Proof by Seduction

Commoner Jenny Keeble has been playing at being Madame Esmerelda for so long that it's been years since someone has said her real name. She has no qualms about being a fraud - it gives her enough money to live on and it's not hurting anyone. Gareth Carhart (the Marquess of Blakely) is a scientist and is determined to convince his young cousin Ned, who's been visiting Madame Esmerelda for a couple of years, that she's a fraud. He wants Madame Esmerelda to prove that she does have fortune telling powers. What follows is these two people learning about each other and dealing with their attraction to each other. Which really doesn't describe why this book is so good. I've read a lot of historical romances and what I liked about this book is that these characters were so different than the typical hero/heroine: Unlike many historicals, the hero here isn't part of some men's club that's against marriage; he's not a spy, or a charming man that gets the girls (until of course, he meets the heroine). In this book, the hero is a lonely man who doesn't have any friends and doesn't know how to speak to people - even when he wants to be nice to his family, he doesn't know how. Also unlike a lot of historicals, the heroine isn't a bluestocking, or a virginal girl in her second season (pretty but picky or not pretty and therefore unwanted), or a girl who is willing to give up everything to save her family - she's a 30-year-old commoner trying to survive. I really liked Jenny - she's had a hard life but she's strong, she knows what she wants, and she won't settle for less. There are no bad guys in the wings or a mystery to solve in this book - it's just two people with issues finding just the right person and falling in love. There's humor in this story and interesting secondary characters that are also well developed. I would never have guessed that this is the author's first full-length novel. This book is a great read and I can't wait to read the author's next one.

I truly enjoyed this historical romance set in 1836 London. I laughed and I cried as the characters developed and new situations both humorous and touching were resolved. Jenny Keeble is an orphan and to make a living poses as "Madame Esmerelda" a psychic/fortune teller who caters to London's well-to-do. She doesn't really have any psychic ability but is very intuitive and compassionate. A few years before Ned, cousin and heir to Gareth Carhart, the Marquess of Blakely, came to Madame Esmerelda as he was in the depths of despair and about to commit suicide. Jenny just couldn't let this young man who she felt had so much to live for kill himself so she told him she saw a future for him where he is happy and successful. Since then Ned has visited Madame Esmerelda on a regular basis. He has told his cousin the Marquess about her. The Marquess is a scientist and a very cold, lonely and logical man as he was raised to be so he decides to go see this woman who he believes is fleecing his cousin out of money each week. When Gareth and Jenny meet there are definitely sparks flying but each ignores them at first. Jenny uses an orange to predict that Gareth will meet the woman he is meant to marry at a ball later that week. Gareth insists she come to the ball with them and even provides appropriate attire so she can be a witness to her own predictions. Jenny also forsees that Gareth with have several tasks to do to win this lady's heart starting with carving an elephant from a piece of ebony. Without saying more to spoil the story, the comical and emotional circumstances the two of them and sometimes also Ned find themselves in kept be both laughing and tearing p. Great debut novel and I can't wait for the sequel about Ned.

Plot Summary: Madame Esmerelda makes a nice living telling well-to-do Londoners what they want to hear. When one of her long-time clients brings his skeptical cousin, Jenny knows that fooling Gareth Carhart, the Marquess of Blakeley, will be a formidable challenge. Gareth is a scientific-minded fellow, and he wants Jenny to prove her fortune telling powers. The battle of wits has begun, and Gareth's desire to prove Jenny a fraud takes a back seat to his growing attraction. This is the kind of book I'm always hoping to find when I grab an impulse purchase at the grocery story. All of those beautiful women in period dresses make for eye-candy covers, but rarely does the story inside meet my expectations. Proof of Seduction will not disappoint historical romance fans, and it's because the heroine's story is told so well. I was tearing up frequently from page 200 onward, and at one point near the end I blubbered until I couldn't read the words. I debated on whether I should give this one a perfect rating, but I'm held back just a bit by the beginning. It was good, but it didn't grab me immediately, so I'm going to split the rating and give it 4.5 stars. Needless to say, I think Courtney Milan is making an impressive debut here. What drew me in was the relationship dynamic, and how it was utterly plausible. The attraction may have been immediate, but the true feelings grew slowly between Jenny and Gareth. I can't really talk about what I liked best without spoiling the experience, so I'll just stay mum. Ms. Milan's next novel, Trial By Desire, will be released sometime this fall (2010), and the story will feature Gareth's cousin, Ned Carhart.

A very well written and passionate historical romance. Garreth is a proud, lonely marquis who only believes in science and numbers, and sets out to prove his cousin's psychic is a fraud. Madame Esmeralda, a.k.a. Jenny, makes her living as a fortune teller. She has learned some hard lessons because of the circumstances of her birth. But she is still hopeful and resilient. She's also very perceptive and kind of heart. When Garreth and Jenny meet, they start a teasing, cat and mouse game that eventually leads them to a passionate romance. These two made a great pair, the subtle wit and humor, and their fiery arguments definitely made this story interesting. By the end, both characters have grown. Even the secondary storylines of Garreth's sister, Laura, and Garreth's cousin, Ned, are very well done. I highly recommend this book and will definitely read more by this author.

This debut novel was a wonderful surprise for me. Not only is it the first historical romance I've read in a while but it's also one of the few books I've read lately that I didn't want to put down and was sad to see end. It's very, very good. The story is one of my favorite kinds, the proud and proper gentleman who falls madly in love with an unsuitable woman. In this case, the gentleman is Gareth Carhart, a science minded and socially awkward Marquess, and the woman is Jenny Keeble, who is posing as gifted fortune teller Madam Esmerelda. One of her clients is Gareth's cousin and heir, Ned, so he vows to use science to bring her down and keep his cousin out of her clutches. A nice, simple and yet original plot. I loved it. The characters were also great. Not because they were perfect but because they were flawed, interesting people who had made genuine mistakes in the past and present but who also learned and grew throughout the story. I admired and rooted for both Jenny and Gareth even though I didn't always love them. I was also thoroughly convinced that they belonged together despite coming from such different worlds. It was a very well done romance. Proof by Seduction has no mystery or suspense plot as its driving force, but it never got boring or slow. In addition to the fascinating character interactions, there was lots of humor to keep the pages turning. In fact, I laughed out loud several times. It was so much fun to see snobby Gareth dropped down a few pegs with Jenny's helping hand. The whole book was fun and but also touching and memorable. There was one little thing that bothered me though. Jenny was a heroine with a unique background and she had spent the last dozen years living in the slums (or thereabouts), yet she seemed a little too proper and ladylike at times. I would have liked to see her exercise the freedom that she, unlike a lot of heroines in historical romances, had in abundance. But otherwise I loved this book. It gets a solid four and a half stars from me. I can't wait for this author's next story, which promises to be as amusing and original as this one considering who it's about!