Book Review: Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas

At First Sight: Lady Aline Marsden always knew what was expected of her: to marry into her own class and have a bunch of well breed children but, at eighteen, all Aline wanted was to be with McKenna former stable boy turned footman that grew up with her (mostly) under the care of the Marsden's housekeeper Mrs. Faircloth.

Even with the difference in their stations, Aline always knew McKenna was the man she loved and that he loved her right back, but it was a rather impossible situation that was further complicated when Aline's father found out about their relationship and sent McKenna away.

Over 10 years later, McKenna returns to Stony Cross Park as a wealthy entrepreneur to discover Aline is still there, still unmarried and that much as he would like to say otherwise, he still loves her.

The years haven't been particularly kind to Aline, who suffered through a bad accident that left her legs scarred, but she has now settled into a comfortable life with her sister Olivia and older brother Marcus (now the earl of Westcliff) at Stony Cross. She never expected to see McKenna again, due to some things she was forced to tell him to ensure his safety all those years ago. 

Second Glance: I've often found that not a lot of people like Again the Magic or that, if they do, they feel more drawn to the story of Aline's sister and McKenna's business partner Gideon Shaw. But I'm not one of those people.

I genuinely like this book and I like it because of McKenna - I like Aline just fine too, but she does let her fears dominate her actions for a lot of the book. He's a bit ruthless, and he does and says some pretty questionable things because he thinks he wants to ge revenge on Aline for the things she had to say to get him to leave (her father had threatened to kill him if he ever came back to Stony Cross and Aline knew that if McKenna believed that she still loved him, he would have come back), yet underneath it all, he's a pretty decent guy, and I love his relationship with Mrs. Faircloth whom he never forgot and now wants to take care of like she took care of him when he was a kid.

As you can probably tell, Again the Magic is a story about second chances - a trope that I do love - and I appreciated the difficulties Aline and McKenna had to go through to get to their happy ending. Aline was very traumatized by her accident and feels no one will ever 'want' her because of the state of her legs, and McKenna has to get over his bitterness over events neither of them could really control.

The secondary story with Oliva and Gideon - both of whom have their on tragedies - was a nice B story that perhaps ended up taking a good chunk of the page time, but I don't mind it. It is pretty interesting even if the approach to Gideon's alcoholism is a bit too modern.  

Bottom Line: A lot of people like to think of Again the Magic as a sort of prequel to the Wallflower Series but I've always enjoyed the story on its own - though it is fun to see Marcus before meeting Lilian - I really like McKenna and Aline, and I enjoy re-reading this book every once in a while. I don't believe this is The Best of Lisa Kleypas, but it's one of those books I go to when I'm in a bit of a slump.

Oh, and the book has one of my favorite reveal scenes ever because of McKenna's initial reaction. I'll put it on the Favorite Quote bit, but it happens near the end of the book and as such it can be spoilery. 

Favorite Quote:
“What did you think I meant when I said that I loved you? Did you think I would give a damn about your scars?”

Stunned by his reaction, Aline responded with a single nod.

“My God.” The blood rose higher in his face. “What if the situation were reversed, and I was the one who had been hurt? Would you have left me?”

“No!”

“Then why did you expect anything less of me?”

3/3

At the Movies: Christmas With Holly

After being left at the altar, Maggie Conway decides she needs a plan B for her life and eventually decides to move to Friday Harbor - a town she visited often as a child - to open a toy shop and start over, finally doing what she always wanted to do. 

Following the death of his sister, Mark Nagle found himself responsible for his six-year old niece Holly, who hasn't spoken a word since her mother died.

 Unable to make a go of things in Seattle - where Holly and her mom Victoria lived - Mark moves them back to Friday Harbor and into his brother Scott's house (where their brother Alex is currently living as well). 

None of them really knows how to deal with a 6 year old girl, but they try their best, often stumbling in the process. Maggie and Mark keep running into each other around town both because Holly is very drawn to Maggie's store and because they are attracted to each other. 

