Krazy Kleypas Challenge Finish Line

Update on the Krazy Kleypas Reading Challenge 2012. This was the only big challenge I signed up for this year and I think I did really well. It does help that Lisa Kleypas has a large backlist and I love her writing. Earlier in the year I signed up with a goal of 4-8 books but soon changed it to the next level up with a goal of 8-12 books. Let's see how I did.

Original Goal
Category Two
Komfy with Kleypas
4-8 Books

NEW Goal
Category Three
Kaptured by Kleypas

8-12 Books

List of books I plan to read:
Seduce Me At Sunrise (The Hathaways #2)
Tempt Me At Twilight (The Hathaways #3)
Married By Morning (The Hathaways #4)
Love In The Afternoon (The Hathaways #5)
Sugar Daddy (Travises #1)
Blue-Eyed Devil (Travises #2)
Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises #3)

New books added to the list:
Lady Sophia's Lover (Bow Street Runners #2)
Worth Any Price (Bow Street Runners #3)
Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflowers #1)
It Happened One Autumn (Wallflowers #2)
Devil In Winter (Wallflowers #3)
Scandal In Spring (Wallflowers #4)
Love, Come To Me

That comes out to 10 books. While I didn't read all of the books I had planned, I did reach the challenge goal. Of course, I have only reviewed a small handful of these. Bad, blogger! Hopefully I can review them all next year because seriously, I loved a lot of them. Writing this post has given me an urge to read another Kleypas book so I may just try to squeeze in one more before the year ends.

Thanks to UTC for hosting such a fun challenge. If you haven't read a Lisa Kleypas book yet, you must! I love The Wallflowers and Hathaways series. Historical romance at its best!

 

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Krazy Kleypas Reading Challenge 2012 - Update

Thought I'd give a little update post on how my Krazy Kleypas Reading Challenge 2012 is going. Earlier in the year I signed up with a goal of 4-8 books.  But Lisa Kleypas is hard to resist and I've just recently met that goal. (Of course I've only reviewed a couple of these books but that's another story.) So I am going to amend my to 8-12 books.

Original Goal
Category Two
Komfy with Kleypas
4-8 Books

NEW Goal
Category Three
Kaptured by Kleypas

8-12 Books

List of books I plan to read:
Seduce Me At Sunrise (The Hathaways #2)
Tempt Me At Twilight (The Hathaways #3)
Married By Morning (The Hathaways #4)
Love In The Afternoon (The Hathaways #5)
Sugar Daddy (Travises #1)
Blue-Eyed Devil (Travises #2)
Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises #3)

New books added to the list:
Lady Sophia's Lover (Bow Street Runners #2)
Worth Any Price (Bow Street Runners #3)
Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflowers #1)
It Happened One Autumn (Wallflowers #2)
Devil In Winter (Wallflowers #3)
Scandal In Spring (Wallflowers #4)
Love, Come To Me

Are any of you fans of Lisa Kleypas? Are there any good books I am missing from my list? Leave a comment and let me know and I'll definitely check it out.  Thanks to Under the Covers for hosting this great challenge!

say "twee!"

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Someone To Watch Over Me - Review

Someone To Watch Over Me (Bow Street Runners #1) 
by Lisa Kleypas

Publication date: 01 May 1999 by Avon

ISBN 10/13: 0380802309 | 9780380802302
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Category: Adult Historical Romance
Keywords: Historical, romance, amnesia, murder, courtesan
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook

From Goodreads:

A temptingly beautiful woman is rescued from the icy waters of the Thames, her memory gone. Told that she is Vivien Rose Duvall, one of London's most scandalous beauties, she finds herself under the protection of the enigmatic and charming Grant Morgan, one of London's most eligible, and unattainable, catches. As his love for this mysterious beauty grows, he's determined to discover the truth - no matter what.

Thuy's Review:

I’ve been on a big Lisa Kleypas kick lately and am a self-professed fangirl. While I was disappointed in this on, I still had a hard time putting it down. The book starts off with an promising premise. A woman is found half drowned in the river by a Bow Street runner. She turns out to be Vivien Duvall, infamous courtesan, who has no memory of her previous life. Her rescuer, Grant Morgan, remember Vivien as a conceited, scornful woman who once spurned him. He vows to protect her even though his last memory of her isn’t a pleasant one and sets out to find the person who is trying to kill her and untangle the truth of her past.

Normally I love how Lisa Kleypas writes people. One of the great things about a Lisa Kleypas novel is how emotionally involved I become in the story and I’ve fallen in love with more than one of her characters. Unfortunately, I never connected with Grant or Vivien and I actually didn’t like Grant for a large chunk of the book. He saves Vivien and takes care of her quite lovingly. However, while he’s doing this, he’s also plotting to seduce her as some sort of revenge for a past argument. He takes advantage of her amnesia to press a physical relationship when he should be protecting her. Even as his feelings change towards Vivien, Grant insists on lying to her about their previous relationship in the hopes of seducing her.

