Seduction of a Proper Gentleman

I have now read a few books by this author but this is by far the best. The characters are delightful, the storyline intriguing and the dialogue, especially, superb. Every romance needs humor and this has plenty. Most definitely a keeper!

I could not put this book down. It was a page turner. Funny and Sexy is a hard combination to put togather but this is what Victoria Alexander did!

This was an excellent series and could not wait till I finished all of them

Set in England, the year 1854. According to a legend, five hundred years ago this very season two border families, one Scottish and one English, were supposed to be joined in marriage to end the years of violence between them. But the marriage never occurred. An old woman, who had lost everyone she loved to the bloodshed, was furious that it would continue. She cast a curse on the families involved. If they did not join in marriage by the end of five hundred years, both families would cease to exist and terrible, dreadful things would happen. Lady Kathleen MacDavid is the widow of Sir Kenneth. She is the granddaughter of the dowager Countess of Dumleavy, the niece of the current earl, Malcolm, and his sister, Hannah. Kathleen did not believe in the curse until recently and now seeks to wed Oliver Leighton, the Earl of Norcroft, to break the curse. Though Kathleen has come to accept this marriage between the two families as inevitable, she is still reluctant and uneasy. Kathleen and Hannah travel via train to the country, where Oliver is spending time at Norcroft Manor with his mother, Lady Norcroft (Edwina). Hannah, who dabbles with magic, wants Kathleen to pretend to lose her memory. When Kathleen refuses, Hannah casts her spell. Oliver Leighton and his mother are surprised when the unconscious is brought to Norcroft Manor by two locals and a lady en route to Lord Darlington's current party. When the lady finally awakens, it is without her memory. The doctor is sure the memory will return eventually. Until then Edwina insists the lost lady remain at the manor. Oliver is suspicious and doubts the memory loss; however, it only takes a few days and tests to totally convince him. She is given the temporary name of Kate. Oliver cannot help but become smitten by the lady. Exactly one week after Hannah's spell was cast, Kate wakes up with her full memory. But how will she convince Oliver of a curse, much less of magic? And once Kathleen/Kate tells everything, will Oliver believe her or hate her? ***** This is the last story in the The Last Man Standing saga. I dreaded seeing it end. Author Victoria Alexander breathes life into her characters and I feel as though I know them well. I will miss these friends terribly. However, this also means that the author is free to begin a new trilogy and I have no doubt I will feel as though I am making new friends. I have rarely found an author that can create such wonderful people, loosely link them all together in some manner, and do so in such a way that it all seems believable. The couples from the previous novels are mentioned briefly at the beginning, to help refresh the memories of readers. Afterward, the entire story focuses on the main couple. There are some secondary characters, Oliver's cousins, who enter the story mid-way. I cannot help but wonder if these three female cousins will be the next trilogy. I can hardly wait to see. All-in-all, this is a light and romantic read that I found to be to

In 1854 although he won the bet against his three opponents on who will be the last man standing single, Earl Oliver Leighton thinks it is ironic because even he thought he would be first as he was the only one when they wagered who believed in love. However, he toasts his compatriots because in his mind they won and he is the loser of the tontine. Needing to escape London, Oliver decides to rusticate at his country estate. He is taken aback when he finds an injured woman suffering from amnesia at his door. He takes her in and his staff calls her "Kate". Oliver is attracted to the newcomer, but wonders whether she is hiding something ugly from him; he is ignorant that his beggar is Kathleen Mac David, a Contessa's granddaughter. As they fall in love, she begins to regain her memory in bits and pieces; but remains unaware that her Aunt Lady Hannah Fitzgivens magically sent her to Oliver to break a family curse that only love can sever. Readers will toast with thirty year old cognac this tremendous historical romantic saga, the Last Man Standing. Each tale contains humor, action and love. The finish is excellent with amnesia and the paranormal playing key "matchmaking" mechanisms that bring love to the only tontine believer before the bet. Living up to her first name, Ms. Alexander affirms once again she is royalty when it comes to exciting entertaining Victorians. Harriet Klausner

Could it be MAGIC... For most people falling in love and trusting your heart to another can be a somewhat risky thing to do, though usually well worth the gamble. For Lady Kathleen MacDavid falling in love can be a hazardous venture, or to be more precise, a truly perilous one for the gentleman she falls in love with. But then, most people don't have fate, destiny AND a 500 year old curse hanging over their heads. Now, the lovely Lady Kathleen considered herself to be an intelligent, responsible and reasonably sensible woman--no simple thing when you were raised in a family of rather impractical women who dabbled in the mystic arts; and believed in things like spells, charms, superstitions and magic--Oh, and of course, the family CURSE. According to old family legend, it all started hundreds of years ago with two feuding border families--an English one and Kathleen's Scottish ancestors, who, in order to end the hostility and violence were to be joined thru marriage. But somehow the marriage never took place and an old woman who'd lost most of her family in the warfare had put a curse on both families--declaring they be united in marriage--or terrible, dreadful things would happen and both family lines would die out. They'd had 500 years to break the curse, but apparently no one had; and the deadline--autumn of 1854--was fast approaching. At first Kathleen thought the whole thing was utter nonsense, but after years of untimely deaths, a string inexplicable tragedies and the peculiar inability of perfectly healthy members of her family to reproduce--leaving Kathleen as the last of her line--had forced her to become a believer. So to break the curse and save her family, she was willing to travel to England and sacrifice herself on the alter of matrimony to--the last male descendent of the English family--Oliver Leighton, 12th Earl of Norcroft. Now, would it be too much to hope that Lord Norcroft believed in magic as well??? ***** I'm always a little nervous when I read the final book in any series because honestly--due to high expectations--a last book can sometimes make or break a series for the reader. So I'm thrilled to say that I thought SEDUCTION OF A PROPER GENTLEMAN was an absolutely PERFECT ending to Victoria Alexander's excellent "Last Man Standing" quartet. From the charming and "magically" mysterious prologue, to the incredibly fitting conclusion of the "tontine", and the utterly delightful glimpse into the HEA of the characters that I've come to love--thirty years into their future--in a wonderful epilogue ... I loved-loved-loved Oliver and Kate's enchanting, funny and romantic tale. It was pure MAGIC! I thought Kate was the ideal heroine for Oliver; they had great chemistry together and both were kindhearted, amiable, affectionate and "family oriented". I had loved Oliver throughout the series; he was a dependable and honorable man--the most sensible of all the "guys"--and just an all aroun