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unikornreads's review against another edition
4.0
First book, first series I read written by Lisa Kleypas. Besides, I believe that I’ve wronged pick series to start. From what I have been told, I should have started with Wallflowers. Hmmm… I was bluntly picked this book at bookstore because the cover is so beautiful. Yeah, I’m a book cover sucker. I think I’ve mentioned that before.
I absolutely loved the romance between Cam and Amelia especially the first time they met–he kissed her but they barely know each other. That was fast but wow. The chemistry is just there. I enjoyed the feeling. I have never read something like that in other historical romance books before. It’s amazing, you know.
The rest of the story is just rather fine. But there’s something a bit meh. I was a bit bored with Amelia’s part on her too-much-concern about her family. I thought this was a historical romance novel?
Looking forward for the next book!
I absolutely loved the romance between Cam and Amelia especially the first time they met–he kissed her but they barely know each other. That was fast but wow. The chemistry is just there. I enjoyed the feeling. I have never read something like that in other historical romance books before. It’s amazing, you know.
The rest of the story is just rather fine. But there’s something a bit meh. I was a bit bored with Amelia’s part on her too-much-concern about her family. I thought this was a historical romance novel?
Looking forward for the next book!
allyallyally's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kristinhzta90's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the way we got to revisit characters from the Wallflowers series in this book. This book was a very entertaining read!
ktchaddy's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
alexandra_ninelives's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe 2.5 ⭐️.
I’m curious about the books with the other members of the family but this was not it for me.
1. The love interests hardly met and they were kissing already.
2. The book spent too much time with the couple from the next book, and I don’t understand why, since they have their own books.
3. If a sexy and wealthy man asks you to marry him and he promises to take care of the people you love the most in this world, you marry him. Also, this conflict was not even a conflict since she had sex with him multiple times, she knew she had to marry him anyway probably.
4. Everyone was so obnoxious but the two love interests were intolerable.
5. The smut was good though. I liked the first sex scene especially. It was cute even.
I’m curious about the books with the other members of the family but this was not it for me.
1. The love interests hardly met and they were kissing already.
2. The book spent too much time with the couple from the next book, and I don’t understand why, since they have their own books.
3. If a sexy and wealthy man asks you to marry him and he promises to take care of the people you love the most in this world, you marry him. Also, this conflict was not even a conflict since she had sex with him multiple times, she knew she had to marry him anyway probably.
4. Everyone was so obnoxious but the two love interests were intolerable.
5. The smut was good though. I liked the first sex scene especially. It was cute even.
oench's review against another edition
4.0
When I first read The Devil in Winter, I wished Cam had a book too. Lucky me! I loved his character and I loved Amelia too. It was such a fun book.
lunarjuniper's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly didn't like this one as much as I hoped I would. I just wasn't that captivated by their love story, I felt like it wasn't really believable enough?
trin's review against another edition
2.0
Well shoot. I really enjoyed the first Lisa Kleypas book I read, [b:Marrying Winterborne|26242354|Marrying Winterborne (The Ravenels, #2)|Lisa Kleypas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446189058l/26242354._SY75_.jpg|46235584], but this one, rather than building on that novel's good qualities, accentuated its bad ones without compensatory pleasures.
In Winterborne, Kleypas is a bit fetishy and weird about the Welsh. Okay, whatever; you do you, girl. Here, though, she turns her eyes on two Romani gentlemen, and it became much more uncomfortable. I sense that her intentions were good, in the mode of a certain type of liberal white woman, but it still felt...iffy to me at best, with way too many uses of the words "civilized" and "civilizing" being thrown around, for example, and not often enough in a way critiquing the very concept. I'm not Romani and it's not for me to offer a firm judgment one way or another but overall: ick taste in my mouth.
Worse, though, for me personally: the hero, Cam, didn't respect the heroine's boundaries. He's pushy sexually and about marriage and about her arrangements for her family, who as the oldest sister she's been left in charge of. There's even a bit where he forbids her from being alone with any man other than him or her brother and pseudo-brother, and while he backs down from that eventually: not great, Bob! Not a promising aspect to a romantic relationship -- especially in the 1800s, when marriage will make Amelia more or less her husband's property. Again: ick.
Which is really a shame, because I really enjoyed how Kleypas wrote Amelia and her sisters. I think she's exceedingly good at crafting familial relationships -- this was present in Winterborne too, and may be why I continue on to the next book in that series, even after my disappointment with this one. Alone with each other, her female characters are vivid and nuanced. So it's a shame that the romance here was such a dud for me.
Also, it doesn't really matter but I have to say: is this cover ghastly or what? The dress looks hideously anachronistic, which normally I wouldn't care too much about, except it's also just plain hideous: a bridesmaid's nightmare. And the position the model's lying in makes her neck look broken. Say it with me again: NOT GREAT, BOB.
In Winterborne, Kleypas is a bit fetishy and weird about the Welsh. Okay, whatever; you do you, girl. Here, though, she turns her eyes on two Romani gentlemen, and it became much more uncomfortable. I sense that her intentions were good, in the mode of a certain type of liberal white woman, but it still felt...iffy to me at best, with way too many uses of the words "civilized" and "civilizing" being thrown around, for example, and not often enough in a way critiquing the very concept. I'm not Romani and it's not for me to offer a firm judgment one way or another but overall: ick taste in my mouth.
Worse, though, for me personally: the hero, Cam, didn't respect the heroine's boundaries. He's pushy sexually and about marriage and about her arrangements for her family, who as the oldest sister she's been left in charge of. There's even a bit where he forbids her from being alone with any man other than him or her brother and pseudo-brother, and while he backs down from that eventually: not great, Bob! Not a promising aspect to a romantic relationship -- especially in the 1800s, when marriage will make Amelia more or less her husband's property. Again: ick.
Which is really a shame, because I really enjoyed how Kleypas wrote Amelia and her sisters. I think she's exceedingly good at crafting familial relationships -- this was present in Winterborne too, and may be why I continue on to the next book in that series, even after my disappointment with this one. Alone with each other, her female characters are vivid and nuanced. So it's a shame that the romance here was such a dud for me.
Also, it doesn't really matter but I have to say: is this cover ghastly or what? The dress looks hideously anachronistic, which normally I wouldn't care too much about, except it's also just plain hideous: a bridesmaid's nightmare. And the position the model's lying in makes her neck look broken. Say it with me again: NOT GREAT, BOB.