Scan barcode
evikes's review against another edition
4.0
I must say I am quite smitten with Mr Cam Rohan... he is my kinda man! What a good book & a great author.
idratherbereading542's review against another edition
4.0
This was a hard one for me to rate. If I could rate the first 200 pages, and then the last 160 pages, they would be completely different. For me this book started off extremely slow. I was surprised at first because I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about with this book. But, I think it kind of had a case of "first book syndrome" because there was a lot being setup in those first couple hundred pages. After page 200, though, the book took off and I really enjoyed it. So, I suppose, if I could I would rate this more 3.5 stars than 4, but I'll give it the extra star since I liked the last half of it a lot.
Amelia, her sisters, and her brother Leo have all just come into money, bumping them to aristocratic status. However, they don't know what to do with the new status. Leo is hardly acting as the proper man of the family, always running off to get drunk and not mentioning when he'll return. So Amelia takes it upon herself to take care of her sisters and brother. She feels the heavy pressure of taking care of the family by herself and sees no time for fun.
When she meets Cam, who is likely the complete opposite of her in every way, all of this changes. He brings out another side of her, albeit rather reluctantly. She is afraid of falling in love and of jumping into a marriage because she doesn't want to have to obey anyone, and she's had some bad experiences in the realm of love.
Like I said above, this started off very slow for me. However, I will say that the characters and relationships were extremely well developed. Perhaps that's why it started off slow. But I certainly obtained a connection not only to Amelia and Cam, but to her siblings as well. Lisa Kleypas did a great job of showing us a bit of each of them and making us want to hear their story. This is especially true with Merripen and Win. I found myself craving for more interaction between them and I can hardly wait to read their book.
As for Amelia and Cam. I liked them both, but they weren't my favorite characters. I thought Amelia was rather silly for pushing Cam away so much. I mean he's handsome, sweet, wealthy, and loves her -- what more could a girl want? Although, there were some things about Cam that I wasn't really into. His personality was great, but I'm not into the whole "gypsy" look. Like, I can't imagine any a man with a diamond stud not looking a little strange. That's just not my thing. But I thought he was a truly sweet and romantic man and for that, I'll look past the earring. :)
I'd also like to mention that I kind of wish I read the Wallflowers series first. Although not a huge deal, it takes place in the same world and the characters are mentioned (I checked). In this book Lillian & Marcus Westcliff (Wallflowers #2), Evie & Sebastian St. Vincent (Wallflowers #3), and Daisy (Wallflowers #4) were part of the story or mentioned. I think I would've appreciated that more if I had already read their books.
Overall, I liked the second half of the book a lot. If I were rating just the first half, we'd be having a very different conversation. But, I think the following books in the series will make up for all the setting up that had to be done in this book and I really think I'll enjoy them. If you want to read this, and you find the beginning slow, as I did, I would say to stick with it, because the second half of the book makes up for that.
Amelia, her sisters, and her brother Leo have all just come into money, bumping them to aristocratic status. However, they don't know what to do with the new status. Leo is hardly acting as the proper man of the family, always running off to get drunk and not mentioning when he'll return. So Amelia takes it upon herself to take care of her sisters and brother. She feels the heavy pressure of taking care of the family by herself and sees no time for fun.
When she meets Cam, who is likely the complete opposite of her in every way, all of this changes. He brings out another side of her, albeit rather reluctantly. She is afraid of falling in love and of jumping into a marriage because she doesn't want to have to obey anyone, and she's had some bad experiences in the realm of love.
Like I said above, this started off very slow for me. However, I will say that the characters and relationships were extremely well developed. Perhaps that's why it started off slow. But I certainly obtained a connection not only to Amelia and Cam, but to her siblings as well. Lisa Kleypas did a great job of showing us a bit of each of them and making us want to hear their story. This is especially true with Merripen and Win. I found myself craving for more interaction between them and I can hardly wait to read their book.
As for Amelia and Cam. I liked them both, but they weren't my favorite characters. I thought Amelia was rather silly for pushing Cam away so much. I mean he's handsome, sweet, wealthy, and loves her -- what more could a girl want? Although, there were some things about Cam that I wasn't really into. His personality was great, but I'm not into the whole "gypsy" look. Like, I can't imagine any a man with a diamond stud not looking a little strange. That's just not my thing. But I thought he was a truly sweet and romantic man and for that, I'll look past the earring. :)
I'd also like to mention that I kind of wish I read the Wallflowers series first. Although not a huge deal, it takes place in the same world and the characters are mentioned (I checked). In this book Lillian & Marcus Westcliff (Wallflowers #2), Evie & Sebastian St. Vincent (Wallflowers #3), and Daisy (Wallflowers #4) were part of the story or mentioned. I think I would've appreciated that more if I had already read their books.
