Marrying Winterborne

This was a reread. Still very enjoyable. 

4/5. But a low 4.

Okay I have mixed feelings about that book. I've read the first 90 pages in paperback but the translation was horrible. HORRIBLE. I could not focus on the book at all, I was distracted all the time. When I found the English version it all changed and I loved it.

But then I hated that Helen didn't tell Rhys the truth about her parentage until she had no choice. Like come on, just do it! I hate the secret identity trope because it's always “Oh, I must tell Character A about who I am. But they hate my kind/my parents/etc and ai don't want to lose them.” And it just adds unnecessary angst to the book. Ugh.

And then we didn't even get to see their wedding? In a book called MARRYING Winterborne you'd expect the wedding to 1) happen quickly and 2) be described on page. None happened here. Instead of eloping like normal people at the beginning of the book Helen insisted on waiting 5 MONTHS to marry Winterborne... Until she finally eloped at the end of the book like he wanted since the beginning. But was the wedding described? No, because why would it be? /s

The dragged out secret identity was annoying. I hate miscommunication with passion. And I was so ready for a secret wedding type of book instead! Ugh!

Next one: the return of Evie and Sebastian! I can't wait!!

I found this to be a fun read. Nothing bad really happens and there is no third Act break up. The male main character is a cinnamon roll of a man ❤️. 

It's always hard for me to discern exactly how I feel about romances I tear through quickly, but "generally positive" is my overall response to #2 in The Ravenels. Helen is more agentic than some of Kleypas' heroines (and they're all pretty agentic), Garrett Gibson gets introduced as the "lady doctor," and Kleypas has some of her typically good subplots about sociopolitical issues (in this case, anti-Welsh bias endemic to British colonialism). I will say overall that I find her novels pretty equally sexy, which is a great thing to be able to count on in a romance novel!

No sexual assult! Remarkable restraint by the author. Helen's personality had to be entirely altered for this story but it's fun once you forgive that.

2.5 stars.

You know how sometimes the love story in romance novels is happily solved 3/4 of the way in, and the last 1/4 is just unnecessary drama? That was basically this. entire. book. The compelling part of Rhys and Helen's relationship happened in Cold-Hearted Rake, leaving nothing much for this one. I was so bored I actually abandoned it about 100 pages in, but I picked it back up again because I needed a book to fulfill “a book you've previously abandoned” for my 2016 reading challenge (also because it is Lisa Kleypas and it pains me to add her to the list of “historical romance disappointments of 2016” list).

I'm grateful I finished it, because it did get slightly better, if only because of the supporting characters. I very much enjoyed Lady Berwick. I actually believed Cassandra and Pandora as characters this time, whereas they read like ten-year-olds in Book 1, not (albeit, spirited and undisciplined) young ladies on the cusp of their first Season. And Dr. Gibson! She was the saving grace of this book. That extra half star is mostly due to her. I also confess to being curious about Severin.

I'm still extremely excited for Devil in Spring, though, and will be purchasing it the day it comes out. I am also crossing every available digit and appendage that Dr. Gibson will get her own book, because she was by far the most interesting character in the entire book, and I am dying to know more about her.

A note on the audiobook: I listened to about half of the book on audio, and I very much enjoyed the narration! Mary Jane Wells performed very well with a variety of voices and accents. I was particularly impressed by her Lady Berwick voice, as it somehow exactly embodied the description by Kleypas.

Still adore the supporting cast in this series (can't wait for one of the twins to get her own book), and loved the new additions of Dr. Gibson (she needs a book too) and Winterborne's secretary. Didn't love the plot so much in this one - the villain was a little bit of a cardboard cutout and it felt like Winterborne disappeared from most of the end. I'm still really enjoying this series, and I like the later Victorian setting, but this wasn't as strong as the first book for me.

It was OK, I just felt it was a little long for a historical romance. I was looking for a light read and this is my first Kleypas novel. I also enjoy the twins humor and hijinks.

Loved it! Lisa Kleypas is one of my favorites. I was a little disappointed in the first book, Cold Hearted Rake, it was just ok. This book more than makes up for it. Great story. Loved both the main characters. Super excited for the next book, especially when I found out it features the son of my most loved couple!! Can't wait!