Madeline Hunter
The Rules of Seduction (2006)
Author: Madeline Hunter
Genre: Romance (Historical)
Plot Summary:
When Alexia Welbourne learns that her cousin Timothy has been ruined financially by Lord Hayden Rothwell, she vows to no longer be a burden to her extended family. She considers her options (including becoming a "soiled dove" and a hat maker) before agreeing to become governess to Hayden's cousin. While she pines for her love interest Benjamin who died at sea, she is forced to interact socially with the man who destroyed her family. After falling for his seduction, she agrees to a marriage of convenience but there is plenty ahead as she begins to understand the complex financial transactions and tries to figure out how to be married to a man with whom she shares passion but not love. SPOILER: Benjamin faked his death at sea.
Geographical Setting: England
Time Period: Victorian Era (1840s)
Series: Part of the Rothwell Brothers trilogy saga
Appeal Characteristics:
The storyline is character centered as it focuses on Alexia and Hayden and the ways they love (and hate) each other. There are plot twists that happen often enough to keep things interesting, but like all romance novels, there is a resolved ending. The book contains well drawn characters that are introspective and realistic. Hayden is both an enemy and a lover, and Alexia is independent and resistant. They both are resistant to love until they are overcome by it. Hayden and Alexia contemplate the little details of their lives and finances as well as their love, and how that love will affect the people and memories they hold dear. There is an eccentric cast of intriguing secondary characters including the couples' extend families, former lovers, and business partners. The setting is historical as it focuses on the Victorian period. Much of the action takes place in large estates in England and some less grand areas of locales such as Bristol. The style is sometimes dramatic but always thoughtful. The characters contemplate their decisions before they make them and Hunter takes the reader through the character's thought processes, decisions, and developing feelings. The pacing is easy and leisurely paced because the characters develop an understanding of their love as well as the financial situation that brought them together. However, there are underlying secrets of money and affection that keep the reader interested until the satisfying conclusion. The tone is historical but lacks fine details; it is also is sensual and in some ways bittersweet as the couple deals with their powerful passion and the family and financial concerns that come between them.
Read-alikes: Fans who want to read more of Madeline Hunter should try her medieval romance By Possession. This book shares her writing style rich with historical details and has complex characters. Readers who enjoyed the independent spirit of Alexia may enjoy the main character in Cheryl Anne Porter's To Make a Marriage. Victoria is independent like Alexia but shows more boldness than Alexia. Once married she immediately announces to her husband that she's pregnant and he questions whether or not the baby is his because he knows his wife was not a virgin when they were married. This shares the Victorian time period but it departs England briefly for the land of Georgia. Like The Rules of Seduction the love story develops leisurely. Fans of The Rules of Seduction should also explore Samantha James' The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell. Lady Annabel McBride is an independent woman who is caught kissing Simon Blackwell, a brooding boor of a man whom she dislikes. Of course, now she must marry him and she falls in love but he refuses to consummate their marriage, and Lady Annabel must struggle to find out what secret is holding him back. Like The Rules of Seduction, this book features an independent heroine in a Victorian setting. It also shares a character-driven storyline and the themes of mysterious secrets and evolving love. Jillian Hunter's The Sinful Nights of a Nobleman tells the story of Jocelyn, a young woman forced to marry a rogue who is shocked to discover that his once-demure bride has become quite the seductress. Like Hunter's The Rules of Seduction, the book is set in England and involves a very direct realistic main character. Elizabeth Hoyt is suggested as a readalike author for Hunter. Fans might try The Raven Prince, a story with nuanced characters similar to those in Hunter's book. Anna decides to become a secretary for an earl but soon she realizes that other duties may be involved with the position. There is also a sensual writing style similar to Hunter's, and both are rated as 'hot' by All about Romance.
Red Flags: Explicit sexual situations.
Stealing Heaven (2002)
Author: Madeline Hunter
Genre: Romance (Historical)
Plot Summary:
Marcus of Anglesmore is one of King Edward's loyal men and has been ordered to marry a Welsh rebel's daughter in an attempt to smooth things over politically. When Marcus' betrothed repeatedly refuses to see him, he decides to sneak into her residence under the cover of darkness to find out why (and to get a look at her, of course). As he is hiding in the shadows of the garden, he spots a beautiful and tempting woman, out for a moonlight stroll. They share a brief moment of passion and Marcus goes away much relieved about his impending nuptials...until he finds out that the woman in the garden was not his bride but her sister, Nesta, who has a reputation as "the King's whore." That is only the beginning of the conflict. Nesta's rebel father, though now dead, has entrusted her to keep the Welsh rebellion against England alive and Nesta is plotting to marry her sister not to Marcus but to a powerful Scottish lord, in order to strengthen their cause. However, Nesta finds that she cannot deny her attraction to Marcus, and thus she begins to fall in love with a man who she should hate.
Geographical Setting: England (London) and Wales
Time Period: 1340
Series: Loosely linked to Hunter's other medieval romances: By Arrangement, By Possession, By Design, The Protector, and Lord of a Thousand Nights. It is not necessary to read any of these other novels in order to enjoy Stealing Heaven.
