I have been convinced by all the love shown for Lisa Kleypas that she’s worth reading. It’s also helpful that she has so many books that there’s always at least one that’s available immediately from the library when I get the urge for some romance.
Dreaming of You (1994) by Lisa Kleypas involves a man and a woman who fall in love and live happily ever after. Sara Fielding is a novelist from the country, come to London to do research on gambling halls for her next book. Although she is very proper and sheltered, she is also adventurous and open-minded. Derek Craven was a boy from the streets who pulled himself up by his bootstraps to become a fabulously wealthy, gambling establishment owner.
When Sara saves Derek when he is attacked in an alley, she begins to use his club for her research and sparks begin to fly. They must overcome obstacles: Derek’s jealous ex-lover, Derek’s inability to love, and Sara’s fiance back home, and it is all very romantic. Derek saves Sara a number of times and can’t resist himself. There is also a glimpse of another couple (Lucy and Alex) who are somewhat involved in Derek’s life. I’m mainly mentioning this because I found Lucy and Alex interesting enough to pick up their book and read it next.
Some of this plot was predictably ridiculous, but because Kleypas did pretty well with the emotions and kept the story interesting, it didn’t bother me while I was reading it. It was a good one.
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Cannonball Read V 
She’s a favorite of mine. I grab her books whenever I can. I read tons of romances; I just never review them. If I did, I’d be at about 60 for the CBR. . oops..
This is one of those books that always makes people’s Top 10 lists and I have to agree. I LOVE this book and think Derek is one of the great heroes of historical romance.
I love the two you’ve reviewed too. Although I’m not as huge a fan of Kleypas in general, these two are definitely keepers. Still, just a heads up, you’re starting with what I feel are the best two so you might find others to be a bit of a let down from here (hopefully not though :).
Really? I didn’t even consider Alex and Lily a keeper. to each their own, nor were the Bow Street Runners, other than Lady Sophia’s Lover. Oh, Ross.
I only read one of the Bow Street Runners, the one where the woman has amnesia. I think I caught her amnesia which is why the name of the book and characters have all escaped me. The entire story had her ambling about being sweet and personality-free but breathtakingly stunning. Bland, thy name is amnesia. Have not even picked up a Bow Street Runner at the library since.
Grant and, I want to say, Victoria. Not her best book. The only one of those three that’s any good is the Lady Sophia one.
I tried a couple of her really early books and couldn’t get through them.
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 22:35:49 +0000 To: prolixityjulien@hotmail.com