Review: Seduce Me At Sunrise

Title: Seduce Me At Sunrise

Author: Lisa Kleypas

Published: September 2008

Genre: Historical Romance

Stand Alone/Series: Hathaway #2

From the Author Site: Win has been an invalid ever since she suffered a near-fatal case of scarlet fever. Merripen is a Romany Gypsy who was taken in by the Hathaway family when he was a boy. He has always kept his fierce passion for Win a secret, believing a romantic relationship would never be possible.

But Win goes to an exclusive clinic, far away from Merripen and the rest of her family, and makes a remarkable recovery. And when she returns two years later, a changed woman, the explosive passion between these long-denied lovers threatens their family, their future, and even their lives . . .

Hero: Kev Merripen. Brooding, tortured hero material, gotta love that. They are so much more enjoyable than the happy go luck type (does that make me a sadist? Hmm... the Sadist *g*)A gypsy raised to be a prize fighter by his very unpleasant uncle. When the locals rose up against them, he was injured and left die. Enter his not wanted rescuer, Mr. Hathaway. While healing he meets and is enraptured by Win so much so that he stays and becomes a part of the family. He truly passionately loves Win, but is held back by the fear that he will bring her harm. He fears that he is cursed and that he is not meant to be happy.

Heroine: Winnifred "Win" Hathaway. The second sister in the Hathaway family. Thought of as "serene" and "peacemaker" but she does have a bit of mischief that only her family and Merripen see. An invalid but determined to regain her health so that she can be with Merripen, whom she loves with all her being. She definitely chased him until he caught her!

Review: A delightful read and mostly a quick read too. No tangled plots to keep track of, this is a very straight forward story of "she chased him, until he caught her" story. The hero running away because of his tortured past thing (the "I'm not good enough for her" bit). The heroine chasing her hero until she can tree him. And of course the third party, the one that makes the hero see that he can't live without his love. For being so predictable and formulaic, its still a fun read. Lisa Kleypas rarely fails to engage the reader and create a wonderful story that all can love, and she did not fail here.

While Merripen definitely has darkness in him, it in no way makes this story dark. There is no great evil out to get them. Sure there is a villian(s), or least some foreshadowing of a great villian, but he/they never really materilize and are more of an aside than anything else. Win, with her determination to make Merripen admit he loves her and wants her as his own and Merripen with his determination to keep running while not being able to keep his hands off her makes for great tension and, in the end, lots of steamy sex! Woohoo!

Lisa has also left us with a teasing bit as to who the next couple will be...

Keeper?: Yes

Recommendation: Although this is book 2 in the Hathaway series, it could be read as a stand alone. Enough of the background is explained so there is nothing really that is missed. Any who have read and enjoyed Lisa Kleypas before will find this story quite delightful.

Rating: 4 out of 5