Season for Surrender by Theresa Romain

Season for Surrender
by Theresa Romain
Publisher: Kensington
Publication date: October 2, 2012
Genre: Historical Romance
Purchase: Barnes and Noble/Amazon/Book Depository

Honor Among Rogues -Alexander Edgeware, Lord Xavier, has quite a reputation—for daring, wagering, and wickedness in all its delightful forms. But the wager before him is hardly his preferred sport: Xavier must persuade a proper young lady to attend his famously naughty Christmas house party—and stay the full, ruinous two weeks. Worse, the lady is Louisa Oliver, a doe-eyed bookworm Xavier finds quite charming. Yet to refuse the challenge is impossible—he will simply have to appoint himself Miss Oliver’s protector…Mischief Among Misses -Louisa knows her chance for a husband has passed. But she has no desire to retire into spinsterhood without enjoying a few grand adventures first. When Lord Xavier’s invitation arrives, Louisa is more intrigued than insulted. And once inside the rogues’ gallery, she just may have a thing or two to teach her gentlemen friends about daring.

When I saw the gorgeous cover I was immediately drawn to Season for Surrender. While not part of a series, this book tells the tale of Louisa Oliver a character from Romain’s first novel a Season of Temptation.  I found the cast of character’s attending the Christmas House party of Alexander Edgeware, Lord Xavier to be absolutely delightful. I quickly consumed this and walked away feeling good. 

The ton and the wager books at White’s say Alexander Edgeware, Lord Xavier is a rogue and rumors of his escapades are the gossip of the ton. Alex does nothing to dissuade the tons opinion and in fact has a whole list of facial expressions he imposes on them. His cousin Lockwood makes a wager for 10 pounds that Alex cannot get a bluestocking to attend his Christmas House party and remain the full two weeks. He even goes so far as to name the woman, Lady Louisa Oliver. While Alex protests a woman’s reputation is worth more than a wager, he cannot help but accept. After all Lord Xavier never loses a bet. The tale that unfolds is filled with humor, sexual tension, a villain and an unexpected romance.

I must say Romain created characters I came to adore. Alex is a complete rogue (well at least that is what the ton has been led to believe). Getting to know the man behind the facial expressions was delightful. I found him to be completely swoon-worthy. Louisa Oliver is smarty, witty, quiet and looking for an adventure. I immediately connected with this little book lover. I loved that a library could make her swoon. She believes her season for a husband has passed but her feisty Aunt Estella has other ideas. I adored this melding, sharp tongue, opinionated woman. Other guests at the party were entertaining. I really liked Jane and hope she will get her own book. The villain was deliciously evil and created tension.

The pacing of the romance was off. It took too long for things to develop and kept this from achieving five cups of coffee. I loved the setting, and the steamy library scenes. The characters were all delightful and kept me reading, as I truly liked them. It was the getting them from point A to point B, and the constant hot and cold between Alex and Louisa that drove me batty. Just when I thought they had had a moment, they would have a setback. Perhaps it was intentional by the author to create tension, however this part of the plot frustrated me. When things finally began to progress..oh-la-la!  I liked Romain’s writing style and her ability to bring her characters to life. I can just picture Alex's array of facial expressions and cannot help but giggle even as I write this. She provided wonderful detail and I developed a beautiful image of the house and its guests. The last quarter of the book was the strongest, and I loved the ending.

Despite issues I really enjoyed Alex and Louisa's story. I recommend Season for Surrender to fans of historical romance, laced with humor and lovable characters.

I want to thank Kensington books for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. *Purchases made through buy links result in a small commission which we use to fund our giveaways.

I gave this novel 4 coffee cups out of 5.