Okay, sorry for the choppy summary, I know it's not my best work but that really is the basis of Christmas With Holly, which is based on Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas (A novella that launched her Friday Harbor series). 

While they are several differences between the book and the movie, I found that I liked Christmas with Holly quite a bit. It's a lot more family oriented that the book, and there isn't quite as much romance (and there wasn't THAT much romance in the original book to start with, actually), but it works. The central theme of the book was still there - starting over after life deals you a shitty hand - even if it doesn't go to as dark a place as the book does. 

I liked that the relationship between the Nagle brothers was still complicated, even if it wasn't so dark, they were pretty independent and kind of each did his own thing, up until Holly moved in and made them a family. What I don't get is why they changed their last name from Nolan (from the book) to Nagle (in the movie). 

Bottom line, I think haters are gonna hate and disair of the changes, personally, I didn't mind them, Christmas with Holly was what I expect of a Hallmark movie and it was good. I'll probably even watch it again sometime. So, I give it a C+ and it's not a bad thing, it was a pleasant, sweet movie, perfect to watch at home. 

Book Review: Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

At First Sight: Haven Travis had a privileged upbringing as the youngest child and only daughter of a prominent Houston millionaire. Rebelling against her father's expectations of her, Haven rushes into marriage with her college boyfriend Nick, even though no one in her family likes him. 

When Nick proves to be the worse kind of husband - the abusive kind - and Haven finally finds the strength to walk out, she returns to Houston to make a new life for herself with the support of her older brothers. 

The last person she expects to ever see again is Hardy Cates, the self-made millionaire she met once at her oldest brother's wedding and with whom she shared a kiss she could never quite forget. Back then sparks flew between them, and two years later is just the same. 

Hardy comes from "the wrong side of the tracks" and sacrificed so much to get to where he is in the oil business. He is generally unapologetic about his past - the good and the bad - and set out to woo Haven with all he has.   

Second Glance: Blue-Eyed Devil is the second book int he Travis series by Lisa Kleypas, but it can be read as a stand alone. I read and reviewed it when it was first published a few years ago but this weekend I felt like reading an old fave so I dusted it up to see how I still felt about it. 

I really liked it but it reinforced my belief that this is not quite a contemporary romance because the majority of the story is about Haven and her struggle to find her boundaries and her own self. The page time she actually spends with Hardy is about a third of the total length of the book. 

Still, Hardy does steal the show when he's around, so I don't mind the book being named after him. Both Haven and Hardy had gone through different hardships and are a bit damaged by the time they get together, yet they make sense together and work out their problems quite well. 

Bottom Line: I enjoyed getting lost in Blue-Eyed Devil, I like the characters and the Texas setting and all. It's a good story and it does have really well done romance on it, but it's also the story about a woman trying to find herself. So if you're expecting romance from beginning to end this one probably isn't for you. If you don't mind the mix off romance and chick-lit, then go for it. 

1/2

Book Review: Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas

At First Sight: From a very young age, Lucy Marinn has known that she has an special connection to glass. It all started in the wake of her sister Alice's bout with meningitis, when the family dynamics switched into a pattern of Alice always getting what she wants and Lucy always having to give up her things in favor to her younger sister.

After one bad episode with Alice, Lucy discovered that when strong emotions overwhelmed her, the glass around her changed to offer her comfort. Young as Lucy was, she always knew this was something she had to keep to herself. 

All grown up and living in the Friday Harbor with her current boyfriend Kevin, Lucy thinks her life is getting pretty close to perfect as she loves where she lives, she loves her boyfriend and she loves her job creating stain-glass windows and ornaments. That is, until Kevin drops the bombshell that he's leaving her... and taking up with Alice. 

Enter Sam Nolan. Sam owns a small vineyard in Friday Harbor and is helping his brother Mark raise their niece Holly after the dead of their sister Victoria. (Christmas Eve in Friday Harbor). He was out walking the family dog when he mets Lucy. And, from then on, they keep running into each other all over town, partially because of mutual friends. 

