And Then He Kissed Her

There may come a day when I look back on this whirlwind of a day and think, "Why did I rate this book five stars?"

BUT I DON'T CARE. I have been taken on a ROLLER COASTER of emotions. I'm at that point in my existence where I don't even understand how a fan of romance novels could possibly not love this book deep in the marrow of their bones?

A heroine that is a good girl, but not TOO good, who speaks her mind and isn't cowed and is just struggling to come to terms with who she is and who she wants to be vs. what everyone else wants her to be. A hero that is something of a "rake" or whatever, but doesn't spend LITERALLY THE ENTIRE BOOK engaging in something just shy of rape fantasies?

A book of beautiful consensual sex where the guy is show more respectful and instead of saying, "I KNOW YOU WANT THIS, I CAN FEEL IT, DON'T LIE TO ME WITH YOUR 'STOP'S AND 'NO's" and instead bothers to ask the heroine if she actually wants to keep going without making it seem like she doesn't ACTUALLY have a choice?

AND ON TOP OF THAT THEIR FIRST KISS IS IN A RARE BOOKSHOP? Are. you. serious.

I'm sorry. I'm just having a lot of feelings. I want to read this book 50 times. I want to always love this book as much as I love it at this very moment. show less

Don't let the (pretty awful) cover fool you. This was a great book, among the best romance novels I've read lately.

Set in the Victorian era, at the turn of the century, And Then He Kissed Her deals with issues that I've never seen before in a romance novel, and it is a refreshing breath of fresh air amongst the many many (tired) regencies out there.

I liked this novel not only because of the budding relationship between Emmaline and Marlowe, but mostly because of Emmaline's transformation from a prim and proper young lady content to follow society's strictures and rules and to uphold them most rigidly, to a woman who uncovers who she really is, stands up for herself and comes into her own.

Excellent.

What a delightful story. The heroine had been stuffed into a psychological corset, but she gradually decides to undo the laces. The hero has sworn never to marry again, until it's pointed out to him that he already is.

The banter between Harry and Emma is adorable. And it contains one of the sexiest love scenes I've ever read -- not in bed but with Harry whispering to Emma all of the things he'd like to do to her.

My only complaint is the abrupt ending -- an epilogue would have been nice.

Emmaline (Emma) Dove works for Harry Marlowe as his secretary. She's worked for him for five years. But what she really wants to be is a published writer. She has written a book on etiquette expertise and has had it rejected by Harry four times. (Harry is a publisher of Marlowe Publishings, owns several newspapers, and has a weekly periodical called "The Bachelor's Guide".) So Emma rewrites her book and gives it to Harry again, and he rejects it again. (It seems that Harry finds the topic of etiquette useless and barely gives her manuscripts a glance thinking absolutely no one would be interested in such a dull topic.) One day Emma finally discovers that Harry has never really read her manuscripts. (Her manuscripts are written by her show more literary creation called Mrs. Bartleby and when Emma brings up Mrs. Bartleby's name to Harry one day he says he's never heard of her.) Emma now knows the truth, is furious, gives it some thought, and eventually gives her resignation to Harry.

Emma has also just reached her thirtieth birthday and is being referred to as a spinster. She has spent her entire youth waiting for things that never happened. A man she loved for three years married someone else, her Aunt Lydia who Emma nursed for five years hoping she'd get well died, and now, five years of hard work typing and re-typing manuscripts were for nothing, Harry barely glanced at them. Emma decides it's time to quit waiting for things to happen and to start to make them happen. She ends up getting a job with Harry's rival, Mr. Barringer, a newspaper owner (of the Social Gazette) who gives Emma her own newspaper column, which to Harry's shock and surprise, becomes extremely popular and the talk of London! Along the way Harry is also noticing little things about his formerly calm, sensible ex-secretary. How she has gold sparks in her eyes when she argues, how her brown hair has red highlights in the sunlight. And he is finding himself very attracted to her.

