165th out of 217 books
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542 voters
A Study in Seduction (Daring Hearts #1)
by
Nina Rowan
A Heart Divided
Blessed with an uncanny gift for mathematics, the lovely Lydia Kellaway can solve the most complex puzzles. The one thing she can’t figure out? How to manage the most infuriating man she’s ever encountered.
A Passion Multiplied
Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, has purchased a one-of-a-kind locket from a pawnshop, unaware of the priceless sentiment it holds...more
Blessed with an uncanny gift for mathematics, the lovely Lydia Kellaway can solve the most complex puzzles. The one thing she can’t figure out? How to manage the most infuriating man she’s ever encountered.
A Passion Multiplied
Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, has purchased a one-of-a-kind locket from a pawnshop, unaware of the priceless sentiment it holds...more
Mass Market Paperback, 364 pages
Published
August 28th 2012
by Forever
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A Study in Seduction is Nina Rowan's debut novel but she enchanted me so well with her captivating storytelling that I'm already counting back the days 'till the release of the next book in her Daring Hearts series!
I have to start with a warning though: I first fell in love with the absolutely stunning cover and then the flirty blurb reinforced my wish to read A Study in Seduction, but now that I had the chance to read the book I think that neither suits the story very well: the heroine is alway...more
I have to start with a warning though: I first fell in love with the absolutely stunning cover and then the flirty blurb reinforced my wish to read A Study in Seduction, but now that I had the chance to read the book I think that neither suits the story very well: the heroine is alway...more
Lydia Kellaway's world is defined by numbers and she is happy that way. There are no variables or surprises and there is always a solution to any problem. To retrieve a locket from Alexander Hall, Lord Northwood, she approachs her latest problem with the same mathematical strategy that has worked well her life so far: armed with her calculations and research, she approaches Alexander, confident in her methodology -- but she doesn't count on Alexander Hall to complicate matters for her.
Alexander'...more
Alexander'...more
"Gee, that math is so romantic!" Um...yeah. I'm pretty sure I've never heard those words uttered. I like trying new-to-me authors, and I'm almost always up for reading historicals, so I decided to try out A Study in Seduction even if I feared the mathematician angle wouldn't exactly sweep me off my feet. Oh, how wonderfully wrong I was.
Lydia Kellaway is a mathematical genius, but perhaps not the most skilled in maneuvering through society. Keeping this in mind, one can understand why she might b...more
Lydia Kellaway is a mathematical genius, but perhaps not the most skilled in maneuvering through society. Keeping this in mind, one can understand why she might b...more
Rowan gives readers a romance that is different in many ways. First, there is Lydia, a nerdy, socially awkward heroine with a dark past. Then, there is Alexander, a hero who legitimately can be expected to evoke the exoticism and dangers of Russian Cossacks and steppes. Finally, there is the setting: London, 1854, just before England and France declare war on Russia. Lydia and Alexander’s story is complex and compelling, made more so by Alexander’s ties to Russia. The secondary characters—Lydia...more
This book was a huge disappointment for me. I thought the writing was plain and sometimes not reasonably fast paced. The author tended to jump from one idea to the next without really delving deep or explaining what was going on. I found the writing to be confusing. The plot was also confusing especially in the beginning, because we are not told what secret Lydia holds, and it gets annoying. Especially since the characters usually first react and only afterwards we are told why the characters ar...more
THIS IS ONE BOOK NOT TO MISS!!
Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, had to deal with gossip and scandal surrounding his family, as well as from his own broken engagement. People thought of the Halls as "extraordinarily disreputable", as if that's not enough, his ties to Russia (his Russian blood, his trading business, family members still live in Russia) have become more of an issue in the midst of the political tension. Alexander has spent the last two years working hard to restore his family's r...more
Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, had to deal with gossip and scandal surrounding his family, as well as from his own broken engagement. People thought of the Halls as "extraordinarily disreputable", as if that's not enough, his ties to Russia (his Russian blood, his trading business, family members still live in Russia) have become more of an issue in the midst of the political tension. Alexander has spent the last two years working hard to restore his family's r...more
A Study in Seduction was a wonderful debut from Nina Rowan. I could not put down this quick read. The added element of mathematics was inspired and not something I have yet come across in any romance novel I have yet read. This element made Lydia Kellaway more dynamic and engaging on a different level. I think it makes her more bold in a time when women were more known for their um pleasing natures and not their minds. I laughed out loud at some of the interactions between Lydia and Lord Northwo...more
I thought the writing was very evocative and pretty. I liked that the heroine had her own ambitions, but was disappointed that part of her 'focus' on those ambitions had so much to do with healing/hiding. Didn't mind that the big secret was fairly obvious by the middle of the book, and genuinely liked the hero.
