The Twelve Days of Seduction is a cute novella with a believable romance. Adriana is the governess for Alexander's daughter. He discovers she is not quite what she seems and deems her unfit to continue her role as governess. She challenges him to seduce her before the twelve days of Christmas are up and if he succeeds she will leave without protest. As the days progress, what should be seduction turns into wooing.

I wish this had been a full length novel. I didn't get enough in the 120 pages of this story. Eva Devon is a new to me author that I will be reading again.

This book was a pleasant historical romance with a holiday bent. If you enjoy stories about the ton and love a bit of magic at Christmas, you have to pick up this book. Nice read.

The Twelve Days of Seduction by Eva Devon is a historical romance with a Christmas theme and reminiscent of Jane Eyre. Adriana Flint is a notorious authoress who has been living a disguised life as governess Ana Grey. When the Duke, Alexander Hunt, finds out that his ward's governess has a less than reputable reputation, he is in a bind. His ward, and illegitimate daughter, has bonded with Miss Grey and there is also the small matter of his attraction to her that he cannot deny. His offer to make her his mistress is met with her counter offer that he seduce her for 12 days.

The themes of Christmas and spirit of Jane Eyre are worked throughout. As a shorter work, it is streamlined, with characters who have secretly been pining for each other. Adriana's character is a combination of a smart, worldly woman, with someone who is self-conscious and worried about the perception of society. I found her endearing, complicated and well devised as a character. Alexander as a character is one that is both in a bind but also one that has the power to sweep aside an hint of impropriety, if he finds the right reason and means. He is more that just attracted to Adriana he respects her and learns from her. These two characters and Georgiana are a family who just doesn't know it yet.

Overall, The Twelve Days of Seduction by Eva Devon was a lot of fun, romantic, and dynamic. I love Jane Eyre and Christmas so I was envisioning scenes and settings covered in snow. I couldn't put it down.

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

I accidentally got this book, so I gave it a shot.....
it was lovely, just not for me

Publisher's Description:

Alexander Hunt, Eighth Duke of Berresford, is aware his ward's governess misrepresented herself to gain employment, and he’s quite displeased, even if she is one of the most intelligent women’s he’s ever met. His ward deserves a reputable governess, so he threatens to give Adriana the sack mere days before Christmas.

Desperate to convince the sexy duke not to tear her from the little girl she's grown to adore, Adriana challenges him to prove she’s not the reputable governess he believed he hired. If he can seduce her before the Twelve Days of Christmas have come to an end, she will leave without protest.

But when they find the challenge more difficult than either imagined, can they face the consequences of their decisions?

My Thoughts:
This amazingly well written holiday romance novella is not to be missed..
Adriana has come to love her charge as if she were her own child. She is aware that Georgiana is more than the Dukes ward. She is his daughter.
This fact is something that members of the ton are not aware of but they do speculate.
When Alexander let's Adriana know he is aware of her secret he also threatens to dismiss her from her position as his daughter's governess.
They enter into a bargain of seduction.
They find their bargain more challenging to carry out than they could have imagined.
This sweetly romantic tale is one for the keeper shelf.
Although I was provided a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher to read and review, I choose to purchase it from Amazon.
I gave this lovely Christmas tale of happily ever after 5.0 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization and a sensual rating of 4.5 of 5.0 flames.
This is a sweetly sensual romance that I wanted to keep to reread whenever I need a happy bit of tears.
I read and reviewed this book voluntarily and all thoughts are my own.

The Twelve Days of Seduction by Eva Devon. This is this is the story of Alexander Hunt, Eighth Duke of Berresford and Adriana Flint.
Adriana has been acting as a governess for Georgiana for about a year when Alexander finds out she isn't who she has said that she was. But Adriana has fallen in love with Georgianna and Alexander. Alexander gives her a choice to be his mistress but she counter offers that he try to tempt her for 12 Days to prove she can be a moral strong governess. But will their attraction take over?
Enjoyed!

This novella was a surprisingly good read! It started out a bit weird, but then I got into it. At 120 pages, it’s very quick, and as you can imagine, things don’t get as developed as they could. I could have actually read a full version of this, but then I also loved how easy it was to get through. I could just enjoy it without getting too bogged down. I was also not feeling too great when I started it, but because it was quick and light, it was a great pick-me-up.

The story is told over twelve chapters and swaps narration between Adriana, a “governess”, and Alexander, a duke. Adriana is quite scrappy but very caring underneath it all, while Alexander is your typical brooding hero. After discovering that Adriana isn’t who she says she is, Alexander threatens to throw her out on Christmas Eve, but she negotiates a deal, giving her twelve more days to convince him to let her stay. During those twelve days, we learn about the young Georgiana, and about Adriana’s background. I would have liked a bit more on both, but it was enough to make me care about them. (Alexander is a duke and can do what he wants; I didn’t feel the need to worry about him.)

What starts out purely as mutual attraction quickly grows to more over the course of two weeks, and it really is rather sweet. I liked the ending, though I did think it was a little bit rushed and convenient.

Overall, an enjoyable historical romance that hit all the right notes for me while helping to get me into the Christmas spirit!

(Review on loveinatimeoffeminism.com coming December 2nd.)