Dreaming of You
RECOMMENDED: Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas is $2.99! This is book two of the Gamblers of Craven’s series and is a lot of readers’ favorites on account of the hero, Derek Craven. However, some felt the heroine lacked the depth that the hero received. After seeing all the love for this book on Twitter, I read it and I totally understand.
She stood at danger’s threshold–then love beckoned her in.
In the shelter of her country cottage, Sara Fielding puts pen to paper to create dreams. But curiosity has enticed the prim, well-bred gentlewoman out of her safe haven–and into Derek Craven’s dangerous world.
A handsome, tough and tenacious Cockney, he rose from, poverty to become lord of London’s most exclusive gambling house–a struggle that has left Derek Craven fabulously wealthy, but hardened and suspicious. And now duty demands he allow Sara Fielding into his world–with her impeccable manners and her infuriating innocence. But here, in a perilous shadow-realm of ever-shifting fortunes, even a proper “mouse” can be transformed into a breathtaking enchantress–and a world-weary gambler can be shaken to his cynical core by the power of passion. . . and the promise of love.
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The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne is $2.99! This book has been recommended in five (FIVE!) podcast episodes, and is often attributed to being readers’ first foray into romance. Have you read it? What’d you think?
She’s never met a man she couldn’t deceive…until now.
She’s braved battlefields. She’s stolen dispatches from under the noses of heads of state. She’s played the worldly courtesan, the naïve virgin, the refined British lady, even a Gypsy boy. But Annique Villiers, the elusive spy known as the Fox Cub, has finally met the one man she can’t outwit…
British spymaster Robert Grey must enter France and bring back the brilliant, beautiful-and dangerous-Fox Cub. His duty is to capture her and her secrets for England. When the two natural enemies are thrown into prison, they forge an uneasy alliance to break free. But their pact is temporary and betrayal seems inevitable as the fates of nations hang in the balance.
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Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen is $2.99! This is book three in the Season for Scandal series, but it can be read as a standalone. Readers really liked both main characters, though others felt the hero had a serious case of insta-love, or at the very least…insta-lust. It has a 4-star rating on Goodreads.
Their love was always in the cards.
He should have thrown her out. But when club owner Alexander Lavoie catches a mysterious blonde counting cards at his vingt-et-un table, he’s more intrigued than angry. He has to see more of this beauty—in his club, in his office, in his bed. But first he’ll have to devise a proposition she can’t turn down.
Gossip said he was an assassin. Common sense told her to stay away. But Angelique Archer was desperate, and Lavoie’s club offered a surefire way to make quick money—until she got caught. Instead of throwing her out though, the devil offers her a deal: come work for him. Refusing him means facing starvation, but with a man so sinfully handsome and fiercely protective, keeping things professional might prove impossible.
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Flights of Fancy by Jen Turano is $1.59 at Amazon and $1.99 elsewhere! This is the first book in the inspiration American historical series American Heiresses. It also looks the next two books are on sale at higher discount prices.
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I LOVE Joanna Bourne—I’d heard all kinds of good buzz about The Spymaster’s Lady but put off picking it up. Made the mistake of doing so one night after the kids had gone to bed and it was absolutely a foray into the Bad Decisions Book Club I don’t regret. I still remember the high of racing through those pages, marveling at the universe she’d created, with those too clever spies…. all that to say, it’s on my keeper shelf, and I reread it often…
The Spymaster’s Lady is a fantastic read – I rarely rate books with 5 stars, but I did this one. One of my absolute favorite books. The rest of the series is great too, but this book is the best.
I couldn’t finish Dreaming of You. I didn’t like it at all, and I usually like Lisa Kleypas.
I read DREAMING OF YOU based on previous SBTB recommendations and I just didn’t get the love for it? It leans pretty hard into the “man is made good by the love of a good woman” plot trope and I found the way that Derek manhandles Sara when he’s upset rather distressing.
The Spymaster’s Lady and that whole series is among my top favorites. The writing is just amazing. <3
I know Derek Craven is a whole thing but personally, I'm Team St. Vincent! (From Kleypas' A Devil in Winter.)
