Lisa Kleypas
Author of Devil in Winter
About the Author
Lisa Kleypas received a degree in political science from Wellesley College. In 1985, she was named Miss Massachusetts in the Miss America competition. She published her first romance novel at the age of 21 and has been a full-time writer ever since. She is primarily known for her historical romance show more novels, but she also writes contemporary romance novels. Her books include Sugar Daddy, Crystal Cove, and Cold-Hearted Rake. She has won numerous awards including a Rita award for her Christmas anthology novella Wish List in 2002, the award for Best Sensuous Historical Romance from Romantic Times magazine for Lady Sophia's Lover in 2002, and the RITA award for best Short Historical for Worth Any Price in 2004. Lisa's novel's Marrying Winterborne and Hello Stranger made the New York Times Bestseller List. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Lisa Kleypas
Where's My Hero?: Against the Odds / Midsummer's Knight / A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) — Contributor — 840 copies, 17 reviews
A Historical Christmas Present (I Will/ Three French Hens/ Father Christmas) (2008) — Contributor — 109 copies, 3 reviews
Christmas Love Stories [Holiday Spirit / Gifts of Love / Surrender / Creole Christmas] (1991) — Contributor — 68 copies, 1 review
A Christmas Present [After Innocence / Falling Stars / Gifts of the Heart / Surrender] (1994) — Contributor — 44 copies, 1 review
Promises {short story} 9 copies
The Hathaways: Books 1-3 2 copies
Keynote - Lisa Kleypas 1 copy
Associated Works
The Devil in Winter | Scandal in Spring | A Wallflower Christmas [Manga] — Original text — 1 copy
Secrets of a Summer Night | It Happened One Autumn [Manga] — Original Text — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Kleypas Ellis, Lisa
- Birthdate
- 1964-11-05
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Wellesley College (BA|Political Science)
- Occupations
- historical novelist
romance novelist - Awards and honors
- RITA, 2002
- Agent
- Mel Berger (William Morris Endeavor Entertainment)
- Short biography
- Lisa Kleypas began writing romance novels during her summer breaks from Wellesley College. Her parents agreed to support her for a few months after she graduated so she could finish her latest manuscript. Approximately two months later, at age 21, she sold her first novel. At around that time, she competed for and won the Miss Massachusetts title, and went on to participate in the 1985 Miss America pageant. She has been a full-time writer since selling her first book, and many of her novels have been bestsellers and have been translated into different languages. Though known for her historical romances, Kleypas announced in 2006 that she would delve into the modern romance genre. Her first effort, Sugar Daddy (2007), was a finalist for the RITA Award "Best Novel With Strong Romantic Elements." In December 2012, her book Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor (2010) was adapted into the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie Christmas With Holly. She married her husband Gregory in 1998, and has two children.
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Temple, Texas, USA
- Places of residence
- Texas, USA
Washington, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- Texas, USA
Members
Discussions
Lisa Kleypas wallflower series in Book talk (September 2018)
romance with a dark twist/drama in Name that Book (January 2016)
Regency (?) Romance, Daughter marries Hero, Her mother marries his uncle(?) in Name that Book (August 2015)
Lisa Kleypas Wallflowers series in Romance - from historical to contemporary (October 2012)
Historical Romance, Compromised Heroine in Name that Book (August 2012)
Reviews
I did it. And I'm not sorry. I think I needed a little something to prove there's a reason to read this author after the disappointing Ravenel series thus far. Not sure this is gonna help when it comes to Phoebe and West though.
********Original Review***********10/23/17
Where to begin?
I'm not sure...I was intrigued during his scenes when we met St. Vincent in [b:It Happened One Autumn|827412|It Happened One Autumn (Wallflowers, #2)|Lisa show more Kleypas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388206425s/827412.jpg|1823891]. He was menacing and seductive...and it continued through the epilogue. I tried to wait to read this, and then as I mentioned in an update, determined I could just, ya know, read it again instead of delayed gratification.
Considering I highlighted about 2/3 of this book, I'm thinking that's a pretty solid chance.
And a quick warning...I'm rambling. Likely because my review did not start forming in my head until I had dealt with my swooning and fainting spells from this perfect book.
Sebastian has just enough self-control, self-involvement, and desperation to make him a very interesting character. Instead of being the cold, calculating jackass, Kleypas made me think from the get-go that his facade was actually masking some pretty vulnerable intensity & fear. Even his words in cruelty (which there were several) to the heroine were essentially protective of him or her. And basically, he wasn't fooling anyone. I found his irritability to be the most telling trait about him. You can't get irritated if you don't feel, no matter what everyone, including yourself, says about you. You also probably don't keep friends for 22 years. Basically what I'm saying here is that Sebastian was clearly more like burning embers that just needed to be fanned to give light to the passion underneath...As a bonus, he unexpectedly cracked me up. I adored his quips and his exasperation in equal measure.
