*Originally read 9/4/10*

I think whatever I say about this book won't do it nearly as much justice as I feel it deserves. When you think about the plot, it seems like it has been done to death and that it's just a cliche. But this author takes every expected outcome or reaction and twists it in an unexpected manner. When you would normally see a dramatic moment or a villainous character, you don't end up with the expected. It was so refreshing!

Miranda was a simply awesome character. She's a "lowl More...

~ A *must-read* with a wonderful story, two complex leading characters, and sizzling chemistry (4.5 stars) ~

[1820 - London, England:]
This is my first book by Anne Mallory and *oh my lord* - what a book it was!!! For some reason, Mallory's other books have never appealed to me and/or I haven't gotten around to reading them yet, but the premise of Seven Secrets of Seduction sounded interesting so I took a chance and pre-ordered it from Amazon. I am unbelievably glad that I did! The book starts off More...

This is a very difficult book for me to review. There were some aspects which I really appreciated, that were quite honest and emotional, but there were also some aspects that had me almost putting it down unfinished at several points. I rated it 3 stars, but it's really 2.5 stars - halfway between "It was OK" and "I liked it".

Things I really liked about this one:-

- In some respects, it captures more of the cruelty of Society than all the books that include Almack's or virginal ladies of the Ton More...

I hope that I can give this book a worthy enough review.

During the first couple of chapters I was irritated at the prose and at what I perceived as flowery writing. But slowly Max didn't only end up seducing Miranda, he was also seducing me. There began my love of the book. Ms. Mallory, eventually relaxed the prose and just let the book flow and IT DID! Miranda is a lowly shop woman in correspondence with two men..one an old crotchety curmudgeon and a hot new author that has just put out the Se More...

The first book in the Secrets series by Anne Mallory. This one started slow for me and I even laid it down and went on to other books. I got it from the library and its due back tomorrow so I picked it up and forced myself to continue. It got better but not great.

A seduction using wit, a brush of a hand, a whispered word...

The catalyst for this historical romance is a titillating book titled The Seven Secrets to Seducation written by a referred to character named Eleutherios. It's 1820 and Miranda Chase is a shopgirl working in a bookstore. Maximilian, Viscount Downing arrives at the bookstore to pick up a package. Miranda and Maxim thereby begin a lively and witty discussion about Eleutherios' great selling book. Eventually, these two characters make a More...

It was an ok book but very pretentious. It took a very long time before the characters got to any kind of business, and even after they did it was all written is such a philosophical manner that I wanted to take a cold cloth to my forehead. It's not that it was particualry hard to understand,it was just that that level of wanna be intelectual speach got on to my nerves. Why say 'Then she left' when you can say 'She drew her fingers over the juncture of the door, where the wood protruded, separat More...

After 100 pages I couldn't bring myself to read further. While I can definitely appreciate Anne Mallory's writing, I found the hero too annoying for words. Can you enjoy a book if you can't stand the hero ? Well, I know I can't.

A mesmerizing romance. I agreed with some of the negative reviews about the hero viscount Downing- he was a prig. There was a time period realism to him that I thought was fascinating. I found him poignant and frustrating at the same time. When it came down to it. Miranda, brilliant with an ability to find joy in her circumstances (as Downing says, her vibrancy) and Downing trapped within the confines of his life expectations given his station and his parents influence became quite compelling. I More...

This sweet and witty love story is a delightful read. The characters, Miranda and Maximilian, made a believable couple with chemistry that sparked right off the page. Their exchanges were so full of flirtatious banter and romantic tension that I couldn't stop smiling. Bringing things together is the quality of Mallory's writing - intelligent and colorful, with hints of 19th century flavor without taking on a cloying, pseudo-Victorian flair that some historical writers assume. An added plus are t More...

I only gave this 4 stars for personal reasons. The heroine reminds me so much of myself; her thinking, her issues too. She's the sort of girl who wants to be a participant but too scared to until she slowly breaks out of her shell and, not that she was unhappy but she was contendted, two different things, reached for happiness.

The character development is great to watch and hit too close to home.

Other than that, most of the time; i keep thinking: 'What the hell is going on?
I have NOT the faintes More...

Una lenta seducción narrada paso a paso. Como si de un manual se tratara, aquel al que la protagonista tiene tanto aprecio, la autora nos desvela la seducción de Miranda, una sencilla dependienta de una librería, en manos de un experto seductor, lord Downing.


Una de las partes más interesantes de la novela es precisamente que a duras penas sabemos qué quiere exactamente este seductor de ella, si es que quiere algo más que llevársela a la cama. Casi la totalidad de la novela está dedicada al perso More...

Unlike many books, this one is exactly what the title suggests. Every paragraph, every page, every thought throughout the first half was about titillation, nothing more, nothing less. Maximilian is an expert at seducing young women for the sheer game of it and he always succeeds. So, when he decides to deflower and open the eyes of sweet Miranda, the idealistic but innocent bookstore worker, it is a given he will get what he wants - he always does. Miranda is supposed to be a smart, observant ye More...

I did not like it. Characters were not interesting. Plot didn’t do anything for me.

STORY BRIEF:
Miranda works in a bookshop for her uncle. She loved the book titled “Seven Secrets of Seduction.” She has been corresponding with Mr. Pitt who wrote a harsh criticism of the book for the local paper. Maximilian (Max) is a viscount. He visits the bookshop and begins flirting with Miranda. He then hires her to come to his home to reorganize his personal library. He begins seducing her. She tries not to, More...

