in the first few pages, and then it's the same old 'perfect h saves disturbed H'.
She's beautiful, organized, a virgin, good with everyone, the perfect hostess, etc etc etc
He's a womanizer who has a huge trauma in his past (never read about that before, I'll bet), with PTSD and other assorted problems, an illegittimate child, and a house to put in order.
Please authors, write something original!!

despr8housewife · Joined: 07 May 2009 Posts: 29

This book was a DNF for me too, and I loved all of the other books in the series. Reading about the hero's torture was depressing. And the crazy secondary characters and the remote highlands setting didn't hold my interest at all! I'm hoping Daniel's story which is coming next will be better!
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LouiseAAR · Joined: 14 Jan 2012 Posts: 66

I was captivated by it - which surprised me. I didn't love the last two in the series - Cam or Hart's books. So it took me til now to read The Seduction. And when I did, I couldn't put it down. I thought that Elliot was as endearing as Ian. The only thing that I felt was lacking was that Juliana, while fine, didn't have Beth's charm so the overall book wasn't as good. But the story as a whole to me was reminiscent of Ian and Mac's books and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

dallase · Joined: 08 Jan 2012 Posts: 24 Location: Arizona

I also enjoyed the book. I thought she did a very good job of portraying a veteran with PTSD. I have 20+ years of living with one and I can testify to the fact that they are never "cured". They need to find ways to cope, and that is what Eliot was doing.

I think Jennifer Ashley does a good job of showing us how different people react to everyday situations. I can't wait to read Daniel's story.

D Rogers · Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 150

I just finished the book. In some ways I was reminded of Elizabeth Hoyt's book To Seduce a Sinner (bridegroom stood up at the altar; longtime admirer proposes). I liked Hoyt's book better, but the characters in this one were likeable. I also liked the plot with Jaya and her brothers. I wish Juliana had been fleshed out more. It wasn't until the end that I really had a good sense of her (liked the conversation between her and her stepmother).

Denise