Evie. I loved her.Her "whatever you jackass, I've had worse" strength, her nurturing, and her willingness to be exactly how vulnerable Sebastian needed. Kleypas gave us a pretty good sense in the series that she was no weakling, and executed it in this flawlessly. She went in with no expectations, and continued to outsmart Sebastian and protect herself as a result. Until she realizes, of course, it's time for her to be the one who puts herself out there because she has a better understanding of their relationship than he. Only someone as brave and tough as Evie could've taken him on for multiple reasons.
As a couple, they were utterly delightful in their growth-while he teaches her to care less (and damn, I love that about him) she teaches him to care more. It works out without being heavy-handed. I love a marriage of convenience...And what works in this one is their outright honesty.
At the risk of more babbling, I'll go ahead and illustrate with quotes what it was for me...
"Are you..is it possible...you're jealous?"
Sudden bafflement flickered across his features. "Yes," he said gruffly.
"It would seems so." And throwing Evie a glance of bewildered annoyance, he left the room.
And lovely..
"...If you can love me without conditions, Sebastian, can't I love you the same way?"
Happy sigh.
Hard to sum up, I'll just say so many happy sighs for the execution & characters in this book. show less
********Original Review***********10/23/17
Where to begin?
I'm not sure...I was intrigued during his scenes when we met St. Vincent in [b:It Happened One Autumn|827412|It Happened One Autumn (Wallflowers, #2)|Lisa show more Kleypas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388206425s/827412.jpg|1823891]. He was menacing and seductive...and it continued through the epilogue. I tried to wait to read this, and then as I mentioned in an update, determined I could just, ya know, read it again instead of delayed gratification.
Considering I highlighted about 2/3 of this book, I'm thinking that's a pretty solid chance.
And a quick warning...I'm rambling. Likely because my review did not start forming in my head until I had dealt with my swooning and fainting spells from this perfect book.
Sebastian has just enough self-control, self-involvement, and desperation to make him a very interesting character. Instead of being the cold, calculating jackass, Kleypas made me think from the get-go that his facade was actually masking some pretty vulnerable intensity & fear. Even his words in cruelty (which there were several) to the heroine were essentially protective of him or her. And basically, he wasn't fooling anyone. I found his irritability to be the most telling trait about him. You can't get irritated if you don't feel, no matter what everyone, including yourself, says about you. You also probably don't keep friends for 22 years. Basically what I'm saying here is that Sebastian was clearly more like burning embers that just needed to be fanned to give light to the passion underneath...As a bonus, he unexpectedly cracked me up. I adored his quips and his exasperation in equal measure.
Evie. I loved her.Her "whatever you jackass, I've had worse" strength, her nurturing, and her willingness to be exactly how vulnerable Sebastian needed. Kleypas gave us a pretty good sense in the series that she was no weakling, and executed it in this flawlessly. She went in with no expectations, and continued to outsmart Sebastian and protect herself as a result. Until she realizes, of course, it's time for her to be the one who puts herself out there because she has a better understanding of their relationship than he. Only someone as brave and tough as Evie could've taken him on for multiple reasons.
As a couple, they were utterly delightful in their growth-while he teaches her to care less (and damn, I love that about him) she teaches him to care more. It works out without being heavy-handed. I love a marriage of convenience...And what works in this one is their outright honesty.
At the risk of more babbling, I'll go ahead and illustrate with quotes what it was for me...
"Are you..is it possible...you're jealous?"
Sudden bafflement flickered across his features. "Yes," he said gruffly.
"It would seems so." And throwing Evie a glance of bewildered annoyance, he left the room.
And lovely..
"...If you can love me without conditions, Sebastian, can't I love you the same way?"
Happy sigh.
Hard to sum up, I'll just say so many happy sighs for the execution & characters in this book. show less
Lately, I've allowed myself to become distracted from some of my favorite authors, so it has been quite a while since I've read a Lisa Kleypas novel. Where Dreams Begin has been on my TBR pile for nearly two years, and I believe that was due in part to it rarely being mentioned as a fan favorite which led me to believe that it probably wasn't one of her stronger efforts. Now that I've finally read it, I'm kicking myself for not picking it up sooner. In my opinion, Where Dreams Begin is every show more bit as good if not better than Ms. Kleypas' other works (that I've read to date), and I found it to be a real pleasure to read. I thought it embodied her trademark style in both plot and characterizations, and although perhaps not quite as steamy as some of her later books, it was still plenty sensuous. There was also quite a bit of lightly humorous bantering between the hero and heroine that really livened things up, and lots of sweet, tender romance. Where Dreams Begin was an all-around wonderful story about a proper lady who is tasked with making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, only to find out that it's the roughness around the edges which make her hero so attractive to begin with.
