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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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:
No
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars.
It was really close to being a 4 star read, but the last 30%, basically after they get married really dragged for me. Parts of the end I enjoyed, but at the same time it was super slow in terms of story. The start was also super slow and then they’re married and it’s super fast in terms of romance lol
Anyway, I really did enjoy the book. I enjoyed the characters to a degree, and I’m very interested in Evie.
It was really close to being a 4 star read, but the last 30%, basically after they get married really dragged for me. Parts of the end I enjoyed, but at the same time it was super slow in terms of story. The start was also super slow and then they’re married and it’s super fast in terms of romance lol
Anyway, I really did enjoy the book. I enjoyed the characters to a degree, and I’m very interested in Evie.
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This started strong, but the second half didn't quite work for me.
It looks like I rated this 4 stars the first time I read this. Which would be 9 years ago! omg.
I bumped it up this time maybe because of the nostalgia. I certainly enjoyed it and flew through the audio recording. It did feel nice revisiting all of these beloved wallflower characters. I cannot wait to continue the series.
Annabelle is a woman who knows what she needs to do to get what she wants. She was put in a position as bread-winner and her only respectable bread-winning avenue was marriage. I found that convincing and appreciated her determination in the face of her attraction to Simon. Maybe that's why I thought it was so romantic when she
Her opinion that Simon would only ever want her as a mistress didn't ring super true as he had mostly just tried to dance with her the last two years. If he were looking to make her into his mistress, he could have tried other tactics. Maybe I just knew Simon had a soft heart and would ooooobviously want to marry her in the end. This is the romance genre!
I had vague memories of the dramatic building situation at the end but couldn't remember if it was book 1 or 2 since Westcliff was also involved. I did love how that all played out and showed how strong Annabelle is.
I've re-read Devil in Winter a few times but have not reread the rest of the series since I first read it almost ten years ago. I'm excited about the next book, It Happened One Autumn. I do not remember that plot almost at all. lol.
I bumped it up this time maybe because of the nostalgia. I certainly enjoyed it and flew through the audio recording. It did feel nice revisiting all of these beloved wallflower characters. I cannot wait to continue the series.
Annabelle is a woman who knows what she needs to do to get what she wants. She was put in a position as bread-winner and her only respectable bread-winning avenue was marriage. I found that convincing and appreciated her determination in the face of her attraction to Simon. Maybe that's why I thought it was so romantic when she
Spoiler
fled Lord Kendall and couldn't go through with the scheme.Her opinion that Simon would only ever want her as a mistress didn't ring super true as he had mostly just tried to dance with her the last two years. If he were looking to make her into his mistress, he could have tried other tactics. Maybe I just knew Simon had a soft heart and would ooooobviously want to marry her in the end. This is the romance genre!
I had vague memories of the dramatic building situation at the end but couldn't remember if it was book 1 or 2 since Westcliff was also involved. I did love how that all played out and showed how strong Annabelle is.
I've re-read Devil in Winter a few times but have not reread the rest of the series since I first read it almost ten years ago. I'm excited about the next book, It Happened One Autumn. I do not remember that plot almost at all. lol.
this was good! had a solid start and i liked simon and annabelle together. was simon really the greatest guy ever? nah. and was annabelle super lovable? not really. this book was more of an introduction to the wallflowers’ friendships more than anything. the rounders scene was so wholesome and i can’t wait to see more of this group throughout the series. obvi i started this book bc of Devil In Winter and it’s high praise, but this was a solid read and i’m just as excited to pick up lillian and westcliffs book next
I read the third book in the series before reading this first book. Oh well. I enjoyed Secrets of a Summer Night immensely anway and read it in one sitting.
Four rejected wallflowers make a pact to help each other find husbands before their time runs out. I liked the fact that each woman is unique and has a different approach to solving their mutual problem. Their burgeoning friendship is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the story.
24-year-old Annabelle Peyton has no dowry, and in order to lift her family from poverty, she must find an aristocrat to marry before the fast-approaching end of the season. Although she is beautiful and has no shortage of offers to be a kept woman, no nobleman has proposed due to her lack of a dowry. I admired Annabelle’s spine of steel and her spunk. She manages to avoid a woe is me attitude, always holding her head high, using ingenuity, and maintaining a sense of humor despite her desperate circumstances.
Simon Hunt is an arrogant commoner who has made a fortune for himself in industry and, therefore, has been accepted into aristocratic circles. He has no desire to marry, but he has held a torch for Annabelle and wants to make her his mistress. Unfortunately for him, Annabelle has scruples—and she hates his guts. Their bickering is highly entertaining and their enemies-to-lovers chemistry is sublime. I found their romance to be well-paced, with Annabelle slowly softening her heart towards Simon as he reveals his tender side to her. I understood Annabelle’s reluctance to consider Simon. The missing link for me was understanding why marriage was off the table for him in general. Nonetheless, this delightful story charmed and amused me.
