Where Dreams Begin

Where Dreams Begin by Lisa Kleypas

Lady Holly Taylor is a young widow mourning the death of her much-beloved husband George. George was everything a gentleman of the ton should be; kind, upright and moral, and well-liked by everyone who knew him. Upon his death Holly and her daughter, Rose, moved in with George's caring family and although she loves them and appreciates all they have done for her, she wonders what is going to happen with her life and if she will be able to provide for Rose on the limited funds she was left with. Zachary Bronson has worked his whole life to build himself up from nothing and he is enjoying the power and prestige that comes with his vast wealth. He is accepted by the ton because of his money, but even he knows he is not truly one of them and hopes that he can find a wife who will gain him entrance into the most hallowed company and help his sister navigate the ton as well. Zachary is immediately struck by Holly's beauty and how she holds herself apart from the rest of the ton, even while clearly being completely accepted and revered by everyone.

He decides that she would be the perfect woman to help him find the perfect bride. Holly is skeptical, and scared of what taking the position would do for her reputation among the ton, but she knows that the money he is offering will secure a great future for Rose, so she accepts. She moves into the Zachary's over-the-top nouveau riche mansion and finds herself overwhelmed by all the new luxuries in her life and surprised by how much Zachary listens to her and follows her advice on matters of importance. Sure enough the ton scorns her decision and George's family tries hard to get her to leave Zachary's employment. She realizes that Zachary is a very complex person, trying to cover up the hurts of his childhood and all he really wants is acceptance. The sparks between them fly, but Holly refuses to give into them in honor of George, but Zachary encourages her to finally start leading her own life and Holly finally realizes she is not disrespecting George by falling in love again.

Holly is a very quiet woman who follows the rules, which makes her a bit of a rebel in terms of romance novel heroines and a nice change of pace, not to mention probably more accurate. I liked that she was dedicated to her daughter and had such a happy relationship with her deceased husband and his family. She was genuinely in mourning for him and the story was about her learning to move past what had happened while still maintaining that love for him, just in a different way. I loved her transition from woman who's life had stalled to a woman who took charge of her own life and made scandalous decisions because she could. It was slow at times, but, once again, probably more realistic of how a woman like Holly would have achieved this- even if the premise is not. Zachary is brash and tough, and his desire to be accepted by the ton is both frustrating, but also understandable given his back ground. Of course his ruthlessness in business is tempered by his generosity to those less fortunate and his attempts to help those who work for him. It's nice, but also expected of any hero at this point.

Holly and Zachary are completely different and yet Kleypas does an excellent job of showing how these two different people would work together and have a strong relationship. She tames his harsher impulses and he respects her completely and treats her and her child like his own family. They have tender moments, they have funny moments, they have fights, and they have a few sexy moments. Kleypas usually excells at writing hot sex scenes between two characters, but in this book she does fall flat. I really did not feel any sexual chemistry between the characters and there were very few sexy scenes, and those fell flat to me. I liked so many other elements of their relationship so it is a shame that this part of it did not live up to the rest of their relationship. The writing was much slower than usual for Kleypas and sometimes felt a little heavy; it was definitely not a fun and fast paced romance.

Rating: This book was well written and had a wonderful relationship, but because of the slow pace was difficult to truly enjoy.

Love in the Afternoon

Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas 817

Beatrix Hathaway has always been regarded by society as odd as she enjoys spending more time in the company of animals than people. Indeed Beatrix has a whole menagerie of animals that she keeps at the Ramsey estate where she lives with many of her equally eccentric relatives. Her friend Prudence struck up a flirtation with Christopher Phalen before he went off to war and he wants to start a correspondence with Pru. However, Prudence has no interest in this younger son who's letters are filled with war time troubles and insecurities. Beatrix has never been fond of the arrogant young soldier, but his letter strikes a chord in her and reveals hidden depths so she begins a correspondence with him. Things go farther than she was expecting and she finds herself falling in love with this much different young man but eventually she realizes she cannot continue lying to Christopher about her identity and she breaks things off.

Christopher arrives home a changed man determined to find Prudence and make a life with her. He finds her much different than the woman he had expected from the letters as she seems more interested in his new fame and his inheritance as his older brother died. His neighbor, Beatrix Hathaway keeps showing up in his life and she helps him rehabilitate his dog after the war. He is absolutely stunned when signs point that Beatrix is the woman who wrote the letters that had given him hope during the war. He is already half in love with the oddities of Beatrix and finding out who she is forces him to realize he needs her in his life and the two agree to marriage. However, there are still demons from Christopher's past as he suffers from some form of PTSD it seems and is worried about how he will act around Beatrix. When someone from his past threatens his newfound happiness, he knows he should let her in and share.

