ISBN: 978-0-345-50688-7
Publisher: Ballantine/Del Ray
Source: I purchased this book to read
A Lady of Persuasion is the third book in Tessa Dare’s debut trilogy. Both Goddess of the Hunt and Surrender to a Siren have been a delight to read! I eagerly picked up A Lady of Persuasion to finish the trilogy. Then I looked at the back cover and wondered why I would want to read what 
would obviously be a “suitor scorned and got revenge on an innocent maiden” story line. Amazing how first impressions are wrong!!
Most of the characters of this book we have met before but we will see them in a new light! Isabel Grayson, sister of Gray Grayson of Surrender to a Siren, has freshly arrived from the West Indies with the intent to marry someone with a title and money. She wants to make a difference to the lives of the less fortunate – to fight social injustice, and has decided that a title, voting at some level of government and lots of money are what are required to make this difference. Sir Toby we met in both of the previous books as the fiance and then abandoned fiance of Sophia.
Toby played the noble, upstanding abandoned fiance when Sophia took off; repeating the concocted story faithfully, but now Sophia is back and is happily married. Our story starts with Toby at a ball observing Sophia and Gray. The gloves are off and Toby is pouting like a little boy who isn’t getting his way! He is determined to get even with Sophia, but his attention is grabbed by s beautiful woman whom he has never seen before. She seems to be spending time with Gray, and although Toby doesn’t know who she is, he decides to steal her from Gray. The woman that has Toby obsessed is Isabel, Gray’s sister. The interactions between Toby and Isabel are wonderful. Toby is determined to have her and will do anything, promise anything to achieve that goal. Isabel comes across as righteous, but certainly warms up in Toby’s arms! ?
I found Toby to be a wonderful character. His development throughout the book moved him from a superficial rake to a man determined to win his true love and cherish her. Isabel comes from a damaged background, but doesn’t really seem to redeem herself. She seems to be searching for something that doesn’t really exist. It was wonderful to meet the future wife of Gray’s brother Joss and the child-birth scene was riveting and very well written! Although I really enjoy Tessa Dare’s writing, I was somewhat disappointed with the characters in this, the final book to her first trilogy. They seemed to take a long time to get a clue! But the overall book was wonderful!
A Romance Reader says: A Lady of Persuasion is the third book in new author Tessa Dare’s very promising introduction to the romance world. Ballantine’s decision to publish the novels in three successive months has done its work. Dare is getting good reviews and there is much chatter about her talent. I am happy to say that her latest book meets the high standard she has already set for herself. A Lady of Persuasion is a most enjoyable read.