Zachary was yet another of Lisa Kleypas' heroes who begins as an ordinary low-born man, but uses his intelligence, diligence and determination to work his way into a hard-earned fortune. He is a real diamond in the rough with a heart of gold who has never forgotten his humble roots and is constantly working for the betterment of the lower classes much to the consternation of the upper classes. It is often said that one can tell the measure of a man by how he regards his mother, which to my way of thinking makes Zachary a virtual saint. He has a huge heart behind his enormous bank account and treats his mother like a queen and his sister like a princess, and can't help spoiling both Holly and her daughter, Rose, too, when they come to live with him. Zachary is more of a father-figure to Rose than her blood uncles were after her father died. He absolutely adores this little girl from the moment they meet and the feeling is mutual. Their scenes together positively melted my heart. Zachary may be as sweet as pie and take the utmost care of the women in his life, but he is a completely incorrigible, unrepentant rogue until his love for Holly literally brings him to his knees. In business, Zachary has a take-no-prisoners approach and a reputation for doing anything it takes to get the job done, and he also has a natural knack for bending others to his will to get what he wants without being overly arrogant. Described as an “ape” by a member of the nobility, this hulking man was not considered particularly attractive by the standards of the era, but he certainly was incredibly appealing to Holly, and I'm sure will be to most readers as well, myself included. It might have been nice to have a little deeper insight into the hardships that Zachary endured which made him the man he was in the story, but overall, he was yet another delectable hero to come from Lisa Kleypas' talented pen.
Holly was no slouch herself. She was a strong and courageous woman who carried on with life after the death of her beloved husband even though she felt like rolling up in a ball and dying herself. Even though it has been three years, Holly is still grieving her husband's passing when she and Zachary meet and share an accidental but incredibly passionate kiss. I loved how she took a chance and followed the desires of her heart when Zachary offered her employment as a social etiquette tutor to him and his family. It took a lot of spunk to risk becoming a social pariah for living under the roof of a man who was looked down upon by the ton in order to better her daughter's future. Not to mention, the backbone it took to keep a rake like Zachary in line. Holly was incredibly prim and proper, having had an extremely loving marriage with her first husband, albeit a somewhat puritanical one. By comparison, Zachary's dark sexuality is almost overwhelming for her, but I liked that she was up to the challenge. He may have made Holly blush to her toes on occasion, but I admire her for never shying away from his hot-blooded nature and for embracing her own unexplored passions that were lurking beneath the surface right from the start. I also liked that Holly had a sense of humor and was often amused by Zachary's blunt comments rather than being offended by them. I did feel like shaking her a couple of times when I felt like she was taking a little too long to come to her senses and realize that Zachary was perfect for her, but at the same time, I understood her fears and reluctance. Ms. Kleypas did a good job of conveying Holly's continuing grief over the loss of her husband and her confusion over keeping promises that she had made to him on his death bed, but I did get a little impatient while waiting for her to come to terms with everything and accept that she could fall in love again.
The secondary characters were great too. Little Rose was just as cute as a button, and in my opinion, rendered in a very age-appropriate way. She really added a lot to every scene she was in. Zachary's sister, Elizabeth was a vivacious young woman looking for a love of her own, but not feeling that she was good enough to land the kind of husband she wanted. Zachary's mother, Paula, also felt unworthy of the station to which she found herself elevated by her son's wealth. She was a very shy woman who found directing servants to be a difficult adjustment after having worked in jobs that were even lower than they were. Holly and her husband, George's best friend, Vardon, ended up being a wonderful man who deserved his own HEA. Ms. Kleypas mentions on her website that she might write a story for him someday if she can find the right one. There was even a surprise cameo by the handsome, young Dr. Jacob Linley who played a strong role in the Bow Street Runners series and has his own little story in Against the Odds, a novella from the Where's My Hero? anthology. All in all, I thought it was a very nice well-rounded cast.
