HISTORICAL
ROMANCE

ROMAN
ROMANCE


Merrimon Book Reviews







Romulus and Remus:   the traditional founders of Rome.  On
Palatine Hill, they were nursed by a wolf, Lupa, in Latin


Cato the Younger
(95 BC–46 BC)
a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy. He is remembered for his legendary stubbornness and tenacity (especially in his lengthy conflict with Gaius Julius Caesar), as well as his immunity to bribes, his moral integrity, and his famous distaste for the ubiquitous corruption of the period.




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Sold and Seduced
Sold and Seduced by Michelle Styles
by Michelle Styles

  


   
Rome, 69 B.C.  Lydia Veratia has always led a respectable life.  Lydia's father is known for his status and political connections and yet, he has taught her the family business.  With an emotional closeness to her father and her dedication to work, Lydia is intelligent and practical and nothing like the frivolous Roman ladies who occupy themselves with frivolous matters. Lydia Veratia is a determined woman, a woman determined to keep her dignity despite the one mistake she made --- a mistake for which she takes responsibility, even if it means agreeing to marry Sea Wolf, a man known for his temper. Sea Wolf is a man known for his prowess at sea, a man who could wrestle the very wrath of the mighty oceans. Now he has a greater ambition --- to become a senator and he will do exactly what he needs to be elected --- even if means marrying the daughter of a family whom he does not trust.  Once married, Lydia makes every attempt to return home to her father.  Exasperated by her attempts to flee, Aro offers her a deal.  If she does not plea for his kisses three times within seven days, he will release her from the obligation of the marriage contract and give her the independence she craves.  Lydia thinks she can win easily but Aro has other plans for her.  Can he seduce her and win her heart?

SOLD AND SEDUCED is a beautiful story of a woman learning to let go of her family and look inside herself and a man coming to terms with the real desires of his heart.
  Once the apple of her father's eye, Lydia worships her father.  Although she stands up and takes responsibility for her mistakes, a small part of her still cannot help look back at her family with a hope of return.   Can Aro prove himself worthy in her eyes?  As Aro wrestles to gain her trust and loyalty, an outside threat endangers his plans.  Only by trusting one another with their darkest secrets can the two have any hope against the looming danger that threatens to ruin their chances for happiness.

Michelle Styles once again delights with her ability to set a scene that brings readers into the period and her characters.   Michelle Styles packs her historical romance with just the right amount of historical details to bring this ancient history to life.  In SOLD AND SEDUCED, one easily visualizes the rooms and the layout of the romance's landscape from the atrium to the businesses along the coast. Although most readers are familiar with images of the Roman ruins and and diagrams of the atrium, when reading SOLD AND SEDUCED, the ruins come alive in the mind's eye, not as ruins but fresh, new and populated with real people of the period, not current day tourists.  

In SOLD AND SEDUCED, Michelle Styles moves from the intriguing innocent yet brave heroine in A NOBLE CAPTIVE to a different kind of heroine, bringing variety to her Roman romances.  Like Helena in her previous romance, Lydia is strong and determined but in SOLD AND SEDUCED, Michelle Styles now moves from the temple sibyl right into the heart of a Roman family of influence.  Through language and inner thoughts, the reader feels Lydia's reserved demeanor and the atmosphere of the patrician background throughout the first part of the romance.  As Lydia discovers her heart's desire, a delightful twist, both humorous and flirtatious, emerges between the couple when Lydia feels free to respond to him. Those who have come to love Michelle Styles wicked villains will certainly be intrigued by the the characters and twists at the end.  In SOLD AND  SEDUCED, Michelle Styles gives historical romance readers what they crave --- a strong sense of history, and one integrated into the very crux of the romantic conflict, mixed with just a dash of a fairy tale task to ramp up the stakes of the romance.  Delightful!

Publisher: Mills and Boon Historical Romance (April 2007)

Reviewed by Merrimon, Merrimon Book Reviews
Merrimon Book Reviews


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