Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

I was really looking forward to this one because I thought that Cam was an interesting character.
But.. I was a little let down. Don’t get me wrong, I like the book and to be honest, Kleypas is better than real Belgian chocolate if you ask me.
Maybe I built myself up for it too much.

TO be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to reading this one or SCANDAL IN SPRING because I really thought Daisy and Cam should be together.  However, since I love Kleypas and her writing so much, the stories worked for me...just not as well as they could’ve.

Ann Bruce,

I felt the same way. I was sure Daisy’s book would have Cam as the hero, I mean I figured it was a red herring when they had that kiss in the tunnels, but I did enjoy Matthew as her hero and the way he was secretly in love with her.
I still have to pick this one up but yes I too was a little disappointed they weren’t together in the end.

Word verification- easy69.
Well then.

I’m just happy to know that I’m not the only person who’s inordinately fond of her work.
She’s the one romance writer who’s books end up on my keeper shelf.

Well… if any of you Kleypas Lovers were going to recommend just one of her books, which would it be?

I’m actually better than 1/2 way through Lady Sophia’s Lover right now, my first try at Kleypas.  And I feel like it’s missing something- just a little character development and depth, I guess. Something interesting. It may be that I’m just not in the mood for this style of book right now, after all, but I’m beginning to think if both characters were suddenly killed in a horrible carriage accident, I could be a little relieved. The whole thing just seems weirdly banal.

I hate when I don’t like what I want to like.  So, anybody have any recommendations for a second try?  Or is Lady Sophia representative of the whole?

Disappointed in this one, but she is always hit or miss for me.  Cam was a gold mine but she failed to hit a mother lode, in my opinion.

Ah well.

I got hooked on Kleypas with THEN CAME YOU.  Unconventional, non-virgin heroine who has a secret baby that isn’t the hero’s and there was actually (super)light bondage!  I’d never seen it before in a historical romance (I hadn’t discovered Susan Johnson at that point).  And Alex Raiford is so swoon-worthy.  Alpha, but not an ass.

Suddenly You is maybe my favorite despite the unrest it has caused among The Bitchery. (See the review elsewhere on this site.) The Heroine is older and plump but the hero can’t keep his hands off her. What’s not to like?
Midnight Angel, the hero has a hook for a hand!
Stranger In My Arms is also a great one. The hero, who was thought to be dead, comes home - to the heroine’s dismay. BUT, he is different, as in, not the butthead he used to be. Is he who he says he is?
Some of her stuff is better than others, but I am a fangirl.

I, too, just read this and liked it a lot.  And I, too, worry for Cam and Amelia and their “mixed marriage” in a time when society was very intolerant of anyone the least bit different.  And I worry for Win, too, although I want to read her story a whole lot.  ;+)

I pretty much always like Kleypas.  I still haven’t read the Wallflowers.  Now that I know Cam appears there first, I’m on it!

Yeah, I think Lisa Kleypas seriously messed up by splitting up Cam and Daisy. So instead of just one book, we get two, and unfortunately both of them were NOT her best work. I liked this one slightly more than Scandal but I didn’t buy the romance AT ALL- I even struggled to finish it- and I normally LOVE everything Lisa Kleypas.

Katielicious,

I really liked Lady Sophia’s Lover.  But it isn’t her best.  I’d say her best is Dreaming Of You.  Check that one out.  If you don’t like Dreaming Of You, then you probably aren’t going to like any of her other books. 

What I really love about Lisa Kleypas is that she write European historicals without making the heroes and heroines part of the nobility.  They actually have jobs!  Of course, they are all rich, but how hard would it be to write about the true middle class of that era?  Their lives don’t lend themselve to romantic fantasy as easily.

I was very much underwhelmed by Lady Sophia’s Lover but I am a BIG fan of her Derek Craven and Wallflowers series.  I haven’t read much other Kleypas, though I did like Dreaming of You and her story in the Where’s My Hero? anthology.

Oops, that should read, “I did like Suddenly You and the story in Where’s My Hero...”

SUDDENLY YOU is my all-time favorite Kleypas as well.  I’m also fond of WHERE DREAMS BEGIN.  I’ve read rave reviews of DREAMING OF YOU, but have yet to locate a copy at the UBS.  I didn’t like any of the Wallflower books except DEVIL IN WINTER.

Well, Suddenly You is actually not my fav Kleypas book, but did love the surprise buttsexxy bit...caught me off guard! Never came across that in any historical romance before.

I loved Devil In Winter. The hero was so darn lovable in that one. I’ve slowly started reading some of her backlist. I have to agree, she is like some wonderfully rich chocolate treat, but not so rich it hurts your tummy after you eat it.

From my understanding, Lisa Kleypas originally wanted to pair Cam with Daisy, but she and her then-editor at Avon couldn’t agree on a plot.  I got this information either from the Eloisa James Bulletin Board, where Lisa is guest author for October, or from the Squawkers’ Reunion at Romance Novel TV.  Sorry, I can’t remember which.

Methinks she should have moved to St. Martin’s Press one book earlier!  Although I enjoyed MTM, it was purely because of Cam, not Amelia.

I used to like Kleypas’ books, but not so much these days.  Oh, don’t get me wrong:  I enjoy them while I’m reading them.  But about two hours after I read the last line, I can’t remember anything about the story or the characters.  They’re just...meh.  Candy, indeed:  sweet and enjoyable in the moment, but too insubstantial to last.

I enjoyed Mine Till Midnight while I was reading it, but there’s nothing there that makes me want to really read it again. I AM intrigued by Win and Merripen’s story, though.  I’m always a sucker for stories in which the H/H grow up together and find love with one another as adults.

I love me some good, old fashioned class struggle issues in my romance stories and Lisa Kleypas does this really well.
Shes especially fine at writing the Victorian backdrop and nothing beats that for atmosphere.

Imo, Dreaming Of You is her best. But I loved Someone To Watch Over Me, Suddenly You, Lady Sophia’s Lover, Again The Magic, Worth Any Price. Her contemporary, Sugar Daddy gave me the same satisfying class issues theme with great characters and love story. I think the sequel comes out in March. Its called Blue Eyed Devil.

The breaking up of Cam and Daisy before they could join hand, heart and pelvis actually worked out for me, since I thought “Scandal in Spring” was a whole lot of suck. Neither of the characters in that book did it for me, the best part being the conflict between the sisters.

So I liked this one. It wasn’t her best but I enjoyed it. I’m actually looking forward to her new contemporary to see what she does with that.

I loved Devil in Winter, I think it was my favorite overall, but then I haven’t worked through all her series.  Kleypas is the type of author I will pre-order her book from the library, read it, and if I like it buy the book.  Some of her’s stick with me, some of her’s don’t.  But she IS good for a pick-me-up and a nice, well-researched, not always conforming to the cliches of historical romance book.  If that makes sense.