There were many memorable elements in Where Dreams Begin. Ms. Kleypas managed to seamlessly weave lots of information on social etiquette into the story which I found to be quite interesting. I really enjoyed the shrewd negotiations that took place between Zachary and Holly for her employment, as well as their bantering in general. Most of all, I loved how Zachary and Holly simply enjoy each others company, while slowly building a friendship, and how Zachary comes to the realization that he would rather spend a quiet evening with Holly than go out carousing in town. The only thing that could have made this better is if the reader had been made privy to more in-depth conversations between them which I thought would have added a more intimate feel to their relationship. The sexual tension was good with several “almost” moments to fill in the long stretch between their initial smoldering kiss in the first chapter and their next which didn't occur until about 2/3 of the way into the book. I'll admit I became somewhat impatient, but the author made up for it with plenty of sensuality in the last third of the story. I've never been a fan of anger turned to passion moments, so I have to commend Ms. Kleypas on her writing of a couple of these scenes. Even when Zachary and Holly had been arguing, their anger never spilled over into their lovemaking. Instead it was every bit as tender as if they had started from a calmer place, which I loved. I don't want to give away too much, but there were some wonderful moments in the final chapters that were both sweet and intense, which really conveyed the depth of love this couple shared. Other than the few minor complaints I've already voiced, Where Dreams Begin was a really lovely book that allowed me a few blissful hours of escape from reality. In my opinion, this is one of Lisa Kleypas' most undervalued works, and one that has certainly earned a place on my keeper shelf. show less
Zachary was yet another of Lisa Kleypas' heroes who begins as an ordinary low-born man, but uses his intelligence, diligence and determination to work his way into a hard-earned fortune. He is a real diamond in the rough with a heart of gold who has never forgotten his humble roots and is constantly working for the betterment of the lower classes much to the consternation of the upper classes. It is often said that one can tell the measure of a man by how he regards his mother, which to my way of thinking makes Zachary a virtual saint. He has a huge heart behind his enormous bank account and treats his mother like a queen and his sister like a princess, and can't help spoiling both Holly and her daughter, Rose, too, when they come to live with him. Zachary is more of a father-figure to Rose than her blood uncles were after her father died. He absolutely adores this little girl from the moment they meet and the feeling is mutual. Their scenes together positively melted my heart. Zachary may be as sweet as pie and take the utmost care of the women in his life, but he is a completely incorrigible, unrepentant rogue until his love for Holly literally brings him to his knees. In business, Zachary has a take-no-prisoners approach and a reputation for doing anything it takes to get the job done, and he also has a natural knack for bending others to his will to get what he wants without being overly arrogant. Described as an “ape” by a member of the nobility, this hulking man was not considered particularly attractive by the standards of the era, but he certainly was incredibly appealing to Holly, and I'm sure will be to most readers as well, myself included. It might have been nice to have a little deeper insight into the hardships that Zachary endured which made him the man he was in the story, but overall, he was yet another delectable hero to come from Lisa Kleypas' talented pen.
Holly was no slouch herself. She was a strong and courageous woman who carried on with life after the death of her beloved husband even though she felt like rolling up in a ball and dying herself. Even though it has been three years, Holly is still grieving her husband's passing when she and Zachary meet and share an accidental but incredibly passionate kiss. I loved how she took a chance and followed the desires of her heart when Zachary offered her employment as a social etiquette tutor to him and his family. It took a lot of spunk to risk becoming a social pariah for living under the roof of a man who was looked down upon by the ton in order to better her daughter's future. Not to mention, the backbone it took to keep a rake like Zachary in line. Holly was incredibly prim and proper, having had an extremely loving marriage with her first husband, albeit a somewhat puritanical one. By comparison, Zachary's dark sexuality is almost overwhelming for her, but I liked that she was up to the challenge. He may have made Holly blush to her toes on occasion, but I admire her for never shying away from his hot-blooded nature and for embracing her own unexplored passions that were lurking beneath the surface right from the start. I also liked that Holly had a sense of humor and was often amused by Zachary's blunt comments rather than being offended by them. I did feel like shaking her a couple of times when I felt like she was taking a little too long to come to her senses and realize that Zachary was perfect for her, but at the same time, I understood her fears and reluctance. Ms. Kleypas did a good job of conveying Holly's continuing grief over the loss of her husband and her confusion over keeping promises that she had made to him on his death bed, but I did get a little impatient while waiting for her to come to terms with everything and accept that she could fall in love again.
The secondary characters were great too. Little Rose was just as cute as a button, and in my opinion, rendered in a very age-appropriate way. She really added a lot to every scene she was in. Zachary's sister, Elizabeth was a vivacious young woman looking for a love of her own, but not feeling that she was good enough to land the kind of husband she wanted. Zachary's mother, Paula, also felt unworthy of the station to which she found herself elevated by her son's wealth. She was a very shy woman who found directing servants to be a difficult adjustment after having worked in jobs that were even lower than they were. Holly and her husband, George's best friend, Vardon, ended up being a wonderful man who deserved his own HEA. Ms. Kleypas mentions on her website that she might write a story for him someday if she can find the right one. There was even a surprise cameo by the handsome, young Dr. Jacob Linley who played a strong role in the Bow Street Runners series and has his own little story in Against the Odds, a novella from the Where's My Hero? anthology. All in all, I thought it was a very nice well-rounded cast.
