The seduction of his wife

The seduction of his wife by Janet Chapman
Published by Pocket star
Grade: B

He set out to seduce her for all the wrong reasons -- but found himself falling in love with her for all the right ones. Alex Knight is dead -- or so everyone thinks. A widowed logger baron with a risk-taking streak, he took on a South American engineering project and was reported dead after a rebel attack. So when he turns up back in Maine very much alive, his grieving family is shocked. But the biggest shock is Alex's, when he discovers he's now married -- to a woman he's never met. Sarah Banks is ready for a change from running a quiet Bed & Breakfast, and working for the Knight family offers not only a bigger opportunity, but also the family life she yearns for. So she's glad to help secure custody of Alex's orphaned children, whom she's come to love, by marrying their father by proxy before he's legally declared dead. But when Alex returns, the sexy, determined woodsman upends all of Sarah's plans. Because suddenly she's married to a passionate stranger with an easy smile...and tumbling headlong into a fiery dance of seduction.

I originally read this when it was first released. I liked it very much, and little has changed. As much as I liked the story, I still found the Heroine rather annoying. All that sugar, spice and sweetness just didn't do it for me.

With the help a judge who is a family friend, scheming Grady arranges the marriage of his son to his housekeeper. Grady is told that Alex has died, so in order to stop Alex's in laws from trying to take his 2 children from them, he has married off his son by proxy and then had Sarah adopt the children.

Alex isn't really dead though, so when he come back home and finds a gun pointed at him and a pretty little thing calling herself his widow, he is confused and mad.
Alex intimidates Sarah, so in order to keep him off her back till the rest of the family comes home, she keeps his glass full with whiskey.

Later that night, they end up having sex. He is drunk, and she thinks she is dreaming. Afterwards Alex treats her badly. He kicks her out in at 3 in the morning and she has to walk several miles into town.

Alex wasn't aware that she can't drive, so the next morning when Grady wakes him up by dumping a bucket of cold water his head, he is quickly set straight. Grady makes Alex find Sarah and bring her home. Alex is attracted to his wife, and once he sees how great she is with his kids he decides to try and make the marriage a real one. Sarah doesn't really trust him, so she avoids his advances. Thats when Alex starts courting his wife.

Alex and Sarah don't just meet and fall in love. It all takes place over a 7 week period. They learn about each other and get to know one another first.

I enjoyed rereading this one.
You can read my review of the second book here.