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A review by wildwolverine
Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas
3.0
I keep waffling on what to rate this book. Somewhere between 2 and 3 stars for sure. What did I like? I loved Poppy Hathaway. She's intelligent and rambling, and she knows a lot about the most random stuff. Seriously, who knows how to decipher an astrolabe let alone build one? Not only that, but she's finally separated out from her rambunctious family beyond being the "normal" one.
I particularly enjoyed her constant rejection of the hero, even after they were married. His manipulation was reprehensible, regardless of his background, and he deserved her ire. The only thing that annoyed me was that she forgave him too easily. I could've bought an eventual redemption, but it happened in a matter of weeks. Something as devious as ruining her other marriage prospects and then practically forcing her to marry him to save her reputation should take months if not years to recover from.
Overall, the hero annoyed me. There were so many unanswered questions about him! Why does he have enemies if he just runs a hotel? Why does his hotel have secret passages? What terrible errands does his assistant perform? All I know is that Harry Rutledge builds machines, runs a hotel, was unloved as a child (but so are all of Kleypas's heroes), and is a rake (again, so is every romance hero). There's very little that's interesting about him and definitely nothing unique.
In general, Kleypas is a decent writer, but she struggles with pacing. Several of her books end 60 pages sooner than they do. The last 20 pages are always some dramatic climax that's out of place with the rest of the book and rarely adds to the romance. This isn't a spoiler if you've read any of her books because it's literally in every one. I would recommend this book if you don't like surprises and enjoy eating popcorn for dinner.
I particularly enjoyed her constant rejection of the hero, even after they were married. His manipulation was reprehensible, regardless of his background, and he deserved her ire. The only thing that annoyed me was that she forgave him too easily. I could've bought an eventual redemption, but it happened in a matter of weeks. Something as devious as ruining her other marriage prospects and then practically forcing her to marry him to save her reputation should take months if not years to recover from.
Overall, the hero annoyed me. There were so many unanswered questions about him! Why does he have enemies if he just runs a hotel? Why does his hotel have secret passages? What terrible errands does his assistant perform? All I know is that Harry Rutledge builds machines, runs a hotel, was unloved as a child (but so are all of Kleypas's heroes), and is a rake (again, so is every romance hero). There's very little that's interesting about him and definitely nothing unique.
In general, Kleypas is a decent writer, but she struggles with pacing. Several of her books end 60 pages sooner than they do. The last 20 pages are always some dramatic climax that's out of place with the rest of the book and rarely adds to the romance. This isn't a spoiler if you've read any of her books because it's literally in every one. I would recommend this book if you don't like surprises and enjoy eating popcorn for dinner.