Neither of them is out to be on a relationship: Lucy because she has been hurt and Sam because he doesn't want to repeat the patterns of his parents' marriage. They are very reluctant, but eventually start a tentative friendship, and start sharing secrets with each other that they had never told anyone before. 

Second Glance: I'm so behind but I finally read Rainshadow Road, and I'm so happy I did because I seriously enjoyed this book, I was very hard for me to put it down. I liked Lucy and Sam, they were nice, every day people; each with their own flaws and gifts. They are both wary of relationships but they aren't complete jackasses as a result. 

Lucy takes so much pride in her work with glass, and so does Sam with his work with grapes, and you can see how they are both very passionate people, and they make so much sense in the context of their families. Sam is also a bit of a nerd and that's actually quite amusing, and sweet. 

The romance worked, and I loved that Lucy and Sam weren't islands: they had families they spent time with, friends, jobs and a place in their community. I loved the backdrop of the San Juan Islands in the story, sometimes I really felt like I was there. 

There is an element of magical realism to the story, which I didn't mind because, well, I'm Mexican and we grow up with magical realism as a cultural element, so I was okay with it but, at the same time, I think you could take it out of the story and it would remain essentially the same. 

Bottom Line: Rainshadow Road was a lovely contemporary read, if you're a Lisa Kleypas fan you'll probably enjoy it a lot too, but even if you aren't, it's a very relaxing, sweet story. And I'm really looking forward to Dream Lake, the next book in the series

Favorite Quote: “I’m still in shock. The next stage is crying and sending angry text messages to everyone I know. After that is the stage when I’ll want to rehash the relationship until all my friends start avoiding me.” Lucy knew she was chattering, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “In the final stage, I’ll get a short haircut that doesn’t flatter me, and buy a lot of expensive shoes I’ll never wear.” - Lucy

Book Review: Because You're Mine by Lisa Kleypas

Re-issue cover

At First Sight: Lady Madeline Mathews will do just about anything to avoid marrying the aging viscount her parents have selected for her. So she hatches a crazy scheme of running away from her boarding school and seeking someone notorious to 'ruin' her. 

Her chosen target? Logan Scott, a renowned actor and businessman who is also handsome as sin. Thinking he was probably a bit debauched anyway, Maddy doesn't expect it will be a problem to get him to bed her and then she can go on her merry way.

But Logan isn't quite that cooperative. Having struggled for just about everything he has ever gotten in life, Logan isn't really in the business of seducing innocent girls, and he finds Maddy tendency to disrupt his life with her charm and energy quite annoying - particularly after his business partner, Julia, Duchess of Leeds, gives Maddy a job in his theater. 

At the same time, he can't seem to stay away from her. But Logan is a man who has been shaped by the betrayals in his past, and when Maddy's original plan comes to light, it might very well ruin any chance of a future together. 

Second Glance: Because You're Mine is actually one of the first romances I ever read and for that, I always think of it with fondness. 

Original Cover

Maddy is charming and willful, but smart too, and even though her plan starts as nothing more than that, she gets very involved, not only with Logan but also with the theater that is his world. Logan is a great leading man, and not only because he often plays one in the stage. He's a smart, hard working man who has known very little softness in his life, but he's not bitter. 

The secondary characters were good too, from Julia - whose story is told in Somewhere I'll Find You - and the theater crew, to Mrs. Florence, the aging actress that takes Maddy in when she first arrives in London, and Logan's best friend Lord Andrew Drake.

They also spend a lot of time in the Capitol Theater - which Logan owns - and so you get to hear a lot about the ins and outs of running the theater, which is also quite fun. 

Bottom Line: Because You're Mine has remained one of my favorite reads over the years. I just find it so comforting. I love getting lost in the Capitol Theater and hanging out with Logan and Maddy. I wouldn't say this is one of Ms Kleypas finest works, but it is one I simply enjoy. 