Kleypas returns to top form again after the minor disappointment of Married by Morning and brings the story of the youngest, and most eccentric, of the Hathaway sisters, Beatrix. While reading all of the books in the series I was a little concerned about how she would manage to write a romance with such an unconventional character who seemed so childlike in her adoration of creatures and I was worried she would water down Beatrix's personality and oddness. I was not at all disappointed as Kleypas kept all of those little things that made Beatrix so special and at the same time made her more mature so she was really just a great character all around. Her talents with animals translated so well in helping Christopher overcome his war related problems and there are some fantastic scenes where she can just read him and knows what she needs to do to help him, when no one else can.

Christopher was also a very well written character as he underwent some great development as he came to love Beatrix. His war related problems were very well explored and dealt with in what seemed to me to be a realistic and helpful manner. And best of all his love for Beatrix was just so great and his desire to keep her safe explained some of his more awkward behavior. The relationship between these two was wonderful and I absolutely loved reading about it. The sex between them was not exciting, but it was not boring either- it kind of seemed as though it was formulaic and rather hastily put together, but it was not out of place or awkward, it just could have been better. While the Hathaway relationships have never grated before, it just felt like they were a little too perfect and loving in this book with too many inside jokes for my taste. However, I am still very sad that this book marks the end of the Hathaway series.

Rating: Kleypas in near top form with great characters and an amazing relationship between them. Recommended, but not necessarily her best work in my opinion.

Married by Morning

Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas 701

Catherine Marks has been hiding out as companion and governess to the Hathaways doing her best to control their behavior and avoid Leo, Viscount Ramsey. Everytime Catherine and Leo are in the same room they end up arguing about anything and everything. When Leo discovers that Catherine has been dying her hair to make herself less attractive and is his brother-in-law Harry's half-sister. He has this crazy desire to know everything about her, discover all her secrets, and he can't seem to keep from imagining her naked. The entire family gets in on the action and uses every possible excuse to throw them together and it isn't long that Leo realizes Catherine is far more than a governess. She rescues him when he falls through a roof and gets a large splinter lodged in his arm and that night she sneaks into his room, where he can't stop himself from grabbing hold of her and kissing her senseless.

When someone from her past shows up, Catherine is forced to divulge the truth about her past: she had lived with her aunt in a brothel and she had been sold to the highest bidder, before Harry had rescued her. Meanwhile is is discovered that the house the Hathaway's live in actually belongs to someone else unless Leo can marry and sire an heir within the next year. The more he gets to know Catherine the more he thinks she will be the perfect wife for him, but she is terrified that the truth about her past will get out and she, and the rest of the Hathaways, will be spurned by society. Leo wants Catherine desperately and he realizes that being married to her could be the solution to both their problems and it doesn't hurt that his verbal sparing with her will keep him on his toes. But neither realizes that Catherine's aunt has been angry at her for leaving for years and when Leo is forced to rescue her they both confront their feelings and decide that maybe arguments could be good for a happily ever after.

I was completely looking forward to this book after reading Tempt Me at Twilight and reading a little bit of Catherine and Leo together. This kind of harkened back to romances I used to read when arguing served as a source of foreplay for the characters and they both enjoyed it. However, I do not enjoy it so much. Luckily, the book did have some nice moments between them when they really showed how much they cared for the other. So often I complain about author's who throw all of their past characters into a book and have them be all lovey and perfect. I feel like they're trying to make me buy the other books and that they're just hitting me over the head with how great they write characters who can end up happily ever after. I don't know how or why but when Kleypas does it, I enjoy revisiting past characters and reading about them interacting with the new hero and heroines.

The sex between Harry and Catherine was nice and steamy, not crazy hot or anything, but there was definitely a hint of submission on her part that the book addressed very well. I also liked that there were not any demons that Leo had to deal with as it would have just been a little too much as she had plenty of her own. I completely loved that she shared her fears about the man who had paid for her and starts to harass and threaten her with Harry and Leo. Too often heroines think they're over-reacting or that they can handle it themselves and it was nice to see her take advantage of the fact that she had people who cared for her and would do anything to help her. This went hand in hand with Kleypas writing two exciting and intertwined side plots involving the bad guy and her bitter aunt. They were great because they directly involved her and her past and worked within the story, did not overwhelm the story, and took up an appropriate amount of page space.

