I found this book mesmerizing -- and at the same to have a very deep heartful side to it. It's an amazing page turner, exciting as hell, with a plot that just keeps twisting and turning so that you can't wait to see what happens next. Meanwhile, the main character, Don Juan, slowly becomes ever more real and more human. He begins as the notorious seducer of women, with an attitude towards his conquests that, no surprise, is almost cavalier. He will be with no woman more than once. He recognizes and awakens and serves their desire, but then departs. But as time and fortune have their way with him in this absolutely thrilling telling, his heart starts to open, and almost in spite of himself he finds himself falling utterly in love with the one woman he cannot seem to impress. After decades of conquests, the man whose very name has come to be synonymous with seduction for seduction's sake, comes to question how he has lived and is ready for a much greater adventure. Does he find that a single kiss in the arms of your true beloved is worth more than a thousands nights with a thousand different women? I won't spoil the story for you by giving away the outcome, but I will say this: If you have ever wondered how -- or if -- sexual liberation and monogamous commitment can go together, read this book. It's a spellbinding story that left me breathless, wanting more, and also deeply affirmed in my choice to be true to one woman.

Before reading The Lost Diary of Don Juan, the infamous title character was nothing more than a name to me. From a mere caricature, Abrams has skillfully created a character who is richly complex and multi-layered. As I read the eloquently written pages of Don Juan's diary, it was impossible not to be drawn into his libertine life and the intrigues of the city of Seville in 1593.

With beautiful, readable prose, Abrams paints a vivid picture of late 16th century Spain. The descriptions have a very cinematic feel. I could visualize the walled courtyard of a nobleman's home, and the dark, dank interior of Don Juan's favorite tavern. I could feel the velvet fabric of his maroon doublet. I could smell the faint, seductive orange-apricot scent of a woman's perfume. The prose tends to feel a little flowery and euphemistic when describing Don Juan's many and varied sexual encounters, the upside of this being that the subject matter is thus handled in a manner that is inoffensive to a broader audience.

The Spanish Inquisition was going strong in 1593, creating a sinister atmosphere in Seville which Abrams conveys well. His Inquisitor is a cruel, dark, ominous figure. The reader will sense that treachery and betrayal are rampant in Don Juan's world. Because of this, the trustworthy few - a nun or priest here, a loyal coachman there - feel all the more significant and engaging as supporting characters.

For anyone interested in the infamous Don Juan, or historical fiction in general, this novel is a good solid read. While at times the seduction of Sevilla's women gets slightly repetitive, you are bound to be swept away by the honest passion of the lovers, the romantic city, or the uncertainty and mystery of the age in which Don Juan may have lived. Running across Sevillian rooftops in a black mask to escape jealous husbands and fathers, masquerading at balls, associating intimately with nuns and prostitutes, while doing everything in his power to evade the Inquisitioner, Don Juan certainly has the reader entertained from page one. However, the most turbulent dilemma he faces at the heart of this novel is whether he can in fact ever love one woman....and you'll have to read through to the end to find out!

I was delightfully surprised with this story. I must confess, I was expecting something more along the lines of Deuce Bigalow, American Gigolo, but much to my pleasure, this was a romantic historical fiction. It is very informative should you be looking more into what times were like during the Spanish Inquistion. It starts out with Don Juan, basically a womanizing man whore. However, he has utmost respect and reverence for the female species and when he actually falls in love, it warms the readers heart. You laugh and cry and literally sit on the end of your seat in anticipation wondering if he and his love will be reunited. I rarely read novels about or written by men, but I highly recommend this.

I loved this book. It is an imaginative and useful vehicle the author has chosen in the legend of Don Juan to entertain, enlighten, and engage the readers on a tour of action, danger, passion and, ultimately, enduring love.

I didn't know much about Don Juan other than the broadest of stereotypical themes and images. That has now changed. The Juan brought to life by Abrams is the kind of character that stays with you and (hopefully) remains part of you long after you have moved on to other adventures of your own.

Abrams did an outstanding job with the details and the tone of this book that help take the reader to 16th century Spain. I read this book on vacation - in the beauty of the Wisconsin Dells, the Black Hills, and the Rocky Mountains. But among all that splendor, many of the best parts of each day were spent in Seville, in the 1590s, with Don Juan and his quest for love.

Doug Abrams has delivered an amazing, fast-paced adventure filled with passion, intrigue, and humanity. This book is truly a page-turner, brilliantly crafted and researched, yet tightly written. For those suspicious of historical settings which sometimes provide too much detail for the impatient reader, fear not! This story moves along really nicely in the first hundred pages, and the next two hundred will find you torn between racing to find out what happens next and savoring every delicious detail.

Speaking of delicious detail, the scenes depicting Don Juan's "conquests" were beautifully, tastefully, and respectfully written. At the same time, anyone of the male persuasion seeking to expand his repertoire with respect to wooing the fairer sex could do worse than to peruse Don Juan's diary as a great "how-to" manual on romance, love, and, of course, seduction! The writing reflects a deep understanding of women and a beautiful philosophy reconciling the age-old questions about passion versus love, ironically providing a recipe for both.

This book brings to life the rich splendor and the harshness of life during 16th century Spain. As Don Juan races through the streets, over the rooftops, and in and out bedroom windows of Seville, the reader is immersed in a powerful drama ripe with fascinating (yet never overpowering or depressing) details of life in another time. These pages provide a ringside seat to the terrors of the Inquisition, the promises of gambling on riches from new worlds, the privileges and oppression coexisting in a rigid class structure, the tastes and smells of glorious banquets and celebrations, and, of course, the joys of great passion and seduction.

