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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
OMG LOOOOVE! I have a soft spot for PTSD romances, and Ashley does a great job with Elliot and pulling himself out of a dark place :)
Also, swoooooooony.
Also, swoooooooony.
Not as enamoured with this instalment as I was with the previous ones in this series! 😐 Worth reading as part of said series... still full of quirky characters you will love, old friends and family members pop in but it lacked that "something".
Barely ⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5
Barely ⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5
I liked this one but not as much as others in the series. For a book with Seduction in the title I found there wasn't much seducing going on. I think that was some of what was missing for me. Elliot & Juliana have known each other (and been in love) for a long time. When he steps in to marry her after she's jilted they don't need to get to know each other, there's no gradual build up of sexual tension. They like each other, they want each other and if they don't declare their love until the end, the reader certainly knows about it from very early on.
In some ways this is much more the story of Elliot healing from his torture and coping with PTSD than it is a romance. Read that way the story works much better. Both Elliot & Juliana are sympathetic characters. And his struggle to heal and fear that he's going to hurt those he cares about is quite moving.
I enjoyed seeing all the MacKenzies at the party. I know some readers are tired of everything being a series but I enjoy seeing extended families and sometimes a series is the best way to do that. I'm looking forward to Daniel's story up next, but I think my real sequel bait is Sinclair. The widower with kids who actually loved his first wife, yes please.
In some ways this is much more the story of Elliot healing from his torture and coping with PTSD than it is a romance. Read that way the story works much better. Both Elliot & Juliana are sympathetic characters. And his struggle to heal and fear that he's going to hurt those he cares about is quite moving.
I enjoyed seeing all the MacKenzies at the party. I know some readers are tired of everything being a series but I enjoy seeing extended families and sometimes a series is the best way to do that. I'm looking forward to Daniel's story up next, but I think my real sequel bait is Sinclair. The widower with kids who actually loved his first wife, yes please.
*2.5*
Δεν μου άρεσε τόσο η ιστορία τους και επισης υπήρχαν συχνά επαναλήψεις που με κούρασαν!
Δεν μου άρεσε τόσο η ιστορία τους και επισης υπήρχαν συχνά επαναλήψεις που με κούρασαν!
I just... I liked the earlier MacKenzie books so much better. This was a lot more stock - the hero's trauma felt like a case study rather than a real experience. I can't help comparing it to the trauma of Jamie's imprisonment in Gabaldon's Outlander series, and how deeply felt each - well, each broken bone, each lash, all of it - was. On paper, Elliot's experiences were far worse, but as "the thing that haunts his waking and sleeping hours" it wasn't nearly as potent. And I know Ashley can do it- Ian MacKenzie's story has stuck with me in much the same way as that period in the Outlander series - so I really miss the lack of that connection in this novel.
When Juliana St. John woke up she was supposed to get married - but when her bridegroom fails to arrive she happens to land on someone who just might be able to save her. Elliot McBride may be many things - broken, scarred, lonely but he is very sure that Juliana St. John can fix all of those things.
Let me start by saying - I loved the way this couple played off each other. Juliana is a list-making and a Handler. She handles things. She plans them away and organizes the world into submission and I empathize greatly. Juliana is bright and empathetic and listens to Elliot in a really lovely way. Elliot is a battle-scarred veteran with some serious mental health concerns and it is portrayed pretty well - as though it were the time period. But their relationship is fabulous. Childhood sweethearts, second chance as adults, and the impact that time has on you as a person can change how you all fit together and that was fabulous - not to mention I loved how Elliot was just so aware of his feelings for Juliana all along. They add to each other and see the strength of being together and it is lovely to read.
Unfortunately, I didn't actually love all parts of this book. There were some very funny bits with some vaguely controlled chaos and some definite hijinks that were very cute. But there is a child that is used as a one-second plot device without any real need for it (mentioned briefly but doesn't come up again... and definitely could have added to the story). Some era-specific race stuff that I just didn't like how it was handled quite honestly. And the introduction of two couples that I really want a novella about and am not sure that is going to happen...
Let me start by saying - I loved the way this couple played off each other. Juliana is a list-making and a Handler. She handles things. She plans them away and organizes the world into submission and I empathize greatly. Juliana is bright and empathetic and listens to Elliot in a really lovely way. Elliot is a battle-scarred veteran with some serious mental health concerns and it is portrayed pretty well - as though it were the time period. But their relationship is fabulous. Childhood sweethearts, second chance as adults, and the impact that time has on you as a person can change how you all fit together and that was fabulous - not to mention I loved how Elliot was just so aware of his feelings for Juliana all along. They add to each other and see the strength of being together and it is lovely to read.
Unfortunately, I didn't actually love all parts of this book. There were some very funny bits with some vaguely controlled chaos and some definite hijinks that were very cute. But there is a child that is used as a one-second plot device without any real need for it (mentioned briefly but doesn't come up again... and definitely could have added to the story). Some era-specific race stuff that I just didn't like how it was handled quite honestly. And the introduction of two couples that I really want a novella about and am not sure that is going to happen...
Jennifer Ashley somehow writes amazingly flawed heroes. In The Madness of Ian MacKenzie she introduced us to what I believe is the first autistic hero in historical romance.
In The Seduction of Elliot McBride we see a man suffering from PTSD long before it was given that name.
This was truly a wonderful book and one of my favorites by Jennifer Ashley.
In The Seduction of Elliot McBride we see a man suffering from PTSD long before it was given that name.
This was truly a wonderful book and one of my favorites by Jennifer Ashley.
Full review available at www.ireadwhatiwant2.wordpress.com
Snippet Review:
This book is part of the Highland Pleasures series (also known as MacKenzies & McBrides), and it is the first book to feature one of the McBride brothers. For reference, the McBrides are Ainsley’s family (Ainsley being the wife of Cameron MacKenzie). I was interested in Elliot and seeing him overcome his mental health issues, and he and Juliana did have quite a lot of hot sex, however, the ridiculousness of the plot definitely made me like this book less than others in this series.
Snippet Review:
This book is part of the Highland Pleasures series (also known as MacKenzies & McBrides), and it is the first book to feature one of the McBride brothers. For reference, the McBrides are Ainsley’s family (Ainsley being the wife of Cameron MacKenzie). I was interested in Elliot and seeing him overcome his mental health issues, and he and Juliana did have quite a lot of hot sex, however, the ridiculousness of the plot definitely made me like this book less than others in this series.
Had a hard time with this one, hopefully it's just historical romance burnout because I liked the others in this series. This just seemed too much of everything. The sex seemed almost porno and the backstory between these too was just silly and not really fleshed out.