Fan-tas-tic! One of the best Kleypas' I've read. Why have I waited so long to read this book?Spinster novelist Amanda Briars doesn't want to celebrate her 30th birthday as a virgin, so she decides to hire the services of Mrs. Gemma Bradshaw, a well-established madam (whom anyone who's read Worth Any Price should recognize), to find her a suitable man to take care of her, er, "problem". Unbeknownst to Amanda, Mrs. Bradshaw decides to play matchmaker and sends her publisher Jack Devlin in lieu of the male prostitue Amanda is expecting.Jack is London's most successful publisher, the bastard child of a nobleman who's never acknowledged him. During a conversation with Mrs. Bradshaw - no, he isn't one of her customers; he's just the publisher of her book "The Sins of Madam B" - he mentions that he's just bought Ms. Briars' 1st (unpublished) novel "An Unfinished Lady" and his intention of becoming acquainted with her so they could work together and "polish" the novel for publication. Claiming a friendship with Amanda and failing to mention all the relevant facts, Mrs. Bradshaw sends Jack to Amanda's house at the specific date and time the hired prostitute should be knocking on Amanda's door. Needless to say, Amanda mistakes Jack for the prostitute and he's a little confused at first, not understanding what she's talking about. Being an intelligent man, Jack quickly realizes what's going on and is rather amused. Does he come clean and tells her who he is? Of course not! He goes with the flow and gives her the best birthday present ever. ;) However, he isn't a cad, so he doesn't take her virginity. He does leave without revealing his identity, though.Jack knows Amanda is going to find out who he is soon enough - after all, he still wants to publish her novel and needs to discuss that project with her. He also knows he's going to have a hard time convincing her to work with him, considering how he "tricked" her on their 1st meeting. But he isn't a successful businessman for nothing and he always gets what he wants... So they start working together and what begins as a professional relationship becomes more personal and complicated than any of them expected.I have to say, I was a little worried when I began reading this book, because the premise wasn't exactly to my liking. Amanda's bold behavior, hiring a prostitute to rid her of her virginity, seemed rather stupid to me and I was afraid she would be a quirky silly heroine who would spend the whole book doing "daring" things only to be saved by the hero. Thankfully, I was wrong. Amanda was one of the best heroines I've ever met: she was smart, assertive, sensitive and sensible. I couldn't help loving her and rooting for her HEA, even when she did something that made me raise my eyebrows in doubt. I won't give any spoilers away here; I'll just say that I usually hate when a heroine does what she did, but I found myself unable to condemn Amanda for her actions. They made sense, considering the circumstances and the time she lived in.On his part, Jack was the stuff my dreams are made of. He was smitten with Amanda from the start - because of her work, which he truly admired and respected, because of her compelling personality and because of her plump and curvy figure. He definitely knew how to show how much he appreciated her sexy body. The love scenes in this book were sizzling hot! Some of the things that Jack did with Amanda were very kinky and I'd never seen them outside the erotica/romantica genre before. WTG, Ms. Kleypas!The pace of this story was kind of slow, in a good way. Despite their steamy 1st meeting, Jack and Amanda's relationship didn't feel rushed. Ms. Kleypas gave them time to actually know each other, building their sexual tension to the sky before allowing them to take their relationship to the next level. Then, as I was getting ready to enjoy the HEA, an unexpected event added some heartbreaking angst to the book. I was taken aback at first, wondering where the hell that had come from, but as my heartbeat slowed down, I realized that that event made their HEA more believable. Not to mention, I really enjoyed the way Jack dealt with the situation. *lusty grin*Another Kleypas, another winner. What else is new? :D
HOT,HOT,HOT!!!!! I just had to get that out there, it was HOT!! What an amazing book this was! OK, I guess I should be totally honest and say that this story was totally predictable. I mean really, I guessed what would happen by the first quarter of the book and I was right! It happened exactly how I thought it would, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. This is one of those cases where predictability turns out to be great!Amanda Briars (I think this character was screaming Renee Zellwegger) was turning 30 years old. She was unmarried, considered "on the shelf" and a virgin. She did not want to remain untouched any longer. She longed to know about what happened in the marriage bed! So, she hires a man for one night to remedy this situation.Enter the unforgettably handsome, Jack Devlin. Jack is not only handsome, but also smart and very wealthy. This is the type of man whom definitely leaves an impression with anyone he meets, as well as the reader of this book! I don't want to give away anything that happens in this story. It is too good to get ruined by reading a review so I will say no more regarding the particulars. What I will say is that this book will have your heart racing, your palms sweating and your... *ahem* ... I think I better leave it at that!! Let's just say you will be reading several sections of this book more than once, Jack is just so sexy, and he is a very competent lover.You will love the relationship between Amanda and Jack. He is so sweet to her and treats her with so much respect that you will be in love with him before it is over. And Amanda is not a spoiled, whiny heroine. She is smart and independent. So, you must read this book, I demand it!! Characters:Amanda- Renee Zellweger Jack- George Clooney (younger) [image error]
What do You think about Suddenly You (2006)?
