Review - Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas

Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Secrets of a Summer Night, by Lisa Kleypas, we are introduced to the Wallflowers, a group of four young women who make a pact to help each other to find husbands. This book, the first of the series, focuses on Annabelle Peyton, whose advancing age and dire financial circumstances have made her desperate to find a husband before the end of the Season, or else be subject to an even worse fate. Her attempts at wooing a member of the peerage are thwarted at nearly every turn by Simon Hunt, an entrepreneur whose significant wealth and financial savvy have given him an (albeit small) inroad into the aristocracy. After Simon makes an indecent proposition to Annabelle, she is determined that he is the worst man of her acquaintance, but can’t quite stifle her growing attraction to him.

This book is an interesting look at the changes faced by the aristocracy in light of growing industrialism in mid-19th century England. Kleypas captures the inherent hypocrisy of the peerage faced with a decline of the way of life they’ve always known, while still scorning the new modes of trade. Her characters straddle this line and are constantly faced with the pulls toward both the “old” and “new” ways of things.

The story was told primarily from Annabelle’s point of view, there were very few times the reader was presented with Simon’s viewpoint or inner monologue, which would have been very enlightening at several points in the story. Otherwise the book was able to convey its points with aplomb. Looking forward to reading more from this author!


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Review - The Taming of a Scottish Princess by Karen Hawkins

The Taming of a Scottish Princess by Karen Hawkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Karen Hawkins wraps up her four-book Hurst Amulet series with this anticlimactic entry, The Taming of a Scottish Princess. The story features Michael Hurst, adventurer, and his personal assistant, Jane Smythe-Houghton. The imprisonment of Michael and Jane in Egypt was the catalyst for the series, sending his siblings on quests to acquire an artifact to secure his release, so that he could continue his quest for the long-lost Hurst Amulet. Throughout the other three books, chapters were headed with excerpts from Michael’s letters and personal diary, so that readers had a feel for his character and relationship with his assistant Jane before their introduction in this book.

Unfortunately, the snippets of Michael’s letters were more revealing, and seemingly at odds with his actual persona and own internal dialogue. The picture painted of this exciting world-traveler didn’t align at all with the hero of this book. Earlier excerpts showed him to be devoted to his family and in awe of the wonders of the world, but when he is given a chance to actually interact with his family he does so with near-contempt, and treats the people who share their world and make his travels possible with disdain. Jane, previously described as industrious and level-headed, comes across as impulsive and lacking in true depth.

Interactions between the hero and heroine felt forced, which was very disappointing, since the established frame of their relationship should have lead to an epic romance. Instead it felt predictable and unsatisfying. Too much remained unaddressed, and it felt like there should have been more conversations, rather than banter.

The driving plot of the series, the Hurst Amulet, turned out to be little more than a McGuffin, and the storyline was concluded within a single chapter. The “adventure” never really felt very dangerous or that there was very much at stake. The unanswered questions from previous books were never addressed, and instead new characters with inconsequential problems were introduced.

In all, a disappointingly lackluster conclusion to a series that started with a great premise.


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