Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels, #6) in 2-3-4 Challenge

Sep 07, 2022 Jonetta rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, historical-romance, nc-br-digital-library, 2022-audiobook-challenge, 3500-2022, group-read, 2022-beat-the-backlist-challenge, 2022-library-love-challenge

the setup…
Lady Cassandra Ravenel is at loose ends now that her twin has married. She’s disillusioned about her own prospects to find a suitable husband among the current crop of men during the season and fears she’ll never find love like her sisters now experience. As she’s sharing her sorrow with West, her cousin, in a private room following Pandora’s wedding reception, guest railroad magnate Tom Severin let his presence in that room be known and offered himself for consideration. He was dead s the setup…
Lady Cassandra Ravenel is at loose ends now that her twin has married. She’s disillusioned about her own prospects to find a suitable husband among the current crop of men during the season and fears she’ll never find love like her sisters now experience. As she’s sharing her sorrow with West, her cousin, in a private room following Pandora’s wedding reception, guest railroad magnate Tom Severin let his presence in that room be known and offered himself for consideration. He was dead serious but his friend West dismissed him with vigor. Cassandra was appalled…but intrigued by this man who she barely knew. And here began the chase.

the heart of the story…
Tom was introduced at the beginning of this series and he’s proven himself to be ruthless in his business dealings, almost swindling the Ravenels out of the land mineral rights that ultimately saved their estate. Though he’s friends with Devon & West Ravenel and Rhys Winterborne, they’ve always seen him with clear eyes. I didn’t think this character could be redeemed but remembered I’d said the same thing about Sebastian St. Vincent (Wallflowers) so I wasn’t too surprised when my own heart warmed to him. I really liked Cassandra, who stood firm in what she wanted in a partner and even though she wanted Tom, he refused to offer her his own love. Obviously this man had a lot of layers borne from a painful past and unraveling them throughout the story was highly interesting. I liked that these two made it clear from the start that they wanted each other and their relationship journey was one of shared intellect and true interest in each other. Theirs was no instant match and the pleasure was in the chase.

the narration…
Mary Jane Wells continues to surprise me as she created a unique voice for Tom that was perfect for the man I saw as cold and clever. And, there’s a young boy named Bazzle central to the story that she made even more delightful. Again, she gave all these characters vibrant life.

the bottom line…
I was daring the author to try and redeem Tom Severin and she took on that challenge and delivered solidly. He wasn’t an easy man to like and by contrast Cassandra was quite the opposite, which made their romance even more special. Young Bazzle served as a mirror image of the young Tom and that provided a heartwarming element that helped to open up Tom and face the pain of his past. I loved everything about this story and hated when I reached the end. Listening to it just made it even better. 4.5 stars

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Sep 22, 2022 Robin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: kindle, 2022, historical-romance

After seeing her twin marry the man of her dreams, Cassandra wants nothing more than to marry for love. But the prospects this season are not looking good for her. She has received several offers; but has found no man that interests her. Businessman Tom Severin takes one look at Cassandra and wants her for himself. He quickly offers to marry her, telling her that he will give her anything her heart desires. Her family knows Tom and quickly puts an end to that idea. But Tom is used to getting wha ...more

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Sep 13, 2022 Anita rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, kindle-libby-city, historical-romance

I am a big fan of redeeming the bad boy and here you have a really, really bad boy to redeem. But Lisa Kleypas is fantastic at doing that.

Tom Severin tried to obtain the mineral rights to the Ravenel land for much less than they were worth but was thwarted in this endeavor. Although he was a longtime friend of Devon, West and Winterbourne, they were all put off by his attempt to cheat the Ravenel family. When Severin develops an interest in Cassandra, they are not very receptive, to say the lea ...more

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Dec 04, 2020 Lauren rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-romance, victorian, forced-arranged-convenient-marriage, virgin-heroines, twins, neurodivergent

Chasing Cassandra
4.5 Stars

Cassandra Ravenel wants nothing more than to fall in love and marry. Unfortunately, the object of her affection, Tom Severin, has sworn off love and is the last person she should attach herself to. But Tom cannot control his feelings for Cassandra, and when she finds herself in an untenable situation, he is determined to make things right.

