Sandy M’s review of Seductive Persuasion by Frances Stockton
Paranormal Historical Romance published by Cerridwen Press 30 Apr 09
I so wanted to like this book. A few parts of it I did. Other parts were so-so. Even other parts, however, didn’t work at all, which really disappointed me because I love shifter stories. But there’s just enough issues to get in the way of it being a good read.
When I started reading this story, it immediately sounded so familiar to me. The more I read, I realized that I started the book a few months ago. I actually got a number of chapters into it, then apparently stopped reading for one reason or another and didn’t remember to go back to it. So on my second time around, that knowledge did not bode well for that reading. Nor did the fact that I started really skimming, picking up points here and there that brought back what I’d read before. And the same glaring issues cried out as they had in my earlier reading.
Number one is the dialogue. While there are sections of dialogue that are fine, there are others that are stiff and don’t have the right tone for the situation. Most of those for me were between Garrick and Aisley during sensual scenes, whether early on when Garrick is wooing Aisley or even later once Aisley gets over her doubt that she’d make a good wife and countess for Garrick. Those conversations were wooden, not tension filled or romantic or teasing as they should have been in each circumstance. I just couldn’t see two people talking in the fashion they did in those scenes.
Another problem for me was the fact that Aisley did reject Garrick’s want of her, his surety that she was his mate for way too long. We ended up with the same scene, thought, wording over and over again. Frankly, I got bored with it. That’s why I skimmed on my second time around. Those scenes didn’t hold my attention the first time, so the second time didn’t have a chance. No matter what Garrick said to convince Aisley that she’s his mate, she used the same old argument every single time. It never changes. Then, of course, when she finally does accept him, falls in love with him, and later learns the truth about him and his race, instead of believing in him and trusting him, her logic is he’s crazy and she wants to get away from him. As hard fought as their love is, I felt she should have been a little more trusting of the man. Thankfully, she didn’t reject him nearly as long on that issue.
Because of that, I didn’t like Aisley’s character nearly as much as I like Garrick’s. She does have her strong points – she cares for people, takes care of them, even going so far as to rescue a young girl from a trickster who makes money off telling people the girl is descended from werewolves. Garrick has his moments, but for the most part, he’s likeable. He’s the second oldest of his kind, does what he has to to insure the continuation of their line, is sure of himself and what he wants. The secondary characters are fine, but they do need a little more depth. The villains are the best written of those characters.
I like the idea of the story as a whole, and absolutely love Sir Knight, as Aisley has dubbed Garrick in his animal form. The scenes in which the leopard appears are quite fun and intriguing at times. I also like the way the author uses Aisley’s freckles as a sore point for her – people think they make her ugly – but a beautiful point for Garrick. He loves her spots. There are a number of little shining moments like this throughout the book, but they’re just too few and far between all the other stuff that detracts from them.
And they just couldn’t bring the grade up any higher for this reviewer.
Grade: D
Summary:
As an Elder of a diminishing race, and capable of changing into a leopard, Garrick Forrester, Earl of Danford, has lived through wars, plagues and two arranged marriages. Nothing he’s experienced, however, has prepared him for the discovery of his mate living in the nearby village, or for her resistance. Aisley Reeves has the ability to hear and speak with him mind-to-mind, identifying her as the woman meant to be his. To keep her safe from an unimaginable enemy, he must persuade her to become his willing countess while keeping her under constant guard.
Imagine Aisley Reeves’ dismay when the Earl of Danford demands she become his betrothed by the close of a fortnight. Already fearful that her work as a healer and her birthmark might tempt some to brand her as a witch, she believes it is best to keep her distance from the dark, mesmerizing earl whose thoughts she can hear and who bears an uncanny resemblance to a black leopard patrolling the forest. However, when Garrick and his mysterious gifts become her only hope for survival, she must decide if she can trust her heart to a man who is far more than human.
Read an excerpt.