The Spymaster’s Lady is fun but the heroine has a very stereotypical and pronounced French accent that can be distracting. Also it’s one of those romance plots where the woman has all of her options taken away by the man who claims to love her. I don’t have a better way to describe it. She’s at a distinct disadvantage for most of the book and it’s very frustrating for her and for me, but I guess it doesn’t matter because love right?
Spymaster’s Lady is my pick here; Flights of Fancy I remember being cute, the Bowen and Kleypas are both okay.
I can’t stand Derek Craven’s Cockney accent, but didn’t mind the way SPYMASTER’s Annique was written at all – I thought it was clear that the author was fluent in French and had a good sense of how the sentence structure and idiom differed from English.
Mostly I like THE SPYMASTER’S LADY as the gateway to THE BLACK HAWK, my all-time favourite Napoleonic era romance. That book is TERRIFIC, and also has the best angsty wild-sex-in-a-storm scene ever.
Does anybody know whether Kleypas has stopped writing or is she just taking a break (as many writers have done the past few years)?
@EJ: I can’t disagree with your assessment of Annique’s options or lack thereof, very frustrating. And Robert is pretty heavy-handed (not physically). In the end–IIRC–I felt the power balance had shifted, that they were real partners, and wasn’t there some good groveling? Will always be one of my favorite books.
Another Spymaster fan here, although after a couple of rereads I think there is some plot weakness in the latter part of the book that takes place in England. Nevertheless, the first half set in France is a complete 5-star tour de force, and the big reveal took my breath away the first time I read it.
And just to clear up any confusion, at no point do the French characters ever speak with accents. However, by the sentence structure and idiom, it is clear that the conversation is in French, or the speaker’s first language is French. I thought it was very cleverly done. The trade paperback edition has a much better cover featuring the heroine instead of the beefcake. https://www.amazon.com/Spymasters-Lady-Spymaster-Joanna-Bourne/dp/0425236218/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
@Maria F
DEVIL IN DISGUISE came out last year, and it was the last in Ravenel series. I think Kleypas is probably just working on a new series and maybe taking her time with it. I’m pretty sure all of the Ravenel books came out one per year for seven years. That’s a lot of output.
@Jennifer in FL thanks! I know that Kleypas has been publishing a book a year for a while so I was just surprised that there seemed to be no news at all about a new book for 2022 or 2023. I’m sorry if I came off as complaining or judging; I really just wondered if there were news that I had missed. Obviously she should publish on whatever schedule works best for her.
And another one for THE SPYMASTER’S LADY. I recently finished the chronological first book in the series (THE FORBIDDEN ROSE), which I enjoyed a great deal, and will be re-reading the second (THE SPYMASTER’S LADY) because I loved it so. The author lists her preferred order as well as chronological on her website). I agree Annique was mistreated though, and thought Robert could have done more groveling (can there ever be enough?), but this author remains one of my very favorite in historical romance. Simply outstanding.
@Tam: Adrian, sigh…. And she almost didn’t write his story. He was just meant to be a secondary character. But everybody loved him. Bourne had to do a little bit of reconning to make it work.
@Maria: All Bourne’s books are somewhat interrelated, characters make cameo appearances and there are lots of Easter eggs. But you definitely need to read TFR before Black Hawk, and Black Hawk before Rogue Spy to get the full backstory.
@Karin: And the thing is, once you know about the reveal, you realize that she told you from the very first paragraph. Excellent writing.
I know most people prefer BLACK HAWK, but THE FORBIDDEN ROSE is my favorite. Especially when Bourne flips the script and the heroine rescues the hero from certain death. A full scale prison break.
And I’m yet another fan of THE SPYMASTER’S LADY. I also enjoyed DREAMING OF YOU.
I don’t want to belabor the point but there is considerable dropping of the “H” sound by Bourne’s French characters. I freely admit to not knowing French though. The accent/speech patterns were not ad distracting to me as the power imbalance between the main couples.
I did enjoy Dreaming of You. But looking back, I think I like Then Came You, (the book before it), a tiny bit more.
The letter H is always silent in French.
Ok fine I’m dumb and I’m sorry. I’m sorry everyone!