1/2

Book Review: Someone To Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas

Original Cover

At First Sight: Waking up without memories in a stranger's bed was quite a shock, being told she was Vivien Duvall, a notorious and not very likable courtesan, was a very unpleasant surprise, but "Vivien" had no choice to believe the words Bow Street Runner Grant Morgan was telling her, because one thing she knew for certain: someone had tried to kill her and she needed to figure out why.

Grant Morgan rose through the ranks of the police and eventually became a Bow Street Runner, and amassed considerable popularity, not to mention a fortune. A while back, Vivien rejected him and, even though he hadn't been THAT interested, his pride stung. So, he figured that telling her amnesic self that they were lovers would be but an innocent lie.

The only problem is that Vivien isn't at all what Grant always thought she was and he can't help being enchanted by the woman in his care.

But, her life continues to be in danger, and the more time they spend together, the more he is convinced that she can't be Vivien.

Re-issue cover

Second Glance: Every couple of years, I enjoy going back to the Bow Street Runners series and reading it from the start. And I have to admit that Someone to Watch Over Me is probably my favorite though I know that a lot of people tend to go for Lady Sophia's Lover or Worth Any Price.

But I've always liked how uncomplicated Grant Morgan is, he's Kleypas-hero through and through - strong, honorable, self made and goes after what he wants; an alpha who is not an asshole - and I've always liked him. Vivien was a nice heroine, and I love the whole amnesia trope. 

And it's a rather steamy book, at least in my opinion. 

Bottom Line: A very enjoyable read, I enjoy going back to this book every once in a while. I often tell myself I'm just going to read my favorite scenes and end up reading the whole book. Someone to Watch Over Me is a good book on it's own and a good launch to this series. 

Retro Friday (27) - Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! 

And it's finally time to finish the Wallflowers series!

At First Sight: Daisy Bowman is the last Wallflower standing, as she has seen her sister and friends find love and happiness. As the youngest, she was the last to go, but now the Wallflowers are centering their efforts in her, particularly since her father has issued an ultimatum: either Daisy finds a husband by the end of May or she'll have to marry Mathew Swift.

Having known Mathew in New York, Daisy is sure he's the last man she could ever marry, as Mathew is her father's protegee in Bowman Enterprises and is widely renown as a cold sort who isn't very handsome or charming.

At least, that's the Mathew Swift Daisy remembers. The man he meets when her father ask Mathew to come to Hampshire is completely different. Mathew has grown into his looks and his accomplishments at work have made him confident; charm has harder but he also worked to get that. But there is one thing that never changed... the fact that Mathew has been in love with Daisy since he met her, almost ten years ago.

But knowing that the secrets of his past could destroy him any moment, and take her with him, Mathew had always avoided pursing Daisy, even with her father's scheme to get them married. He's determined to stay out of it, and he's fully prepared to let Daisy go. But, by then, Daisy has other plans once she realizes that all the things she ever wanted in a man... might be in-bodied in the least likely one.

Second Glance: Scandal in Spring is one of my favorite Wallflower books, because Daisy is my favorite wallflower. I have always loved how she embodies both the whimsical and the pragmatical. She's a romantic but she also has her feet on the ground.

And Mathew also holds a special place in my heart. I love how dependable he is and the fact he has so many feelings for Daisy but doesn't know what to do about them as he thinks they don't have a future together. I think a lot of people don't give him a fair chance since in the previous book it was sort of hinted Daisy would end up with Cam Rohan, who later went to find his HEA in Mine Midnight; and people sort of got attached to that idea.

I also loved seeing the other wallflowers and husbands around. I have to say I didn't like Lillian -again - for a large part of this book, but she does come around eventually.

Also, I love Westcliff, I believe he's the character that has hopped through the most books in the Lisa Kleypas universe and I always love how honorable a man he is.

Bottom Line: Scandal in Spring is one of my favorite comfort reads ever, though I'll admit the ending is a bit rushing, I still like it for the end of this lovely series.