Recommended for fans of:
Historical romance
Enemies to lovers stories
Rogues
Fashion
Four rejected wallflowers make a pact to help each other find husbands before their time runs out. I liked the fact that each woman is unique and has a different approach to solving their mutual problem. Their burgeoning friendship is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the story.
24-year-old Annabelle Peyton has no dowry, and in order to lift her family from poverty, she must find an aristocrat to marry before the fast-approaching end of the season. Although she is beautiful and has no shortage of offers to be a kept woman, no nobleman has proposed due to her lack of a dowry. I admired Annabelle’s spine of steel and her spunk. She manages to avoid a woe is me attitude, always holding her head high, using ingenuity, and maintaining a sense of humor despite her desperate circumstances.
Simon Hunt is an arrogant commoner who has made a fortune for himself in industry and, therefore, has been accepted into aristocratic circles. He has no desire to marry, but he has held a torch for Annabelle and wants to make her his mistress. Unfortunately for him, Annabelle has scruples—and she hates his guts. Their bickering is highly entertaining and their enemies-to-lovers chemistry is sublime. I found their romance to be well-paced, with Annabelle slowly softening her heart towards Simon as he reveals his tender side to her. I understood Annabelle’s reluctance to consider Simon. The missing link for me was understanding why marriage was off the table for him in general. Nonetheless, this delightful story charmed and amused me.
Recommended for fans of:
Historical romance
Enemies to lovers stories
Rogues
Fashion
Secrets of a Summer Night follows Lady Annabelle Peyton’s romance with Simon Hunt, a rich commoner. Though they shared a passionate kiss the first time they met, their romantic relationship doesn’t seem to have a future as Annabelle spends years rejecting his advances, mostly because she wants to marry a peer despite her not having a dowry. Desperate, she makes a pact with her wallflower friends, Lillian and Daisy, two Americans who moved to London and Evie, to help each other find husbands.
This book was so fun. I couldn’t stop smiling. I adored the friendship between the wallflowers. I loved how unapologetic they were with each other and really liked how they didn’t stick with some ideas of the times. Doing the pursuing instead of being pursued? yes please. The romance between Annabelle and Simon was also so good. They have an instant connection but their relationship is somehow, also a slow burn one. Their banter was funny and the chemistry was right there. It was funny how Annabelle kept trying so hard to hate Simon, calling him insufferable and such, when in reality, she was fond of him.
The main reason I’m not rating this higher is that the second half kind of dragged on and some events that happened were a bit too much. It took turns I wasn’t expecting this book to take.
This book was my first Lisa Kleypas and my second historical romance overall and I’m honestly so excited to read more. Especially considering, the next book in this series is going to be about Lillian and Lord Westcliff, whose hate to love romance we got a few glimpses of here.
“We should make a pact to help each other find husbands. If the right gentlemen won’t pursue us, then we’ll pursue them.”
This book was so fun. I couldn’t stop smiling. I adored the friendship between the wallflowers. I loved how unapologetic they were with each other and really liked how they didn’t stick with some ideas of the times. Doing the pursuing instead of being pursued? yes please. The romance between Annabelle and Simon was also so good. They have an instant connection but their relationship is somehow, also a slow burn one. Their banter was funny and the chemistry was right there. It was funny how Annabelle kept trying so hard to hate Simon, calling him insufferable and such, when in reality, she was fond of him.
“Hunt and Annabelle stared at each other in silent bemusement, as if someone has posed a question that neither of them knew how to answer.”
The main reason I’m not rating this higher is that the second half kind of dragged on and some events that happened were a bit too much. It took turns I wasn’t expecting this book to take.
Spoiler
Annabelle’s mother stabbing Hodgeham, her abuser, though deserved, wasn't what I was expecting her to do. The foundry fire, that was only a last-two chapters thing also came out of nowhere, and was just there to make Annabelle realise she was in love with Simon.This book was my first Lisa Kleypas and my second historical romance overall and I’m honestly so excited to read more. Especially considering, the next book in this series is going to be about Lillian and Lord Westcliff, whose hate to love romance we got a few glimpses of here.
*.) Again The Magic ★★
1.) Secrets of a Summer Night ★★★
2.) It Happened One Autumn ★★★
3.) Devil In Winter ★★★★
4.) Scandal in Spring ★★★★
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OMG SUCH FUN! The female friendship between the 'wallflowers' is 10/10!
1.) Secrets of a Summer Night ★★★
2.) It Happened One Autumn ★★★
3.) Devil In Winter ★★★★
4.) Scandal in Spring ★★★★
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OMG SUCH FUN! The female friendship between the 'wallflowers' is 10/10!