Suddenly You: 5 star read that left an imprint on my heart for many books to come ...sighs :)This book was wondrous. When I finished this book last night, I promised myself that I was going to write this extensive gushing thorough review. However, I think I shall just do a short but comprehensive list of why this book is everything. 1.Hero:JackThis guy was bone shaking hot. I loved his bawdy tenacious view of life. He is a working man, and it is about time. You will be surprised how much more respect you can muster for a Historical Romance hero when he is not just being a wastrel in the ton. Jack had a hard abusive past. Yet, Lisa kleypas did not spend a lot of time on that. I believe that to be one of the SMARTEST decisions ever. Jack's bad past was sad, and explained some of his behaviors, however, it did not justify nor excuse him. He made all his decisions and mistakes in the present not based off his past. Jack was sexy and boy did he know how to make a woman feel beautiful. He also stepped up to the plate. HE DIDNT BACK DOWN FROM ANYTHING (view spoiler)[ not miscarriages, not marriage, not amanda, not life (hide spoiler)]
—Taiyesha-Duchess of Indiana
I don’t know if I should give this a 4 or a 4.5 because it’s got a mix of both. On the one side you’ve got that 4.5 read with a sexier than sexy alpha, Jack Devlin, who does some wickedly scorching sex scenes unlike anything I’ve ever seen in traditional historical romance (we’re talking glimpses of Emma Holly-like writing here!) but on the other side you’ve got a bit of slow start where you’re wondering when the ol’ party is ever going to get started! Maybe 4.5 stars is better because the couple meet in a very “unique” way and then those steamy scenes will have you going bug-eyed and checking out the genre on the spine to see if you’re not reading erotica instead of standard historical romance fare!Kleypas does a great job portraying spinster Amanda Briars and the sexy rogue who’s after her Jack Devlin. They come to an agreement to have a discreet affair for a certain period of time and you can really feel how much they want to be with each other –aka sizzle city- this is also where those 5 alarm fire sex scenes come in! So hard not to give spoilers but suffice it to say that you’ll be reading a few paragraphs more than once just to make sure you got it right the first time!The author has a knack for creating a problem that really annoys the reader too ;) Some sad parts and happy parts ensue and you’re left with a very, uh, let’s say “satisfying” read 8-)
—Eastofoz
I resisted reading this one for a long time because the premise frankly put me off. But I should have known that Lisa Kleypas would have turned this into a good story. Certainly not Lisa's best, but still a very enjoyable book. I think this took takes a little more stretching of my imagination than usually required for romance book reading though. Also, there is a little twist at the end: (view spoiler)[ Jack, our hero, turns out to be only 25 and not 31 as he initially told Amanda. Our heroine, Amanda, is 30 years old (hide spoiler)]
—Lemon
