The 9th Day of Christmas: A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

The Magic of Christmas begins under the Mistletoe!

Author Lisa Kleypas invites you to spend the holidays with the Walolflowers--four young London ladies who finally found the men of their dreams . . . and will join together once more to help the world's most notorious rogue meet his match.

Rafe Bowman (Lillian & Daisy Bowman's older brother) has just arrived from America for his arranged meeting with Natalie, the very proper and beautiful daughter of Lady and Lord Blandford. His chiseled g ood looks and imposing physique are sure to impress her lady-in-waiting, and if it weren't for his shocking American ways and wild reputation, her hand would already be guaranteed. Before the courtship can begin, Rafe realizes he must learn the rules of London society. But when four former Wallflowers try their hand at matchmaking, no one knows what will happen.

Winning a bride turns out to be more complicated than Rafe had anticipated, especially for a man accustomed to getting anything he wants. However, Christmas works in the most unexpected ways, changing a cynic to a romantic . . . and inspiring passion in the most timid of hearts.

Lillian & Daisy Bowman's brother is now in England, seeking to consummate an engagement with the daughter of a willing aristocrat, a bride chosen for him by his overbearing and controlling father. In fact, if he doesn't see fit to follow through with Lady Natalie, he will forfeit his inheritance and his place in his father's commercial empire. Lillian & Daisy work hard to give their brother some English polish and to help him to respond in social situations according to English expectations and not the American norm. Yet he is not looking for a love match like his sisters' marriages. He finds Natalie to be pleasant and is willing to move forward, expecting that they will "rub along" passably well. That is, until he encounters the abrasive and outspoken Hannah, Natalie's cousin and companion, a woman who sees herself as "less than" and plain, a poor relation that is fortunate to have been elevated to her position in Natalie's household. Instead of a woman who is willing to agree with anything he might say, Hannah is a woman of intelligence and who is unafraid and not intimidated by a wealthy rogue. Her censure of his lifestyle certainly caught his attention to a far greater degree than he expected.

This is a delightful holiday story that seems to bring a lovely conclusion to the Wallflower series. Set in a holiday "house party" that was common in Victorian England, all the Wallflowers were present as they were Lillian's best friends and having a sensitivity to other women who were treated as social wallflowers, they were able to tutor not only their brother in his social skills but they took Hannah under their wing, making her shine in her true brilliance.

The fun of the Christmas season during that historical period is very evident in the flow and context of the story. The fun of trimming a Christmas tree when they were not a common tradition at that time was historically correct, and the general activity that goes on during those kinds of social gatherings were a delightful context for this lovely story. It was engaging for me, as I loved this series in the first place, to read the story of another Bowman, one who himself was out of step with the English social scene, and a young man who needed to find his own life priorities one way or another.

The holidays have always represented a time of hope, of new discoveries, and certainly a sense of kindness and open-hearted giving of one's worldly goods as well as one's respect and regard. This story certainly embraces those concepts and highlights that in a society that was terribly self-serving and self-centered, kindness, gentleness, respect, and personal regard were still alive and well. I give this story a rating of 4 out of 5.

Review: Again The Magic by Lisa Kleypas

Lady Aline Marsden was brought up for one reason: to make an advantageous marriage to a member of her own class. Instead, she willingly gave her innocence to John McKenna, a servant on her father's estate. Their passionate transgression was unforgivable--John was sent away and Aline was left to live in the countryside, an exile from London society.

Now McKenna has made his fortune and he has returned, more boldly handsome and more mesmerizing than before. His ruthless plan is to take revenge on the woman who shattered his dreams of love. But the magic between them burns as bright as ever. And now he must decided whether to let vengence take its toll, or risk everything for his first, and only, love.

I have to acknowledge that I have read this book "out of order" with the other Westfield stories that were written after this one. Aline Marsden is the oldest sister of Marcus Marsden, Earl of Westfield and subject of one of Kleypas' "Wallflower Series." It bears the unmistakable mark of Lisa Kleypas' writing style, her faultless research and deep understanding of this historical time period in English history, and her rather adventurous spirit that brings "the Americans" into the context of the story.

This story is about class--the unbending separation between peoples because of parentage and birth that was much more a part of English society than many contemporary readers realize. We hear lots about the caste system in India. Don't kid yourself--the same prejudices were alive and well in English history for hundreds of years. John McKenna was a bastard who didn't know the identity of his father, who was brought to Aline's estate as a stable boy when he was 8 years old, whose only maternal memories were because of the mothering he received from the housekeeper, and who was Aline's childhood playmate for years.

