Review and Guest Post: The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton by Miranda Neville

 I reviewed this book as part of the Virtual Book Tour. As part of the tour, the author will be giving away a $25 gift certificate as part of the book tour so be sure that you follow. The more you comment on the book tour, the more chances you have to win!!!!!  See tour dates here.

Review:

Title: The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton
Author: Miranda Neville
Publisher: Avon
Published Date: July 26th, 2011
Source: Received an ebook as part of the Goddess Fish Promotion book tour

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're looking for a book you'll want to finish in one sitting.
• You like a bit of mystery with your romance.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Being kidnapped is teaching Miss Celia Seaton a few things about life:
Lesson one: Never disrobe in front of a gentleman . . . unless his request comes at gunpoint.

Lesson two: If, when lost on the moors, you encounter Tarquin Compton, the leader of London society who ruined your marriage prospects, deny any previous acquaintance.

Lesson three: If presented with an opportunity to get back at Mr. Compton, the bigger the lie, the better. A faux engagement should do nicely.

Lesson four: Not all knowledge is found between the covers of a book. But an improper book may further your education in ways you never guessed."

My Two Cents:

At the beginning of the book, Celia finds herself in the middle of nowhere in the moors of England after being kidnapped. Luckily for her, she's not all alone. Unfortunately for Celia, the man that she finds herself with is Tarquin Compton, the man who ruined her chances of finding a suitable husband during her debutante season. After realizing that Tarquin has a very convenient case of amnesia, Celia takes things into her own hands and fools Tarquin into thinking that they're betrothed and getting Tarquin to help her escape from their captors. Everything is working out until Tarquin begins to remember the unfortunate details of where he knows Celia from before but only after they consummate their relationship. Mesh that storyline with a family secret and mystery and you have a book that will grab you.

One of the most interesting things about this book is how the author was able to weave in some information and quotes from actual romantic and some erotic literature from the books time period. Can you imagine how fascinating, not to mention scintillating, that research must have been? Talk about fun research! I didn't realize how much of the actual literature had been sort of incorporated into the book until I read the Author's note at the end. I loved how the quotes at the beginning of each chapter added to the story.

At first I didn't like Tarquin and was kind of getting mad that Celia kept falling for him. Slowly throughout the book, Tarquin kind of grew on me. Even with his hard exterior, his heart was in the right place. I kind of like characters that are able to change your mind as the story goes on. It's kind of cool to watch them grow and change.  And uh, the steamy parts also helped to change my mind about him for sure.

Bottom line: This book was so fun and kept me up late to finish it. If you're looking for a romance with a bit of adventure, this is the book for you.

My Review:
4 out of 5 stars

Author Guest Post:

Presenting Miranda Neville...

MY DESERT ISLAND BOOKS

1. WAR AND PEACE. Since I’m likely to stranded for a long time, I’d like something long. I read Tolstoy’s doorstop years ago and really enjoyed it. The romance between Natasha and Andrei is swoonworthy although (spoiler alert) it end badly. But Natasha ends up with the sweet and nerdy Pierre who really deserves her. The historical background of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia is fascinating. Not sure I’d have the patience to reread War and Peace now (did I mention it’s looong?) but it would be perfect for those lonely nights.

2. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen. No need to introduce this classic to romance readers. Love love love it. I may know it by heart, but there must be a phrase or two I’d need to re-read on my tropical beach.

3. KANE AND ABEL by Jeffrey Archer. I’m on a beach, right? I need a beach read. The tale of a lifelong rivalry between a Boston Brahmin and an ambitious immigrant is one of the all time great pulp fiction sagas.

4. THE COMPLETE WORKS OF LORETTA CHASE. Actually no such volume exists, but it should. And if I can’t have the complete run of Ms. Chase’s brilliant historical romances, I’ll take Lord of Scoundrels. Or maybe Lord Perfect. Or perhaps Mr. Impossible…. Please don’t make me chose!

5. THE DESPERATE DUCHESS series by Eloisa James. Trying to get six for the price of one again. I adore this Georgian series and if I have to take one, it would be the first, Desperate Duchesses itself. I loved the main romance and all the characters who will appear in later books.

6. THE COMPLETE BOOK OF TROPICAL FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. I’m not going to kill, skin, gut, and cook any animals so it’ll have to be a vegetarian diet for me.

7. A HERO. OK, wandering off topic here. Pray, let me be stranded with a gorgeous alpha male with a talent for wilderness living. Then I won’t need #1 or #6. The ability to provide nourishment under challenging circumstances is so sexy. (May I add that Tarquin, the hero of THE AMOROUS EDUCATION OF CELIA SEATON, manages it when he and Celia are wandering the Yorkshire moors.)

What are your desert island books? Or, better still, who would be your desert island hero?