An Accidental Seduction
by Lois Greiman
I am simply amazed at how editors always manage to come up with a back cover blurb that is nothing like the story inside of the book. Talk about the fine art of spinning. Anyway, on to my review of Lois Greiman's An Accidental Seduction; fair warning though, that I am going to reveal spoilers simply because I can't think of another way to show how improbable the plot is.
After reading An Accidental Seduction, I just want to pick the author's brain and find out what she was trying to accomplish with this story. I know that she had a clear idea in her mind, unfortunately, that did not come across in my reading, and I am still confused as to what the book was about. Our story starts out with Carlotta being attacked by a villain, and, drawing on the inner strength of her gypsy blood, she escapes the villain's clutches, killing him in the process. End scene; fade to black. Yes, this was all an act, a performance that our heroine Savaana was performing with her gypsy tribe for money. Unfortunately, it took me a moment to realize that Savaana was playing a role, and that was my first bit of confusion. Sadly, it didn't stop there; I was confused several more times during the course of the story.
It is important to note, because the author repeated it over and over, that Savaana doesn't just play a role, she becomes that role. Savaana may be a gypsy performer but, she wasn't born to the Rom, she was abandoned by her mother to the gypsy tribe when she was a child. Savaana meets Lady Clarette Tilmont when that lady comes to her offering Savaana a small fortune to take her place for two weeks while Clarette goes off to meet her lover. Savaana agrees when she looks at Clarette's face and sees her own face staring back at her. Savaana who has so desperately longed for family believes that Clarette is her long-lost sister. All of this happens in the prologue, so I'm not giving away spoilers yet, that comes later.
Next scene; chapter one, finds a vain Clarette staring at herself in her mirror admiring her perfect cheekbones and her regal image. A knock at the door shatters the scene and we discover that it is actually Savaana in front of the mirror who is so enamored of herself.
The next scene introduces our hero, Sean Gallagher. Sean is a poor Irishmen, (or is he?), who is handy with horses and looking for work. Sean isn't all what he seems for he has an agenda of his own: to seduce and ruin the Lady Clarette in payment for a wrong Clarette has done to Sean's younger brother. The plot thickens when we learn that Sean was actually sent by Baron Tilmont, the Lady's husband to seduce his wife. Imagine Sean's surprise when Clarette/Savaana won't be seduced. Gasp!
The book goes on this way with one farce after another as if I was reading a bad play until it culminated in the biggest farce of all. **SPOILERS AHEAD** Savaana realizes that Clarette truly is her sister, and…they are the long-lost princesses of Delvania! Yikes! I probably could have handled all of this if there weren't so many holes in the story. The biggest hole being that, out of the blue, with no explanation as to how she figures it out, Savaana realizes that she and Clarette are the long-lost Delvanian princesses, long, long before the Delvanian villains arrive to kill them. How did she figure it out? I don't know, it was just one many things that were never explained.
Sean Gallagher was an okay hero, and I can't say more than that because I never really got a chance to know him. He felt like a filler character to me, as did Baron Tilmont, Clarette, and even Savaana. In fact, none of them were really that vital to the story the way it was written, which is just wrong. I couldn't get a sense of any of the characters as I wasn't given any inner dialogue or conflict to provide motivation for their actions. They were just in the scenes.
In good conscience I cannot recommend An Accidental Seduction by Lois Greiman, there were just too many problems with the execution of the story.
Reviewed by: Valarie Pelissero
“I didn't see anything accidental about this seduction, in fact, it was definitely premeditated.”
October 2010, 375 pages
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 0061849340
Proud and independent, Savaana Hearnes's extraordinary beauty and fiery Gypsy blood have enflamed the passions of many - but she will never be indebted to any man. When an unusual offer from a well-dressed noblewoman is too tempting to resist, however, she agrees to impersonate the newly-wed Lady Clarett Tilmont. But when dashing Sean Gallagher comes to call, all Savaana's carefully laid plans are shattered by desire.
The handsome, rugged Irishman is a welcome change from the aging servants who are watching Savanna's every move, and Sean is pleasantly surprised by the palpable heat of her passion - so uncommon for such a highborn lady! But Sean himself is not what he seems. He is guarding a secret as shocking as Savaana's own. And the mission he is sworn to complete will be compromised if he allows himself to be bewitched by a mysterious minx he burns to hold and to have.
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