There were many memorable elements in Where Dreams Begin. Ms. Kleypas managed to seamlessly weave lots of information on social etiquette into the story which I found to be quite interesting. I really enjoyed the shrewd negotiations that took place between Zachary and Holly for her employment, as well as their bantering in general. Most of all, I loved how Zachary and Holly simply enjoy each others company, while slowly building a friendship, and how Zachary comes to the realization that he would rather spend a quiet evening with Holly than go out carousing in town. The only thing that could have made this better is if the reader had been made privy to more in-depth conversations between them which I thought would have added a more intimate feel to their relationship. The sexual tension was good with several “almost” moments to fill in the long stretch between their initial smoldering kiss in the first chapter and their next which didn't occur until about 2/3 of the way into the book. I'll admit I became somewhat impatient, but the author made up for it with plenty of sensuality in the last third of the story. I've never been a fan of anger turned to passion moments, so I have to commend Ms. Kleypas on her writing of a couple of these scenes. Even when Zachary and Holly had been arguing, their anger never spilled over into their lovemaking. Instead it was every bit as tender as if they had started from a calmer place, which I loved. I don't want to give away too much, but there were some wonderful moments in the final chapters that were both sweet and intense, which really conveyed the depth of love this couple shared. Other than the few minor complaints I've already voiced, Where Dreams Begin was a really lovely book that allowed me a few blissful hours of escape from reality. In my opinion, this is one of Lisa Kleypas' most undervalued works, and one that has certainly earned a place on my keeper shelf. show less
For me, books that I rate five stars tend to fall into two categories. The first are the books that I thoroughly enjoyed and with which I found little to nothing wrong, so I couldn’t justify rating it any less than 5 stars since it was basically perfect or nearly so. Then there are the books that completely blow me away with how romantic, passionate, beautiful, and just plain amazing they are. These are the books that I could read over and over and probably never get tired of them. Worth show more Any Price falls into the latter category. This was actually my second read of the book, but like the first two of the series that I re-read earlier this year, I wasn’t yet reviewing when I first read it. Now I’m finally rectifying that. When I added this book and its two companion novels to my GoodReads bookshelf, I did so nearly a year after the fact, and ended up rating all of them 4 stars (really 4.5 since GoodReads doesn’t allow half-stars), because my faulty memory didn’t recall just how much I loved them. Well, now I’ve changed my rating on all of them to reflect my passion for the Bow Street Runners. They all ended up being five-star keepers, but Worth Any Price is my favorite of the bunch. It totally hit that sweet spot for me where everything was absolute sheer perfection, and I loved every minute I spent re-reading it.
The thing about Nick is that when he was introduced in the previous book, Lady Sophia's Lover, he came off as a mixture of charming and arrogant, but he wasn’t particularly repentant for his criminal activities. Although I felt some sympathy for him, he didn’t truly capture my heart until I read his story, which has now catapulted him toward the top of my all-time favorite heroes list. Nick is a tortured soul who was born John Sydney, an aristocrat, but he was orphaned as a child, and with no relatives to step up and take care of him and his sister, he fell in with the wrong crowd, turning to petty thievery and other criminal pursuits to survive. This eventually landed him on a prison hulk, where he befriended the real Nick Gentry. When his friend, who was about to be released, died, he took on his identity, and in the years after prison, he built a fortune by having a foot in two worlds, one as an underworld crime boss and the other as a semi-respectable thief-taker. But by the end of the previous book, Nick had reached the end of the road. He was faced with prison and probable hanging for his crimes. But his new brother-in-law, Ross Cannon, who was also the head magistrate of Bow Street, couldn’t bear to send his wife’s brother to the gallows, so he arranged for Nick to come work as a Runner. This is where we find Nick at the beginning of the story.
In the three years, he’s been working at Bow Street, Nick has settled into his role and enjoys his work, but he tends to take a lot of unnecessary risks that are the result of not really caring whether he lives or dies. As the story opens, he’s on a break from Bow Street, working a private commission in search of a runaway bride, and he’s tracked her down at a country estate where he’s posing as a bored aristocrat. He’s about to tip his hand and reveal his real reason for being there, when he meets the woman in question and feels a connection to her like he’s never felt with anyone before. Intrigued, he keeps his secret a little longer while romancing her, but when the truth comes out, he impulsively offers to marry her to keep her out of the hands of the man she fears. He intends for it to be a marriage of convenience only, but things don’t exactly go as planned when his feelings for her only start growing deeper and deeper. Nick is a man with secrets that were bound to come out sooner or later. However, Ross is forcing it to happen sooner by making sure that Nick is reinstated to his aristocratic position, which is something that he doesn’t want. It makes him feel stifled, like he’s losing his independence, but since he has a wife to worry about now, he reluctantly does what’s expected while not really knowing how to live that life anymore.