I can understand why those who prefer more 'realistic' historical depictions in their historical romances might take issue with some of this plot (especially the heroine's behavior, which...more
I can understand why those who prefer more 'realistic' historical depictions in their historical romances might take issue with some of this plot (especially the heroine's behavior, which...more
Lydia Kellaway goes to Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood to ask for a family heirloom back. Her grandmother had pawned the locket, and didn’t have enough money to retrieve it, so the viscount bought it. She is a mathematician, so she agrees that if he can’t correctly solve a math problem she designed, he will give her the locket back. If he does solve it, she has to kiss him. She never expects him to win, however, he does solve the problem correctly. Instead of having her kiss him now, he says...more
A Study in Seduction was a fun and easy read! I really enjoyed this story and I loved Lydia, she's smart, feisty and a fun character. I really enjoyed this story because the attraction between Lydia and Alexander didn't just revolve around physical attraction but also personality wise. The two become friends and a chemistry begins to build more and more between them. I really appreciated that Rowan took great detail with her characters. Lydia's mind is what is valued above all. She's brilliant!...more
I was excited when I received a copy of this book for a review. The book is well written and the story hooks the reader from the beginning. However, there were just somethings that I didn't like. A) I am not a mathematician (I hate math) so the equations were very distracting to me. B) It seemed like the book started in the middle, there were too many things happening in the first scene. It was a little refreshing because I wanted to know what happened but eventually I lost interest. C) The book...more
This book starts out with the most exciting Author's Note I've laid eyes on prefacing a romance (yeah, that's a lot of qualifiers for one superlative, but hey ...):
...more
I relied on a number of sources while researching the mathematical elements of this book, and the following studies form the basis of Lydia's theories about the correlation between love and mathematics. Clio Cresswell, "Mathematics and Sex," (Crow's Nest, Asutralia: Allen and Unwin, 2003); Sergio Rinaldi, "Laura and Petrarch: An Intr
Wow what an awesome read and what a great first book. It is sometimes a scary proprosition to read a new author nowadays with so many people doing their own publishing. But NTM Nina Rowan has knocked it out of the park for me with her debut. When you read the back of A Study in Seduction, the book comes off as a lighthearted read, but it is so much richer and darker than that. There are some funny moments, but over-all a serious look at women of Lydia's timefram and how fragile their whole way o...more
Nov 04, 2012
The Window Seat
added it
As I sat down to write this review I knew that I liked portions of it as I read, and my rating for it on Goodreads was above an average book. However, in going through my notes, everything that I highlighted had little to do with the relationship of the main characters, so I think I liked it for all of the wrong reasons.
One of the things that I loved, and could probably spend too many paragraphs on, were the historical details Ms. Rowan included about the political climate in Europe during the m...more
One of the things that I loved, and could probably spend too many paragraphs on, were the historical details Ms. Rowan included about the political climate in Europe during the m...more
Lydia Kellaway knows her family finances are in dire straights but she is still shocked that her grandmother pawned her beloved mothers locket. With her quick wit, she finds out who bought it and arrives at his house to offer some sort of trade in hopes of getting it back. When she meets the dashing Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, though she is quickly drawn to him but is also perplexed at his refusal to trade back for the locket. Her pride doesn't allow her to just accept it back, so a play...more
3.5: For a book whose heroine is all about advanced arithmetic, the appeal in this story, for me, was all about the author's seductive use of language. Details described with lovely and intimate word choice brought out the romantic elements of the couples' story. Though the suspense element was too drawn out - I think most readers will guess where this part of the story is going long before the big reveal - the book's strength is in the well crafted setting, characters and that lovely use of lan...more
4.5 stars .. LOVED it!! Couldn't put it down!! Literally stayed up until 4am reading this book .. the characters are tons of fun and lots of twists involved. All I can say is Lord Northwood is a very patient and persistent man! Cannot wait to start Sebastian's book! This is going to be a great series!
Well I give it a 2.5, it was what I wanted to read currently. Something easy and to take my mind away from other readings. It was very predictable unfortunately. I wish it was not so easy to see what was happening in the first 10 chapters, but an ok read. Not sure if I want to continue reading the next one, but I am curious to see what happens to Sebastian Hall.
Nov 08, 2012
Amber Garabrandt
added it
Loved it
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Originally from California, Nina Rowan holds a PhD in Art History from McGill University, Montreal, with a specialization in 19th century French and Russian art. She began writing when she was an undergraduate at UCLA and lived a dual life as a student and a pseudonymous erotica author. She has studied Indian and Southeast Asian art and film, worked as a curatorial assistant at the Los Angeles Cou...more
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