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.