Charlotte, known to everyone as Lottie, is someone who knows first-hand what it’s like to lose one’s independence. Her parents betrothed her to a wealthy older aristocrat when she was just a child, all for the price of keeping them financially solvent. The man paid for her education, but everything from what she wore, to what she was allowed to eat, to what subjects she studied were dictated by him, all for the purpose of making her into the “perfect” wife. He even molested her and her parents turned a blind eye, simply saying that it didn’t matter, because she was going to be his wife someday anyway. So it’s no wonder that after graduating, she changed her name and ran away, and has been hiding on a country estate where she works as a ladies’ companion. She’s been there for two years and is mostly content until Nick comes along. He stirs feelings in her that she’s never felt before, but when she finds out his real reason for being there, she’s understandably hurt. However, when faced with going back, she offers to be his mistress instead, knowing that Nick has a hardened past, which would make him well-suited to protect her against her abuser. She couldn’t be more surprised when he counter-offers marriage instead. I loved Lottie. She’s a sweet, down-to-earth heroine who’s been through as much as Nick has in her short life, so she understands him in a way that others don’t. She’s also very accepting of everything about him, including his checkered past, and isn’t bothered by the idea of being a commoner’s wife before she discovers that he’s really a viscount. Even then, she wants him to be happy far more than she wants a title.
Nick and Lottie are the perfect couple. They intuitively understand each other, and they are both very loving, giving, and selfless people, even though Nick would never think of himself in those terms. Their passion and sensuality are a perfect match for one another. Nick is a dream lover, and that’s something that he’s practiced over time, but not quite in the way that the cover blurb implies. His experiences on the prison hulk and the death of his friend left him emotionally scarred. He has nightmares, and when the story opens, he also has an aversion to being touched. Because of this, he didn’t seek out a woman for sexual fulfillment until he was twenty-four years old, and couldn’t bear it anymore. At that point, he went to Gemma, the madam of an elite brothel, who ended up tutoring him in the sexual arts. I loved the prologue, which shows just how frightened and vulnerable he was, but at the same time, he has a natural instinct for passion and sensuality, which is why Gemma took him on as her protégé. I also loved the fact that she is the only woman he’s with for the next three years, and after Gemma breaks off their arrangement, he’s celibate until meeting Lottie. By the time he does meet Lottie, he’s certainly an accomplished lover, but there’s nothing more appealing to me than a hero who reserves his passion either primarily or exclusively for the heroine. IMHO, it makes their connection that much stronger. Another thing that helped that connection is that while Nick was with Gemma, one of her rules was that their time together was strictly for sex play and there was no emotional intimacy involved, so that was something that only Lottie received from him. It doesn’t happen all at once, but when it does it’s perfect. I also love how he pledges fidelity to Lottie even before he realizes he’s in love with her. Not to mention, their love scenes are hot and sexy, while still being sweet and tender. I just loved every minute they shared the page together and could have kept reading about them forever.
Worth Any Price has some notable secondary characters. Ross and Sophia (Lady Sophia's Lover) support Nick and Lottie in their marriage and nudge Nick toward accepting his birthright. Grant (Someone to Watch Over Me) is now the chief magistrate of Bow Street and Nick’s boss. Lottie has been hiding out at the estate of Marcus, Lord Westcliff, who fans of Ms. Kleypas’ Wallflowers will know as the the hero of the second book of that series, It Happened One Autumn. He was one of my favorite heroes of that series, and in this book, he’s every bit as kind and gentlemanly. He’s very protective of Lottie, offering to marry her when he learns the truth of her situation. Gemma, the madam of the brothel Nick went to, is only seen in the prologue, but she kind of made an impression on me. A lot of times, I feel jealous of any woman who gets first dibs on the hero before the heroine, but Gemma didn’t really rub me the wrong way like most do. She treats Nick with kindness and respect and teaches him everything she knows, but at the end of the day, it’s still a business arrangement, which I think is what made it more palatable to me. Then there’s Lottie’s abuser and the villain of the story, Lord Radnor, who is evil incarnate. He’s totally obsessed with Lottie and as mad as a hatter. Her parents aren’t much better, selling off their daughter to a madman and allowing him to do as he pleases all for the sake of money, while Nick’s money isn’t good enough for them. They all made me sick and I’m so glad Lottie got away from them. A part of me wishes we’d learned what happened to Lottie’s siblings, but I trust that Lottie and Nick wouldn’t allow anything bad to happen to them.
