That may well be part of it. It’s often awkward to revisit characters from earlier in a series. While Secret was published a stand-alone, I think it might be better read as Book 3 of the sisters’ story. If I’d already been attached to the sisters, I might have been happy to see them again, balancing out my negative reaction to what it did to the narrative.

I haven’t read To Love a Thief yet (I have it TBR), but I thought Beauty and the Spy was pretty special too. I’ve noticed though that even JAL’s fans are divided as to which of her books are the best.

Melissa, I don’t know if you are in the minority, since others have complained about this too. For whatever reason, the historical accuracy issue doesn’t bother me as much in Long’s books as it does in some other books (they are not as inaccurate as some, and have enough other strengths that I feel compensated) but I agree that the books would be even stronger if they were more historically accurate.

I think that's a whole different issue than what I was talking about. I agree, in some books the villains are more interesting than the ostensible protagonists. But in Secret to Seduction, the secondary characters who aggravated me were “good” characters (like the sisters) who I didn't think were well integrated.

I’m sorry, I didn’t get that it was the sister’s integration that bothered you. I did feel that the side plot of their search for Sabrina didn’t fit so well with the rest of the book, especially since it seemed like they should have found her earlier than they did. But their characterizations didn’t bother me. That may be because I read the previous two books in the series and was familiar with Susannah and Sylvie, though.

I think that’s a whole different issue than what I was talking about. I agree, in some books the villains are more interesting than the ostensible protagonists. But in Secret to Seduction, the secondary characters who aggravated me were “good” characters (like the sisters) who I didn’t think were well integrated.

I also wonder if you might like Long’s Ways to be Wicked. The hero isn’t poor by the time the story starts, but he did grow up in the gutter and had to claw his way up from it, starting as a thief, if I recall correctly, and eventually becoming the owner of a successful bawdy theater. The heroine is Susannah and Sabrina’s biological sister Sylvie, a hardworking French ballerina who did not grow up wealthy either, and who was the villain’s kept woman.

I thought the book had some pacing issues and that the resolution was a bit unlikely, so I didn’t love it quite as much as The Secret to Seduction, but I still liked it.

If this author decides to write a story with her usual villains being in the leading roles, I’ll personally grab a crowbar and steal the book from the warehouse even before they start sending it to bookstores.

Signed,

The President of the Thaddeus Morley Fan Club and An Avowed Thaddeus+Caroline=4EVER!!!! ‘Shipper.
PS: Please sign the petition to get Cordelia her own book.

That’s really interesting to hear. I’ll have to think more about those characters.

I can see why you love the book–I loved some sections of it, and was frustrated that the whole book didn’t work as well for me. Long has something that caught my attention; I think I’ll try her again a couple books from now.

Regarding the weakness of the historical aspects, I agree the book could be stronger there, and I would love it if it were, but it managed to satisfy me very deeply despite those issues, perhaps because what Long gets right is the historical tone of the dialogue and the characters’ thoughts. It is interesting for me to contrast this reading experience and review with my reading experience and review of Hoyt’s The Raven Prince, which felt far more anachronistic to me, yet has gotten more acclaim from many other readers.

In any case, the accuracy issue I had with The Secret to Seduction didn’t spoil the later sections of the book for me as they did for you, and I have a friend who actually liked those later sections best (and she is usually quite a stickler for historical accuracy). For myself, I enjoyed the entire book very much. I guess this is my way of saying that though I agree with you that the history aspect of the book could be stronger, I nonetheless feel that I’ve read many other romances that are weaker in this regard, too.

I’m a finicky reader; I don’t think that comes across that much from my reviews since I give a lot of high grades, but that’s because there are so many books that I don’t finish and don’t review. I don’t feel it would be fair to review them after reading only a chapter or two, so I don’t review them.

I used to spend a lot of money on books I didn’t enjoy, but I’ve become better at choosing books I will enjoy by relying on recommendations from trusted friends, and also, by giving a lot of weight to excerpts (far more than I give to covers or blurbs).

Based on the excerpt from The Sapphire Pendant, I don’t think that I personally would enjoy the book. One of the other Ja(y)nes might, and of course I could be wrong in my judgment about my own enjoyment as well, but I have to somehow decide which books to give my limited time and attention to, and this is how I do it.

I hope you won’t take my decision personally. It isn’t meant as any kind of criticism of the book you love. I’ve made similar decisions about more books than I can count. Dear Author gets inundated with review requests and ARCs and we have many books clamoring for our attention. We can’t possibly give them all the attention they deserve; that’s just reality.

I feel a bit on the spot here, since we usually receive review requests by email and our decisions are made more privately. But I appreciate that when you love a book, as you do this one, you want to share your love for it with the world. Again, I hope I haven’t hurt your feelings.

My review in a nutshell:

Julie Anne Long writes beautiful passages about emotion, about being exquisitely aware of another person, about a fledgling relationship. She also writes clunky, irritating plot and pointless, overwrought secondary characters. I almost set the book down after chapter 2. I’m glad I persisted, but I can’t recommend the book as a whole. It’s frustrating, because here and there Long’s prose can be exceptional. The book is strong in the middle, but forced and chaotic at the beginning and end….

The Secret to Seduction read like a great novella unwisely expanded to book length. Stripped of the ungainly side plots, The Secret could be a lovely shorter work, a meditation on awakening sensuality and intimacy.

I know your review would do this love story some justice.

I look forward to more.

And the TBR keeps growing and growing… (cue the Energizer bunny)