Seduce Me

June 8, 2009
Sizzling romance mixes clumsily with ancient legends in DeHart's late-Victorian romance, the first in the Legend Hunters trilogy. Fielding Grey, viscount of Eldon and freelance archeological treasure hunter, reluctantly enters into a business alliance with the club of gentlemanly legend hunters he holds responsible for his father's death. When Fielding's mysterious uncle finds Pandora's mythical box, he kidnaps beautiful Esme Worthington, believing she holds the key. The curses imprisoned in the box escape into the world, and Esme (who is referred to as a scholar, but displays little scholarship) and Fielding fight their growing attraction as they race to prevent disaster. While DeHart (Tempted at Every Turn
) makes the romance believable and enticing, the multiplication of unlikely supernatural and familial subplots distracts from it, and the layers of artificial complication added to the original myth feel forced and unconvincing.

August 1, 2009
Esme Worthington spent years researching Pandoras Box without ever realizing she already had the key to the legendary relic. The Raven, Englands most notorious thief, has found Pandoras Box. He knows he needs Esme to unlock the ancient treasure, so he sends a few of his men to kidnap her. Relic hunter Fielding Grey has successfully traced Pandoras Box to the Ravens country hideout. He plans to steal it away for the Men of Solomon, but once he arrives, he discovers things are more complicated than he expected. Fielding really cant leave Esme behind, but he isnt thrilled with the idea of dragging a complete novice along on a dangerous mission, especially one now wearing a cursed golden bracelet! With its wonderfully matched and equally stubborn protagonists, captivating plot, and subtle wit, the first in a new series, based on lost legends, by rising star DeHart is a genuine treasure itself.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)