Rating: I would probably give this 3 1/2 hearts because I enjoyed it more than adequately but I know that Kleypas can do so much better and so much more exciting.

Tempt Me At Twilight

Tempt Me At Twilight by Lisa Kleypas

Tempt Me At Twilight is the third book in the Hathaway series and features Poppy Hathaway, the third Hathaway daughter who wants a quiet, respectable man to love and live with in the country. She believes she has found the love of her life in Michael Bayning, son of the Earl of Andover, but his father is set against the match and although Michael believes he can change his father's mind the rest of the Hathaway clan is not so sure. While trying to get a love letter back from a rogue ferret Poppy runs into Harry Rutledge, the reclusive, wealthy, and very intriguing owner of the hotel the Hathaways are staying at. Harry is immediately taken with this obviously intelligent, outspoken, and beautiful young lady and wastes no time putting a stop to young Bayning's sorry attempts at courting Poppy and sets out to win her for himself. After Michael is forced to break Poppy's heart her family escorts her to a ball to prove to the ton that all is right in the world. Poppy is still sad and seeks comfort from Harry who takes her out to the balcony and wastes no time in promptly ruining her in front of the hosts and Michael Bayning.

Although her family makes it clear she does not have to marry Harry, Poppy sees little alternative and agrees to a match. Right before the marriage Michael confronts Harry with what he had done and Poppy is very hurt and promises that she won't allow Harry to win her love from her. It is not her love that Harry wants, it is her attention, her smiles, her laughter, the sense of peace and happiness he knows she can bring. The marriage gets off to quite the rocky start as Harry tries to control Poppy's interaction with the staff, buy her off with expensive diamonds and carriages, but he wants Poppy to want him as much as he wants her before they make love. The staff at the hotel is the first to notice the change that Poppy has fostered in their employer as Harry begins to care more for others around him and his general demeanor is happier. But Harry is still worried that Poppy will always harbor feelings for Michael and this makes him wary of trusting her with his own heart and he closes himself off from thoughts that he wants her. It is up to Poppy to show him that he is the one she wants- him that she loves.

Poppy really is that genuine free spirit that captures the closed off heart of the man who went unloved as a child and believes he is incapable of feeling or being loved. And it actually was believable here and Harry articulates his feelings about Poppy bringing light and happiness into his life so well (or at least Kleypas does) including one terribly romantic scene where he compares her to the balance wheel of a watch because she is the part that keeps him ticking. It was beautiful. There was some slight and very well written angst on both their part as Harry worried about Michael and Poppy worried about Harry being incapable of love and trying to control her life. As with the rest it was perfectly paced and timed and not at all overwhelming. There was a significant amount of steam, perhaps not quite as much as other Kleypas novels and it did tend to be relegated to the end of the book but it ended up being for the best as they were able to develop a romantic relationship first. There is also a very brief side plot that ends up in a kidnap and rescue- but it's done a little differently than usual and it makes for a very fun and interesting read.

Kleypas does three things in her novel that normally annoy me beyond reason, but she manages to do it in such a genuine way that I actually end up enjoying the way these elements really contribute to the story. First Kleypas brings in lots of characters from previous novels in this series (and mentions another series' characters as well) such as Amelia and Cam Rohan and Merripen and Win. But Poppy's family is such an important part of the book, and really such an important part of her life and development that it makes sense, and blends in so well the rest of hte novel to have them make several apperances. While we are more than informed that everyone has lived happily ever after she does it with a deft hand so I do not feel like I'm being slapped over the head with it. In addition Kleypas makes the entire Hathaway clan "odd balls" or "outsiders" to the rest of the ton. Many authors try to illustrate how their characters are different and unique by painting them in this light and it just comes across as false, but with the Hathaways it really works because they are really different and unique from the rest of the ton. And lastly Kleypas very intriguingly sets up the next novel/s in the series in a way that I don't feel like I need to buy them to find out more, but like I really WANT to read them.

Rating: Absolutely adored this book! Wonderfully written, totally believable and lovable characters, great plot, and just overall very skillfully done all around.

Someone to Watch Over Me

Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas

When Grant Morgan discovers that the floater in the river is notorious London courtesan Vivien Duvall he is excited at the prospect of getting revenge on the woman who humiliated him by claiming that she had rejected his advances. Things don't go precisely as planned though when Vivien wakes up with no memory of what happened to her when she was attacked and left for dead and no memory of her life at all. It is Grant who reminds her that she was a prostitute available to the highest bidder and Vivien is horrified. Her actions are far from those he and his staff expected from a courtesan as she appears modest, grateful for the help the servants offer, and, contrary to what he had been told, ashamed of her past and the idea of having sex for money. But he still goes on to tell her that he and she were lovers, although he does tell her that they don't need to resume that part of their relationship immediately. Her un-whore-like behavior is quickly changing Grant's mind about this woman he had previously despised.