Vivien herself was sweet if somewhat bland, having no memory of her previous life for most of the book. I just didn’t feel very attached to either of them. The relationship and the characters in this one just didn’t quite mesh for me and I saw one of the major plot twists coming from a mile away. The book does get better as the story progresses. We learn more about Grant and he loses some of his bitterness. It’s also obvious that he truly cares for Vivien by the end and they share some very sweet moments. So while this isn’t my favorite Lisa Kleypas novel, I still a fan and am will give the rest of the series a try.

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Visit the author online at www.lisakleypas.com and follow her on Twitter @LisaKleypas

Seduce Me At Sunrise - Review

Seduce Me At Sunrise (The Hathaways #2) by Lisa Kleypas

Publication date: 30 September 2008 by St. Martin's Press

ISBN 10/13: 0312949812 | 9780312949815
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Category: Adult Historical Romance
Keywords: Romance, historical, family, Gypsies
Format: Mass market paperback, eBook, audiobook

From goodreads:

Kev Merripen has longed for the beautiful, well-bred Winnifred Hathaway ever since her family rescued him from the brink of death when he was just a boy. But this handsome Gypsy is a man of mysterious origins—and he fears that the darkness of his past could crush delicate, luminous Win. So Kev refuses to submit to temptation…and before long Win is torn from him by a devastating twist of fate.

Then, Win returns to England…only to find that Kev has hardened into a man who will deny love at all costs. Meantime, an attractive, seductive suitor has set his sights on Win. It’s now or never for Kev to make his move. But first, he must confront a dangerous secret about his destiny—or risk losing the only woman he has lived for…

Thuy's Review:

I adored the first book in this series and was afraid that the second book would not live up to my expectations. I am happy to report that Seduce Me At Sunrise did not disappointed and I fell in love with the Hathaways all over again.

My heart went out to Merripen in the first book. Haunted by a dark and violent past, he’s resigned himself to never having the one thing he wants most in life - Win. He’s afraid to hurt her, afraid that the violence he did in his youth will come out one day and harm her. He’s the very definition of a tortured hero. He is intense and moody but also extremely loyal with a great capacity for love. He’s also the most infuriatingly stubborn man I've ever met! He kisses Win passionately one moment and pushes her away the next. His mixed signals were enough to drive any girl a little batty.

Luckily, Win is a persistent woman who knows what she wants. I like that she isn’t cowed by Merripen and stands up to him. Even when Merripen made me want to throw up my hands and give up, Win holds her ground. She has a quiet inner strength that anchors the entire family.

I am also happy to say that we see more of Cam and Amelia in this one. They are one of my favorite couples and seeing them as a married couple only solidifies my love for them. Cam and Merripen also find answers to the mysterious origins of their tattoos. I won’t spoil it but let’s just say that the revelation is a big one that has great significance for both of them.

I really can’t say enough about this series. I thought I was fully invested after the first book but now I am totally addicted. These characters are so well developed that I feel like I actually know them. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

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Visit the author online at www.larissaione.com and follow her on Twitter @LarissaIone

Krazy Kleypas Reading Challenge 2012

Hi, everyone! I am signing up for my first official reading challenge (here on the blog at least). I am joining Under The Covers' fantastic Krazy Kleypas Reading Challenge 2012. I recently read my first Lisa Kleypas novel and loved it. I am official a convert to Ms. Kleypas and what better way to feed my addiction than to challenge myself to read more of her books?

Here are the rules (taken from UTC):

1. The Krazy Kleypas Reading Challenge runs from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. You can join at anytime during the year. This is a 2012 challenge, so books read before then will not count to your progress.

2. Pick whichever category you like! You can get your feet wet and just do 1-3 books or develop a full blown obsession and try and read them all! You can change your mind at any time, if 1-3 books is not enough feel free to go on to the next category.

3. Re-reads are acceptable.

4. Readers without blogs can still participate! Keep track of your progress with Goodreads, Shelfari or LibraryThing.

I am going to start off slow and commit to the second level of the challenge right now. That might change through the year but I want this to be something reasonable for me.

Category Two
Komfy with Kleypas
4-8 Books

List of books I plan to read:
Seduce Me At Sunrise (The Hathaways #2)
Tempt Me At Twilight (The Hathaways #3)
Married By Morning (The Hathaways #4)
Love In The Afternoon (The Hathaways #5)
Sugar Daddy (Travises #1)
Blue-Eyed Devil (Travises #2)
Smooth Talking Stranger (Travises #3)

I think the problem now is waiting until January to start. Keep an out out next year on the blog for updates on the challenge. If you want to find out more or sign up, please visit the Under The Covers post about it here. :)

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 thuy would like some pie. to find out if she got some, follow her on twitter @fishgirl182