Mine Till Midnight

Full Review can be found here, http://www.icewarmth.com/2011/05/book-review-mine-til-midnight-by-lisa.html ( )

Another great historical romance by Lisa Kleypas. Yeah, it is a cliche and we all know happy ending is inevitable for main characters, but it's fun to read. I loved the Hathaways family, they are so odd, unusual and funny and I can not wait to meet them again. ( )

Lisa Kleypas's new one. It was interesting--it didn't really grab me like her other books, but it was good. And, holy cow--the guy on the scary picture behind the cover.... He was HOTTTTT!! I was like, "Mmmmmmmm..."

So, I'm going to copy this from someone's blog:

Amelia Hathaway is the oldest daughter of a slightly disreputable family. Since her parents are dead, Amelia is the one who takes care of everybody--no easy feat. Her older brother has recently inherited a title, which unfortunately comes with a crumbling estate and not enough money. He's also just lost his fiancee to scarlet fever and seems determined to completely self-destruct. The book opens with Amelia searching the gambling halls of London for him. She finally tracks him to one called Jenner's, where she meets Cam Rohan, the half-gypsy (who was in Devil In Winter, apparently) who manages it. Instant attraction as he helps her find and retrieve her brother. It seems like they will never see each other again, but of course they run into each other again when the Hathaways move to their new estate, which happens to lie right beside one of Cam's friends' (who happens to be Lord Westcliff (Marcus) from It Happened One Autumn (which I'm reading now), and Aline's brother (from Again The Magic)). Cam comes to the rescue as Amelia struggles more and more to keep her family together.

Anyway, so they hook up, but she doesn't want to marry him for reasons I didn't really get. And he's possessive beyond all imagination, which was slightly annoying. I would have killed him, personally. Like, seriously... He went as far as to say: "You are never to be alone with him, or any man, except your brother or Merripen, unless I give my permission." (Merripen is a long story--another gypsy--but he's in love with Amelia's sister, Win...) She is upset by this, but she literally gets half a sentence out, and then he kisses her into submission. Argh! Like I said. I would have killed him. BUT, if you like that sort of thing, Amelia... (I totally don't blame her for kissing her ex-almost-fiance after Cam said that... Okay, HE kissed HER, but still...)

Anyway, this had BETTER be book one in AT LEAST a Trilogy, because when I finished reading this book, I was like, "That was pretty good..." and then I was thinking about it a bit later, and realized that the ENTIRE Win/Merripen storyline had gone NOWHERE. So that needs to be an entire other book. And then poor Leo (the brother)... HOLY COW, he needs to find some love, too. He was SO DEPRESSING this ENTIRE BOOK.... Not to mention the younger sisters--Beatrix and... whatever her name was...

So, all-in-all, not terrible. I liked it okay. It would be great if you like gypsy books... ( )

Mine Till Midnight
4 Stars

Entertaining but not as delighted and wowed as I wanted to be.

Even though Cam is deliciosuly yummy and an intense "hero in pursuit", and Amelia is a refreshingly realistic and down to earth heroine, I expected more from their romance.

While Cam and Amelia are both engaging as individuals and as a couple, their characters need more development. Cam's background, in particular, is not sufficiently fleshed out.

While they certainly have the steam factor in spades, Cam and Amelia's connection lacks the emotional intensity of Win and Kev's relationship (which is particularly compelling).

In terms of the plot, the ghost story is completely superficial and unnecessary, and the resolution to the minor suspense plot is anti-climactic. It also lacks follow up on the villain's comeuppance.

The secondary characters are engaging and the cameos by Evie, Lillian and their significant others are wonderful. The Hathway siblings are lovely except for Leo who annoyed the sh*t out of me.

Really looking forward to Kev and Win's story in the next book. ( )

This is the first in the series of the Hathaway Family. The Hathaway’s are a lively, unconventional family.

This one is the story of Amelia, the oldest girl in the family of 5. After the tragic demise of their parents Amelia is left shouldering the responsibility of being head of the family. This includes trying to save her older brother, Leo, from himself. In her quest to help Leo, Amelia finds love
with Cam Rohan, a sexy gypsy.

I absolutely love this family. Their interactions and comedic timing lead to a light and fun read. I actually read the second one, Seduce Me at Sunrise, before reading the first. The second one remains my favorite, but I love the setting up of the story that occurs in the first.
( )