A review by quietbookworm
The Seduction of Lady X by Julia London

2.0

If you enjoy angsty, drawn out tales of forbidden love complete with greedy, self-absorbed siblings and abusive husbands then this is the tale for you. The problem for me wasn't the fact that the heroine is married, because very little happens between them beyond a kiss and their rising feelings. The problem was for a romance, Olivia, Harrison, and Alexa (the sister) spent more time looking hopelessly at their situations and whining about the unfairness of it but striving to be stoic for the sake of Alexa's impending scandal.While I liked Harrison, I couldn't accept Olivia's passivity. Yes, she attempts to stand up to the husband who rapes and beats her. But when she had the opportunity to be free and with Harrison, she didn't take it. For the unspeakable brat she calls a sister! Ugh, it made my blood pressure rise. Then the ending, which wrapped everyone's HEA up in a pretty bow felt false. So disappointing. The one highlight for me was that I could look past the adulterous thoughts to care more about their relationship than the vows Olivia honored. Since that has turned me off books in the past, London's done a great job of creating a sympathetic situation of the hero and heroine.