Tempt Me at Twilight

Description from back of book:
He was everything she'd sworn to avoid. Poppy Hathaway loves her unconventional family, though she longs for normalcy. Then fate leads her to a meeting with Harry Rutledge, an enigmatic hotel owner and inventor with wealth, power, and a dangerous hidden life, When their flirtation compromises her own reputation, Poppy shocks everyone by accepting his proposal - only to find that her new husband offers his passion, but not his trust.

And she was everything he needed...Harry was willing to do anything to win Poppy - except to open his heart. All his life, he has held the world at arm's length...but the sharp, beguiling Poppy demands to be his wife in every way that matters. Still, as desire grows between them, show more an enemy lurks in the shadows. Now if Harry wants to keep Poppy by his side, he must forge a true union of body and soul, once and for all...

My Comments
I really enjoyed this book. It's definitely the best of the series so far. I really liked Harry - I love gruff, angry characters who are just covering up the poor, injured little boy inside, and that's exactly what he is. This book actually brought tears to my eyes at points, and made my heart clench. Most romance novels don't do that. Loved it. show less

Lisa Kleypas is forever and always the queen of historical romance. This series is a delight. I adore both of these characters. Everyone is a mess, everyone beautiful, everyone is too smart for their own good, and everyone gets the happiness they didn't think they could have, the joy of love and family, and the soft pleasure of being part of a tribe. And who doesn't love an anti-hero from Buffalo?

Tempt Me at Twilight
4 Stars

An enjoyable addition to the series and while Harry and Poppy are an endearing couple, it is the scenes between Leo and Cat that really engaged me.

Harry is a difficult character to like. He is ruthless and manipulative but also uncompromising in his honesty and forthrightness. At some point, it becomes impossible not to sympathize with him given his tortured past and tireless efforts to love and be loved. While his behavior with regard to Poppy's beau is unconscionable, one cannot help but accept that Michael is weak and spineless, and that Poppy is better off without him. Moreover, Harry's willingness to accept her for who she is and do anything to keep her is very compelling.

Poppy is a sweet heroine but is show more somewhat bland as compared to the other Hathaway siblings. Nevertheless, she is intelligent and charming, and her relationship with the Rutledge hotel staff is lovely, They are wonderful secondary characters and their matchmaking efforts are one of the highlights of the story.

Harry and Poppy's tug-of-war romance is entertaining and although they have definite chemistry, it is not as tangible as that of Win and Kev in Seduce Me at Sunrise.

The small suspense plot is somewhat contrived although it does add to solidifying the romance between Harry and Poppy.

The setup for Cat and Leo's book is fantastic and their scenes together are so irresistible that I'm going to read the next book immediately rather than waiting between installments as I usually do. show less

"just as a child of ten might act when you're far too old

You're not hopeless or helpless and I hate to sound cold...."

You know there are times the opening bars of this song ("You Don't Know What love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)," White Stripes if you aren't placing it) come up when I finish a romance and I have to figure out why. It just starts in my head. It fits many so well. Particularly those alpha holes. Well, this wasn't that for me.

My friend list is all over the map with this book. I'm all over the map with this book. So...I get it.

But is this romance? It was a great family drama and Leo *fans self* but how much are they going to steal the show? I love that my affection for Cam & Amelia grows. (Kev, ick, get outta my face) show more and that the family dynamic is so well fleshed out I somehow come out liking these books even though the romance....

Well, the romance sucked.

"But you don't know what love is, you just do as you're told,"

I didn't even mind Harry in the beginning. Broken assholes are my jam. Manipulating a situation, well, you know what, we do that on a daily basis to get our way. My husband made a ridiculous play for me when I was dating someone else. Whatever. I'm down. In fact, I obviously find it unbearably charming. What I struggled with was Poppy's odd personality. Loving family, full sense of self and no reason for insecurity that I'm aware of...she relegates herself, rather than to her family in Hampshire, to marrying a man who she sees as taking away her choice. ( You're not hopeless or helpless,

So, um, what the fuck? Then she proceeds to punish him and asks him why he wants her so no less than 2 times. She makes him chase her....for what. Then the plot twist oh god, just make it end. Why is she so mudery and kidnappy in her plots. GIVE ME A BREAK.

So in the end, Harry was a broken, manipulative, determined asshole who fell in love and grew a heart. And Poppy? Her growth? Didn't see it. Found her behavior just as abusive post marriage. "Oh yes ravage me. I will not have you hold anything over on me. We shall make this official but I will not participate."

NO THANKS. F for the romance. ("All those empty I love yous") I did not understand the relationship. I understand them separately better. I understand Harry desiring Poppy. I even understand Poppy... But together. Bleh.

A for the fam.