To begin with, fans of Jennifer Ashley's, The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie will quickly recognize Tom's social awkwardness and inab ...more

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Feb 28, 2020 Mary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-digital, lisa-kleypas, historical-romance

Tom Severin es un hombre adelantado en su tiempo, un ingeniero con una mente brillante, grandes ideas, gran cuenta bancaria pero un corazón practico y frío. A pesar de tener todo lo que el dinero y su intelecto le permiten tener siente que le falta algo; no se equivoca, Tom está solo, teniendo una infancia problemática no confía en las emociones y deja que su cerebro gobierne su vida.

Todo su intelecto tiene una gran batalla con su corazón cuando conoce a Cassandra... Siendo una de las Ravanel qu ...more

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Oct 13, 2022 Sharon Kallenberger Marzola rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, series, audio-whispersync, family-series, historical, love-hero, love-heroine

I have been looking forward to this book since we met Tom in book one. I didn't hate Tom Severin in the previous books, but I wasn't a big fan. Who knew he would steal my heart when we learned his backstory and saw his clumsy courting skills? Every book in this series entertains and takes me away to another place and time.

Chasing Cassandra is Cassandra Ravenel’s and Tom's story. Cassandra is the last unmarried Ravenel clan. She is a romantic and desires a husband and family to love with all I have been looking forward to this book since we met Tom in book one. I didn't hate Tom Severin in the previous books, but I wasn't a big fan. Who knew he would steal my heart when we learned his backstory and saw his clumsy courting skills? Every book in this series entertains and takes me away to another place and time.

Chasing Cassandra is Cassandra Ravenel’s and Tom's story. Cassandra is the last unmarried Ravenel clan. She is a romantic and desires a husband and family to love with all her heart. Tom is a highly successful businessman. He isn’t a member of society; his wealth comes from hard work and shrewd negotiation skills.

Tom is surprised to receive an invitation to Pandora's wedding. His once good friends, West and Devon, are not on the best terms because Tom tried to cheat them while working to save the Ravenel property and their tenants’ livelihood. Tom accepts the invitation and decides to stay at his friends' house for the event. He doesn't know how this decision is going to change his life.

The wedding and the change in his friends are an eye-opener. Tom starts to evaluate his life. When he sees these friends so happy, he doesn’t understand it and wonders why a successful man like himself could feel like something is missing in his life. He has everything he could possibly need or want. Maybe he needs a wife too.

When Cassandra appears shortly after Tom arrives, he is attracted to her. Tom recognizes that he is smitten from the get-go but isn't too comfortable with his feelings. He only allows himself five emotions, and love isn’t one of them.

Later, Tom overhears a conversation between Cassandra and West and decides he can help her. Tom offers Cassandra a marriage of convenience. Unfortunately, Cassandra wants to marry someone who loves her and whom she can love. Undeterred, Tom attempts to negotiate a marriage with Cassandra like he is negotiating a business deal.

Now the fun and games begin.

Chasing Cassandra is everything I've come to expect from Lisa Kleypas. The story has great characters, and the family from the previous books make an appearance and give an update on their lives. I loved seeing how their lives changed.

The slow-burn romance between Cassandra and Tom is fun. I knew Tom was hooked, but he couldn't see it. Cassandra is the perfect partner for him. She doesn't roll over when he pushes. She has a smooth, easy-going personality and slowly guides Tom to open his heart. I loved it. There is one moment when Tom comes to the rescue, so to speak, and gives Cassandra a beautiful gift. It is so sweet and heartwarming. I loved it.

If you are a historical romance fan, I highly recommend this series. I laughed. I cried, kind of. I enjoyed the little suspense, too—a beautiful story.

As all the books in this series, the narrator is excellent.

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Apr 30, 2020 Mya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, historical, romance, contemporary, funny, great-banter

Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas (Audiobook)
Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells
Series: Ravenels 4

4.5 Stars - Let me start by saying Mary Jane Wells is one of my favourite Narrators, and she does a fantastic job in this book! Cassandra and Tom are a unique couple.

They fit together so nicely and I have to say I quite enjoyed watching Tom's heart thaw out. I loved how he just couldn't seem to keep a handle on himself around Cassandra. He was impulsive and a bit reckless when it came to her, but at the ...more

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Mar 26, 2020 Jo Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical, part-of-a-series, romance, tbr-add-2019, 2020-release-date, 2020-read

This is such an enjoyable read! I really love Cassandra and Tom - they have such a great push-pull to their relationship. As always, Ms Kleypas makes exquisite use of the English language! Her ability to write dialogue is par excellence!

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Shelves: library-list, audio, blue-cover, historical-fiction, romance, lady-in-a-dress, historical-victorian, c-tile-author, k-tile-author, l-title-author

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