Ames’ review of Lessons in Seduction by Sandra Hyatt.

A prince on a quest to find the perfect wife doesn’t have time to trifle with a commoner. But Adam Marconi’s longtime friend and sometime driver, Danielle St. Claire, has him contemplating a change in plans. Why can’t the royal have a little fun before finally settling down? Then their supposedly quick affair suddenly turns serious. And Prince Adam finds himself in a quandary. Say goodbye to the one woman who sets his heart and body on fire, or defy all of the rules and cause the scandal of the century.

I was intrigued by this book. Friends to lovers? Count me in! And it’s made even more delicious when one friend is a royal and the other is a former employee of said royal.

That’s right. Danni St.Claire is a former royal chauffeur because of a pot-hole incident a few years ago. But she’s been asked by her father to fill in one night because he wasn’t feeling well and she was visiting him. Danni doesn’t mind. And she finds some humor in driving her old friend around – even if she knows he’d be a bit angry to see it’s her driving him. You see, his royal highness Adam Marconi is on a date…and Danni finds his own brand of wooing leaves her very cold indeed.

Adam is in search of a wife. And he attacks this goal like any other, with determination and focus. Like it’s a job. When Danni realizes this, she tells him that he needs to relax, have some fun, that he’s not going to find someone to share the rest of his life with when he treats it like a job. So Adam takes Danni’s word for it and asks for her help in the search for his wife. She can give him pointers. Danni has some misgivings but she agrees. Why does she have misgivings? Because she’s starting to fall for Adam, but she agrees so she can spend some more time with him.

And as things progress, Adam begins to look at Danni in a new light. But Danni knows they cannot be together, she is not princess material. But Adam isn’t so sure about that…

I thought this book was cute. As much as I don’t care for fake countries and royalties, I liked the characters enough to just go with the story. Adam is definitely a man with the weight of the country on his shoulders. He hasn’t taken time off for himself in ages, constantly working. And Danni was the perfect balance to that. She reminds him of their younger days and brings that playfulness out in him again. He can truly relax around her and she knows him as Adam, not as His Royal Highness. She doesn’t care about his title (except that she knows they can’t be together) and is in fact fired two more times in the course of the story. I liked her attitude.

Lessons in Seduction gets 4 out 5 from me.

This book is available from Harlequin. You can buy it here or here in e-format.