Tempt Me at Twilight (The Hathaways, #3) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Aug 21, 2010 Lisa Kay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: re-read-for-comfort, all-time-favorites, genre-romance-historical, authors-l, married-couple-all-or-most-of-book, auto-buy-author, amazing-secondary-characters, authors-k, series-h, animal-ferret-in-story

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Sep 02, 2009 Ridley rated it liked it

Shelves: victorian, 3-star, read-2010, ebook

This book was a serious see-saw of a story. It swings wildly from two-star eye rolling moments to five-star bits of brilliant dialog.

The premise itself is solid Kleypas fare.

Poppy Hathaway is in love, and is loved back, but the object of her affection is the heir to a very old and very blue-blooded viscountcy. He's written her a flowery love letter declaring his love for her, but stressing that they must be discreet while he works to bring his father around to the idea of their marrying. Unfor This book was a serious see-saw of a story. It swings wildly from two-star eye rolling moments to five-star bits of brilliant dialog.

The premise itself is solid Kleypas fare.

Poppy Hathaway is in love, and is loved back, but the object of her affection is the heir to a very old and very blue-blooded viscountcy. He's written her a flowery love letter declaring his love for her, but stressing that they must be discreet while he works to bring his father around to the idea of their marrying. Unfortunately, Poppy's sister's ferret has made off with this secret letter, and is running around the halls of the Rutledge hotel with it.

Harry Rutledge collides with Poppy as she chases the ferret down a passageway hidden behind a fireplace (Wealthy - check. Eccentric - check.) After a short acquaintance with her, showing her around his curiosities room where he keeps the automatons he makes along with gifts from around the world (Sophisticated and worldly - check. Intelligence in spades - check.), he decides he simply must have her. He then secretly pockets her love letter, schemes to force this suitor out of the picture, and manages to force her into marriage with him (Questionable morals - check. We've got a Byronic hero here, folks, lest the hamfisted imagery escape you.)

Much of the book, then, deals with Harry and Poppy as a married couple. She discovers his scheming before they marry, so she spends this time trying to reconcile her feelings for the man she likes but resents for betraying her. While she maintains her feelings towards the outmaneuvered suitor, she also acknowledges that he chose not to anger his father by eloping with her, and that Harry did put up the bigger fight. Still, she's not terribly turned on by having been fought over like meat then had her future all but decided for her.

Harry initially tries to win her over by lavishing money and gifts on her. Because of his traumatic upbringing, he is a stranger to love and so treats Poppy like a precious collectible and doesn't understand why it doesn't thaw her out. They bicker, they argue and you can cut the sexual tension with a knife.

The novel's problem is that it relies on a lot of shortcuts, like the Byronic hero template I mention above. We get pretty much all of Harry's tortured past divulged to us in two instances of dialog info dump, one when Cam confronts him over how he trapped Poppy in marriage and then much later when Miss Marks tells her supa sekrit tale of woe. The hotel staff offers marriage counseling with a smile and a wink. They were so underdeveloped that they congealed into a single character, one so cheerful that I expected them to break out in a Disney-esque song and dance number at some point. The secondary characters are fairly one-dimensional and exist only to move the plot or vomit bits of back story.

A kidnapping plot late in the book, where Harry is held against his will and Poppy ostensibly saves him, is downright baffling. I still can't figure out what that was all about. It wasn't to force one or both of them to acknowledge their feelings for each other, as they had just exchanged poignant "I love you" declarations beforehand. It just seemed to delay the end of the book.

All of the shortcuts, convenient plot massaging and relentless series baiting adds up to detract from what should have been the main event. Kleypas seemed to be writing Poppy's story out of duty, when she really wanted to be writing Leo and Miss Marks' story. Harry goes from regarding Poppy as an object to falling desperately in love with her, but we're never really shown why. Additionally, we're told about Harry, who he his and how he got to be that way, but I never felt that I got to see him acting out these traits the other characters assigned him. He's just a cardboard cutout with "brooding Byronic dude" scrawled in sharpie across the front of it.

I did enjoy reading the story Kleypas laid out for me, but I never really got to connect with and feel I knew the characters. There were brilliant bits of conversation or action here and there, but they were bogged down in an awful lot of telling and convenience. Sadly, this is not one of my favorites of hers.

