To Seduce a Bride: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Well after an exhaustive pursuit, Heath, Marquess of Clayborne, did capture his bride in the end, but I think he should have thrown her back!

The third book in the courtship war series pairs up the youngest Loring sister Lily (an anti-marriage minded & free spirited independent) with the charming & lovable Heath.

Although well written, I had several problems with this book. First the unbelievable; I can ALMOST accept the fact that Lily is so dead set against marriage due to her parents disastrous union. Obviously she has some deep seeded scars. So what would it take to convince her (or any woman skeptical for that matter) to wed? Seeing her two sisters find true love and happiness? CHECK. Have a handsome & rich man pursue you with honorable intentions? CHECK. Being extremely attracted to said man? CHECK. Have said man declare he loves you and finds you extremely attractive? CHECK. Be in love with or as close as you have been to said man? CHECK. Have said man declare that he would be faithful? CHECK. And, AND have said man declare that you wants you just the way you are? CHECK. Oh, and he has a title to boot! CHECK. Well, thats just not good enough for Lily! Because the crazy woman still says no.

I really loved Heath and admired him for his unrelenting pursuit and putting up with Lily. And its only because of him that I gave the book three stars. Lily, on the other hand, rather quickly becomes annoying and childish. Frankly, if I were Heath, I would have thrown in the towel long ago. If for anything, then for pride's sake. The man had to practically grovel. And while its nice to see an hard/aggressive hero grovel after some heinous treatment of the heroine, its depressing to see a NICE hero do the same for no apparent reason.

And once *AGAIN* another author seems to take historical conventions and throw them out the window! I'm sorry but if your family is trying to REBUILD their reputation then you DO NOT go to stay at courtesan's house. You DO NOT give etiquette lessons to prostitutes. You DO NOT attend a masked ball designed for these women to find protectors. And if you were found out? You would be ruined and your family tainted. The end!

So, though I really loved Heath and the writing is pretty good, I can't recommend this book. The heroine is too irritating and the believability is beyond what I can accept for this time period. I would recommend the second book in the series instead. Both the H/H are lovable and plot is more plausible.

Lily Loring is the youngest of the three Loring sisters, a trio whose family was on the brink of ruin before the girls saved themselves by opening a school to teach young women etiquette. Lily is the most decidedly tomboyish of the three sisters. She prefers riding horses and dreaming of world travel to tea parties and balls. She is also the sister who is the most against marriage. Lily remembers her parents' union as an unhappy one, and has vowed that she will not be shackled to any man. So when she is pursued by the best friend of her former guardian, Lily determinedly puts him off--even going so far as to take up residence with her good friend Fanny Irwin, a notorious Cyprian.

Heath Griffin, Marquess of Claybourne, is known as a rake and a seducer among the ladies of the ton. Heath's reputation as a lover of women precedes him, and he never thought that he would voluntarily sit down before he met Lily. He finds himself captivated by her independent nature, sharp tongue, and quick wit. Heath quickly decides he'd like to court Lily, only to learn that she's gone into hiding to avoid his attention. When he finds her, Heath decides to court the lady--willing or no--and make her his bride.

To Seduce a Bride is the third book in Nicole Jordan's Courtship Wars series, following To Pleasure a Lady (Courtship Wars, Book 1) and To Bed a Beauty (Courtship Wars, Book 2). It is also by far the worst book in the series. Lily is an exasperating heroine, and while I wouldn't go as far as labeling her too stupid to live, she was most definitely too exasperating to enjoy. From the very beginning she was against marriage. I can understand that. In the Regency era, marriage was the equivalent to signing your life away for a woman, and I can understand her wanting the choice to be her own. But after Heath proved himself countless times, risked his neck for her, helped her friends, and did anything she asked of him, and she still refused to believe that he could be in love with her I almost wished that she were real so that I could slap some sense into her. From the beginning of this series Lily has been set up as the most independent Loring sister, the one who lamented the loss of her sisters and vowed never to marry herself. So I can respect the fact that she remained consistent. But I can't respect the fact that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too while leaving this gallant, chivalrous suitor with what amounted to a few crumbs of her leftovers. I didn't like her and because of that it was like pulling teeth to make myself finish this book.

The Courtship Wars series was, until this point, okay. The other two books were good, not great, but they were satisfying enough as a whole. This book put me in a bad mood with its infuriating heroine and I think I might have to read some old school Julie Garwood or Johanna Lindsey to pull myself out of the funk that I'm in. Take my advice and steer clear of this last book in the series, which does more to hurt the trilogy than to help it.

I looked forward to this book because I liked Heath from the first two books in the series. HOWEVER, Lilian was so irrational and harsh, it really ruined the story. While she may have had some legitimate concerns about not wanting to spend her life trapped in a marriage like her parents had, she came across as hateful, spiteful and downright surly, not bothering to ever really observe other relationships around her and how not all were abusive. She tended to push her ideals and beliefs into the faces of anyone who did not agree with her or let her have her way. Being angry with her sisters for finding happiness in their relationships was just plain childish. I just could not find anything about her to like and by the end of the book, actually hoped the engagement announcement between Heath and Lady Eleanor was really true. I don't understand why he would continue to pursue Lilian when all she did was spew so much bitterness. Even when she agreed to marry him, I just didn't feel it was real and felt she only agreed because she was once again wanting things to go her way. Unfortunately, the end of this trilogy was very disappointing and I only finished the book hoping, for the first time in my reading career, that the heroine would actually lose out to someone else via a surprise ending.

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