Thursday, October 01, 2009

Recent Read

Tempt Me At Twilight by Lisa Kleypas

Why This One: I adore Lisa Kleypas and her books and read every one.

Steam Level: Oh this one is nice and steamy.

Blurb: Poppy Hathaway loves her unconventional family, though she longs for normalcy. Then fate leads to a meeting with Harry Rutledge, an enigmatic hotel owner and inventor with wealth, power, and a dangerous hidden life. When their flirtation compromises her own reputation, Poppy shocks everyone by accepting his proposal -- only to find that her new husband offers his passion, but not his trust.
Harry was willing to do anything to win Poppy -- except to open his heart. All his life, he has held the world at arm's length...but the sharp, beguiling Poppy demands to be his wife in every way that matters. Still, as desire grows between them, an enemy lurks in the shadows. Now if Harry wants to keep Poppy by his side, he must forge a true union of
body and soul, once and for all...

My Thoughts: I've loved all the books in this series and I LOVED this book too!! I like it much better than the Wallflower Series - not that I didn't enjoy them. B
ut the Hathaways are such a darn fun family to get to know. They are unconventional and although they are nobility, it's a recent happenstance and they don't really care if they fit in or not.
Poppy, the third sister is a bit different though. Sh
e wants a settled life and thinks she has found just the right guy. But then she runs into Harry Rutledge and he decides he wants her for himself.

I love the kind of hero Harry is; somewhat repressed and unaware where his feelings are concerned and unable to express them. He wants Poppy at any cost and will do whatever it takes to get her. He doesn't really know why he wants her so bad and I find that adorable since we, the reader, know it's her intelligence, her uniqueness and he
r lack of game playing that makes her so attractive to him.
I've read other reviews where the reviewer questions what Harry sees in Poppy and vice versa but it was very obvious to me right from the beginning. From the first moment when Harry really notices Poppy, she is unlike anyone he's ever met before and he is captivated right away.

And on Poppy's side, although she seems to want a nice, easy life and thinks she will get that with Michael, the truth is he's really just a wuzz. Poppy has had examples of strong men in her life with both Cam and Merripen. Harry is the same type, going after what he wants. Although she is horrified at his perfidy, he really does need her and she recognizes this fairly early. Which brings me to Poppy. She also is the type of heroine that I love. She's intelligent, sure of herself and most important of all, she can laugh at herself and at her family foibles. I love a heroine (or hero) who doesn't take themselves too seriously and such is the case with Poppy.

And I really felt the chemistry between these two. It really was a case of opposites attracts. I can tell when I've really enjoyed a book and when finished have to go back and read it again. Such is the case with Tempt Me At Twilight. I tried to move on to another book, but then realized that I wasn't done with this one yet - I needed to go back and read it again, to savour it if you will. I loved Harry and Poppy and all the secondary characters.

Just for the heck of it, I went on Amazon and read some of the reviews there and sometimes readers amuse/amaze me. There were a few complaints that some readers were disappointed that this wasn't Leo's book. Me - I'm fine with whatever Ms. Kleypas writes. I've learned over the years to trust her as an author. I may enjoy some of her books more than others - but I have enjoyed just about every one, and this more than many.

Grade: 4.75 out of 5
This one gets the cat thumbs up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And by the fact that I'm here, you can see I'm back. In the five years I've been blogging, I haven't been away this long. So I feel a bit of explanation is in order. I'll try to make it brief yet vague yet make sense :-)

I had me a situation at work - something I've never gone through before. While I have a quality or two that could be considered good - being organized isn't one of them. This lack of organization came back to bite me in butt at my place of employment. Because of this I've been subject to some disciplinary action that I've had a good deal of trouble dealing with. I disagreed completely with what happened and as a result, I've been one bitter and angry and depressed person lately. In addition, it seems a fellow employee or two went to my supervisor with complaints against me - things were said that simply weren't true and I took that very hard. Believe me when I say that Kristie and Krisite had many a battle going on how to deal with the situation. I withdrew at work and I withdrew at home and worst of all - I withdrew from blogging!!!
But I realized the other day and it's still been circling around in my brain, that the person who was being hurt most of all was myself.
While I still think the situation was taken further than it should have, in a case of being totally honest with myself, I did need a kick - and a good one. That kick wasn't pleasant and it wasn't comfortable, but I have made some drastic changes and I have learned from it.
As far as my co-workers go, I was told that they like me so much they didn't feel comfortable coming to me. I'm not sure I buy that but I'll go along with it. And there might have been something lost in translation between what was said about me and what was said to me about what was said about me. I'm still hurt and less trusting, but I have to go back to being 'me' again. And that means letting go of the feelings of betrayal I've been living with.

So - I think the blog break time is over and I'm very, very happy about that.

19 comments:

azteclady said...

*tackle* *hug*

Oh thank goodness you are back!





(I was starting to study the logistics of a trip to the northern wilds to look for you, missy!!!!)

Kristie (J) said...

AL: *g* In order to make it through - I had to cut off pretty much all emotions for a while. But thank goodness I managed to work things through - it's probably old age that it took so long. But it is good to be feeling more back to normal. Now I'll probably tons of posts in order to make up for lost time!!

Nikki said...

Glad you are back. You were missed.