Also, that epilogue was freaking retarded. Dumb ass cliffhangers like that are for soaps and kids' cartoons. Did not like. ...more

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Sep 23, 2009 Beanbag Love rated it really liked it

Really enjoyable read. Dragged just a bit in the middle and there's an event at the end that I thought was unnecessary -- or should have been a bit different for a tighter story -- but all-in-all this was really good.

The "hero" is certainly a challenge. He really seems like a cad (although intriguing and irresistible) for at least the first half. There are a few scenes where the heroine is a bit over-the-top in her lack of forgiveness, but you can see where she's coming from, so she doesn't come ...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Quinn rated it really liked it

Shelves: regency-victorian-georgian, series, library-book

I can’t decide whether it’s a good or bad thing that I’ve waited so long to read Lisa Kleypas. On the one hand, I could kick myself because I could have been reading her wonderful stories years ago, but on the other hand, I still have so many of her books to look forward to.

I’m loving her Hathaways series. Although I have yet to give a book in this series a five star rating (her Wallflowers series achieved two from me), I think I am loving this series even more. There is something so incredibly I can’t decide whether it’s a good or bad thing that I’ve waited so long to read Lisa Kleypas. On the one hand, I could kick myself because I could have been reading her wonderful stories years ago, but on the other hand, I still have so many of her books to look forward to.

I’m loving her Hathaways series. Although I have yet to give a book in this series a five star rating (her Wallflowers series achieved two from me), I think I am loving this series even more. There is something so incredibly appealing and endearing about the Hathaway family that makes these books a joy to read.

They are ‘simpler’ than the Wallflowers books, but they still contain the wonderful writing and some of the best heroes going around. Harry is no exception. I loved him. There is something so shamefully appealing about a man who desires a woman so much that he will be ruthless and single-minded in achieving his goals.

I loved Poppy and Harry’s first meeting when Dodger the ferret leads Poppy on a merry chase through hotelier Harry’s private suites, and that Poppy had no idea of his identity until after Harry had shown her a glimpse of the man behind the mysterious and infamous name:

The dark-haired stranger contemplated her for what seemed a very long time. “I’m not finished with you yet,” he said with stunning casualness. As if no one ever refused him anything. As if he planned to keep her with him for as long as he wished.
Poppy took a deep breath. “Nevertheless, I am leaving,” she said calmly, and went to the door.
He reached it at the same time she did, one hand flattening against the door panel.
Alarm jolted through her, and she turned to face him. A swift, frantic throbbing awakened in her throat and wrists and the backs of her knees. He was standing much too close, his long, hard body nearly touching hers. She shrank against the wall.
“Before you leave,” he said softly, “I have some advice for you. It’s not safe for a young woman to wander alone through the hotel. Don’t take such a foolish risk again.”
Poppy stiffened. “It’s a reputable hotel,” she said. “I have nothing to fear.”
“Of course you do,” he murmured. “You’re looking right at it.”
And before she could think, or move, or breathe, he bent his head and took her mouth with his.

While Harry may have started off being ruthless and manipulative, he was so vulnerable in his absolute need for Poppy that she soon had the upper hand. It is somehow so much more affecting and moving to see a strong, proud man fall so hard and become so exposed. The way the author portrayed depth of Harry’s emotions and his desperation had me wanting to mark quotes left, right and centre.

This was definitely Harry’s book. Poppy was a lovely heroine, I have no complaints at all about her character, but she just didn’t have the same impact as Harry. I also enjoyed spending time with all the other Hathaways. I really like that about this series – they don’t disappear once their book has been written. And always the master at turning characters around, Kleypas even has me coming to like Miss Marks.

I think this one was my favourite Hathaway book so far. Because I was too busy devouring this book to stop for updates, I will do something I normally wouldn't do and close with some of my favourite passages and quotes:

“Why me?” was all she could manage.
“Because you’re interesting and beautiful. Because saying your name makes me smile. Most of all because this may be my only hope of ever having hotchpotch.”
“I’m sorry, but…no. It wouldn’t be a good idea at all.”
“I think it’s the best idea I’ve ever had. Why can’t we?”
Poppy’s mind was spinning. She could hardly stammer out a reply. “I-I don’t like courtship. It’s very stressful. And disappointing.”
His thumb found the soft ridge of her collarbone and traced it slowly. “It’s arguable that you’ve ever had a real courtship. But if it pleases you, we’ll dispense with it altogether. That would save time.”
“I don’t want to dispense with it,” Poppy said, increasingly flustered. She trembled as she felt his fingertips glide along the side of her neck. “What I mean is…Mr. Rutledge, I’ve just been through a very difficult experience. This is too soon.”
“You were courted by a boy, who had to do as he was told.” His hot breath feathered against her lips as he whispered, “You should try it with a man, who needs no one’s permission.”

Why the hell was it so quiet in the apartment? He wanted people running, fetching things. He wanted action.
After tucking the covers around Poppy, he left the room in rapid strides.
Three maids were still in the hallway, talking amongst themselves. Harry scowled, and the maids blanched simultaneously.
“S-sir?” one of them asked nervously.
“Why are you all standing here?” he demanded. “And where is Mrs. Pennywhistle? I want one of you to find her immediately, and tell her to hurry! And I want the other two of you to start fetching things.”
“What kind of things, sir?” one of them quavered.
“Things for Mrs. Rutledge. A hot water bottle. Ice. Laudanum. A pot of tea. A book. I don’t give a damn, just start bringing things!”
The two maids scampered away like terrified squirrels.

Later……. “Yes, I’ll see if the doctor’s arrived,” the housekeeper said. “And I’ll have a brief talk with the housemaids. For some reason they’re piling the strangest assortment of objects near the doorway…” LOL!

And he knew that Poppy would never soften toward him unless he began with a sincere apology for taking her away from Michael Bayning. The problem was, he couldn’t. Because he wasn’t at all sorry about what he’d done, he was only sorry that she was unhappy about it. He would never regret having done what was necessary to marry her, because she was what he had wanted most in his life.
Poppy was every fine, good, unselfish impulse that he would never have. She was every caring thought, loving gesture, happy moment, that he would never know. She was every minute of peaceful sleep that would forever elude him. According to the law of universal balance, Poppy had been put into the world to compensate for Harry and his wickedness. Which was probably why, as the opposite of two magnetic forces, Harry was so damnably drawn to her.

After a while, he murmured softly into the pale, fragrant curve of her neck. “I’m going to make love to you all night, Poppy. And the first time, you’re going to feel very safe. But the second time, I’m going to be a little bit wicked…and you’ll like that even more. And the third time –” he paused with a smile as he heard her breath catch. “The third time, I’m going to do things that will mortify you when you remember them tomorrow.” He kissed her gently. “And you’ll love that most of all.”

...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Lisa Kay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-romance-historical, auto-buy-author, all-time-favorites, authors-k, authors-l, series-h, m-library-sj-audio-oda, character-dukeless, challenge-krazy-klepas, holiday-valentines-day-perfect

I read this first and I'm glad I did. The audio is not bad, but it is not great. The narrator did not do a very convencing job as Harry. This really should have had both male/female narrators. ...more

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Sep 03, 2009 Bekah rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-own, 2011-reads

Poppy Hathaway just wants a quiet, safe and peaceful life. After growing up in the Hathaway household, she just wants to settle down with the one man she loves into a happy little marriage. No messes, no fussing, no catastrophic family emergencies. However, a chance meeting with a handsome stranger in a secret passageway in the Rutledge Hotel changes her life and her dreams slip forever from her fingers. But perhaps new dreams she never could have ever thought possible will be born!

I LOVED Harry ...more

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May 16, 2010 Keri rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance-historical, 2010s-read

This is my first LK historical and it won't be my last. I loved Harry and Poppy together. The romance was sweet and carried throughout the entire book. I couldn't put it down and I look forward to picking up Cat and Leo's romance next week. ...more

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Sep 26, 2009 Cheryl rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own, historical-romance, lisa-kleypas

I suppose I should give this book 4 stars because Henry and Poppy annoyed me for the good middle part of this book! But, I gave it 5 because I ended up LOVING it!! I loved the attraction between the two of them. I loved how fascinated Harry was by Poppy. I really was not all that annoyed with Harry's actions concerning the way he took Poppy away from Michael. After all, it was the way he has always done things- he sees what he wants and will stop at nothing to have it! Poppy however really got o ...more

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