TLC Book Tours Review and Giveaway: Swoon by Betsy Prioleau

Title: Swoon: Great Seducers and Why Women Love Them
Author: Betsy Prioleau
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: W.W. Norton and Co
Publish Date: February 4, 2013
Source: TLC Book Tours

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You like non-fiction.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Casanovas: where are those great romancers of women? In Swoon, Betsy Prioleau gives us a smart, entertaining study of ladies men, demystifying their character, seductive secrets, and killer charm. Combining history, science, culture, and colorful contemporary research, Prioleau gives us a portrait of the successful seducer that explodes every stereotype and shatters every clich . Instead of a satanic rake, slick player, or rich, handsome powerbroker, he s an unlikely, often homely Romeo who cares about women and understands what they want. Through analyses of history s legendary lovers and interviews with today s heartthrobs, Prioleau uncovers the surprising seductive secrets that really rock female hearts, from unfeigned ardor to conversational flair. In doing so, she destroys the pick-up artists advice of such books as The Game. Finally, Prioleau critiques the twenty-first-century sexual malaise, especially women s record discontent with men, and argues that it s high time to retrieve and celebrate the great seducer."

My Two Cents:

Throughout the ages, there have been many infamous seducers. No matter what point in history you talk about, there have always been infamous ladies' men. One look and they seemingly are able to have just about any woman they want. Prioleau looks at this phenomena and uses this book as a way to try to shed some light on what makes these gentleman so irresistible.

This book was definitely interesting. It was great look at what these men do to drive women wild. Unfortunately for men who are hoping to get some tips, the secrets to being a great seducer seem somewhat unattainable without a lot of practice or a healthy dose of natural skill.

I really liked how the book was divided into different segments. Prioleau uses each segment to explore a different characteristic that could add to the success of the great seducer. He should be a good talker, a good listener, and have a litany of other characteristics in order to be a good seducer. It was really fascinating to see how Prioleau broke it down.

Prioleau uses some really interesting examples. To me, some went over better than others. I was especially interested in some of the examples of famous casanovas. Prioleau also uses a lot of examples from romance novels, some of which I was not familiar with. There is not a whole lot of explanation behind the examples and therefore they were hard to understand or to see the point behind them.

Overall: This an interesting sort of cultural anthropology book!

Follow the Rest of the Tour:

Monday, March 4th:  Scandalous Women
Tuesday, March 5th:  Enchanted by Josephine
Thursday, March 7th:  A Bookish Affair
Monday, March 11th:  The Blog of Litwits
Tuesday, March 12th:  In the Hammock
Wednesday, March 13th:  Staircase Wit
Thursday, March 14th:  Jenny Loves to Read
Friday, March 15th:  Patricia’s Wisdom
Monday, March 18th:  Dolce Bellezza
Tuesday, March 19th:  Book Addict Katie
Wednesday, March 20th:  Stiletto Storytime
Thursday, March 21st:  Unabridged Chick
Friday, March 22nd:  Books a la Mode – author guest post
Monday, March 25th:  Man of La Book
Tuesday, March 26th:  Literally Jen
Wednesday, March 27th:  Peppermint Ph.D.
Thursday, March 28th:  Tiffany’s Bookshelf 
Monday, April 1st:  A Chick Who Reads

Giveaway:

I am giving away one copy of Swoon compliments of TLC Book Tours (US/CAN only)!



  
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