I loved Tempt Me at Twilight. In fact, I loved it so much I may reread it this week, which is unheard of for me. I can't wait for Leo and Catherine's story.

Janet Webb said...

My gf, who's visiting me in a few weeks, is lending me this book to read while she races a race ... I'm a speed reader so it's all good. Glad to see you back.

I'm not the most organized person when it comes to dead tree paper ... when it's cyber, I do a lot better :) ... glad you're looking forward.

As for Nashville, great city, awesome music, not nearly as $$$ as other cities: great site, imo, for RWA.

Kristie (J) said...

Nikki: It's good to be back. I needed that time away though to work out the poison that had worked itself in. I hear something something the other day - forget where but the expression "it is what it is" was applicable. But I had to accept that and let go to move on. I'll have to let Krisite win a different battle *g*

Janet *laughing* so are you hoping she runs a bit on the slow side so you have time to finish the book? 'Cause I think once you start it, you will want to finish it. It's a most excellent book.
I read quick too - sometimes too fast - thus the reread.
And everyone at work now knows how I spend my vacation so they know I'm going to Nashville next year. It's a great way to see the US. I've done more travelling the past three years then I did in the previous 15 years!!

Marg said...

So glad to see you back, and a LK book would be just the thing to help me through as well!

Tara Marie said...

glad you're back and hope things improve at work. Uncomfortable work situations are miserable.

Mary G said...

Hi Kristie
Missed you lots (& worried lots).
Good to see you back & writng awesome reviews as well.

Renee said...

Welcome home, Kristie! I've really missed your posts, sweetie. :-)

Wendy said...

Oh thank heavens! I'm glad things are starting to settle down for you sweetie.

In other news, your long national nightmare is finally over! The Blue Jays fired J.P. Ricciardi today. My Man is might relieved. He's hoping they hired someone who knows how to draft talent. Heh.

Karen W. said...

Glad to see you back, Kristie! I missed your blogs. :)

Kristie (J) said...

Karen W: And may I say it's good to BE back. I missed all my friends :(.

WENDY!!! No, I hadn't heard they fired JP - about damn time!! I'm with your Man on that one. Honestly - why did they keep him so long??? I was so mad over the whole trading the Doc thing. I mean talk about messing with a guys head. Doc was headed towards another great year when that all happened and then when all the trade stuff started, he nose dived. And why would they talk about trading him anyway? He's the heart and soul of the team! I HATED that Ricciardi did that to him.

Renee: Sometime we go through dark times where a lot of anger and soul searching ensues. I guess you are never too old for that kind of thing.

Mary: The one thing I didn't stop doing was reading. I did manage to get a number read during my 'hiatus'. I'll have to do a bunch of mini reviews or something 'cause I read quite a few good books during the time away.

Tara: I can't change the way things are at work - but I can change my attitude towards them. And *laughing* I DO have a much more organized work station. Now if only I can do the same thing at home!!

Marg: As I said, I did read quite a few good books - but yup, coming back with a Lisa Kleypas book was just the thing *g*

Anonymous said...

Wonderful review of LK's book, Kristie! I'm with you, I don't mind which story she writes because I love them all.

Penny Watson said...

Kristie...thanks for the great review. I was on the fence about this one, but you've convinced me to give it a try!

Sorry about your work situation...I hope things get better...it sounds like you have the right attitude about dealing with it. Keep on blogging! :)

orannia said...

(((Kristie))) I'm very glad that you're back, although I am sorry to hear that things haven't been so good. If it helps, I also was given (politely) a kick in the proverbial *grin* earlier this year - I was letting all the family dramas slow me right down :( And they are still there - today I'm trying to work while trying to avoid having a panic attack...no fun!

Am keeping my fingers crossed that things are on the up and up for you now... Oh, it's so good to have you back online :)

SarahT said...

Great to see you posting again, Kristie! I'm so glad you enjoyed 'Tempting at Twilight'. I just received my copy and I was a bit reluctant to start it as I've heard some 'meh' things about it.

Kristie (J) said...

Barbara: There are some of her books I enjoy more than others. This is without question one of the enjoy more group. I'd say it's in my top 3 and while I've enjoyed all the Hathaway books, this is my fave of this series.

Penelope: I've seen a few reviews that weren't the best on this book but for me - I disagree. I thought it was a great book.

Orannia: it's tough getting that kick isn't it? And while I will probably never concede I needed it quite the way it was done, I will say that when push comes to shove, I have reworked the way I work - for the better :) And I can relate to the panic attacks too. There were a few times I was fighting them too. Not fun is it?

Sarah: Here's hoping you enjoy it as much as I did *g* I will keep my finger crossed that you do. I love this whole series so far. And *laughing* for the record, I can wait for Leo's story until she's ready to release it.

nath said...

Yay, you're back Kristie!!! Miss you a whole bunch!!! So happy that you're back! and yes, don't let your work deprive us of your presence!!

At the end of the day, Kristie, work is just work.

I'm glad you enjoyed TMaT. I thought it was okay... I did like it, but not as much as you :P

CindyS said...

So glad you are back!! I was worried but know sometimes just backing away is the only way to get through tough situations. I didn't know but I wondered if maybe the depression had come back. I'm struggling and feeling bad for doing so because I have a great life but I'm having a hard time with the weather change. Gah.

Hugs!!

cindyS