A review by ladyhighwayman
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig

2.0

I was very disappointed in this book, especially after the excellency of the last two volumes of the series. The Seduction Of the Crimson Rose moved at a much slower pace. I was so used to the fast-paceness of the previous three volumes that I became quite bored quite fast. I simply wasn't interested in the characters of Mary or Vaughn and the story seemed to go downhill once they declared their 'love' for each other. I can't count how many times I thought, "Spare me!" Actually, I was quite interested in Vaughn before The Seduction Of the Crimson Rose. In the previous two volumes he was a mysterious sort of character. There was no mystery in this book.

The better parts of this book was the last third. The only purpose of The Seduction Of the Crimson Rose seemed to be the uncovering of the Black Tulip and that was incredibly disappointing, as well.

The story of Eloise, however, was very much the best part. I was disappointed with how her chapters are greatly spaced out between the historical chapters. There just isn't enough of her story, in my opinion.

Nevertheless, I do very much love this series and am looking forward to the next installment.