"a historical romance, focusing on the romance instead of the history lesson"

Caught losing her virginity out of wedlock, Kathleen's family marries her off to the first man willing to be paid to take her off their hands. Utterly repulsive, and only looking to get a free slave for his livery stable, Boyd marries Kathleen and sets about using and demeaning her every chance he gets.

For three years, Kathleen suffered his abuse in silence. Then a tall stranger rode into town, the first cowboy to take a moment and treat her kindly. Most acted like she didn't even exist. Stabling his horse with the young woman, the cowboy promises to return soon.

When he does, he finds Kathleen unconscious on the floor, a fresh bruise on her face. Kind hearted, and strongly attracted to the timid beauty, Vance offers her a way out of her life of drudgery. He volunteers to take her with him, if she is willing to run away.

With nothing in her present worth staying for, Kathleen accepts Vance's offer of a fresh start for the future. But they find that riding off into the sunset isn't as easy as it seems. Along the way, old problems follow and new ones awaken as Kathleen fights to find herself and Vance struggles with his jealousy and his desire to claim her for his own.

Unlike many romances set in the past, D. Musgrave doesn't flood the reader with too much information about the period. He gradually introduces the facts needed, while letting the characters take center stage. TRAIL OF SEDUCTION isn't a history lesson -- it's an emotion roller coaster of needs, desires, doubts and rewards as Vance helps Kathleen to set aside everything she has been forced to believe about herself and awaken to the fact that she is a sensual, beautiful woman.

Reviewed by Michelle Houston
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted January 8, 2004

Summary

THE FRONTIER WIFE AND THE COWBOY!

In this highly erotic western set in the 1850's, Kathleen, trapped in an abusive frontier marriage with a violent, controlling husband, struggles to keep her spirit and hopes unbroken. Then the tall, silent, gentle Vance rides into town and into her life. When he sees how Kathleen's husband, Boyd mistreats her, Vance agrees to help her escape. With only her brutal husband as a tutor in love, Kathleen has learned to hate sex, but as she and Vance travel together, she experiences physical stirrings that both frighten and thrill her. Seeking shelter in an Apache village, they find Boyd's mutilated body, his punishment for the crime of raping an Apache maid. Free from the guilt of adultery, Kathleen quenches her passion for Vance, and discovers their desire is mutual. At first, the two can not get enough of each other, but when a lover's quarrel separates them, Kathleen finds herself alone in a mining camp threatened with gang rape by the sex-starved miners. Saved by Vance's deadly gunfire, Kathleen tells Vance she loves him, and the two engage in heated, passionate lovemaking. However, the next day, a wagon train filled with mail-order brides creates further misunderstanding as well as an opportunity for Kathleen to learn a "few tricks of the trade" to keep her man happy. When Vance proposes marriage, she must decide whether it's truly love or gratitude she feels for the man who has aroused her sexuality, and whether she is ready to commit herself to life with another man of the frontier. Threatened, lonely and in love, Kathleen learns she must overcome the wounds of her past if she is to forge a future with the man she loves.