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

Last Kiss by Laurelin Paige

Satisfying end to an intense, sexy, and thrilling story about two individuals who found love and each other in the most unexpected of places.

Hmm, where to start. I absolutely loved reading First Touch when it came out last year. The characters and story were both interesting and intriguing, the romance sexy and sometimes heartbreaking, and that cliffhanger ending? Just wow. It's been one wild ride and honestly, I felt like it would have made a lot more sense to read First Touch and Last Kiss back to back since the second book immediately takes place immediately after the the first one.

We're introduced to the shocking revelation of Amber and let's just say, I've had my own reservations about this girl from the get-go. From the moment Emily revealed her relationship and connections to Amber in First Touch to readers, I knew something was up. At times, I was personally confused about Emily's own feelings towards this woman. It was love, but at the same time, it was also hate and jealousy. Especially if we add Reeve Sallis into the mix! And oh boy, at times I became so frustrated with Emily's wishy-washy attitude and inability to relinquish Amber's control over her life and relationship with Reeve.

As for Reeve, I actually came to love him a lot in this book. He hasn't done a complete 180 change but he was a lot more... passionate and romantic to Emily this time around. Of course, Reeve still maintained his dark and dangerous persona, especially inside the bedroom with Emily, but he has become a lot more like-able in this book. I think my favorite part was around the 87% mark-- so definitely near the end, when he finally made his intentions clear to her.

In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its ending even though I would love an epilogue or a novella of some sort by Laurelin Paige (if she ever does decide to write one)! I did feel like the ending was sort of rushed and there were a lot of things that needed to be discussed, it was still satisfying to see Emily and Reeve finally realize what was truly best for one another.

Rating: ★★★★☆

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: ★★★★★

Betrayal (Infidelity #1) by Aleatha Romig

Following the mindfck known as the Consequences series, I knew Aleatha Romig was going to blow my mind again and also heart away with her new Infidelity series. PSA: THERE IS NO CHEATING IN THIS BOOK. I'm also ashamed to admit that it took me awhile to start reading it. But now that I have? I want to devour all things related to Aleatha Romig. Betrayal happens to be the first book out of five in the Infidelity series and let’s just say I absolutely can’t wait for Cunning to arrive in late January. Not only was this book a great introduction to a fantastic story that I know will be amazing and even heartbreaking at times, I'm sure there will be more secrets to discover as we progress forward through the series. Nox and Alex were both intricate and complex characters and at this moment in time we have no idea what their ultimate goals and intentions are. As many have said, this is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Oh yeah, I loved it so much I even made a freaking graphic lol.

What made this book so intriguing for me was that it was set in both the past and present: Alex's time in the past as Charli with Nox in Del Mar and her stay at Montague Manor with the unraveling of her future in the present. I personally thought Aleatha Romig did a wonderful job shifting between the two time periods and ultimately interconnecting them in a fluid manner. Throughout the entirety of the book, Nox was definitely the shining star of the book, along with Alex, and his time with her marked as one of the best moments for me. He was super sexy and mysterious! Alex's stay in Montague Manor, on the other hand, was one of deception, lies, and betrayal; and so, I mostly felt sad and angry for her during those times. However! What I loved most about Alex was her backbone, independence, and ability to stand up for herself and her dreams in life. I absolutely adore those kinds of heroines!

Like I've said before, Nox and Alex were the shining stars of the book and I thoroughly enjoyed their time together in Del Mar the most. It was both sexy and heartbreaking because you could just tell Alex was slowly falling in love with Nox in that short amount of time. Of course, I am still a bit suspicious of Nox and his intentions... but at the same time, I also can't help feel that he truly cared for Alex and maybe even fell a little bit in love with her as well. I'm actually still reeling from that cliffhanger ending and especially confused over Nox's reaction to Alex and her part in the overall scheme of things. Compared to Consequences, Betrayal had a more "romantic" and EROTIC feel to it. That is... until the ending. Now I have no idea what will happen to Alex. In any case, I loved this book and will be salivating for more in the upcoming months.

ALSO, FIRST REVIEW OF THE YEAR! *

Rating: ★★★★★

Finding Gabriel by Rachel L. Dementer

Finding Gabriel was my first read by Rachel L. Dementer and it certainly won't be my last from her. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy her story and characters, I loved how she made it a story of redemption about two broken people finding love in the darkest of times. What truly stood out to me however were Rachel’s beautiful prose and descriptive writing as well as the development of her characters.

Set after the destructive Napoleonic wars, Finding Gabriel tells the story of two characters, Ariah and Gabriel, and their journey to heal each other. The book starts out with Gabriel trying to kill himself and even manages to commit the deed until our kind heroine, Ariah, finds him in the river and drags him back to her home. Once he wakes up, Gabriel angrily lashes out at Ariah for ruining his plans but eventually comes to respect her as time goes by. Of course, that respect is also tinged with some form attraction between the two and both characters seem to feel it. However, it appears that Ariah fears this more than Gabriel does. As the book continues on, it becomes rather obvious that Ariah has experienced something traumatic in her life.

In the end, I found myself invested in these two characters and their happiness and wanted them come out of this okay. It was also super romantic—which I loved. Finding Gabriel had passion, intrigue, mystery, action, and PLENTY of heartbreak! Touching on various subjects from suicide, disfiguration, victims of tragedies, and so much more, Rachel’s book made for a very emotional read! I highly recommend it to those who are looking for a different type of historical romance to read.

This arc was kindly provided by Rachel L. Dementer and Momentum in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ★★★★☆