Seduced By a Lady's Heart by Christi Caldwell
Also by this author: The Love of a Rogue, Loved by a Duke, My Lady of Deception, The Heart of a Scoundrel, To Wed His Christmas Lady, To Trust a Rogue, To Woo a Widow, To Redeem a Rake (The Heart of a Duke Book 11), The Rogue's Wager (Sinful Brides #1), Along Came a Lady (All the Duke's Sins, #1)
Published by Independently Published on June 5, 2015
Genres: Regency, Romance
Pages: 191
Format: eBook
ASIN: B00Y3771OO
Goodreads

Lieutenant Lucien Jones, son of a viscount, returned from war, to find his wife and child dead. Blaming his father for the commission that sent him off to fight Boney’s forces, he was content to languish at London Hospital... until offered employment on the Marquess of Drake’s staff. Through his position, Lucien found purpose in life and is content to keep his past buried.

Lady Eloise Yardley has loved Lucien since they were children. Having long ago given up on the dream of him, she married another. Years later, she is a young, lonely widow who does not fit in with the ton. When Lucien’s family enlists her aid to reunite father and son, she leaps at the opportunity to not only aid her former friend, but to also escape London.

Lucien doesn’t know what scheme Eloise has concocted, but knowing her as he does, when she pays a visit to his employer, he knows she’s up to something. The last thing he wants is the temptation that this new, older, mature Eloise presents; a tantalizing reminder of happier times and peace.

Yet Eloise is determined to win Lucien’s love once and for all...if only Lucien can set aside the pain of his past and risk all on a lady's heart.

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~Karen’s Review~

Caldwell may not be the most well know of historical romance authors, but her stories are ones that envelope the reader in the emotions that her characters are experiencing. Caldwell is a master at plucking at the readers heart, to have their own emotions following right along with the characters.  From the very first words Eloise utters to her long lost friend Lucien my guts were tied into knots by Eloise care and concern for the war ravaged Lucien, the hero in Seduced by a Lady’s Heart.  The way Cadwell wrote of Eloise’s unrequited  young love for Lucien, stirred my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I felt a kinship in Eloise, the stalwart best friend, as Lucien, the holder of her heart found love; but alas not with her.  In Eloise, Caldwell paints a vibrant every woman whom despite her heartbreak does everything in her power to secure her best friends happiness.  Eloise is selfless without being a martyr, or seeming like a doormat. Caldwell romantic heroines are a breath of fresh air.

Lucien her childhood friend has been wounded not only by the Naploeonic War, but deeply by his family. He is a man who has isolated himself and suffered for years by shell shock; modern day PTSD. The Napoleonic war was the first reported cases of soldiers dealing with the after effects of war. Some Napoleonic soldiers languished in hospitals for the rest of their lives, after experiencing the horrors of that war.  When the book opens Lucien is no longer languishing in a hospital ward, but he is an angry beast of a man, living below his station.

When Eloise re enters his life, the resulting reunion is not one of hearts and flowers; but one of icy demeanor, insolent words, that eventually leads to fire and passion.  Lucien has isolated himself not only from his past, but in the present he lived an insular life.  It isn’t until Eloise rushed headlong into his life that he starts to feel again. It is that rebirth of this scarred and scared character that makes this story such a fascinating read.

I think if I had read this book as a younger woman who had not experienced the ups and downs of life my perspective would have been completely different than that of the woman that I now am.  As Lucien has a very hard time seeing what was right in front of him, and Eloise was shunted away after Lucien fell in love.  Young love can be selfish and Lucien fit in the mold of the selfish younger man in love.

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