Overall, I liked the second half of the book a lot. If I were rating just the first half, we'd be having a very different conversation. But, I think the following books in the series will make up for all the setting up that had to be done in this book and I really think I'll enjoy them. If you want to read this, and you find the beginning slow, as I did, I would say to stick with it, because the second half of the book makes up for that.
agrippinaes's review against another edition
4.0
Amelia’s family has been changed forever by her brother suddenly inheriting a viscountcy. Now thrust into the world of the aristocracy, Amelia is forced to try and bend her unconventional and messy family to fit their new role, and she aims to start by dragging her brother away from the debauched lifestyle he sunk into following the death of his fiancee a few years earlier. To do this she takes them off to their new country seat - but first she has to find her brother, and its in doing this that she encounters Cam, manager of Jenner’s, a gambling club. They’re instantly attracted to one another but never expect to meet again - until she runs into him once more after her family’s removal to the country, learning he is friends with her new neighbours. Cam is half-Roma, and longs to return to his roots after finding himself increasingly trapped and stifled by living amongst the ton, so he’s planning to leave it all behind - until he can no longer deny his interest in Amelia, and begins to make plans of a different kind.
I had a lot of fun reading this. I felt like I was slipping into a bit of a slump and Lisa Kleypas’ writing was enough to get me out of it; she’s just so easy to read and so engaging. This definitely wasn’t my favourite book of hers, but it was enjoyable and the romance was good. Amelia and Cam had good chemistry and there were some really sweet and steamy moments between the pair of them. I liked how they bounced off each other - it was genuinely entertaining and even though they had only known each other a short while I never felt like their relationship felt rushed or forced.
I do question some of the depictions of Roma people in this book - I’m not from this community so I can’t fully judge but there was an exoticisation of both Cam and Merripen that I didn’t like, and I didn’t think some of the anti-Romani sentiment shown by some characters was fully reckoned with. I also didn’t think the novel needed all of the drama at the end - it felt overly dramatic and the subplot involvingthe hidden treasure was barely even hinted at prior to it becoming a major part of the ending.
This was an enjoyable book in a lot of ways - there were just a few issues with it that I wasn’t sure about and I thought the ending was quite weak. Still, I think if you like Kleypas’ books then this is a decent start to a series.
Content Notes:
Warnings:
Other:.
I had a lot of fun reading this. I felt like I was slipping into a bit of a slump and Lisa Kleypas’ writing was enough to get me out of it; she’s just so easy to read and so engaging. This definitely wasn’t my favourite book of hers, but it was enjoyable and the romance was good. Amelia and Cam had good chemistry and there were some really sweet and steamy moments between the pair of them. I liked how they bounced off each other - it was genuinely entertaining and even though they had only known each other a short while I never felt like their relationship felt rushed or forced.
I do question some of the depictions of Roma people in this book - I’m not from this community so I can’t fully judge but there was an exoticisation of both Cam and Merripen that I didn’t like, and I didn’t think some of the anti-Romani sentiment shown by some characters was fully reckoned with. I also didn’t think the novel needed all of the drama at the end - it felt overly dramatic and the subplot involving
This was an enjoyable book in a lot of ways - there were just a few issues with it that I wasn’t sure about and I thought the ending was quite weak. Still, I think if you like Kleypas’ books then this is a decent start to a series.
Content Notes:
Warnings:
Spoiler
Violence, death of a parent (in past), anti-Romani sentiment, grief, drug use, suicide ideation / suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, scenes of sicknes / serious injuries, medical treatment, fire.Other:
Spoiler
On-page sex, virgin heroine, OM dramaSpoiler
Heroine’s ex-fiance tries to win her back and kisses her on-page.christine_e_v's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
blossom_kg18's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
joycuster's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kietz's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I usually really enjoy Kleypas but I struggled with this one. all of the references to romani culture felt too vague to feel well researched and meaningful. also didn’t really like him walking around telling everyone they were engaged before she knew!! that made him unlike able to me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, and Racism
konvineo's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 stars
A dude walking around telling people he's engaged to a woman he'd slept with once, and also not talked to her in any way shape or form about getting engaged? Absolutely not! That's not charming.
Also, I think it's very weird having two Roma characters being okay with being called and also calling themselves g*psy.
A dude walking around telling people he's engaged to a woman he'd slept with once, and also not talked to her in any way shape or form about getting engaged? Absolutely not! That's not charming.
Also, I think it's very weird having two Roma characters being okay with being called and also calling themselves g*psy.
colleend's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sara11_reads's review against another edition
DNF - I generally like Lisa Kleypas books but I'm finding it uncomfortable to read about Cam as a Romani character. I have no trust that the author did any research. Is his character authentic or just a collection of stereotypes? An author's note would have helped. I'm not so invested in this book that I'm going to do a bunch of research when my TBR list is a mile long. Moving on.