Favorite Lisa Kleypas Books, Heroes, and Heroines

Lately, I've been taking a trip down memory lane by re-reading some of my favorite books by one of my all-time favorite authors, Lisa Kleypas. She was one of the first to introduce me to historical romance in 2010 and I would even go so far as to say that my love for British history and Victorian era stems from reading her books! From her strong and courageous heroines to her heartbreaking and passionate heroes, I've loved every single one of them. And so, I have decided to list some of my favorite books, heroes, and heroines from her in this blog post. Enjoy!

Evie Jenner and Sebastian St. Vincent

Sara Fielding and Derek Craven

Lillian Bowman and Marcus Marsden

Poppy Hathaway and Harry Rutledge

Lily Lawson and Alex Raiford

Livia Marsden and Gideon Shaw

Helen Ravenel and Rhys Winterborne

Holly Taylor and Zachary Bronson

Beatrix Hathaway and Christopher Phelan

Annabelle Peyton and Simon Hunt

Amelia Hathaway and Cam Rohan

Amanda Briars and Jack Delvin

Marrying Winterborne (The Ravenels #2) by Lisa Kleypas

I think I may have found a new favorite Lisa Kleypas hero to love and adore. This is classic Kleypas at her finest!

I've been desperately waiting to read Marrying Winterborne and it certainly did not disappoint! This book felt like Kleypas in her Wallflowers/Hathaways era and I absolutely loved it. I found a lot of similarities between Rhys Winterborne and many her previous heroes from Simon Hunt and Marcus/Westcliff to Cam Rohan and Harry Rutledge. My goodness! You wouldn't have thought Winterborne had any romantic bone in his body but he absolutely does for Helen. Not to mention Helen also reminded me of Sarah Fielding from Dreaming of You. I don't even know where to begin and what I loved most about this book. The longing and yearning between these two was to die for! And their first time together? It was so bloody romantic, sensual, and breathtaking.

To be honest, I actually did not expect this book to turn out the way it did. I thought it would have gone somewhat similar to Poppy and Harry's story in Tempt Me at Twilight but it didn't. It was so much better. The fact that Helen made Winterborne WAIT to marry her was the absolute icing on the cake! Lots of angst and secret sexy times between the two. *winks* The fact that they were constantly longing to see each other... and those kisses! Let's just say Rhys can certainly kiss. Compared to his previous attitude towards Helen in Cold-Hearted Rake, Winterborne has changed for the better and it's because of Helen for she gave more meaning to his life, heart, and soul.

While I was somewhat exasperated by the whole elaborate "drama" between Rhys and his resentment towards this certain individual as well as Helen's constant struggle over her secret, I really loved this book and thought it was amazing. I adored the courtship between Winterborne and his beloved Helen. Kathleen and Devon also made an appearance and we get to see what happens to them.

In any case, I absolutely can't wait for Pandora and Gabriel's book in Devil in Spring because how can you not be excited to read about Devil in Winter 's Evie and Sebastian's son?! And with Pandora?! HOW. I'm rather shocked because I never would've expected to read her book next. Compared to Cassandra who is a romantic, she was so adamant about not marrying and had such a cynical view towards kissing and romance! Here's to also hoping that Kleypas will write books for West, Cassandra, and Dr. Gibson. They all deserve their own stories and love interests, that's for sure!

Rating: ★★★★★

Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

* * * This review may contain spoilers * * *

Despite being a Lisa Kleypas fan for many years (since 2010!), I've always had misconceptions about this book. Until now. I mean come on, the title of the book threw me off. That'll teach me never to judge a book by its title... haha. Although I do actually get why Kleypas decided to title her story that now. I still can't believe it took me so long to read this book since I've read Blue Eyed Devil and Smooth Talking Stranger before and loved it. Better late than never! Alright, time to get this show on the road.

GAGE TRAVIS. You sly devil! He was such a jerk towards Liberty in the beginning, but everything changed the night he had a fever and went over to his apartment. The chemistry between Gage and Liberty was absolutely amazing. I honestly wish that Kleypas had focused more on their romance rather than Liberty's entire life, family, and friends. I wouldn't have minded if the book was longer because of that. His love for Liberty was inspiring and I just loved how he claimed her as his once Hardy showed up in her life again. In addition, he was such a sweetheart and I adored his relationship with Carrington, Liberty's sister.

LIBERTY JONES. She was such a strong heroine and I definitely commend her for all the hardships she had to go through. Especially after her mom died and she basically had to become the head of the family and a "mom" to Carrington. Her relationship with Hardy was so... heartbreaking. I hated what he did to her and his betrayal broke my heart and Liberty's. It's been a long time, but I'm sure Liberty forgave him in the sequel? At least, I hope so! I should probably read it.

The ending and epilogue literally had my heart soaring. It was so touching and beautiful! Liberty finally got the family and the ending she had always wished for PLUS the amazing man to boot. All in all, I thought Sugar Daddy was one of the most beautiful books I've ever read and Lisa Kleypas definitely didn't let me down. If you've never ever read any of her books before, shame on you! You should start doing so now!

Rating: ★★★★★

Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

If you must know, there were quite a few people that I wanted to strangle while reading this book. Two of these people were Nick, Haven's ex husband, and Vanessa, Haven's boss. God, these two people made me so mad because they kept of abusing Haven in every single way. But nonetheless, they both got the ending that they deserved and I am happy for that! It definitely took me awhile to finally read Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas, and I'm really glad that I did. Even if I did read the series out of order... heh. I must agree with other reviewers that this book seems to be more of a chick-lit then a contemporary romance, buuut, it's all good. Although I didn't exactly find the first person POV comforting at all, sadly. I think the book would have been better if it was either from Hardy's POV or even third person.

Let's talk about the situation that happened to Haven that made me cringe, shall we? Wow, it was definitely one emotional roller coaster of a ride alright and I congratulate Lisa Kleypas for pulling it off. Throughout the entire book, I kept on thinking that Hardy had some kind of ulterior motive... but apparently that wasn't the case so I was slightly a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I liked him but the relationship between he and Haven just clicked too fast and easy? At times, I felt that Haven was just too innocent and it was frustrating. Their relationship wasn't exactly realistic in my opinion, but I did like the outcome if it because they both had great sparks with each other!

Overall, I did like this book but it wasn't exactly my favorite from Lisa Kleypas-- even if I did give it a 5 star. Sure, the making love scenes were hot and the sexual tension was off the charts... but I loved Smooth Talking Stranger even more. ;) But either way, it was still another great book by this amazing author!

 Rating: ★★★★★