Now they are grown, and while this story takes place over a period of 13 years, Kleypas takes the time and pages to fill in the blanks about McKenna's and Aline's personal history. Lifelong friends, now grown adults whose friendship has blossomed into love, and all between two people who can never be together within the confines of aristocratic English society. They are very careful to plan their private moments, but in an unguarded moment, another person on the estate sees their embrace and reports it to Aline's father. While Aline's virtue was not compromised, she has ruined her reputation in her father's eyes. McKenna is sent away, but he will not truly leave unless Aline convinces him that she no longer wants him in her life. Her heart breaks as she pushes him away with cruel words that shatter his caring and gentle soul.

This is a 5 tissue story--and Kleypas has the writing skills to keep the reader entranced and enthralled until almost the last minute. The tension becomes almost unbearable -- what will really be the outcome for McKenna and Aline--is there truly any future possible for them after 12 years of hurt, disillusionment, and sorrow hidden under years of pride?

I really really liked this book -- but then, I haven't read a Kleypas story that I didn't like. I loved her Wallflower Series so this book was a real "find" even though it is set in a time prior to that series. If, like me, you haven't read this book, you owe it to yourself to do so. It is another one of those historicals that seem to define all others. I give this book a 4.75 out 5 rating.

Review: Smooth Talking Stranger -- by Lisa Kleypas

He answers to no one . . .No one has ever truly touched Jack Travis' heart or soul until Ella Varner comes along. She appears one day on his doorstep with fury in her eyes and a baby in her arms. Her troubled sister is the mother and, according to Ella, Jack Travis is the father. But, when Ella demands that Jack take responsibility for the first time in his life, he ends up taking much more than that . . .

She trusts no one . . . Ella Varner is responsible and controlled. Her childhood has taught her that love is fleeting and best avoided. That is, until baby Luke appears on her doorstep after her reckless sister, Tara, abandons him. What Luke needs now is stability, and Ella's determined to do what is best for him.As her bond with Luke grows, Ella goes to Houston in search of the father. What she finds there will change her life forever . . .

Historical romance fans will recognize Lisa Kleypas as one of the past masters of the writing arts. She has thrilled us for years with her keen intellect, her ability to tell a darn good story, and her love of the historical novel art form. However, she has launched her readers into the world of the larger-than-life Travis family, and this present novel is the third in the series.

Into Jack's life comes this witty, seemingly sharp-tongued beauty whose rapid-fire responses and her no-nonsense approach to the matter at hand catches his attention. To Ella, Jack is beauty on the hoof but represents everything that is wrong with persons of the male persuasion. She has lived through her hair-brained mother's loves and live-ins, and she and her sister have become survivors of parental disregard as well as sexual abuse. No time in Ella's life for a playboy like Jack.

But the resolute and non-stop insistence of Ella that Jack clear himself through a paternity test begins to bring them together--at least geographically. When Ella's sister confirms Jack's assertion that they had never slept together, she relents and tries to look elsewhere for the baby's father, believing that her sister needs to confront him and bring him to heel financially. This story is somewhat a saga of Jack & Ella's growing friendship which began because of Baby Luke and whose presence and welfare appear to be the glue that holds them together, at least at first. Ultimately their relationship becomes personal and sexual, but Ella's awful mishandling by her self-centered mother keeps her bound to a set of presuppositions and persuasions about the nature of love and marriage and long-term commitment. Essentially they are not for her!!

Kleypas has done a magnificent job in dealing with contemporary issues that face many people today. The growing trend toward single parent families, the difficulties many have with long-term commitment, adult friendships with one's own parents -- whether they are even possible, and which is more dangerous: loving someone or refusing to love anyone?

The family dynamics in this novel are different, I am told, than in the first two books in this series. Yet the family is all there and while it focuses on Jack, the Travis clan are present as strong secondary characters and people who help Ella begin to re-assess the true nature of family and what it can mean as a support system. It is very heartening to see someone like Jack who has the "world on a string" begin to rearrange his priorities, decide who he wants in his life, open his heart to a helpless child, and grow and mature to meet the challenges of a permanent relationship. While Ella is strong and independent, she, too, needs to allow the old hurts to become a part of her past and not of her future.

This is a really good book! And while I have read the books in this series out of order, I am assured that this is not going to be detrimental to enjoying them and growing to respect and appreciate the members of the Travis family. I hope you all will read this book -- It's a great read. I give this book a rating of 4.75 out of 5