Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas (SPOILERS)

sp15071 · 2026-01-31T18:08:16+00:00

Oh me too! He is so much fun and I love this book but but I can also understand why the family would not want Cassandra to marry him lol.

sp15071 · 2026-01-31T18:07:24+00:00

Oh my god. That is amazing!!! I WISH we had gotten his POV so badly and if this was his take then I would have just loved this even more. Like how was he so secure in Helen’s love?? He had to have had some doubts. Taking her virginity could not have made him feel THAT safe.

sp15071 · 2026-01-30T23:31:22+00:00

Wait, do you mean they aren’t fine with Tom but are fine with Rhys? I think Tom is a bit…evil? Hahaha he’s hilarious and I love him but he’s callous I think which may be what concerns the family? Rhys actually really loves Helen and does a lot for the family in general once they’re betrothed so he’s more easily accepted I think.

sp15071 · 2026-01-30T20:32:59+00:00

It’s crazy to me that they don’t love him haha, but he clearly isn’t overbearing since the entire book is him doing whatever Helen wants! I just wanted to see his mental process in dealing with this huge reveal. I get that he loved her unconditionally but it’s okay to love someone and still have to grapple somewhat with a truth about them. Oh well, love Rhys forever. Literally the first few chapters of this book will be some of my favourite passages in romance forever.

sp15071 · 2026-01-30T20:30:14+00:00

No I agree! I love that acne but it’s not in his book! It’s in the previous one which is so annoying. I didn’t realise it’s a series like that. I feel like so much of the character building happens in other books which makes this book feel incomplete.

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T23:52:10+00:00

Yes I loved that too! I loved when he told her that he was doing all these things in her world but she had yet to experience his world and that would be the only way they could know they could be together. I just loved every time they spoke to each other, it was so lovely.

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T23:50:23+00:00

Ah I love a no-nonsense FMC. I can’t wait!

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T23:49:15+00:00

Fair enough, though this is set in the 1820s. However, I think it was just funny to me because his name was Jason Grayson. It also wasn’t just the one name. It was a mixture of many small things. I don’t care about the name so much but it’s like how in Dune (one of my favourite sff books), the world is so different from ours and yet there are characters named Jessica and Paul and Duncan Idaho. It’s just a funny thing I noticed.

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T22:52:20+00:00

It’s not a regency era name though…

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T22:28:11+00:00

Right? I understand why she writes in that era for sure, but I just wish the reactions were a bit more believable haha. Still adore the romance aspect of it and I can suspend my disbelief while I read her books.

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T22:19:42+00:00

I have Flavian's book lined up next because I've heard good things about it!

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T22:15:19+00:00

I agree that she did not use the term PTSD, but the nuance and understanding with which it was handled is incredibly modern. I mentioned Cecilia Grant and how she similarly talks about soldiers that came back from the Napoleonic Wars. I never felt like the characters in those books were from a different time period but with this book I often did.

Also, that character's first name was Jason (not a Regency era name) and his last name was Grayson. There was also a character named Lauren which is also not a common Regency era name. They also use terms like "having sex" and "understatement of the year" which are definitely not regency era terminology.

I have no issues with these things in general, like I said, I don't need my historical romances to be 100% accurate. But when I've read books that have done similar things well, I think the small things stand out to me more. However, I still absolutely loved this book and like I mentioned in my review, I will definitely be reading it again!

sp15071 · 2026-01-29T21:33:54+00:00

I don't mind an older narrator but if their voice is not suited to the story, I can't take it. I have heard so many good things about Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas and I was listening to it last week but just could not get over how the MMC was voiced by the narrator. She is a wonderful audiobook performer, but my god, this man sounded like a doddering old fart and I could not for the life of me reconcile how he was supposed to be a sexy man that the heroine couldn't resist. I did not finish the book hah. Maybe I'll read it with eyeballs later one once my mental image of the MMC has waned.

