A Season of Seduction
22yo widow is caught in the act with sailor Hero by her family & hotel guests. Blackmailed Hero planned it this way & expected an impending marriage with heroine as a result. But heroine's failed 1st marriage toughened her to not be easily swayed by circumstances & emotion & refused Hero's marriage proposal until she's thought things through. The approaching time-limit of Hero's blackmailer & Hero's falling in love with heroine is making him re-assess what is of utmost value to him. But will Hero's love be enough to overcome his dishonesty with heroine? Haymore writes a good poignant romance. It is emotionally-moving, well-paced & has good sexual chemistry & sex scenes. What's interesting about this book is that is has lots of moral dilemmas & inner conflicts (i.e., deception vs. imprisonment, honesty vs. hurting others, justice vs. law-abiding, love vs. loneliness). Its all incorporated well in the story & is part of what makes the romance poignant.
Both Hero & heroine are imperfect characters with hard moral & life-or-death decisions. Both are survivors of past betrayals of love & are still reacting to the present based on their past pain. Heroine is very wary of being lied to & betrayed. She's basically a simple & docile person but becomes violently enraged due to the betrayal of the men she trusted with herself (i.e., she stabs her 1st husband & shoots Hero). Heroine definitely breaks away from any doormat tendencies. It was interesting to watch Hero progress from being self-centered to willing to sacrifice his life for heroine's love.
Recommended.