It doesn't take long at all for Grant to know that he's made a horrible mistake even if he does refuse to admit it to himself. With no clues as to what happened to Vivien Grant interviews her former clients and decides to "shock" her would-be-murder with a surprising experience at a ball where Vivien discovers that she had been pregnant. After the ball Grant admits that he's fallen for Vivien and simultaneously discovers that there is no way his Vivien is the real one (she's a virgin!). Conveniently Grant also discovers a letter the real Vivien had written to a cottage and when he arrives he discovers the real Vivien. Victoria, as he now knows her to be has been left in the keeping another Bow Street runner while Grand does his investigating and it isn't long before Grant is forced to rush back to London to rescue Victoria from the man who had mistaken her for her twin sister. A heroic rescue attempt ensues and when all the cards are lain on the table Victoria is the one left with the decision to make: whether she is going to move on with her life or stay stuck in the her lonely cottage.

Surprisingly enough this is the first Kleypas I have reviewed on here as she was at one point my favorite historical romance writer. While that has changed I still have a soft spot in my heart for her and read all of her books that I can get my hands on. Her books are universally satisfying, sweet, well-written, and interesting and fast enough for a fun read. This book contains all of those elements as well as some great characters. I had never before realized though that her steamy scenes are so ... formulaic is the only way I can think to describe it. My guess is that if I lined them all up and read the scenes one right after teh other I would notice immense similarities- something that many authors do, I'm sure, but it just seems so obvious in this novel. Nothing too exciting in that department here. There is, of course, a great little bit of angst over Vivien being a possible whore and Grant possibly not wanting to be with a woman he believes is a whore.

There seems to be an okay now in romance novels for prostitutes and courtesans to be acceptable heroines (To Seduce an Angel by Mary Balogh, Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase) but Kleypas does a kind of two-step around this problem by making it obvious from the beginning that there is some sort of mix-up. We know from the get go that we are going to discover there is a mistake and that Vivien is going to turn out to be as sweet and innocent as she seems. Throughout the book we are left in no doubt that Vivien Duvall is the worst sort of whore (not one with a heart of gold) as she breaks hearts, runs through money, plays with men's affections, is completely full of herself, and (gasp) may have terminated a pregnancy). But I did like that Grant fell in love with the new and improved Vivien before learning that she wasn't in fact Vivien even if I was a little irritated by Vivien's wishy-washiness over Grant's marriage proposal.

Rating: Mediocre in every way, except for the hero whom I love love love, but ultimately a fun and fast little romp.

A Historical Christmas Present

My first review of a collection! Decided to review each story independently of each other with each getting a separate rating.

"I Will" by Lisa Kleypas
Andrew, Lord Drake, has just discovered his soon to be deceased father has cut him out of his will due to his dissolute behavior. In an attempt to convince his father he has changed his ways Andrew invests the help of his friend Cade's sister, Caroline who has an impeccable reputation and at 26 is definitely on the shelf. When Andrew promises to pay of Cade's immense gambling debt and leave him alone- no more tagging along to brothels, gambling hells, etc..., Caroline agrees to help the ruse. Everyone, including Andrew's father, easily guesses that the courtship is a ruse, except Caroline's featherbrained mother Fanny, but it isn't long before both Andrew and Caroline are beginning to notice their feelings for each other. Andrew is entranced by Caroline's incongruous mix of innocence and temptation and Caroline is falling in love with the new Andrew whom she has helped emerged- one who doesn't drink or gamble. Unfortunately Andrew is equally certain that this new Andrew does not really exist and as much as he would like to admit his feelings for Caroline he is terrified that the old Andrew will come out and ruin Caroline's happiness. When Andrew's father finally dies Andrew and Caroline are confronted with both of them having to deal with Andrew's past and deciding his future.

