Jordan, Nicole. The Seduction. (New York: Ballantine, 2000). ISBN – 0449004848.

Main Characters: Lord Damien Sinclair and Vanessa Wyndham

Date: 1810

Related Works: This is part of Nicole Jordan’s Notorious Series. Other books in the series include the following:

• The Seduction – Lord Damien Sinclair and Vanessa Wyndham
• The Passion - Lady Aurora Demming and Nicholas Sabine
• Desire - Lucian, Earl of Wycliff and Brynn Caldwell
• Ecstasy - Raven Kendrick and Kell Lasseter
• The Prince of Pleasure - Jeremy (Dare) North, (Earl of Clune) Marquess of Wolverton and Julianne Laurent

Description from book:

As the most notorious rakehell in Regency London, Lord Damien Sinclair sought only his pleasure, until he beloved younger sister Olivia was injured and her reputation ruined during a forbidden tryst. Now Damien will do anything to destroy the young nobleman guilty of hurting Olivia . . . And Vanessa Wyndham will protect her foolish brother at all costs even if it means entering into an illicit bargain with the dangerously handsome “Lord Sin.” When Vanessa offers to act as a companion to Lord Sin’s invalid sister, Damien agrees with one scandalous condition – he’ll forgive her brother’s debt if she agrees to become his mistress.

And so the seduction begins. But once the affair has ended will they escape with their hearts intact?

My Thoughts:

Nicole Jordan is one of those authors that I always just assumed I had read. Her books were always on the shelves at bookstores, and I was familiar with all of the different book covers. As such, I was incredibly surprised after reading To Pleasure a Lady  (and loving it!) when it became apparent that I didn’t own any other Jordan books. I purchased To Bed a Beauty and To Seduce a Bride as soon as they were available – and enjoyed the just as much. Then, I added Jordan’s earlier books to my Want-To-Purchase list. It took me a while to get around to buying some, but I finally did.

The Seduction is the first in Jordan’s Notorious Series. In it, Damien Sinclair is bent on destroying a young nobleman. This nobleman ruined Damien’s younger sister Olivia. But, of course, the young nobleman has a family too – one that is put in jeopardy by Damien’s schemes. Vanessa Wyndham is the young man’s sister – who is struggling to keep her family afloat. She makes a bargain with Damien in order to stop him from continuing his plan. She agrees to become his mistress – and act as his sister Olivia’s companion.

Interestingly, Damien doesn’t press Vanessa to fulfill her mistress duties once she arrives at his country estate. He, in many ways, seems to be courting Vanessa – even if he isn’t initially interested in marriage. I like how this gave the two time to get to know each other – and time for their attraction to each other to grow. While getting to know each other, they had a common goal – to help Olivia. Olivia had been injured during her ill-fated ruination at the hands of Vanessa’s brother. She was left paralyzed and had since the incident, remained in bed, uncaring about life. Vanessa is able to engage Olivia and help her want to live and want to get better. Along the way, we learn that Vanessa’s brother isn’t the heartless cad that Damien had made him out to be. He regrets his actions and does truely have feelings for Olivia.

Honestly, the I-will-forgive-your-debt (or your-families-debt) to-me-if-you-become-my-mistress plot isn’t my favorite. I don’t hate it, but just find myself tired of it sometimes. I definitely like how Jordan incorporated this plot device into the overall story. I liked that the plot device drew Damien and Vanessa together. Even more so, I enjoyed that there was more to their relationship. I am very much looking forward to the rest of the books in the series. I know that we have met many of the characters from upcoming books. I can’t wait for Dare’s story, even though it is the last one in the series!

Read first November 2008