I have heard great things about Anne Mallory's books, so I decided to give her a try. I really wanted to like this book--it has a lovely set-up: bookshop girl becomes the object of a rake's seduction. I settled in for what I hoped would be a clever battle of wits. Instead, the heroine, Miranda, becomes a deer-in-headlights. The hero, Downing, has turned his attentions upon her and she is shocked and flustered and . . . that's about it. Miranda spends much of the first half of the book being enth More...

It's been awhile since I read such a sensual and there's nothing more sensual then Seven Secrets of Seduction, the words just burn off the pages and the batter between Maximilian, Viscount Downing and Miranda Chase was very fresh and never stilled.

Miranda is my favorite type of heroine, she's smart and clever, plus she's just a shopgirl, not some rich woman of the ton. Maxim was at times a true mystery as the author gave us more of Miranda view then Maxim until later, by then we're so in thra More...

I wavered betwen giving this book one or two stars, so consider it a star and a half.

I have recently seen a positive review of one of Mallory's latest titles, and so, when I came across Seven Secrets of Seduction, I thought I'd give it a try. Normally, I don't mind wallpaper historicals, but this wasn't even at wallpaper level; it was... old-flaking-paint historical. The characters were completely out of touch with anything remotely resembling the period, and descriptions as such make it almost More...

The last book I tried by AM ,“Three Nights Of Sin” was underwhelming, so when I came across this book I was reluctant to invest my time and money, but I am so glad that I decided to give her another chance! Seven Secrets of Seduction was captivating! There were so many things to love about this book. I loved the hero’s mysterious demeanor. He gave you a little of himself at a time and left you wanting more. This might be a problem for some readers as you are left in the dark about his motives fo More...

This book opens with the heroine reading a Gothic novel and willing the novel's heroine to save herself from the dangerous, silky-voiced seducer chasing her. Predictably, the Gothic novel's heroine does exactly the opposite.

Not-so-predictably, I found myself in the exact same situation within 100 pages of this book: willing the heroine not to be an idiot, not to sell herself cheaply---to take her obviously brilliant and capable mind, shake the dust of her humble and thankless existence off her f More...

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TITLE. Well, who's not going to be curious if a person reads this title? There are so many ebooks in my phone and many are lined up on my to-read list but when I stumbled upon this book, curiosity got me. I quickly put it on top of my list and ignored the other historical romance ebooks waiting to grab my attention. I was so excited to read it at first but the story was a little bit dragging on the first few chapters of the book. I do More...

While there were aspects to this book that I enjoyed, the aspects that I didn't enjoy overshadowed them and this is only a 2 Star read for me.

I liked the overall premise of the book. Maxim is a viscount trying to seduce Miranda, a bookstore worker. She is smart, observant and pragmatic and doesn't instantly fall prey to his plans for seduction. The viscount, though, is not very likable and doesn't really redeem himself, even by the end. Part of the reason I had trouble warming up to him is that More...

Well, what can I say about this book...
I JUST LOVE IT!!

I really didn't expect so much of this book and it really surprise me.
First... the time of the story (1800's). I love the culture, the manners, the gossip, the education, everything. This alone was a hit.
Second...the characters. They are so unique and great and awesome!! Miranda is such a strong, passionate, simple woman; that never had the courage to do what she wanted. And in the other hand Max is such a 'I always get what a want' kind of More...

Strange one to rate because for most of the book I didn't like the writing style or the characters. I was drawn to figuring out exactly what Mallory was trying to do with both. Miranda was so passive and her eye-rollingly flowery point-of-view made me feel like I was wading through mud. So many words, so little happening. Maxim came off as an arrogant lecher, which admittedly fit my idea of a rake. Then, the book took a turn, confirming my suspicions of the situation. And my "Aha!" moment had me More...

Witty dialogue and likable characters make for an entertaining read that's hard to put down.

"Did you just ask me for sex, sir?"

With those titillating words, thus begins the seduction of the century. Until now, unassuming Miranda Chase has lived her life from the outside. She has lots of dreams, but her excitement is found only in Gothic novels and the gossip sheets. Her only close interactions with men are through written correspondence with two radically different men. The first is Mr. Pitts, More...

If someone is looking for some immediate gratification as far as sex and villains, this isn't the book for you...Buuuut, if you don't mind a twist of pure foreplay for a huge percentage of a book, this one is it! The foreplay was HOT though for sure once you started to figure out where the story was going. Max definitely has some arrogance about him but I felt it worked for the time period and what the book was trying to accomplish. The ending could have used about 80 more pages for sure as it d More...

I don't write many reviews but this book took me by surprise. It took me along time to get into this book. This is the first Anne Mallory read and at the start I thought "how obvious and predictable". I thought it was too straight forward without any pretense but I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed it by the end and took a reluctant score of 3 to a strong 4. I was also taken back by a couple of reactions of the heroine Miranda. In my heart I was hoping for her to react how I would have in her situ More...

Writing in this book is very flowery. Both in dialogues and descriptive bits. There are rather long passages about putting on gloves or sitting (just the process of sitting) in a carriage.

I wanna know what guy talks like Downing? So pompous and pretentious. H/h 'flirtation' reminded me of dialogues in Dawson's Creek. Same level of fuss and bombast.

And heroine is always so worried what is dear Viscount going to think about her. She allows him too much influence over her. Meanwhile he treats her More...

A little change of pace between the several rings and rays which arrived while I was on holiday. I hadn't read an Anne Mallory for quite a while and I was reminded how much I appreciate her prose.
I had to put this down while I was away - didn't want to take a book along on a trip with only a few chapters left to read. Otherwise I would have read this much more swiftly.
Mallory's characters here are a bit unusual - at least the heroine is. A shopkeeper with basically no ambition and totally conten More...