Appeal Characteristics:
This book won the 2003 RITA award for best long historical title. The romatic setting of Wales is sure to captivate readers' imaginations. Medieval period lovers will delight in the author's attempt to remain true to history. (The author provides end notes about the historicity of the novel.) Courtly love, chivalrous knights, and 14th century British politics ground the story to its rich setting in time and place. Readers looking for a strong, independent heroine and warm, emotional knight will be pleased with Nesta and Marcus. Their characters' depth and their conflicting loyalties add to the serious, heavy feel of the novel. Light humor tinges the bittersweet romance occasionally, but readers will mostly be swept away by the soulful, poignancy of the story and its main characters. The political nature of the story lends to page-turning intrigue as readers want to discover before the characters what betrayals, dangers, and conflicts lie ahead. The pace of the novel mimics the love between the characters; sometimes quick and fierce and other times slow and sweet. The sensuality in Hunter's novel is explicit yet still manages to be meaningful to the characters and the reader.
Read-alikes: Readers interested in the story of Marcus' sister Joan should read By Design (2001), which details her romance with future husband Rhys, a supporter of her tormenter Mortimer. A reader who loved Stealing Heaven and Hunter's writing style, but isn't necessarily tethered to the medieval setting, may enjoy Hunter's The Seducer (2003), a Regency romance set in England and France filled with delicious tension between hero and heroine. If the medieval setting is the most important element, readers may enjoy Tapestry (2002) by Lynn Kurland, Madeline Hunter, Karen Marie Moning, and Sherrilyn Kenyon--a collection of four stories with medieval settings, and are silly or serious or fantastical. You might also try Nectar From a Stone (2005) by Jane Guill, set in 1351, in which a woman fleeing from her brutal husband finds love and protection in a dispossessed nobleman. Likewise, For My Lady's Honor (2006) by Sharon Schulze, is set in Wales, but in the 13th Century. The hero and heroine in Jayel Wylie's Wicked Charms (2003) are at odds with each other, marrying each other in order to acquire real estate, and there are elements of fantasy weaved into the story. Uncommon Vows (1991) by Mary Jo Putney is a dark and complex medieval romance with elements of a captor/captive relationship and spiritual conflict. Roberta Gellis's Rosalynde (1978) takes place during the Crusades and is considered by many to be a medieval saga classic, and Gellis writes with the same vivid detail and powerful emotions as Hunter. The Marriage Contract (2001) by Cathy Maxwell is a light story set in Regency Scotland about an arranged marriage where the Scottish lord is (at first) not at all pleased with his new English wife. Other winners of the same RITA award for best long historical fiction, notably The Destiny by Kathleen Givens Though set several centuries later than Hunter’s novel, this story deals with British politics, this time in Scotland, and an unlikely coupling. For readers simply wanting a read-alike for a sensual, historical, Medieval romance without the politics of land wars amongst the English and the Welsh, suggest Denise Hampton’s My Lady’s Temptation. Reader's will find rich, intricate characters also in Tamara Leigh’s Saxon Bride. This time the lovers are opposed because on is a Norman, the other a Saxon. The sensuality may be a little spicier than Hunter’s novel, but similar themes of betrayal and duty make this a good medieval romance read-alike. For readers who want more of Wales and England but with less emphasis on romance, suggest Nicole Galland’s The Fool’s Tale. A historical fiction title dealing with a royal Welsh political marriage between King Maelgwyn and Isabel Mortimer in the 12th century, Galland's novel offers a love story nonetheless. Finally, Teresa Medeiros' Fairest of Them All is another RITA winner. This title is a good read-alike for fans of Stealing Heaven who are in the mood for a medieval romance more humorous and light-hearted in tone. Readers who were interested in the manuscript-illumination element of Hunter's plot and her resourceful heroine should try this book, which details the romance of a noblewoman who falls for the knight escorting her to a convent. Those interested in the marriage of convenience plot element might try The Marriage Prize (2000) by Virginia Henley, which finds a knight and a noblewoman married for political reasons and struggling to reconcile newfound love with partisan politics.
Readers who loved the the developed characters and medium pace set in Hunter’s Stealing Heaven will love Desire, by Nicole Jordan, and To Pleasure A Prince, by Sabrina Jeffries. In Desire, readers meet Lucian Tremayne, the Earl of Wycliff, and Brynn Caldwell, who accepts a marriage of convenience from the Earl. Although Brynn only entered the marriage to rid her family of debt, she soon finds herself lusting for and loving the Earl. In To Pleasure A Prince, Viscount Draker, the bastard son of the Prince of Wales, is approached by Lady Regina, whom makes an interesting bargain-I’ll allow you to court me, if my brother can court your sister. The reclusive Viscount reluctantly agrees to arrangement but soon the couple finds sparks flying in the bedroom!
Like Stealing Heaven , Devil in Winter, by Lisa Kleypas, appeals to readers who love highly developed characters, self-sacrifice for family good, and a historic English setting. When Evangeline Jenner proposes a marriage of convenience to Viscount St. Vincent, she only intends to secure her fortune but she soon finds herself falling in love.
To Seduce A Sinner , by Elizabeth Hoyt, will appeal to readers who loved the high level of passion and sex present in Stealing Heaven . Like Stealing Heaven , this novel will also appeal to those who loved the descriptive historical setting and eccentric characters. When Melisande Fleming proposes a marriage of convenience to Lord Jasper Vale (the man she has secretly loved forever), she is surprised to find that he expects, but he is even more surprised when his new wife loses control , or rather takes control, in the bedroom.
Ransom, by Julie Garwood, will appeal to readers who enjoyed the medieval period setting and a fearless female protaganist. In Ransom, Scottish chieftain Brodick Buchanan finds love in Gillian, a fearless young woman whose family has been killed Baron Alford. Brodick tries to protect this courageous young woman after Alford comes for her. Readers wishing to read further on the actual history of Wales and England's conquest of the country should try John Davies' A History of Wales (2006), a landmark work originally published in Welsh in 1990.
Red Flags: Explicit sexual situations, mild violence
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