The Seduction of Lady X by Julia London
Title: The Seduction of Lady X (The Secrets of Hadley Green #3)
Author: Julia London
Publisher: Pocket Star 2012
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 399
Rating: 4/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Monthly Theme - February
The surprising news that dashing steward Harrison Tolly, illegitimate son of the Earl of Ashwood, is the rightful heir to his father’s estate comes at a most inopportune time. With a wedding on the horizon and a baby on the way, a new life of privilege and prestige would be a blessing but for one problem: his heart belongs to another woman.
Harrison keeps his desires for his employer’s wife, Lady Olivia Carey, so hidden that even she does not know of his devotion. Her callous husband, Marquis Carey, went into a rampage after Olivia’s troublesome younger sister returned from her tour of Spain pregnant, and Harrison impulsively stepped in to save the entire family from scandal. Now, like Olivia, he is trapped in a loveless arrangement. When a tragic accident claims the marquis’ life soon thereafter, can Harrison seize his chance and cast aside one sister for another? Or will doing so expose the Carey family’s darkest secret—and ruin his only chance to win Olivia’s heart?
I saw exactly how this book was going to play out from Chapter 3 and yet, I still really enjoyed it. Right now I’m definitely drawn to books where they live happily ever after (hmm, I wonder why…). This one is the perfect Regency Romance involving a handsome lead, a feisty heroine (or two), and a great villain. Throw in some colorful side characters and some ridiculous coincidences and we have the perfect mass market Regency Romance. I was totally on board with this one. Although I think I like the main characters from the previous novel (Lily and Tobias) a bit more than Olivia and Harrison.
The Secrets of Hadley Green
#3 The Seduction of Lady X
#4 The Last Debutante
Next up on the TBR pile: