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Stranger in My Arms

Lisa Kleypas (Goodreads Author)

3.77 · Rating details · 10,700 ratings · 752 reviews

New cover for ISBN 038078145X / 9780380781454

"Lady Hawksworth, your husband is not dead..."

With those words, Lara's life turned upside down. Hunter, Earl of Hawksworth, had been lost at sea. Or so she'd been told. Their unhappy marriage — with its cold caresses and passionless kisses — was over. But now a powerful, virile man stood before her, telling secrets only a husban ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 360 pages

Published July 1998 by Avon

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Jun 11, 2017 Jessica's Totally Over The Top Book Obsession rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2017, historical-romance, favorite-authors, own-book

3 All for Hunter Stars

photo 2014-08-15-gleeidklook_zpsatbflu6l.gif

All kinds of Spoilers and some ranting

I love me some Lisa Kleypas. She is my go to for historical romance. When I see her books for sale, I always auto buy, but maybe I should have saved myself some serious anger and skipped this book. Let me just say that the plot of this book was so good! And the hero... the hero was so yummy. BUT......... butttttt the heroine was a total CUNT! Lara drove me bat shit crazy. I was ranting so hard last night while reading this book tha 3 All for Hunter Stars

Okay so the plot goes something like this..... Lara is married to a total dick name Hunter who is the Earl of Hawksworth. He treated her badly the 2 years they lived married. He slept with his mistress openly. He was cold, and selfish to Lara, and when he would have sex with her it was only to try to get her pregnant. He would just come in her room and hurt her, no foreplay, no kissing just quick, cold and painful. So Mr Dickhead Hunter decides to go to India. About 7 months after Hunter sailed off, Lara was told the ship her husband was on was wrecked and he and everyone else died. Hunter's Uncle Arthur and Arthur's wife Janet Take over as Earl and Lady Hawksworth. They treat Lara like total shit. Have her living in a nasty little cabin that was moldy and falling down around her ears. So the book starts with Lara being told that her husband isn't dead like everyone thought. Now Lara, Arthur and Janet are not happy that Hunter may be alive. Arthur and Janet don't want to lose the Earl title and Lara doesn't want her hateful husband back. When Hunter shows up he is totally different. He looks pretty much the same expect he lost a ton of weight and he is tanner, but he is sweet, understanding, and he tells Lara he wants to do right by her. So is this Hunter really Lara's husband or someone trying to take his place?

I loved the plot. It was very entertaining and not something I have read before. I thought the "after shipwreck" Hunter was amazing which is the only reason I gave this book 3 stars. Hunter was so good to Lara. He treated her kindly, helped her sister Rachel get away from her abusive husband, let Lara adopt a little orphan boy, helped her raise funds for the charities she wanted to help, and he wooed her. He didn't take his wife to bed by force he romanced her. Now for some of the book I could understand Lara being standoffish but she was cold for too long. She could see that New Hunter was great and still she treated him cold and it bugged me. Then she finally slept with Hunter after she pulled some bullshit with his ex-mistress that I won't even touch on. She found New hunter to be a sexy beast in bed. She enjoyed sex with New Hunter and fell in love with her husband. She then realized she was pregnant with Hunter's baby. So at this point I am enjoying the book! Then she was told that her husband really did die and New Hunter is an impostor. She was told this by a man she doesn't really know but she totally believed what he said like his word was gold. She then goes home and rats Hunter out to the evil Arthur and Janet who have him jailed waiting for trial. Now this is were the heroine turns into a cunt that I will hate forever. She turned in the man she loved, whom she is pregnant with his child, knowing he will be hanged, to bad people who treat her and everyone else like shit just because it's the right thing to do. Yea well FUCK YOU LARA! You sanctimonious cunt.

I know Lara is a fictional character but I was so mad I wanted to beat her ass. It had me seeing red that she could backstab the father of her unborn child without even asking him if it was true. Now I know she changes her mind and she testifies that he is in fact her husband saving him because she decided she wants a life with him, but it was too late for me. I couldn't forgive her and I can't believe Hunter did. This book could have been amazing if there had been a better heroine. It was very disappointing how this story turned out. It had such potential but Lara truly put a sour note on the whole read. I gave this book 3 stars because I did love Hunter, and the plot it was just Lara that I couldn't stand. ...more

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Apr 03, 2017 Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ Campbell rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: kissing-books, historical-romance

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Lisa Kleypas is well known for her light regency romances with smart heroines and breezy prose. But she didn't start out that way. Once you start hitting her back list and reading the books that were published, say, in 1993 or earlier, you get into some weird sh*t.

STRANGER IN MY ARMS was originally published in 1988, according to Goodreads, which makes it the earliest Lisa Kleypas book I have read to date. It's about a noble widow named ...more

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Sep 16, 2009 AgentScully rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: regency-buck-take-me, swap-to-good-home

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It pains me to give only 3 stars to a book with such a wonderful hero. Hunter is everything you could want. Loving, strong, patient and devoted to Lara. He longs for her tenderness and love, but she has none to give him. Lara is a cold heroine. Worse she is an annoying one.

All right so you used to dislike having sex with your husband. After 200 pages of woe-is-me, get over it already. Hunter tries to woo her with gentleness and she won't budge. The author goes into way too much detail about Lar ...more

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Jan 17, 2010 UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-have-read, 2010-reads, historical, historical-romance, author-lisa-kleypas, 4-stars, romance-historical, reviewed-by-me

Attention! It appears that someone thinks this story is full of spoilers, however, it's been so long since I read it that I'm not sure if there are spoilers, or if it's just a recap of the book blurb. Therefore - proceed at your own risk.

This is one of my favorite storylines; unaffectionate husband leaves, presumably dies, shows up not dead and has miraculously become one hot, passionate and attentive lover. What more could a woman ask for? Perhaps it’s my love of this story theme that had m ...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Huma Rashid rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This book was an absolute waste of time, except for the hero, Hunter. Hunter was a great character with an interesting backstory. The same could not be said for the rest of the characters, especially the heroine.

Lara is cold and unreasonable, and it gets incredibly annoying. At first I was prepared to be really sympathetic: Kleypas bangs us over the head with the fact that every time this woman slept with her husband, it was painful, and she was very aware of how he was in love with another woma This book was an absolute waste of time, except for the hero, Hunter. Hunter was a great character with an interesting backstory. The same could not be said for the rest of the characters, especially the heroine.

Lara is cold and unreasonable, and it gets incredibly annoying. At first I was prepared to be really sympathetic: Kleypas bangs us over the head with the fact that every time this woman slept with her husband, it was painful, and she was very aware of how he was in love with another woman. But after a while of her coldness and irrational behavior, I couldn't use her past marriage as mitigation anymore.

And in a weird twist, even her charity work got super annoying after a while. When she flipped out because Hunter pointed out that she couldn't adopt every homeless orphan in England, I just shook my head. When she dared to call Hunter selfish and uncaring just because he was being - gasp! - practical, I just couldn't stand it. Also, her little relationship with her adopted son was just ... dumb. She sees the kid crying at the orphanage, offers to take him home and give him a bath, and is then madly in love with him and will totally fight her husband or anyone else that tries to take him away from her - in, like, the matter of a day. Bitch, please.

Everything about her is cold and unreasonable and hypocritical. She makes a bargain to sleep with her husband the night of the benefit if he offers to throw it and pay for it and host it, and then tells her sister she has no plans to follow through with it and keep her word, and then tosses her husband's ex-mistress at him in front of everyone and then DARES to get upset when Hunter goes to talk to her (Lady Carlyle). Then when she brings a lawsuit against him for fraud and conspires with her horrible uncle-in-law, all because she's angry at Hunter, and even though she knows that what she did means he'll be hung, and then dares to tell him she won't lie for him. (There's more twists and turns after that, but I won't ruin it for anyone who thinks he/she might actually still like this book.)

As for the other characters in this book, there's not a charming one in the lot of them. The scenes with Johnny are ham-fisted and annoying - we're apparently supposed to fall in love with him as quickly as Lara did. Yeah, no. And Mousie, his little pet? First of all, original name! :| Second, that mouse disappears like 2 pages after we meet him and doesn't meet the standard of 'comic relief animal' in romance novels. (Unlike, say, Dodger from the Hathaway series, or even Newton from the Bridgerton series.) All in all, the kid seems like a try-hard way to get the readers to like the heroine and it just doesn't work. Her sister is a similarly weak character, and in real life, I would never blame a woman for going back to her abusive husband, but in fiction, I have a little more leeway with my feelings. And Rachel wasn't written to be redeeming at all. She was written to be a pathetic, weak, grating character, and that's what she was. Also, HUGE error in terms of historical context: Hunter would never have been able to take Rachel from his brother-in-law's house and keep her at his, especially if Londsdale wanted her back. And Lara was unimaginable in her bullshit, demanding that Rachel stay with them forever and then seeming surprised when things didn't work out that way. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT. The historical inaccuracy, which I can usually forgive, was just so glaring that I couldn't stand it. That would never, ever have happened and just reading about it was ridiculous. All of the other characters were similarly flat, even the mother in law, who I'm sure we were supposed to like. The only relatively interesting ones were Arthur and Janet, the villains, but even they weren't that great as far as villains go.

All in all, this book was ridiculous, and a total bust. Lara is the perfect example of those people that are all sweet and saintly, and goodness and light in public, and then treat their own family members (I'm talking more about Hunter than Rachel, although she's not that great to Rachel, either, always yelling at her about her terrible husband instead of listening and trying to understand why Rachel does what she does) like crap, and all the other characters are flat and completely without charm. Except Hunter, who's pretty interesting.

If this was the first Lisa Kleypas book I read, I would never have picked up another. Thankfully, a good friend steered me straight to "Devil in Winter" for my LK introduction, and that book is amazing. ...more

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Feb 08, 2010 valee rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance

2.5 stars.

I can't believe I'm seriously rating an LK book this low but seriously, I just can't give more.

It started out pretty good. A very interesting plot. I found the idea of her husband coming back from the dead after being lost for a year incredibly entertaining. Specially because he was an ass before and then he turned everything she had ever wanted.

But then we get to meet the heroine better, and let me just say that that was the worst thing I have had to read about for a long time. She is ...more

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Apr 08, 2009 Shawna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: LK fans & anyone who loves emotional historical romance with a touch of mystery

Shelves: historical-romance, hero-stud-mantel-hall-of-fame, angsty-dark-heavy-lotsa-drama, author-lisa-kleypas, favorite-romance-couple-hh-pairings, married-couples-married-convenience, hero-im-gaga-over, 2010-reads, hr-regency-napoleonic-era-wars, best-top-favorites

5+ stars – Historical Romance

This is a brilliant, poignant, and achingly romantic read with an element of mystery and suspense as well from the master of historical romance, Lisa Kleypas. Hunter, the Earl of Hawksworth, is a captivating, tortured hero to die for that you can’t help but fall hard for. It’s another winner and LK favorite worthy of big 5 stars!

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Dec 24, 2012 Samadrita rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: deliciously-mushy, for-teh-ladies, slice-of-life, real-issues-fake-people, bygones-are-never-bygones, romance, human-drama, semi-favorites

Caution:- This is going to be a long review despite the fact that this is a romance novel and I usually don't write long reviews for romance novels.

A year ago I had discovered Lisa Kleypas when I got my hands on the Blue-Eyed Devil. A book which did not capture my imagination right at the onset but which reeled me in very slowly and left me quite charmed by the end.
I thought, here's a romance novelist who doesn't sugar-coat domestic abuse, try to make it appear less than it actually is and give ...more

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Jun 06, 2009 Rane rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Rane by: new_user

Shelves: historical, regency-napoleonic-era, keeper, gr-recommendations

This was such an enjoyable read that I re-read twice already!

I adored Hunter and Lara, both were great with one hiding from the past and another hiding in plain sight.
Hunter was the type of male character I love, strong but not forceful, as he slowly drew Lara out of her hard shell she lived in before and after his disappearance. Although he acted like he didn’t give a damn, his actions prove otherwise time and time again. He did hide many things from Lara but, you knew he loved her very de ...more

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Dec 01, 2010 ♥ℳelody rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own-read, surprise-do-the-twist, baby-kids, bad-boy, help-me-i-have-a-dirty-secret, battle-of-wills, prim-haughty-as-a-cat, brooding-dark-quiet-hero, uptight-mary-sue, tortured-hero

It really depresses me to give anything written by Lisa Kleypas below a 4 stars rating but this just wasn't a winner for me. A complete first. :( She's my Queen of all things Historical Romance. I relish reading her work and never worry about what I'm gonna get when I start a book by her. It's always a treat and I end up devouring her books rather quickly. The first for me in this case was that I found the heroine Larissa absolutely intolerable throughout most of the story. Dear. gawd. She drove It really depresses me to give anything written by Lisa Kleypas below a 4 stars rating but this just wasn't a winner for me. A complete first. :( She's my Queen of all things Historical Romance. I relish reading her work and never worry about what I'm gonna get when I start a book by her. It's always a treat and I end up devouring her books rather quickly. The first for me in this case was that I found the heroine Larissa absolutely intolerable throughout most of the story. Dear. gawd. She drove me up the wall. Bless her orphan-saving heart, I'm sorry but a fan of hers I was not. I found the contrasting side of her personalities or I should say high praises of her good virtues to be contradictory with how she acted around her husband, Hunter. We see other characters and the author tout her up as this caring virtuous selfless woman who devotes all her time to an orphanage in the village and saving orphans who have no home. I found that a complete clash and startling contrast to how she acted around Hunter. Quite a turnaround if you ask me. She was a complete sanctimonious shrew to be blunt. For someone so giving and kind hearted I failed to see that with her constant scathing remarks and hurling accusations at Hunter. Someone who she admits to wishing he was never found alive more than once. Who does that? *cringe* Yeah not a great start for me.

Her prudish, uptight, brittle haughty (and melodramatic as hell) attitude around Hunter got to be really tiring, frustrating and rage inducing. And I say this with complete understanding and realization of what this character was put through before her husband was believed to be 'dead'. Before his death, Hunter was brutish, arrogant, selfish and uncaring. That's a given. I won't make any excuses or pretend to understand or justify his behavior. He was a complete uncaring asshole. But that all being said, I found her to be unreasonable and unforgiving towards giving Hunter a second chance once he returned to her. He showed her over and over again how much he changed, showed her complete patience and willing to do anything to make her happy and apologizing more than once to no avail. But she kept pushing him away accusing him of manipulating her to get her in his bed. And this song and dance continues on pretty much through 90% of the book. It's safe to say my patience was pretty much gone half way in. She seemed to love to place herself as the victim and remind him on a daily basis how awful and brutish he was to her during their marital intimacies or as she loves to scathingly call it with a puckered face 'distasteful urges'. Every time she spitted that out I just kept picturing one of those prudish matronly spinsters sitting in a corner turning their noses up at anything of the sexual persuasion with an ugly sneer. RME. Really? NOT endearing.

The thing that's so fabulous and addictive about Kleypas's stories are they are filled with incredibly flawed three dimensional characters, flawed characters who come off so real and relatable in some way or another. They are far from perfect and some of them even have qualities that could be even shelved under villanuos and not so virtuous. Which just makes a reader want to root for them more and see where they end up. We get to stand in their shoes, fuss and rummage around in their heads and completely connect with them. And here, I found myself struggling, fighting to feel that connection with Lara and her relationship with Hunter. The more she fought her connection with Hunter tooth and nail the more I bucked as well. She went out of her way and seemed to love to play the part of the martyr a little too well. Even up to the point when the situation had nothing to do with her and the fate of Hunter's life rested in her hands, she made it about her and gave into hysterics and melodramatics. When everything falls apart or I should say is revealed she had the gall to blame Hunter and his family for putting her in 'this situation' a situation mind you that was taken out of Hunter's hands and by situation I mean their arranged marriage. The minute he's accused of doing something wrong, she of course decides to do the 'right thing' by turning him in, not even giving him the chance to explain and defend himself. And she doesn't waste time with the pity party. Oh no, she quickly sits in a corner and continues her 'why meeeee!' inner dialogue lamenting and moaning over how Hunter could do this to her, not us, not him, but of course.....her. Oh how could he! RME. *fumes* Put a damn sock in it woman and GROW UP.

Because of that (and so much more) I found her actions and attitude lacking integrity, character growth and just not root-worthy. For a heroine I found her to be self-centered, overly judgmental and ridiculously cruel. I really wanted to slap her on countless occasions. I'm not looking for a perfect saintly heroine. Far from it. If I was I wouldn't be reading a Kleypas book. But what I do want is to read about characters that I can relate to or have sympathy for and unfortunately for Lara I couldn't muster up any sympathy for her. She seemed to have plenty for herself. I don't want a heroine who likes to play martyr.

And I don't know why I'm making this review so long winded and going off tangents like some silly essay. lol I just feel like I'm breaking a sacred rule and having the need to explain why I hated this book as much as I did.

The only thing that was a saving grace for me and I was DYING to see more of in this book were the scenes in the last 3 chapters. Those trial scenes and everything after are what had me giving this a half star rating. Just barely. I just wish I saw this loving compassionate selfless side of Lara come out more through the rest of the story. I was waiting and waiting and...waiting to see a warmer, loving, courageous side that we see come out when she's defending her husband (about freaking time) at the end show up earlier.

Hunter while he's not my favorite Kleypas hero, he was interesting. I just wasn't as enthralled with him as I wanted to be until again, the very ending. We see this heartbreaking vulnerability that just took my breath away. Really wasn't expecting that. And his confession to Lara was so bittersweet and beautiful. Had me wishing the heroine was more deserving of his devotion to her.

Story: 3 stars
Characters: 2.5 stars ...more

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Feb 22, 2021 Jenn (The Book Refuge) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, read-2021

Well... I wasn't expecting to read that quite so quickly... but I really enjoyed this.

Very unique story and it had me tearing up quite a few time.

LK does it again. ...more

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Nov 03, 2010 Bark | Ladies Of Horror Fiction rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

Using the premise of the famous "Sommersby" movie, but set in Regency England, STRANGER IN MY ARMS tells the tale of a woman married to a horror of a man who has been lost at sea and is presumed dead. When he returns she is shocked and upset. She's made a new life for herself and does not want him back. But the man who returns to her is a changed one, he's kinder, he's honorable, he acts like he genuinely cares for her, and he awakens feelings in her she never had for her husband. He's now a man ...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Carrie marked it as dnf · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, historical, read-2011, mystery

DNF in audio. I really, really hate the heroine. She's cold and self-righteous. The details of her charity work are sticky-sweet and boring. I may skim the library copy so I can satisfy my curiosity about Hunter, who is a great character, btw.

Rosalyn Landor is the narrator for the audiobook. I didn't care for her voice for Hunter. She is too gruff and he sounds old instead of sexy. ...more

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Jul 17, 2008 Eastofoz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Readers who like impersonation themes

Recommended to Eastofoz by: new_user

Shelves: historical-regency

An « okay » read at best for me. The writing is good but for some reason the story just didn’t click for me. I didn’t really feel much of anything for Lara and Alex. Impersonation stories are not a favourite of mine but if done right they could have potential. This one was missing a bit of ‘something’.

I had a hard time believing the hero could have loved or even desired the heroine based on some sad letters. All that seemed too far-fetched. The heroine was also somewhat too good. She needed to s ...more

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Jun 26, 2014 Katrina Passick Lumsden rated it liked it · review of another edition

I would have adored this book if not for the maddening heroine. Kleypas rarely crafted a likable female lead, and this book is definitely on the list for having one of the least likable shrews of the lot. I understand the woman went through hell in the first part of her marriage, but her hypocrisy, deceit, and absolute refusal to be rational or logical at any point in the story had me wanting to beat her to death with one of Hunter's massive erections.
...more

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Oct 21, 2014 kris rated it did not like it · review of another edition

This book is going to be impossible to talk about without some spoilers...

Lara is a widow and way into charity. Specifically orphan charity, supplemented by busybody charity. Hunter is allegedly her possibly dead husband, back from the dead (maybe)! He is way into: 1) Lara. And thaaaat's about it. He wants to make out on her face! She wants nothing to do with him! WILL THE TRUTH SET THEM AND/OR THEIR BONER FEELINGS FREE?

1) So the big mystery surrounds Hunter and whether or not he's actually who This book is going to be impossible to talk about without some spoilers...

Lara is a widow and way into charity. Specifically orphan charity, supplemented by busybody charity. Hunter is allegedly her possibly dead husband, back from the dead (maybe)! He is way into: 1) Lara. And thaaaat's about it. He wants to make out on her face! She wants nothing to do with him! WILL THE TRUTH SET THEM AND/OR THEIR BONER FEELINGS FREE?

1) So the big mystery surrounds Hunter and whether or not he's actually who he says he is. It was decently well done, I suppose, although I felt that Lara didn't really think, and that made her feel vastly inept.

2) Also, Lara. I've read quite a few reviews that mention how cold she was; how selfish; how rude and unworthy. And I can't say I don't necessarily agree. I mean, she has a conversation with her sister about how damned impulsive she is, before...rushing off and doing something stupidly impulsive. There's no self-awareness, or reflection, or thought given to what she does and how she gets what she wants. It's just: her, first, and then maybe we'll see about you.

She also refuses to trust Hunter until it seems as though he's jumped every hurdle in an Olympic-sized stadium. Which, okay: there is reason for that (her husband abused her prior to sailing for India), but it doesn't come that way at all in the text. Instead, it just seems...selfish, because she does enjoy--and crave!--his attentions...except then she doesn't! So there's this back-and-forth in the heroine's mind that isn't well-explored enough to be anything. Instead, it just makes her seem like a cold monster. :(

2.5) That said: WHY THE HELL WAS HUNTER SO INTO HER?

Legit plot spoilers ahoy: (view spoiler)

3) Kleypas: let's talk about metaphors. In one passage, you have a character deride the heroine for being a "wax doll" of a woman, with no depth or passion to her. Then, a few chapters later, you yourself describe the heroine as a "wax doll" after she's received some shitty news. I suppose it's a good metaphor, but instead of describing the scene to me in a way that allows me to connect with it emotionally, I'm instead thrown back to the other scene in which the (far more interesting, might I say) former mistress has thrown down the gauntlet over Hunter's spurning of her. (And it didn't help that Lara was moping at that point in the novel because another one of her stupidly impulsive decisions had backfired horribly.) It definitely threw me out of any feeling I might have had for Lara's plight.

4) I did my best to tolerate Lara, but when she began railing at Rachel (her sister) for returning to her abusive husband (both a societal AND A LAW-BASED expectation), I was 150% DONE with her. What a selfish jerkface. ...more

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Feb 27, 2017 Ezinwanyi Chinyere rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, audiobook, historical-romance, memory-loss, dusty-bookshelf, amnesia

This book reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Sommersby, with Jodie Foster and Richard agree. They have different settings but still awesome life stories.

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Aug 15, 2017 Story_girl rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2017, historical-fiction-or-romance, page-turner, happy-endings, detective-mystery

I award this one star to Lara's idioticity. A bigger fool I have yet to see. The "new" version of Hunter is an amazing man.... He would be nearly perfect had it not been for his love and devotion to our Lara.

I commend Lisa Kleypas' research on India for this book. Her historical facts are mostly accurate. The practice of "Sati", facts stated in Hindu spiritualism, the festival of Holi (even getting the month of March correct), the house in Calcutta being on the banks of river Hugli. Most histori ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 ✩ Yaz ✩ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: regency, romance, historical-fiction

3.5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

“This is your punishment, Lara," he whispered. "To burn as I do."

Lisa Kleypas never disappoints when it comes to romance, Stranger in my Arms promises a sizzling romance that comes with every Kleypas’ book.

The plot was well-structured in regards to the story, but I may have missed the element of anticipation since it was a little predictable.

Hunter is a fantastic hero and love interest. His personality emits confidence and passion even in light of his turbulent past. Lara is a genui ...more

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Apr 26, 2020 Stacee rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library, read-in-2020

I had seen this book highly recommend from another LK fan on Instagram and was instantly intrigued.

I liked Lara well enough. She’s been widowed from a horrible, cold man and I can understand her reluctance to accept Hunter back into her life. Hunter was interesting and definitely what kept me reading. I liked his button pushing and absolute adoration.

Plot wise, it was okay. As things settled between Lara and Hunter, it was easy to see the other shoe was about to drop. Annnnnd it didn’t go in a ...more

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Nov 15, 2013 Didi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense, historical-romance, library-loan

An older LK, but her talent was evident even then. Loved the suspense surrounding Hunter. Great storytelling, beautiful writing and LK's brand of spiced up sexy time. ...more

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Feb 20, 2021 ☘ Lily ☘ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 0-3rd-person-pov, alpha-man-caveman, 2021, pages-300-400, possessive-guy, adult-romance, book-boyfriend-husband, duke-viscount-earl-etc, married-couple, historical-romance

Sigh. This is what I need at the end of the day. Something sweet. Something comfy. Something happy.

LK always got me. She got me! Things could be better with the conflict resolution though, but it was still a good damn read.

Now, onto the next LK!

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Aug 11, 2010 Keri rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-historical, reviewed, 2010s-read

While this wasn't my favorite LK read it was still very good. Lara is a widow satisfied with how her life is arranged. She now lives simply with her good works and an orphanage that she supports, what more could a woman need. So when she finds out that her supposedly dead husband is back in town, she isn't happy at all.

He sailed away to India three years earlier and had died on the sea in a crash a year before. So color her surprised when she gets a look at her husband. He looks like her husban ...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Addicted to Books rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own-kindle, write-review, affairs-within-marriage, enjoyed-immensely, heartwarming, beautiful-gem-find, great-characterization, lovable-hero, moving-emotional, favorite-fictional-men

My Hunter

I Read this book again and I keep falling in love with Hunter !

I was revisiting this book a bit and I really like this book because this is the second romance I have read. The first would be the gift by Danielle Steel. I was 14 years old i think.

I fell in love with Hunter and was wondered about why Lara was playing hard to get. I understand with their troubled past and the way things worked back then, why Lara would seem annoying.

Basically Lara's husband returns after presumed to be d ...more

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Dec 26, 2012 Sophie ♥ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2014, mistaken-identity, historical-romance, ebooks-i-own, setting-1800s

I know I've said this after 90% of the books I've read lately, but I did not like the heroine at all. Lara was such a feint character to me. Somehow she came across as stubborn and a little self-absorbed. I just didn't find anything appealing about her. I could see that Lisa Kleypas was trying to evoke a soft, gentle character with a big heart, but the way that she kept prattling about the orphans was NOT endearing to me. I can see why this is one of Lisa's earlier books because the characters a ...more

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Jun 24, 2019 Wendy Darling rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

Clearly the author’s take on THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE and SOMMERSBY, for which I make allowances for the sometimes frustrating/illogical decisions the heroine makes. Wish the ending was a bit stronger, but overall, enjoyable.

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Jun 10, 2009 Juliana Philippa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-historical, 2009-reads, favorite-romance-heroines-ever, 0-read-multiple-times, favorite-romance-h-curated, 2009-jun-reads, 0-to-reread, 5-and-plus-romance-books, 2004-reads, hr-big-secrets-from-reader

Read for the third time - one of my favorite Kleypas books and favorite HR overall, actually. Definitely recommend!

