A review by raeslibrary
Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I am excited to have finally read the book where Cam gets to be the hero. Having been first introduced to Cam in Lisa Kleypas’s Devil in Winter book I loved him and was immediately intrigued by his character and then I felt an injustice had been done when he wasn’t the hero in Scandal in Spring so, it is exciting to finally get to see him have the page time he deserves!
Cam and Amelia (the heroine) have great chemistry in this book and as a love story it is very enjoyable and quick read.
However, reservations on the book are as follows: Cam is a character who is half Romani and although Lisa Kleypas does a good job of making sure to address a lot of the prejudice Cam faces in society and even takes time to let the reader hear from Cam’s perspective how he feels he belongs in neither world (British society vs with the Romani people) fully, she also plays into the stereotypes of a “dangerous, exotic, trickster-esque” Romani man. It’s hard to tell where the overlap of Cam being just a “tall, dark, and mysterious” hero begins and ends and blends with those stereotypical ideas of a Romani man (similar to the way Middle Eastern characters and culture are often made to be hyper sexual and “exotic” in Western media). Not being Romani, I can’t really speak to the representation but that was my impression while reading. Also it is my understanding that the g-word (the same one that shares a title with a shakira song) is considered a slur for the Romani people and it is used several times.
Every Lisa Kleypas book I have read so far as been enjoyable in the romance as she is a very passionate and romantic writer. I also think she does a good job of balancing the external forces of the plot with the romantic storyline that entertain and leave the reader with the passion and warm-fuzzies they came for in a romance novel.
Cam and Amelia (the heroine) have great chemistry in this book and as a love story it is very enjoyable and quick read.
However, reservations on the book are as follows: Cam is a character who is half Romani and although Lisa Kleypas does a good job of making sure to address a lot of the prejudice Cam faces in society and even takes time to let the reader hear from Cam’s perspective how he feels he belongs in neither world (British society vs with the Romani people) fully, she also plays into the stereotypes of a “dangerous, exotic, trickster-esque” Romani man. It’s hard to tell where the overlap of Cam being just a “tall, dark, and mysterious” hero begins and ends and blends with those stereotypical ideas of a Romani man (similar to the way Middle Eastern characters and culture are often made to be hyper sexual and “exotic” in Western media). Not being Romani, I can’t really speak to the representation but that was my impression while reading. Also it is my understanding that the g-word (the same one that shares a title with a shakira song) is considered a slur for the Romani people and it is used several times.
Every Lisa Kleypas book I have read so far as been enjoyable in the romance as she is a very passionate and romantic writer. I also think she does a good job of balancing the external forces of the plot with the romantic storyline that entertain and leave the reader with the passion and warm-fuzzies they came for in a romance novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Suicide attempt