Overall, Worth Any Price was sheer perfection. I loved Nick for his complexities, his tortured soul, and his loving heart. I like how he wears his heart on his sleeve even though he doesn’t realize it, and it was so cute when he starts falling for Lottie and doesn’t understand what’s happening to him. I loved Lottie for her spunkiness in the face of adversity and for daring to step outside her comfort zone to protect herself. It’s not without guilt on her part for abandoning her family, but it was the right thing to do and I loved her for it, as well as for her ready acceptance of Nick’s past and his passionate nature. These two together fill the pages of this story with tenderness, true love, and swoon-worthy romance that I won’t soon forget. I’ve loved getting reacquainted with all the Bow Street Runners. As a whole they are my favorite of Lisa Kleypas’ books I’ve read to date, and I will gladly re-read all these stories again in the future. show less
The thing about Nick is that when he was introduced in the previous book, Lady Sophia's Lover, he came off as a mixture of charming and arrogant, but he wasn’t particularly repentant for his criminal activities. Although I felt some sympathy for him, he didn’t truly capture my heart until I read his story, which has now catapulted him toward the top of my all-time favorite heroes list. Nick is a tortured soul who was born John Sydney, an aristocrat, but he was orphaned as a child, and with no relatives to step up and take care of him and his sister, he fell in with the wrong crowd, turning to petty thievery and other criminal pursuits to survive. This eventually landed him on a prison hulk, where he befriended the real Nick Gentry. When his friend, who was about to be released, died, he took on his identity, and in the years after prison, he built a fortune by having a foot in two worlds, one as an underworld crime boss and the other as a semi-respectable thief-taker. But by the end of the previous book, Nick had reached the end of the road. He was faced with prison and probable hanging for his crimes. But his new brother-in-law, Ross Cannon, who was also the head magistrate of Bow Street, couldn’t bear to send his wife’s brother to the gallows, so he arranged for Nick to come work as a Runner. This is where we find Nick at the beginning of the story.
In the three years, he’s been working at Bow Street, Nick has settled into his role and enjoys his work, but he tends to take a lot of unnecessary risks that are the result of not really caring whether he lives or dies. As the story opens, he’s on a break from Bow Street, working a private commission in search of a runaway bride, and he’s tracked her down at a country estate where he’s posing as a bored aristocrat. He’s about to tip his hand and reveal his real reason for being there, when he meets the woman in question and feels a connection to her like he’s never felt with anyone before. Intrigued, he keeps his secret a little longer while romancing her, but when the truth comes out, he impulsively offers to marry her to keep her out of the hands of the man she fears. He intends for it to be a marriage of convenience only, but things don’t exactly go as planned when his feelings for her only start growing deeper and deeper. Nick is a man with secrets that were bound to come out sooner or later. However, Ross is forcing it to happen sooner by making sure that Nick is reinstated to his aristocratic position, which is something that he doesn’t want. It makes him feel stifled, like he’s losing his independence, but since he has a wife to worry about now, he reluctantly does what’s expected while not really knowing how to live that life anymore.
Charlotte, known to everyone as Lottie, is someone who knows first-hand what it’s like to lose one’s independence. Her parents betrothed her to a wealthy older aristocrat when she was just a child, all for the price of keeping them financially solvent. The man paid for her education, but everything from what she wore, to what she was allowed to eat, to what subjects she studied were dictated by him, all for the purpose of making her into the “perfect” wife. He even molested her and her parents turned a blind eye, simply saying that it didn’t matter, because she was going to be his wife someday anyway. So it’s no wonder that after graduating, she changed her name and ran away, and has been hiding on a country estate where she works as a ladies’ companion. She’s been there for two years and is mostly content until Nick comes along. He stirs feelings in her that she’s never felt before, but when she finds out his real reason for being there, she’s understandably hurt. However, when faced with going back, she offers to be his mistress instead, knowing that Nick has a hardened past, which would make him well-suited to protect her against her abuser. She couldn’t be more surprised when he counter-offers marriage instead. I loved Lottie. She’s a sweet, down-to-earth heroine who’s been through as much as Nick has in her short life, so she understands him in a way that others don’t. She’s also very accepting of everything about him, including his checkered past, and isn’t bothered by the idea of being a commoner’s wife before she discovers that he’s really a viscount. Even then, she wants him to be happy far more than she wants a title.
Nick and Lottie are the perfect couple. They intuitively understand each other, and they are both very loving, giving, and selfless people, even though Nick would never think of himself in those terms. Their passion and sensuality are a perfect match for one another. Nick is a dream lover, and that’s something that he’s practiced over time, but not quite in the way that the cover blurb implies. His experiences on the prison hulk and the death of his friend left him emotionally scarred. He has nightmares, and when the story opens, he also has an aversion to being touched. Because of this, he didn’t seek out a woman for sexual fulfillment until he was twenty-four years old, and couldn’t bear it anymore. At that point, he went to Gemma, the madam of an elite brothel, who ended up tutoring him in the sexual arts. I loved the prologue, which shows just how frightened and vulnerable he was, but at the same time, he has a natural instinct for passion and sensuality, which is why Gemma took him on as her protégé. I also loved the fact that she is the only woman he’s with for the next three years, and after Gemma breaks off their arrangement, he’s celibate until meeting Lottie. By the time he does meet Lottie, he’s certainly an accomplished lover, but there’s nothing more appealing to me than a hero who reserves his passion either primarily or exclusively for the heroine. IMHO, it makes their connection that much stronger. Another thing that helped that connection is that while Nick was with Gemma, one of her rules was that their time together was strictly for sex play and there was no emotional intimacy involved, so that was something that only Lottie received from him. It doesn’t happen all at once, but when it does it’s perfect. I also love how he pledges fidelity to Lottie even before he realizes he’s in love with her. Not to mention, their love scenes are hot and sexy, while still being sweet and tender. I just loved every minute they shared the page together and could have kept reading about them forever.