I loved this book! It was cute, sweet, and sexy. I really felt for Emma and I was glad when she finally got recognition as a writer. I liked Harry, he was handsome and charming, though he wasn't interested in marriage. (He was married once but divorced his wife for adultery and desertion.) I thought it was sweet when he bought Emma the books she admired at the bookshop. Harry and Emma had wonderful chemistry. It took awhile for them to finally make love so the tension kept building and building. I also liked the secondary characters and I noticed some of them have their own stories in other books in this series (Girl Bachelors). This was a lovely historical romance and I look forward to reading more by this author. show less

Fairly middle of the road historical romance, with all the perks and pitfalls of that genre. The author gives a few things I really liked, though, like the underside of humor and historical detail.

I adored how many times I found myself smiling while reading this. Favorite scene was when Harry found Mrs. Bartleby's influence even invading his manly men's club with talk of fashion and his reaction to it. The humor was evenly distributed with the nice emotional tinge to the novel. I liked how Emma and Harry balanced each other, personality wise. They felt like a great fit. And like I mentioned, the historical detail was really nice. The author really made me feel like I was in the Gilded Era with its opulence, strict Victorian morality, show more and the emergence of the modern world.

Now unfortunately, the book did also have some clichés in it as well. The amount of sexy times was a bit eye-rolling. And I can't tell you how much I'm getting sick of the whole "rake" stereotype of the heroes. It's like they can't be anything else. Maybe that's just most historical romance author's "thing", the womanizer who gets "tamed" by the heroine, but how 'bout some variety, ladies?!

At the end of the day, though, I really did enjoy this historical romance. It all elements I really did enjoy: emotional pull, a great sense of humor, and lovely historical details. The cliché bits weren't too horrid; I could live with them. So overall, if you're in the market for a historical romance set in the Gilded Era, check this one out. It's a nice escape. show less

The Story: Harry Marlowe is a successful publishing mogul and a known ladies' man. For the last five years his life--business and personal--has been kept in order through the efforts of his sensible, complacent, and remarkably efficient secretary, Emma Dove.

Emma is a self-declared 'girl-bachelor' with an expertise in etiquette and housekeeping, a real precursor to Martha Stewart. She has long-since talked herself out of falling for her boss's charms, but she can't help but feel like she's missing out on life by being so straight-laced and conservative.

My Thoughts: What I liked most about this story was the believable, gradual build-up to Emma and Harry's involvement. When the book opens, the two have already known each other for years, show more showing a comfortable and somewhat amusing familiarity between Emma and Harry. Kind of like my favorite scene from Two Weeks Notice, when Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant are eating lunch together and we see the little quirks of a two people who've been around each other too long. There's just enough intimacy that you're waiting for the UST to kick in. And then, with an unexpected turn of events, it finally does and nothing's ever the same again. Not a whirlwind romance, but rather the sudden realization of what's been under your nose the whole time. He notices how the light reflects off her hair. She realizes the sincere man behind the glib womanizer.

Having read one other book by Guhrke, I have to say she's revived my interest in historic romances. I've been more inclined towards contemporary settings of late, which means these types of books sometimes come across as hokey. However, Guhrke has a writing style that facilitates the mental time-jump, making the story genuine instead of trite.

And yes, this novel has all its pages.

Recommendation: A good book to read with your morning coffee/tea or during the quiet hours just before bed. show less

I loved the idea of this novel: most characters in historical romance novels are all members of the ton...they're rich and privileged. The exception is if a servant/lower class character gets fitted in somehow. This one is different: Emma is a working gal: and she is happy to be one! She works in publishing, and loves her job...except for her boss. Captain Butthead.

As the book progresses, she (somewhat unintentionally) begins to take him to task and whip him into shape. He realizes that Emma has some hidden depths, and decides he wants - and needs - her in her life, any way he can get her.

This is quite the sweet story, I loved how quickly they came together. They have a lot of chemistry, and Guhrke can definitely pen some steamy show more scenes! I also love that Emma got to do what she really wanted to do: write. She is definitely a heroine you can relate to and root for, and the book definitely delivers in giving her a satisfactory ending. I definitely recommend picking this up if you're a fan of historical romance! show less