Favorite Quote: There are so many scenes in this book that I love - like when Mathew comforts Anabelle's daughter when the poor baby is crying 'cause she's teething or when Daisy realizes he carries something of hers in his pocket all the time. And the lawn bowling scene - Not as good as Bridgerton Pall Mall but close!!!

But anyway, if I must pick a quote...

"She was the most provoking, beguiling woman he had ever met. Thunderstorms and rainbows wrapped together in a convenient pocket-sized parcel." - Mathew about Daisy

PS - I tried to listen to the Audio book of Scandal in Spring - as I listened to the audio books of the previous 3 books - but I didn't get very far into it. The narrator was very inconsistent with the voices, which made it very hard to follow as basically all the women sounded the same as did all the men.

Retro Friday (26) - Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! 

For this week I'm continuing with The Wallflower Series by Lisa Kleypas, and tacking the third book Devil in Winter

At First Sight:
Desperate times call for desperate measures and Evie Jenner is desperate. Her father is at death's door and her mother's family is plotting to take everything Evie stands to inherit and then dispose of her.

But Evie is about done taking the abuse of her mother's family and runs off to Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent - a notorious rake who just a few days before tried to kidnap Evie's friend Lillian (now the Countess of Westcliff) - with a shocking proposition.

If he marries her, she'll hand over her dowry, and sleep with him once to make the marriage valid; and require nothing more from him than to return her to her father's gambling club once the deed is done.

St. Vincent needs the money - hence the attempted kidnapping - and Evie does have a lot of money, so even if his ambition wasn't to marry a Wallflower, he agrees and they set off for Scotland.

But things don't go as planned, as they get to travel to Scotland and back, and become rather attached to each other, even if they are still learning to trust one another. 

Second Glance: Evie is one of my favorite Wallflowers, she has a type of vulnerability that I find very endearing while she never comes across as whinny or annoying - even if she does jump to conclusions once or twice where Sebastian is concerned.

Sebastian is a villain that redeems himself, he did something very foolish in the previous story and betrayed his best friend, but he eventually realizes he made a stupid mistake. Learning his story and watching him fall in love is awesome to see each and every time.

I love Evie and Sebastian together and I love them apart, and how they become each other's family. As always, I love the Wallflower's friendship, but I also loved seeing - in this book in particular - a bit of the male friendships, too.

Bottom Line: Devil in Winter is one of those romances that often get voted as fan favorites, and I do think it's worthy of that praise. It has good characters - both old (the other wallflowers and their husbands) and new (like Cam Rohan) - and I love that it's set in a gambling club, it brings back good memories from Dreaming of You.

1/2

Cover Love #26 - Raindshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas

Hello my lovies!

So, I'm a huge Lisa Kleypas fan and last winter she launched her Friday Harbor series with Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor. I rather liked it though it was short. I'm intrigued by these brothers.

And just the other day I saw the cover for the second book in the series, Rainshadow Road. I hope it's good. I usually like Lisa's Contemporaries. I kind of like the cover but it also looks a bit 'woman's fiction".

Here is the summary:

Lucy Marinn is a glass artist living in mystical, beautiful, Friday Harbor, Washington. She is stunned and blindsided by the most bitter kind of betrayal: her fiancé Kevin has left her. His new lover is Lucy’s own sister. Lucy's bitterness over being dumped is multiplied by the fact that she has constantly made the wrong choices in her romantic life.

Facing the severe disapproval of Lucy's parents, Kevin asks his friend Sam Nolan, a local vineyard owner on San Juan Island, to "romance" Lucy and hopefully loosen her up and get her over her anger. Complications ensue when Sam and Lucy begin to fall in love, Kevin has second thoughts, and Lucy discovers that the new relationship in her life began under false pretenses. Questions about love, loyalty, old patterns, mistakes, and new beginnings are explored as Lucy learns that some things in life—even after being broken—can be made into something new and beautiful.

Love, Alex

Ps - thanks to Small of Small Review for the tutorial on colored boxes!