Book Review: Seeking Persephone by Sarah M. Eden

Okay, so I've been on a weird Regency Romance kick lately.  It started with Pride and Prejudice, moved onto The Grand Sophe by Georgette Heyer, and it ended with Seeking Persephone by Sarah M. Eden . . . and was quickly followed by her last two books Courting Miss Lancaster and The Kiss of a Stranger, neither of which I liked nearly as much as Seeking Persephone but they were both fun reads just the same. 

First of all, a warning: DO NOT JUDGE THIS BOOK BY IT'S COVER!!!  Now, I sincerely mean that, because the cover, in my opinion doesn't do justice to the book, (I'm kind of a cover snob) and if they changed it, I think it would appeal to a much larger audience, but what do you do. 

My dear friend, Sarah, who has extremely savvy book taste, recommended this one to me a long time ago.  When I first saw it on the rack, I was wondering if it could possibly be the right book, because it just didn't look like the sort of book Sarah would read.  However, I've learned over the last three years of our friendship that Sarah does not recommend books that are not completely worth reading, and so I took the chance and bought the book.

Totally worth it, my friends, totally worth it.

Here is the cover blurb:

The Duke of Kielder has more influence than Parliament, higher social standing than the Royal Family. No gentleman dares face him on the dueling field, nor risks testing his infamous temper. But His Grace is in need of a wife. Combine his fearsome reputation with a terribly scarred countenance and finding a lady willing to accept his hand becomes all-but impossible. When the Duke manages to secure a bride through a bit of trickery and an obscene amount of money, he is certain his problems are behind him. Except his purchased bride proves to be nothing like he expected. What is a man like the Duke to do with a bride who is gentle, loving and absolutely impossible to live without?

This book is a sort of Beauty and the Beast retelling, but is actually based on the Classical myth of Hades and Persephone.  I don't know what it was about the Duke of Kielder, but he is probably one of my most favorite Male protagonists that I've read in a Regency novel.  Gruff and a definite man's man on the outside, with all the dreamy masculine tenderness waiting under the surface for just the right lady.  (Ahhhhhhh...)

Yep.  This was definitely worth the read, my friends.  And if you don't like this cover, you can always see if you can find a copy of the original self-published version on Amazon, which is a million times better in my opinion. Either way, the story and Eden's ability to create romantic tension is pretty fantastic. (Sigh!)  Enjoy!