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Loading... Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflower Quartet) (edition 2004)by Lisa Kleypas
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Overall, I really enjoyed the wallflower concept of this read. But i really stuggled with the pacing and the length. The first half was super well done, but the second half dragged and was not that captivating. I really lost interest and found it it be a bit boring but I will prob check it out the others through audio in the future. ( ) Overall, I really enjoyed the wallflower concept of this read. But i really stuggled with the pacing and the length. The first half was super well done, but the second half dragged and was not that captivating. I really lost interest and found it it be a bit boring but I will prob check it out the others through audio in the future. This was super sweet! The entire time, I was aawwwing, laughing, and cheering with the characters. I was so invested in this story! I do appreciate that Kleypas is focusing on friendships between women. This gave the characters a dimension I wouldn't have seen otherwise. Overall, I think this book did a great job balancing different emotions from sweet to steamy to suspenseful to funny. The only reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is because I felt it could've ended about 75 pages sooner. While it was interesting to read about a couple transition from single to married, the literal honeymoon period could've been condensed, in my opinion, and the tension between the couple's families could've been played up. I was so addicted to Secrets of a Summer Night that I read the whole book within 24 hours! While it is not my go-to genre, sometimes I just need a good romance book, and this one was so satisfying. This is a solid four stars, please read on for my full review! Plot Summary Four âWallflowersâ aka rejects of the Regency-era marriage season (think Jane Austen and Bridgerton) who always find themselves with empty dance cards at the balls, decide to team up and help each other find a husband. Their first project, the subject for Book 1, is Annabelle who is desperate to secure a wealthy husband to save her family from complete ruin. She has her sights on securing an aristocratic husband but must fend off the attentions of the bold and brash (but filthy rich) âcommonerâ Simon Hunt. Characters Annabelle Peyton Annabelle is not really what I would consider a Wallflower, not in the sense that their sitting on the sidelines is due to her having a shy personality or any anxiety. She is not a shrinking violet and has no problem with conflict or speaking her mind, or chasing down her goals. She is very practically-minded about the reality of her destitute family and what that means for her future. I wouldnât say she has a lot of character beyond the typical âfeistyâ protagonist of this genre. She has no interests outside of finding a husband and then having a husband. Love was a luxury she had never allowed herself to hope forâa distinctly superfluous issue when her very survival was so much in question. She has some growth in that she goes from being snobby about âcommonersâ to embracing Simon and his family, and appreciating there may be more worth in work than loafing around all day living off your ancestral wealth. The Wallflowers The other wallflowers will get their novels, but for now, we also have two American heiresses â both lively and confident â and a shy, emotionally abused Evie who has a stammer. Evie is the true Wallflower and she has very little to do in this book really, she fully disappears for the final section. Simon Hunt Simon Hunt is your typical ruggedly handsome, all-muscles and dark-hair, love interest. He speaks his mind, heâs a bit rude.. think Mr Darcy type but heâs a wealthy entrepreneur, not a landed gentry. I have to say his motives towards Annabelle I found quite murky â we get a mix of his and her perspectives. He has been in love/lust with her from afar for years but she keeps turning him down. Yet he still only appears to be interested in sex and not in marrying her â which he knows she needs â so I found this quite confusing. When exactly he has his change of heart from just wanting her as a mistress to proposing I am unclear â I just really didnât understand what he was playing at! There are a lot of mixed messages as he has many thoughtful actions such as gifting her boots, or preparing her private feasts â acts of love â while at the same time asking her to name her price as his mistress⊠What do you want Simon?! On both sides, I would say that the emotional progression towards love and marriage was disjointed, and a little nonsensical in places (I mean itâs so obvious that Simon is the answer to all her problems). But then this is a romance book and if characters had fully functioning brains and could communicate theyâd be 50 pages. âOh, all right,â she said balefully, beginning to shake all over. âIâll admit itâI want you. There, are you satisfied? Writing The writing is very engaging, I did read this in a day! The author is American writing British characters which does show â she is more favourable to the American characters (of which there are a surprising amount) and her writing of the servants is frankly bordering on offensive (I write this as an English person)! âTake my arm, please, miss,â the younger of the two said, extending her forearm for Annabelle to take hold of. âYer not quite steady on yer feet looks like.â Iâm sorry, what now? I just chuckled at this, enjoyed an eye-roll to myself and moved on as I enjoyed the rest of it so much! One point that I didnât think the author resolved is that she built up some conflict with Westcliff (Simonâs closest friend/business partner) hating Annabelle without ever explaining the reason for this. At one point he warns Simon off â âYou should,â the earl said emphatically. âMiss Peyton is a selfish jade if Iâve ever seen one.â But I have no idea why he thought this. So much is made of his dislike it was strange that it was never developed â I expect weâd find out there had been some kind of misunderstanding, but no. Themes [For a more detailed review on themes see the review on my blog] - Vulnerability of women - Blue Blood is a depreciating currency - Love is action not words Recommendation I did blow through this so fast, I loved it. It was exactly what I needed, sometimes these formulaic romance books are what I want, and this one is very well written. There is some comfort in knowing what is going to happen next. If you are a romance fan, especially this style of Regency romance youâll love it. If you enjoyed Bridgerton on Netflix and those books, youâll love this! no reviews | add a review
Fiction.
Romance.
Historical Fiction.
HTML: From the New York Times bestselling author of Devil in Disguise, the first book in her beloved Wallflowers series. The Wallflowers: four young ladies at the side of the ballroom make a pact to help each other find husbands . . . no matter what it takes. Proud and beautiful Annabelle Peyton could have her pick of suitorsâ??if only she had a dowry. Her family is on the brink of disaster, and the only way Annabelle can save them is to marry a wealthy man. Unfortunately her most persistent admirer is the brash Simon Hunt, a handsome and ambitious entrepreneur who wants her as his mistress. Annabelle is determined to resist Simon's wicked propositions, but she can't deny her attraction to the boldly seductive rogue, any more than he can resist the challenge she presents. As they try to outmaneuver each other, they find themselves surrendering to a love more powerful than they could have ever imagined. But fate may have other plansâ??and it will take all of Annabelle's courage to face a peril that could destroy everything she holds dear No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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