Elizabeth Hoyt

THE ONE THING HE CANNOT REVEAL For years, Melisande Fleming has loved Lord Vale from afar . . . watching him seduce a succession of lovers, and once catching a glimpse of heartbreaking depths beneath his roguish veneer. When he's jilted on his wedding day, she boldly offers to be his. TO THE ONE WOMAN HE MOST DESIRES Vale gladly weds Melisande, if only to produce an heir. But he's pleasantly surprised: A shy and proper Lady by day, she's a wanton at night, giving him her body-though not her heart. IS HIS DEEPEST NEED . . . Determined to learn her secrets, this sinner starts to woo his seductive new wife-while hiding the nightmares from his soldiering days in the Colonies that still haunt him. Yet when a deadly betrayal from the past threatens to tear them apart, Lord Vale must bare his soul to the woman he married . . . or risk losing her forever.

To Seduce a Sinner

Winona 

Dear Elizabeth Hoyt,

I have decided to give your novel -  To Seduce a Sinner  - one star because that is the lowest rating I can give to it, on GR, whilst being able to review it. This decision does not come lightly, in fact, it is informed by your conscious choice to integrate extreme racism and colonial apologia into your story. 

Was it really necessary for you to write so crudely about Indigenous peoples of North America who continue to suffer through mass disappearances, murder, rape, lack of clean of water, etcetera, to this very day, as a direct result of European settler colonialism in order to give your Hero trauma? No, it was not. Romance writers of the historical vein can wax lyrical about "accurate representations of the time", but the fact of the matter is you're writing fiction, and there were plenty of other wars happening  in Europe  between Britain and France you could have utilised to give Jasper his PTSD. 

But instead, you took the well-worn racist route. Displaying absolutely no concern for the impact your writing will have on the continual reproduction of harmful stereotypes of Indigenous peoples. You also displayed no historical integrity whatsoever - portraying the colonial British as somehow having superior treatment of POWs, when, in fact, they were even crueller. Especially towards the Indigenous peoples of the Americas whose populations experienced GENOCIDE. This was a country whose Empire where the sun never set at one point!

What could been a rather enjoyable romance ends up becoming an insufferable to read. I cannot, and will not, feel sorry for a racist coloniser. But I suppose you're not the only historical romance writer who falls into racism to create dram-er - its an epidemic in the genre. Still, do better. Do much, much better. 

Or maybe stop writing altogether if you can't not be racist? 

Signed with much anger,
notnoni

To Seduce A Sinner

Lover of Romance 

Melisande, has always had a fascination for Jasper, Lord Vale. She has been watching him from afar for years, knowing that he doesn't even remember who she is or even her name, despite the fact that she was the closest friend to his former fiancee and childhood friend. However, when she hears that he has been jilted from another engagement, she knows that now is the time for her to act upon her feelings, before its too late. Jasper, when Melisande comes to him with a marriage proposal is somewhat shocked, but accepts, hoping that he won't have a fourth jilted engagement. Jasper, desires to know Melisande, for who she really is, and goes about in a effort to woo her, even though they have already married. Although there is danger lurking around the corner, Jasper knows giving himself up to this woman he has married will be his only hope to heal his battered soul...To Seduce A Sinner is the second in the Legend of Four Soldiers series. In the previous book we were able to see Jasper, and I was excited to read his story... I loved all of the elements that were portrayed in this story. I think I just fell in love with the hero, although he has suffered much inner pain, he still manages to find a bit of joy in life. And even though we see his focus on trying to locate the identity of the traitor, we all see how attentive he is toward Melisande. There were some aspects I liked about Melisande, but throughout the book I felt like there was something missing about her, but one aspect I loved about her was that when she believed in something she didn't back down. I enjoyed the little side story involving the heroine in the next books as well. Overall a very beautifully crafted story with a touch of mystery and mix of romance, wit, and deep characters, to keep you enchanted...

Preye

This was a cutesy book about a war returnee with PTSD and a woman that has been in love with said returnee and watched from the sidelines while he almost got married to her bestfriend. I liked the book well enough and as always I was drawn to the sub-plots in the book. This is the second book in the series and as expected, the major contention has not been resolved. This is good-ish because I have a feeling if I do go on to read the other books in the series, it might be a wash-rinse-repeat scenario.

Saayan

I love me a tortured hero and go-getter heroine, so I really wanted to love this book, but it fell a little flat. The heroine supposedly longed after the hero for 6 long years before she proposed to him, so I wish the book went into more detail about that.

Also, there were A LOT of sex scenes. I have nothing against sex scenes... I usually prefer books with them than without, but this one felt excessive and way more explicit than I remember Elizabeth Hoyt's other books being. It was just to a point where I kept thinking, "Omg, AGAIN??" 

I was also a little sad about the resolution at the ending that left a bitter aftertaste.

To Seduce a Sinner

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