Seduction

Seduction was my introduction to Amanda Quick's writing and I have been smitten ever since. This will always be my favorite book in her collection. The characters are witty and loveable (however, there are times where I want to slug Julian for being so overbearing). Certain dialoges between Sophy and Julian never fail to give me goosebumps (when he tells her that he loves her and would do anything to protect her). It is classic Amanda Quick and I wish she'd return to this older style in her new books.

Be warned! My comments are not focus on this book's content.I was 'seduced' by Amanda Quick's writing style since that day I read this book years ago. If you have never read Amanda Quick before, this is the right book to start with. It is the first historial novel that Jayne Ann Krentz (JAK) written as Amanda Quick (AQ). It was with 'Seduction' that I came to know that AQ is actually JAK and since then I have been trying to get hold of every historical or contemporary romance she has written. Although AQ is one of my all-time favourite romance authors, I must say that her recent works are not as fascinating as those single-word titled ones--the 'S' series, the 'R' series, the 'D' series, the 'M' series, 'Affair' and 'With This Ring'. I have re-read those books from time to time and they never fail to amuse me. AQ's style has changed in some degree in her recent books--lesser romance and the writing seemed somewhat dry. Nevertheless, you can always find her trade-mark writing in her works--witty dialogues, absorbing plot, compelling suspense, genuine and truthful emotion between the main characters--there is no silly heroine nor overbearing/insufferable hero that annoy you; there is no big misunderstanding between the main characters resulting in heartach or separation. AQ never writes an exorbitant emotional scene nor an excessive word or repetitive phrases that distract and drive you crazy. Her writing is always fluent and fast-paced, never vulgar, very in command of the language. All in all, very entertaining and enjoyable, worth your time and money.

Seduction was one of those books that I just couldn't put down- even though, at the time, I'd just finished my third Quick of the night and it was four in the morning. After all, I had saved the best for last. And of the ones I had just read, I have to say, I found Seduction riveting.From the first moment you meet her, Sophy is audicious and quite amusing; the idea of a wife of an important member of the ton talking about sheep-farming and proscribing cures for ailiments in the middle of a ball was deliciously funny; and then there's the scene when Julian and Sophy first meet. Of all the conditions she might demand for her marriage, I find the first two sensible: 1) that she doesn't want to be left in the country 2)that Julian not force himself on her or rush her into childbed. It is, however, her third condition that I like the best of all, and, surprisingly enough, the one that they come into conflict over most often. 3) That he allow her to buy and read whatever material she likes. On the whole, Sophy is truly delightful, and, like many of Quick's characters, very human; her reactions to Julians'-um- rather precipitous attempts to bed her is most human; I know I certainly would have reacted much the same way, and her guilt was most convincing. But of the two main characters, I think it was Julian who won me over. He's almost adorably control-freakish. (And yes, I know that's not a word)but the point is that he's autocratic, arrogant, and patrician- and very, very stubborn. After all, a blind man could see that Sophy's too free-spirited to let him control her like a horse. (note, the dueling scene, reading Charlotte's Memoirs, persisting in her friendship with Anne despite her husband's objections. . . .) Yet Julian tries to do just that- spur her into behaving the way he wants with arguments but rational and irrational while trying to pretend that the only reason he's behaving like a mother hen is because he doesn't want her to humiliate him- when he's actually more concerned about Sophy than his reputation. In fact, Julian persists in denying his love until the very, very end of the book- all the while manipulating Sophy with what she feels for him. On the whole, I enjoyed Sophy's determination and her singleminded pursuit of Julian's love- and the ending of this book left me smiling; Of all of Quick's heroines, I think Sophy deserves the biggest round of applause for putting up with the (probably) most stubborn and obnoxious man in the entire cast. Now. . . . for a sequel, do something about Anne and Daregate.

What happened to the Amanda Quick novels that we have grown tolove? (ie. Seduction, Surrender, Scandal...) Recent Quickpublications are just not what they used to be. However "Seduction" is by far one of Quick's masterpieces. I have read this novel probably about twenty times and everytime I read it I am thrilled. This is feminism at work! Sophy is a "blue-stocking" who has read voraciously the works of Mary Wolstencraft; she challenges a high society harlot to a duel in order to empower herself and prove that male "honor" is dead; she holds her body and her spirit above bartering her soul for materialistic comforts. Sophy is a heroine, but always a woman. She is an example that feminism is not the raging woman seeking power but the improvement of life for oneself and gender. Furthermore, Quick employs a witty rhetoric that allows even the most daft of readers to appreciate her sense of humour and view on life. There is not much more that I can say except that those who have not read Quick's early works, especially "Seduction" do not know what they are missing. Like the quote on the back of the book, "I consumed Seduction like a valentine box of chocolates, in one sitting, and thoroughly enjoyed it!"

After reading all of Quick's books, I'm convinced that this is her masterpiece. The only other ones that measure up are Surrender -- with a very original plotline -- and Scandal. I fell in love with the characters in Seduction -- Sophy was spunky, warm, and so unconventional that she amazed me and caused me to laugh aloud at several points. Julian was simply the essence of masculinity -- strong, extremely arrogant, often dense, but always a safe haven. Forget about Quick's later books -- they get progressively repetitive and dull after the sixth one.