I do not think the plot of the heroine saving the hero from his horrible past and his debauched ways can work in a short story. It's hard to pull off even with the full 370 pages, but, I believe, impossible to do in slightly more than 100. There is not enough time to really get to know how the character has changed and we don't know enough about him to be sure that he will stay that way. This comes close, but she took on a little too much- his demons were too strong, his past too haunted, his wickedness a little too wicked to overcome. I liked the realistic relationships between the various family members; Caroline and her brother and mother, and Andrew with his illegitimate half-brother and his domineering father. This one also had by far the most amount of steam- approximately 25 pages were dedicated to steam and most of it was good. There was certainly a good bit of angst when Caroline began to doubt Andrew and, one good thing about such a short book, it couldn't really drag on too long. I don't know whether I not I liked the confrontation scene near the end between Andrew and Caroline. I like the idea of a heroine fighting for her man, but when he repeatedly tells her he's not interested (even it is just to protect her and he really does love her) it just seems a little too much like masochism. But oddly enough the part of this book that really stuck in my head was how Kleypas consistently referred to Andrew's sister-in-law as "girl." Despite being a RITA Award winner this was definitely not the best in the book and far from the best Kleypas has turned out.

"Three French Hens" by Lynsay Sands
Brinna is a scullery maid in the household of Lord Menton when she is suddenly called upon to act as lady's maid to Lady Joan Laythem. Upon noticing a striking resemblance between herself and Brinna, Joan insists that Brinna take her place and deal with Lord Royce Thurleah, whom Joan's father had arranged a marriage with years ago. Despite being told Joan was spoiled and surly Royce is strongly attracted to Brinna and pleasantly surprised to find her level headed and willing to help others. Royce is ecstatic to find that the woman he has to marry to gain her dowry for his property (his father had left his estates riddled with debt and poor management) is also the woman he is rapidly falling in love with. The arrival of Joan's father throws a kink in the plans but Joan is determined to continue the charade until the day of the wedding finally arrives. Brinna is horrified to discover that Joan has run off with Royce's cousin Phillip and left her to deal with the consequences, and the penalty for impersonating a noble person is death. In our climactic ending we discover some very interesting things and everything ends up perfectly happily ever after.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story- I wish Lynsay Sands had written more non-vampire books. I loved Brinna and I even came to enjoy the comical moments that Joan, and her cousin Sabrina brought to the story. The happily-ever-after was perfect but did make sense, although the explanation behind it was a tad far-fetched, but still believable. There was angst, there was steam- although not too much- there was funny moments and there was a very believable romance between Royce and Brinna. It did get a tad bit maudlin as Brinna reflected that maybe her life had been better than Joan's as at least Brinna had the love of her surrogate mother Aggie. I wasn't really up for a poor little rich girl theme. The funny scenes inevitably came about when Brinna would forget how to behave as a proper lady and would do something so uncouth as to fall in the snow or use the word "arse." However Royce falling in love with Brinna seemed more realistic than her falling in love with him- he was a bit of a non-starter. Better than "I Will" and I liked feeling as if I really had read a whole story (even if I could have used more interaction between Brinna an Royce) and not like I had been cheated.

"Father Christmas" by Leigh Greenwood
Joe Ryan has been on the run from the law ever since he escaped from prison in Colorado where he had been wrongfully convicted of stealing the gold his partner, Pete Wilson, had taken. After escaping Joe realized that the best place to look would be Pete's ranch as Pete could not have had time to move the gold before he had been shot during a card game. When Joe shows up he discovers Pete's very pregnant wife Mary and his daughter from a previous marriage, Sarah. Joe is inexplicably drawn to the miniature family and finds himself taking care of the two women and their farm. He cooks, he fixes fences, he teaches Sarah how to milk the cow and Mary begins to fall in love with him as the man who would take care of her, appreciate her and never leave her, as he begins to fall in love with her as the woman he could be a family with, love, and never leave. But time is running out for Joe and he knows that unless he finds the gold Pete must have hidden he will have to make a dash for it before the authorities come to haul him away. The arrival of the baby pushes his escape back and makes him more and more determined to find the gold, stay and become a part of the family. Christmas day is when our story comes to a happy ending, our loose ends our tied up, and Joe and Mary live happily-ever-after.

This was the most romantic of the stories in the collection but there was also next to no steam seeing as how our heroine was 8 months pregnant, although we were definitely made aware that Joe and Mary were drawn and certainly very attracted to each other. I guess I am a sucker for family/ baby stories because I loved reading about Joe falling in love and the scene where he was dealing with the birth was just amazing to read. She made it funny and heart wrenching at the same time. Basically all the scenes where Sarah, Joe, Mary, and the baby were involved- in any combination, were so touching. I believe it would have gotten old really fast if the book had been longer, but 100 pages was perfect for this kind of story. This was also the only real story where Christmas was really mentioned- it played a part in the other story- but in this one Christmas was where everything was settled and, literally, everybody's dream came true. I really enjoyed this story but I would really have appreciated a little more steam, even if it was just in a kiss.