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Aug 15, 2018 Jen (The Starry-Eyed Revue) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, adult, 2018, historical-fiction

I liked the premise of this story, as well as the execution, though I still found it predictable after the initial meeting of the separated spouses. But the fact that I still found it engaging is a true compliment to Kleypas' writing. I've pretty much always found that to be true of her books, though: it can still be a lesser story compared to others of hers that I've read, and yet it's still leagues better than others in the genre. I'll admit that her backlist, including this one and the one I ...more

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May 01, 2020 ad➶ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: second-chance, steamy, 2020-reads, cute-reads, swoon-fest, book-boyfriends, grovel, historical-romance, arrange-marriage

I owns the edits, not the photos.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:★★★★★⁣
𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: England (Regency period), Hero's been at sea/India⁣
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: Arranged marriage, love after marriage, grovel, disguise, celibate hero, damaged lead finds hea, mistaken identity, widowed⁣
⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: ⁣
The story starts off with the family solicitor announcing that Hunter, the Earl of Hawksworth was not dead as was originally thought of a year ago. Apparently, Hunter was the only survivor of the ship he was on when he was in India leaving behind Lara a widow. Hunter and Lara’s marriage was a typical one of that era, arranged and without love. However, it left Lara hurt and disillusioned with her building a wall around her heart and devoting herself in charity endeavors. Hunter, on the other hand, continued his scandalous relationship with a widow without any regard to Lara’s feelings. To top it off, Lara was a barren which was the only reason Hunter married her. ⁣
⁣
When Hunter is back and it's really hard for Lara to accept it when he claimed himself as a Hunter and had a memory lost before came back home. To say that she rather be a widow is an understatement after what she'd experienced with Hunter is their past. But this 'new' Hunter keep showing her that he's changed and asking for the second chance. ⁣
⁣
Here's where the sparks flew between Lara and Hunter. I liked that this Hunter was doing his best to make up for his supposed transgressions before he left for India. I also liked that the author focused on those little things that made Lara fall in love again with her husband despite her suspicion and misgivings. ⁣
⁣
Now, some readers found that Lara is a complete sanctimonious and annoying with all of her accusations towards Hunter and that she's being melodramatic. Also that she keeps pushing Hunter and constantly stressing over her permissions for Hunter to satisfy his needs with other woman. To me, her actions didn't drive me up the wall. It's actually quite understandable because of what had happened to her with Hunter in their past marriage.⁣
⁣
But here's the thing, at the end of the day, I just couldn't bring myself to care less about any of this because I was completely enraptured by this story. Lisa Kleypas is clearly know how to write this unique story very well and I never expected the twist in the end when it was revealed who the real Hunter was. Surprise, surprise! And for this reader? It's absolute catnip.⁣
⁣ ...more

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Jan 18, 2010 Holly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, favorite-authors

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. "Stranger in my Arms" husband comes back a very changed man and wife likes him more [s]	8	85	Aug 07, 2013 10:57AM
Romance Novel Boo...: SOLVED! - "stranger in my arms" historical - maybe Regency, set in England? husband comes back a very changed man and wife likes him more	9	36	Jul 29, 2013 01:04PM

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About Lisa Kleypas

Lisa Kleypas

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LISA KLEYPAS is the RITA award-winning author of 21 novels. Her books are published in fourteen languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband and two children.

Books by Lisa Kleypas

Secrets of a Summer Night (Wallflowers, #1)

It Happened One Autumn (Wallflowers, #2)

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Quotes from Stranger In My Arms

“He turned back to Lara, his alert gaze raking over her tearful face. Somehow the solid reality of his presence eased her panic. He folded her in his arms, anchoring her against his chest, murmuring quietly into her hair.
Sniffling, Lara reached inside his waistcoat until her palm rested over the steady beat of his heart. The sensation of his warm breath sinking down to her scalp me her quiver. It was so terribly intimate, crying in his arms... even more personal than making love. But he had never felt so much like a husband to her as he did in this moment. Quieting, she inhaled his familiar scent and let out a shaky sigh.” — 9 likes

“Coming to stand by her husband's side, Lara touched his arm tentatively."My lord," she said gratefully. "Thank you for protecting my sister. Thank you."

He shot her a gaze of hot black intensity. "Thank me in bed," he said, barely audible.

Lara stared at him, startled. "Now?" she whispered, feeling her cheeks prickle with heat. Hunter didn't reply, only continued to stare at her in that alarming way.” — 9 likes

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