Review: Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas

Publisher: St. Martins

Source: Library

Publication Date: 30 September 2008

Series or Standalone: Series

ISBN: 0312949812

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 360

The Author on the web:Lisa Kleypas - Official Site
Lisa Kleypas - Blog
Lisa Kleypas - Twitter

Place(s) Traveled to: Hampshire, England (1849)

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Hathways Series Order
Book 1 - Mine Till Midnight
Book 2 - Seduce Me at Sunrise
Book 2.5 - A Hathaway Wedding
Book 3 - Tempt Me at Twilight
Book 4 - Married by Morning
Book 5 - Love in the Afternoon

First Line: Win had always thought Kev Merripen was beautiful in the way that an austere landscape or a wintery day could be beautiful.

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Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas takes place not terribly long after the events of Mine Till Midnight end only this time starring Winnifred Hathaway and long time friend/estate worker Kev Merripen. Kev is of gypsy decent and was rescued as a boy by the Hathaway family and growing up in their crazy, unpredictable family. As with Mine Till Midnight I loved the Hathaway clan. They are fun and boisterous and defy conventions and often seem to delight in turning society on its head. 

Of all the Hathaway family members Win was my least favorite. Due to circumstances that she could not control she was struck down with an illness which made her weak and so she is much more tame when compared to her siblings and I think that I missed the outragousness. For most of her life Win has loved Kev and he has loved her in return and yet most of the book was their denying their attraction for each other as they are both holding on to the past. Kev also spends so much time thinking that he is unworthy of Win because of his origins. Though this point really shouldn't have been belabored as much based on what he knows of the Hathaways and with events that happened in Mine Till Midnight.

However, as with many romances there needs to be a little drama to build a story and that is the drama of Seduce Me at Sunrise. It just didn't work for me and the thing that held this book together was the supporting cast of the Hathaway clan. I just adore this family and while I am glad that Win found her HEA I could have done without a book devoted to her. Which feels horrible to say since Win is a really nice character and maybe its because she is so much more conventional than her siblings that she just stands out and doesn't seem as colorful. I know I shouldn't hold it against her but part of me does.

All in all Seduce Me at Sunrise is a good addition to the series and there are elements of it that I liked but I never fully fell in love with it as I did with Mine Till Midnight. I think I just liked the banter and the sparks between Amelia and Cam more than with Win and Kev. The writing and the pacing are solid and what one would expect from a Lisa Kleypas novel but there was nothing that really makes this story stick in my brain as a beloved old friend as some historical romances that I have read.