The Seduction of Elliot McBride by Allyson James, Jennifer Ashley Series: Highland Pleasures #5
Published by berkley on December 31, 2012
Genres: Historical Romance, Rom-Suspense, Romance
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
PROPERLY IMPROPER…AND DARING TO LOVE…
Juliana St. John was raised to be very proper. After a long engagement, her wedding day dawns—only for Juliana to find herself jilted at the altar.
Fleeing the mocking crowd, she stumbles upon Elliot McBride, the tall, passionate Scot who was her first love. His teasing manner gives her an idea, and she asks Elliot to save her from an uncertain future—by marrying her…
After escaping brutal imprisonment, Elliot has returned to Scotland a vastly wealthy yet tormented man. Now Juliana has her hands full restoring his half-ruined manor in the Scottish Highlands and trying to repair the broken heart of the man some call irredeemably mad. Though beautiful and spirited, Juliana wonders if that will be enough to win a second chance at love.
I love this series so much and this book was a welcome addition.
Elliot McBride is the brother of Ainsley, Cameron’s wife, and he’s been imprisoned in India for a year. Now he’s back in England and between the nightmares and the blackouts, he wants nothing more than peace and quiet. Until Juliana sits on him in the church on her wedding day.
Her fiancé has eloped with his piano teacher and she’s groomless. It wouldn’t be a big deal, oh sure the scandal would be great, but she could weather it. It’s just that she’s 30 and her prospects look grim. Sitting on Elliot was the best thing to happen to her. She’d loved him since they were children, and so she blurts out that they should get married. And Elliot is stunned. And elated. And stunned. He says yes, and that is how Juliana began her wedding day engaged to one man, but married to another.
I liked how the two of them had a history, but they still had to learn who each other had become. Neither was the same person anymore. I also think that the Indian family he brought with him added an interesting touch without just being background characters. They had depth and dimension and added a new facet to the storyline. Especially the little girl.
There was also a suspense plot that had to do with both Elliot’s past and the future of the new life he’s built for himself. Remember that little girl I mentioned? She’s a part of that life, and her life may now be in danger.
Elliot’s PTSD and his fear that his life in India was catching up with him caused him to overlook some possibilities of who was after him and his new family. This was an interesting twist because his tunnel vision where the villain was concerned affected me as well-I completely believed the most obvious person was after him. Ms. Ashley however, is a master at writing villains and I never saw this coming.
I’m a huge fan of the Highland Pleasures series, and I think that if you haven’t read any of these books yet, you can absolutely start with this one, but I’d start with The Madness of Lord Ian so you don’t miss out on the amazing family of the Mackenzie men.
The Seduction of Elliot McBride soon became the “Seduction of this Reader” as I was easily swept away by the rich and sultry world that Ms. Ashley excels at in the Highland Pleasures series.
I read reviews about this book, and although most of them praised it, I was not very moved. I mean, I bought this book as soon as I can pre-ordered it, but it stays on my shelf for months untouched because I don’t think there’s another book in this series that’s going to be better than the first (I loved Ian! <3). I bought it merely because I already had the previous books. But somehow, now I'm intrigued after reading your review. I'm not sure which part, but thank you! At least you remind me I have a great book waiting to be read on my shelf. 😀
I really need to read this series! Thanks for the review!
I haven’t gotten to this one yet but I did enjoy the first one. I just like her writing style 🙂