Figured out the big mystery way early in the book. Skipped to the end. ( )

I loved this book and really could not believe it was her first. It was a funny, and enjoyable read. Definitely one I would recommend putting on your To Be Read list. ( )

A Study in Seduction
3 Stars

A mathematical genius, Lydia Kellaway has never had much time for the social niceties. So when Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, purchases a family heirloom of sentimental value, Lydia makes the difficult decision to confront him. Sparks fly from the first and only increase as Lydia and Alexander grow closer, but a secret from the past emerges to threaten their newfound love.

An auspicious beginning that fails to live up to its potential.

Let me preface this review with the caveat that mathematics is an horrendous subject for me, and the abundance of equations and mathematical descriptions are distracting, annoying and add absolutely nothing to the storyline.

With that out of the way …

Lydia's formidable intelligence and strength of will make her a particularly appealing heroine. Unfortunately, her secret is so painfully obvious, unoriginal and trite that it undermines her characterization completely.

Alexander is neither sufficiently dark nor brooding to make a satisfying tortured hero, and the scandal associated with his name is uninteresting despite the excellent potential for a political subplot involving the Crimean War.

The villain is a smarmy caricature whose menace is only vaguely threatening and does not provide the tension and suspense that the author was going for.

The romance is mediocre at best and the resolution to the conflict preventing Lydia and Alexander from being together is contrived.

All in all, a disappointing debut and the secondary characters are not compelling enough to continue with the series. ( )

What a wonderful début novel this is!

Nina Rowan must have had a blast writing this one. I certainly did reading it. Only a handful of authors out there are willing to gift their readers with strong, smart, complex and intellectual heroines such as Lydia. This woman with her brilliant mind adds a very unusual ‘equation’ to this well told story and I reveled in her wit and charm from page one.

As for Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, I honestly couldn’t have found anyone ... thanks for jumping to b2b to finish my review ...

http://bookworm2bookworm.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/spotlight-on-nina-rowan-and/

Melanie for b2b
book my own ( )

THIS IS ONE BOOK NOT TO MISS!!

Alexander Hall, Viscount Northwood, had to deal with gossip and scandal surrounding his family, as well as from his own broken engagement. People thought of the Halls as "extraordinarily disreputable", as if that's not enough, his ties to Russia (his Russian blood, his trading business, family members still live in Russia) have become more of an issue in the midst of the political tension. Alexander has spent the last two years working hard to restore his family's reputation. To this pressure is added the expectation that he marry and produce an heir to secure the earldom. Should he just do what his brother suggested? "Just find a sweet, empty-headed young chit... needn't do much except wed her and bed her...."?

It all comes crashing down when blue-eyed Lydia Kellaway walked up to his front door one evening asked him to sell the locket he purchased back to her, claiming it belonged to her mother. Their negotiation somehow turns into a challenge. Lydia sparks his curiosity: who is this woman? He even likes the sound of her voice, her scent, not of perfume or flowers, but of pencil and paper and clean starch. He wants to marry Lydia, but she keeps refusing his offer. Her reasons don't make sense, there's something she's not telling him. They love each other. She tries to quantify love with her mathematical theories, explains attraction and desire away with equations and theorems, it doesn't work that way.

Lydia is a mathematical prodigy: numbers have been her love since childhood. But her genius came with a price, people view her as oddity, her world is full of numbers and equations, she's spent the past decade living a quiet life with her grandmother and sister, working behind the scene, away from spotlight and social events. But Alexander Hall made her feel things. He affects her in ways she'd never felt before. She must be careful not to let him get past the wall she'd spent years building to protect herself.
Alexander needs to convince Lydia to marry him, to show her that love can't be proven in mathematical formulas or equations. Has he pushed her too hard and pushed her farther away? Will he succeed? Will she choose love?

It is rare to find a heroine such as Lydia in historical romance novels. If you like heroine with brain, beauty and fire, this book is it. Lydia is quite charming, beautiful, passionate and sensual if one bothers to look past all the dull exterior.
I love the role reversal of characters. We don't often see a heroine who has her own followers of smart men, intelligent and prestigious men following her like a little regiment.

Nina Rowan has delivered a witty and unusual storyline that offers fresh idea, with very unique and fascinating characters and plot. Yet, not lacking in passion, the love scenes would certainly satiate and meet romance readers' expectation. I also enjoyed her candid descriptions of simple things in our everyday life and turned them into colorful images: of light and sound, of people on the street, of emotion and feeling, of sensuality and passion, of one's thoughts, one's feeling towards another... and of chemistry between two lovers.

The fact that I dislike anything mathematical in real life (and I'm sure there are other romance readers like me out there who'd feel the same way), instead, I found myself fascinated by a heroine who is a math prodigy, I found it charming and endearing, and I loved this book instantly. Maybe it's reverse psychology, I found myself drawn to Lydia and cheering her on as I was reading the story. The mathematical parts in the story didn't bother me at all, nor was it a turn-off, the effect was the opposite, another talent credited to Rowan for her ability to deliver the story laced with numbers and formulas with smooth sailing. This is one book not to miss. A five-star worthy novel which is now on my 'fave' list. ( )