Simply Irresistible - Ellen T. White

A how-to-seduce history guide. Definitely a unique concept, you have to give White that.

Author White delivers a comprehensive guide to a millenia's worth of 'Sirens', or women who knew how to use their feminine (and sometimes masculine) wiles to land the men (yes, plural) they desired (or perhaps didn't). A very original concept, sure, but the supposed 'lessons' derived from history's women are little more than tidbits on how to get men lusting after you. Handy if you picture yourself falling in and out of beds with people whose name(s) escape you, but not ideal for any woman who's dreamt of the pure white wedding.

The enthralling parts of the book can be found solely in the history lessons - safe to say, extra-marital affairs are much more taboo today than they were a few centuries back. But the 'tips' provided in addition to the stories come off as forced and trite. While Greg Behrendt's He's Just Not That Into You relies on a woman's own self-confidence to weed out the frogs from the princes, Irresistible utilizes a woman's self-confidence to land both the frogs and the princes in the sack. Perfectly fine if you're 'sewing your wild oats', but not so if a committed relationship is what you are seeking. The excerpts regarding in-the-bedroom experimentation may help spice up a marriage, but that's as far as the aid extends.

If you wish to examine the lives of seductresses of modern day and yore, go ahead and pick up this book. But this is no relationship guide for the ages.