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Author Spotlight Review: Tempt Me At Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
Holly's review of Tempt Me At Twilight (The Hathaways, Book 3) by Lisa Kleypas
Poppy Hathaway, who has always longed for a normal, ordinary life, has been abandoned by her true love, Michael Bayning. Caught up in scandal, she has only one way out-- to marry Harry Rutledge, a handsome and mysterious hotel owner. But Harry is a man of many secrets, and eventually Poppy faces a heartwrenching question: What does a heroine do when she ends up married to the villain?Before picking this up, I'd heard many others complain that they were disappointed with it. I think I can see why it didn't measure up to some of her others, but I thought it was pretty well done.
I liked Harry. There's something very compelling about him. He wants Poppy more than anything else in the world and makes no apologies for his methods in getting her. I liked the way his mind worked and the way he took care of so many but kept them at a distance, with the exception of Poppy. I really liked that he couldn't figure out exactly why Poppy was different, she just was.
To be honest I don't remember much about Poppy from the previous books, so I didn't go into this with any preconceived notions of her. In the end I found her to be fun and refreshing. She was just what Harry needed. She was strong and intelligent and I liked that she stood up for herself even when she was backed into a corner. She always did what she considered right after looking at all the angles. It isn't very often we get a heroine that does that.
The two of them together were spectacular. They had great chemistry, even when they were holding themselves back from each other. Not just physical chemistry either, but you could see that they just clicked. I did think their relationship grew kind of stale toward the middle. The beginning and end were wonderful, but toward the middle of the book I found myself becoming impatient, wanting them to just get on with it already!
Even so, I'm glad LK took her time with them. Their marriage started under less than perfect circumstances and I'm glad she used the entire length of the book to address the issues, rather than clearing them up in a few pages. She really excels at writing romances that span a good length of time and are stronger for it.
I loved that the secondary characters (the employees of Harry's hotel) got involved in their relationship. They really added extra flavor to the story. As did the Hathaways. It's always a pleasure to see them. They could liven up any story. If anything I'm even more intrigued by Miss Mark's, Poppy and Beatrix's companion. I really wish LK would just hurry up and reveal her story!
I was disappointed in what happened at the very end of the book. There was a suspense/mystery plot that seemed to crop up out of nowhere. It seemed unnecessary and even a bit silly. It's been weeks since I read this book and I'm still scratching my head of why she didn't cut that last part out. It served no purpose other than being filler. The story had pretty much ended by that point, hadn't it?
Otherwise I really enjoyed it. Now if only she'd give us Leo's book!
3.75 out of 5
The series:
This book is available from St. Martin's Press. You can buy it here or here (once again I'm not listing an e-format link because I think it's ridiculous for St. Martin's to set the price so high. $14 when the mmp is $7.99? I think not). Share this post!
7 comments:
Thanks for your review. I literally just started this book this morning (only on chapter two) and wasn't in a rush to get it because of the comments I heard. It's interesting to see another perspective. Can't wait to finish reading it so I can see how I feel and what everyone's talking about.
LOL, so funny how similar my thoughts on this book are to yours :D As a result, I think you wrote a great review, Holly :)
I think that the suspense/mystery at the end of the book was a teaser for the next book. I think that Leo and Cat's (Miss Mark) story is the next one.
Have to say that I agree with you about this book.
The end of the book had more to do with Poppy, her reactions and ending the book with the heroine saving the hero vs the normal plot of the hero coming to the aid of the heroine.
Now that obviously didn't come across for a ton of people but I thought Poppy was a great character and totally bought how she fell for Harry over the wussyboy.
Saying that this is my least fave of the Hathaway books but would still give it a B-.
Leo is lurve *g*
Sybs,
I understood what she was trying to accomplish, I just didn't think it worked. Had it happened earlier in the story it would have played better, I think. As it happened it was just confusing.
Heather,
I don't think we're talking about the same part.
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I mean when Harry got kidnapped. It just seemed to come out of left field. At that point I already believed their relationship was on solid ground and Poppy didn't need to prove she was willing to accept his crazy lifestyle.
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Although I do agree that the very end was a set up for Leo and Cat's book, which I'm very anxious for. Did you see the excerpt up at The Good, The Bad and The Unread? I want!
Nath,
Thanks! Did you review it (I haven't bloghopped in ages)?
Lynette,
You'll have to let me know which side of the line you fall on.
I'm almost finished with SMaS so I'm looking forward to this book so I'm not reading the review until afterward. I'm excited.
Oh that part, yeah I felt the same way. the kidnapping was kinda pointless.
Am heading over to read the excerpt now...
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