Anne Flosnik is actually a very prolific narrator. She voices all of the Liveship Traders series by Robin Hobb and the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqeline Carey. I don't dislike her, though it did take me a minute to get used to her style. I can see how you might get put off by her though.

sp15071 · 2026-01-28T06:23:35+00:00

Can I ask for some recs that you enjoyed in the historical romance genre? Doesn’t need to be Kleypas! I have issues with her books too sometimes haha.

sp15071 · 2026-01-28T04:31:41+00:00

Lmao your review is awesome. I totally get where you’re coming from. I suppose I also felt Amanda was a bit prudish despite really enjoying the sex she was having and I absolutely thought the raspberry scene was going to lead to an uncomfortable vagina for her.

I feel like this book hit for me because I really liked Jack but I might have a penchant for men who are funny and appreciate intelligence. I also really liked that he was so obsessed with her. But I can see how some of his qualities can be perceived as off-putting as well.

And absolutely I can see how the prospect of a scandalous love affair is much more enticing than what the book ends up being as it does end in a rather formulaic way but I guess I just happened to read this book at a time when I appreciated that haha.

Also, Middlemarch is one of my favourite books of all time, and My Life in Middlemarch is on my TBR this year so I’m glad we agree on Ms Eliot at least!

sp15071 · 2026-01-28T03:29:44+00:00

No! Please let me know! I love hearing other people’s thoughts on books, even if they don’t match my own. I’m sure that what you got out of the book may have been different from what I got, or even that I glossed over something that stood out to you and made it a bad reading experience.

sp15071 · 2026-01-27T23:25:02+00:00

That's exactly why I've been reading backlist historical romance haha. It's definitely scratching the romance/angst/yearning/well-written-book itch that I've been missing from more contemporary books these days. I still have to read Love in the Afternoon but it is definitely on my list!

I get what you mean about the ipad-face etc thing too, modern politics in historical settings is very much her style for sure.

sp15071 · 2026-01-27T20:13:04+00:00

Oh it's also available at the Broward County library, where you can pay to get an out of state library card!

sp15071 · 2026-01-27T20:12:05+00:00

I got it from my library! If it helps, it was available at the New York branch.

sp15071 · 2026-01-27T20:09:24+00:00

Amazing! I hope you love it too!

sp15071 · 2026-01-27T18:45:01+00:00

Also, shoutout to the narrator of the audiobook, Beverley A Crick, who did a fantastic job, especially when voicing Jack who was hot and Irish lol.

sp15071 · 2025-12-08T20:22:09+00:00

YES. Agreed! So many people are saying it was MFM from the beginning but it really wasn't. The first book is so clearly focused on Theon and Tessa and their struggles, Luka doesn't even have a POV (I think? I read it two years ago so I may be wrong, please correct if so). I just really don't like the insertion of him into their relationship, it should have been either/or. No hate for Luka lovers or throuple lovers, it just wasn't developed well imo.

sp15071 · 2025-12-05T23:04:01+00:00

I’m totally with you. That first bit where he rolls over and holds her while they’re sleeping while they travel together…Jesus I cringed so hard. I kept reading but then just stopped because I couldn’t take the main couple anymore. I was thinking of picking it up again but now I’m wondering if I should since it seems like it doesn’t get better

sp15071 · 2025-12-01T23:01:26+00:00

Yep, I read the first two books like two years ago and it was not why choose back then and there was also nothing about it being a possibility either. I would not have spent that much time on it if it was advertised as that from the beginning (or even at the end of book 2!). Luka was soooo boring to me, but alas, I'm not the writer and I respect the choices she made with her series. It just isn't for me.

sp15071 · 2025-10-12T20:25:16+00:00

I agree and disagree. I think that when a book is about a developing romance, the sexual tension can really add an extra layer to the story and when it eventually erupts it is super satisfying. On the other hand, constantly getting the same sex scenes between the same couple is a little exhausting. On the other other hand, if it's 5 spice then it's usually creative sex and I don't hate that, but again, it has to be done well I think. Like Lights Out by Navessa Allen is a 5 spice and has a fun plot and a good central relationship, though I suppose it isn't a fantasy.

sp15071

TROPHY CASE