That winds up as a solid 2-stars. Because this is romance, folks. I get my epic family drama elsewhere. show less

This third installment in the Hathaway series is slightly different from the other two books, because for the heroine, Poppy, it’s not love at first, second, or third sight. In the beginning of the story she’s quite smitten with a man that is not the hero, but the bastard can’t commit with her because his father does not approve the match, and soon she finds herself in the arms of the mysterious Harry Rutledge, who wants her as he never wanted anything else in life.
At first Harry can seem the villain in the story, but I certainly never saw him that way, because he wanted Poppy, end of story. While Michael wanted Poppy BUT what to do about her embarrassing family…his father…his precious title and money, and oh God, what will show more others think and say if he elopes with the love of his life?! Ugh, seriously, dude.
So, hell yes, I wanted Poppy with Harry.
Nevertheless, those first weeks as newlyweds were not easy for both of them, or for me to read, with them being so awkward around each other.
The second half of the book is a lot better because we get to know Harry, his past, and how his mommy issues make him think he’s completely unlovable -- which broke my heart. Poppy was just the right woman to prove him wrong, and I love the way she patiently handled him and forgave his initial *kind of* villainous conduct.
In Tempt Me At Twilight we also get to know more about Miss Marks, and I must say, I love that this series is mostly about romance and tortured heroes, but also about long lost brothers, sisters, and other family members, getting reacquainted. Love it. :)
On a side note, here goes a shout out to the secondary characters who gained a place in my heart: the hotel staff, who tried so hard to make Harry and Poppy sleep in the same room; Dodger, the ferret; and Medusa, the hedgehog! show less

I keep waffling on what to rate this book. Somewhere between 2 and 3 stars for sure. What did I like? I loved Poppy Hathaway. She's intelligent and rambling, and she knows a lot about the most random stuff. Seriously, who knows how to decipher an astrolabe let alone build one? Not only that, but she's finally separated out from her rambunctious family beyond being the "normal" one.

I particularly enjoyed her constant rejection of the hero, even after they were married. His manipulation was reprehensible, regardless of his background, and he deserved her ire. The only thing that annoyed me was that she forgave him too easily. I could've bought an eventual redemption, but it happened in a matter of weeks. Something as devious as ruining show more her other marriage prospects and then practically forcing her to marry him to save her reputation should take months if not years to recover from.

Overall, the hero annoyed me. There were so many unanswered questions about him! Why does he have enemies if he just runs a hotel? Why does his hotel have secret passages? What terrible errands does his assistant perform? All I know is that Harry Rutledge builds machines, runs a hotel, was unloved as a child (but so are all of Kleypas's heroes), and is a rake (again, so is every romance hero). There's very little that's interesting about him and definitely nothing unique.

In general, Kleypas is a decent writer, but she struggles with pacing. Several of her books end 60 pages sooner than they do. The last 20 pages are always some dramatic climax that's out of place with the rest of the book and rarely adds to the romance. This isn't a spoiler if you've read any of her books because it's literally in every one. I would recommend this book if you don't like surprises and enjoy eating popcorn for dinner. show less

We all know and are attracted (even if we don't admit it) to that villain of a man, the seemingly cold-hearted, manipulative hunk who, underneath the layers of bravado, just wants and needs to be held, to be wanted, to be loved. Harry Rutledge is such a man in the third installment of the Hathaways series, TEMPT ME AT TWILIGHT.

Harry is the reclusive, handsome, American born owner of the prestigious London hotel, The Rutledge. He is a self-made man and one of the richest in London as well as one of the most mysterious, hence his instantanious attractiveness to all women. He is notorious for his shrewd business sense, his manipulative nature and ruthless determination to get whatever he wants. And what he wants...... is Poppy Hathaway. show more Poppy is beautiful, intelligent, with a love for life that is engrossing. She wants a normal, predictable, peaceful life, which, of coarse, does not happen when your last name is Hathaway. Staying at the Rutledge Hotel during the season, Poppy believes she has found her true love in Michael Bayning, a young man secretly courting her, witholding a proposal due to his fears that his father will not approve of the match. But if a man truly loves a woman, nothing would stop him from having her. As Harry tells Poppy,

"You were courted by a boy, who had to do as he was told." His hot breath feathered against her lips as he whispered, "You should try it with a man, who needs no one's permission."

Nothing will stop Harry from getting what he wants, especially not a young buck like Michael Bayning. A little bit of manipulation and maneuvering, and Harry has Poppy where he wants her....in a very uncompromising position that could ruin her reputation forever. But what will happen when Poppy discovers that she is married to the villain, a man who manipulates people with his power and money.....a man who doesn't tell her the whole truth.

As the story progresses, Poppy comes to accept Harry for who he is, and in doing so, offers him the love he so desperately wanted and needed his whole life. Harry finally comes to realize and accept that he is deserving of love and that he is capable of loving. Little did he know that Poppy was the woman he was waiting for his whole life, the one who would make him laugh, intrigue him, beguile him, adore him....the one who would unleash in him a profound love that he could no longer contain.

“I have so much love for you, I could fill rooms with it. Buildings. You’re surrounded by it wherever you go, you walk through it, breathe it...it’s in your lungs, and under your tongue, and between your fingers and toes...” His mouth moved passionately over hers, urging her lips apart. It was a kiss to level mountains and shake stars from the sky. It was a kiss to make angels faint and demons weep...a passionate, demanding, soul-searing kiss that nearly knocked the earth off its axis. Or at least that was how Poppy felt about it. "

This is another great Lisa Kleypas story. It has it all.... villainous hero, lovable heroine, hot and heavy love scenes, humourous dialogue, and charming secondary characters. I have loved this quirky Hathaway family from the beginning in MINE TILL MIDNIGHT. The author keeps us laughing with the return of the familiar, unconventional family members whom I have come to know and love so well. The author's revelations about Catherine and the obvious growing attraction between her and Leo is enough to make me run to the nearest book store. Thank god for the internet and ebooks.....with the push of a button, I am already engrossed in the next Hathaway love affair. show less