Worth Any Price has some notable secondary characters. Ross and Sophia (Lady Sophia's Lover) support Nick and Lottie in their marriage and nudge Nick toward accepting his birthright. Grant (Someone to Watch Over Me) is now the chief magistrate of Bow Street and Nick’s boss. Lottie has been hiding out at the estate of Marcus, Lord Westcliff, who fans of Ms. Kleypas’ Wallflowers will know as the the hero of the second book of that series, It Happened One Autumn. He was one of my favorite heroes of that series, and in this book, he’s every bit as kind and gentlemanly. He’s very protective of Lottie, offering to marry her when he learns the truth of her situation. Gemma, the madam of the brothel Nick went to, is only seen in the prologue, but she kind of made an impression on me. A lot of times, I feel jealous of any woman who gets first dibs on the hero before the heroine, but Gemma didn’t really rub me the wrong way like most do. She treats Nick with kindness and respect and teaches him everything she knows, but at the end of the day, it’s still a business arrangement, which I think is what made it more palatable to me. Then there’s Lottie’s abuser and the villain of the story, Lord Radnor, who is evil incarnate. He’s totally obsessed with Lottie and as mad as a hatter. Her parents aren’t much better, selling off their daughter to a madman and allowing him to do as he pleases all for the sake of money, while Nick’s money isn’t good enough for them. They all made me sick and I’m so glad Lottie got away from them. A part of me wishes we’d learned what happened to Lottie’s siblings, but I trust that Lottie and Nick wouldn’t allow anything bad to happen to them.
Overall, Worth Any Price was sheer perfection. I loved Nick for his complexities, his tortured soul, and his loving heart. I like how he wears his heart on his sleeve even though he doesn’t realize it, and it was so cute when he starts falling for Lottie and doesn’t understand what’s happening to him. I loved Lottie for her spunkiness in the face of adversity and for daring to step outside her comfort zone to protect herself. It’s not without guilt on her part for abandoning her family, but it was the right thing to do and I loved her for it, as well as for her ready acceptance of Nick’s past and his passionate nature. These two together fill the pages of this story with tenderness, true love, and swoon-worthy romance that I won’t soon forget. I’ve loved getting reacquainted with all the Bow Street Runners. As a whole they are my favorite of Lisa Kleypas’ books I’ve read to date, and I will gladly re-read all these stories again in the future. show less
This review is for all 5 books in the series, because while I think they're harmless one by one, taken as a whole, they support rape culture.
Let me say that there is no outright rape in these books, but they are all steeped in the trope of a beautiful virgin (in this case one in each book) who only needs a forceful man to awaken her sexual urges.
While I love the idea of the four wallflowers working together to secure husbands, and the descriptions of the gorgeous clothing, the characters show more themselves are fairly stereotypical--the shy girl, the brash American girl, the dreamer and the down-on-her-luck girl from the gentry. The men are equally two-dimensional--the rake, the industrialist, the stuffy lord and the irritating American.
All of the female characters, the four wallflowers and a secretary in the last book, are preyed on by the men, who reduce them to quivering masses of sexual desire by forcing kisses and gropes (and in one case, oral sex) on them. It's always because the women are so, so desirable that the men cannot withstand their urges.
It's been almost 200 years since The Lustful Turk was written, but apparently we're still believing this trope, glorifying it and in all too many cases, acting on it.
We need to stop. show less
Let me say that there is no outright rape in these books, but they are all steeped in the trope of a beautiful virgin (in this case one in each book) who only needs a forceful man to awaken her sexual urges.
While I love the idea of the four wallflowers working together to secure husbands, and the descriptions of the gorgeous clothing, the characters show more themselves are fairly stereotypical--the shy girl, the brash American girl, the dreamer and the down-on-her-luck girl from the gentry. The men are equally two-dimensional--the rake, the industrialist, the stuffy lord and the irritating American.
All of the female characters, the four wallflowers and a secretary in the last book, are preyed on by the men, who reduce them to quivering masses of sexual desire by forcing kisses and gropes (and in one case, oral sex) on them. It's always because the women are so, so desirable that the men cannot withstand their urges.
It's been almost 200 years since The Lustful Turk was written, but apparently we're still believing this trope, glorifying it and in all too many cases, acting on it.
We need to stop. show less
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