Lastly, Abrams' Don Juan is anything but the cardboard stereotype we have come to associate with this character in modern thinking. Don Juan Tenorio's story is filled with humanity. One cannot help but fall in love with Don Juan and admire his journey from orphan to noble and his loyalty to the friends of his early days. We root for our hero as he grapples with ethical, moral, and social questions, and we cheer him on as he displays touching, charming, and dangerous examples of chivalry, generosity, and friendship.

Buy this book and plan an amazing weekend getaway in the comfort of your couch! Ladies, buy copies for all the men in your lives who might appreciate some insights into the fairer sex, then buy copies for all your girlfriends so you can TALK ABOUT the details! Gentlemen, buy copies for all for your friends (bachelors and otherwise)! The wisdom and romance in these pages will spice up and deepen any relationship.

Este es un libro para los enamorados de la historia de España y para los enamorados del amor. Compre el libro en Nueva York el dia antes de mis citas y llegue a ellas muerto de sueño pues desde que empece su lectura, en la habitación de mi hotel, no pare hasta terminarlo, que fue a las 6 y media de la mañana en punto, cuando sono mi despertador.

En efecto, la lectura The Lost Diary of San Juan te ''agarra y no te suelta''.

Ya en España, lo lei por segunda vez, mas pausadamente, para disfrutar el eco de las pisadas del enamorado Don Juan por los adoquines humedecidos de sus huellas amorosas. Escuche nitidamente el crujir siniestro de la sotana del Gran Inquisidor bajando por las escaleras de la Sala de Torturas y me deleite con las descripciones tan autenticas de la Sevilla del mal llamado Siglo de Oro.

The Lost Diary of Don Juan se puede equiparar perfectamente a las mejores novelas de ficcion histórica. No tiene nada que envidiarle , por ejemplo, al Conde de Montecristo. Pero esta no es una historia de venganzas; es mas, reivindica maravillosamente la figura de ese AMANTE con mayuscula que muchos queremos ser y que tantos otros ( otras ) envidian, desprecian o temen. Espero que este libro ayude a que hombres y mujeres que lo lean comprendan, perdonen y se emocionen con este Don Juan porque, al fin y al cabo, no hay nada mas maravilloso que el amor.

This book is not only a riveting read, but it is drenched in wisdom related to romance, intimacy, and pleasure. The teachings are embedded in a fast-moving and enthralling plot. The author takes on some powerful questions regarding love and passion that are as relevant today as they were in 16th century Spain. Abrams' skill is evident in the way that he integrates ancient Tantric teachings and contemporary relationship concerns in an intrigue-filled plot that is both spellbinding and engrossing.
Compelled to make love to as many women as possible, but never to return to the same one twice, Don Juan struggles to resolve the conflict between his quest for ecstatic delights and his desire to finally achieve the deep and sustaining love that can be found in the arms of one beloved woman.
Don Juan does come to terms with this mystery and the outcome as well as the process of doing so is both surprising and profound.
This one is not to be missed!

Seville, Spain in the year 1593 is a wealthy city. The gold and riches pouring in from the New World have led to prosperity for Spain but unfortunately the country has lost many of its men to recent wars and the colonization of the New World. There are more widows and lonely wives than ever before. The result of the low male population is the rise of the Galanteador, a gallant or seducer. The most successful and famous of these was Don Juan Tenorio.

Don Juan was abandoned as an infant at a convent in Seville. He was raised by the nuns who were thrilled to have a child in their care. Growing up amidst a group of women has great advantages for Don Juan. He learns to understand and love them in a way that many men do not. At the age of fifteen he falls in love with a young novice but their affair is found out and he is expelled from the convent. He briefly lives in a nearby monastery where he is mistreated by the monks, so he leaves to make his own way in the world.

After several years as a burglar Juan is befriended by a Marquis who trains him to be a spy and Galanteador. Juan learns quickly and soon exceeds the Marquis in talent. He becomes famous for his exploits with women. He worships women and he believes that he could never be happy with just one. His happiness lies in showing each different woman how beautiful she is, regardless of her age, race or station in life. Then one day Don Juan meets the beautiful Ana and she has an unexpected effect on him.

The narrative will leave you breathless. It has amazing sword fights, frantic escapes, a fantastic bull fight, the horrors and torture of the Inquisition and steamy love scenes. It is full of action and excitement and I couldn't put it down! The characters run the gamut from charming and endearing to dastardly and evil. I was rooting for Don Juan as he grew from his experiences and finally learned the truth about love.

Doug Abrams knows how to love a woman, and he weaves this precious
knowledge throughout a beautifully written novel, filled with God, with Goddess and with Spirit, who is alive and well in all those delicious details.

A lifetime of reading has made me a sensitive and discerning 'enjoyer of books'. My passion for love and loving is fanned by reading the words of a man who caresses me with his prose and insight. This book should be required for every boy coming of age. Teach them early, I would pray!

Caroline Muir, co-author, TANTRA, THE ART OF CONSCIOUS LOVING,
and Founder of the DIVINE FEMININE INSTITUTE

I was riveted to the story. Filled with passion, adventure and history it transports you to the time of the Inquisition. Lustful and at times frightening, I enjoyed it from the first page to the last. A historical debut novel that deserves applause and praise.

I loved this book. It was fun, sensual and cimematic. The author makes Don Juan a rich and believable character. Someone you would love to sit in a tavern with and hear his stories unfold. truly a fun read.