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What to Wear to a Seduction

by Sari Robins

reviewed by Valarie Pelissero

May 2006, 384 pages, Publisher: Avon, ISBN: 0060782471

Prescott Devane has enjoyed his life as a cicisbeo living off whatever woman was willing to keep him in the style to which he would like to become accustomed, but after losing his mentor in a fire and the woman he loves to someone else, Prescott is feeling out of place in his world. Determining that he needs to make some changes, Prescott sinks all of his meager funds into a shipping venture, which he hopes will see him financially secure. Unfortunately, after his heroic rescue of the orphan Evie from a fire, he finds that more women than ever are flocking to him hoping to be his next "protector." Recovering from his own injuries, Prescott is licking his wounds when Lady Edwina Ross enters his life and offers to arrange warehouse space at the docks in exchange for posing to be her fiancé in order to catch a blackmailer. During their faux engagement Prescott finds himself wishing for a family of his own, with her, but as an orphan, he has nothing to offer her except his heart and soul, but will it be enough?

Lady Edwina Ross has been browbeaten her entire life, first by her parents and then by her late husband and his domineering mother, with the result that she has lost all confidence in herself. As a last ditch effort to gain back a little control of her life, Edwina approaches Prescott with a two-fold plan that she hopes will benefit both of them. First, to help her catch a blackmailer who is draining one of her friends dry, and second, by posing as her fiancé to thwart her father from forcing her to re-marry. As Edwina and Prescott pretend to be in love, Edwina discovers that the pretense has become all too real for her and that marriage to Prescott doesn't frighten her. Now, if she can only convince him to turn their fake betrothal into a real one.

Prescott Devane was first introduced to readers in Ms. Robins last book, More Than a Scandal, and I was intrigued by him. He was complex and tortured soul who tried very hard to hide his vulnerability, and I am glad that he found a woman who was able to heal him. What to Wear to a Seduction brings together two people who have been hurt deeply by the actions of those closest to them and who find the solace they didn't know they needed in each other. Being with Prescott gives Edwina the confidence she needs to face confrontations head on rather that running from it as she has always done. The scene were Edwina was frantically trying to figure out what to wear for her rendezvous with Prescott is one that women in any century can relate to as she discards outfit after outfit to find the perfect thing to wear. Edwina was a character that you can easily dismiss at first, as Prescott did when she first approached him. But as I learned more about her life, I grew to admire her fortitude in trying to be independent, despite her family's belligerence.

Prescott's mother was disowned by her family for marrying beneath her. Prescott always believed that his mother had made a huge mistake renouncing her family for love and he doesn't want Edwina to do the same thing for him, no matter how much losing her would kill him. Prescott never wanted to be a hero, but saving little Evie placed him in that reluctant role and Edwina's admiration kept him there. But, what truly made him a hero was his willingness to give up Edwina rather than having her renounce her family as his mother did. Knowing what it was like to have no family made it doubly hard on him to make that sacrifice, but that is what made him such a great character to read about.

Prescott and Edwina are perfect together, each a perfect compliment to the other, which is what made this story such a joy to read. What to Wear to a Seduction is a yummy treat that you can enjoy without any added pounds to your waistline. It's going on my Keeper Shelf, and I intend to enjoy it again and again.