The ending is what did it for me. I can't resist a good, action-packed, dramatic, death-defying ending where the hero is in agonies wondering if his love is alive or dead and he tears the world apart trying to find her. Gets me every time, even though I know it'll have a happy ending.
The book wasn't perfect: it has Kleypas's usual pacing issues with the lull in the middle where the heroine and hero are just doing each other as if they're going to die tomorrow. It's also a typical case of opposites attract, and it's eerily similar to Kleypas's other novel Suddenly You, which also featured a writer and an unscrupulous businessman. This was better because it actually had a plot and conflict. I liked Sarah in particular. She actually seemed to grow and gain confidence, and she stood up for herself numerous times without coming off as an Amazon in the Victorian era.
I also liked the villainess. She was fun and different, and I've been waiting to come across a romance novel with a vengeful ex-lover. How this trope isn't more popular is beyond me.
If you like historical romance novels and you like action, you'll like this book. The only people who won't are people who are allergic to Kleypas's method of story-telling, and those people are out there! Here is your disclaimer if you're one of those people. Otherwise, it's a good, relaxing romp. ( )

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❤️ Ντέρεκ Κρέιβεν & Σάρα Φίλντινγκ ❤️


⭐ Η ΛΕΣΧΗ ΤΟΥ ΚΡΕΪΒΕΝ ⭐
Βιβλίο 1: [b:Έπειτα ήρθες εσύ...|40681203|Έπειτα ήρθες εσύ...(The Gamblers, #1)|Lisa Kleypas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530447599l/40681203._SX50_.jpg|2820344]
Βιβλίο 2: [b:Είσαι στα όνειρά μου|43793540|Είσαι στα όνειρά μου (The Gamblers of Craven's, #2)|Lisa Kleypas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548891803l/43793540._SX50_.jpg|679378] ( )

I really wanted to love this book because I love the Hathaways and the Wallflower Series, but I didn't love the characters. I didn't like Derek. His childhood was horrible and his coldness and distance were understandable, but his actions toward Sara and women, in general, are not okay. He does fall in love with Sara but I don't ever see where he changes his opinions on how to treat women. Using the house wench as a replacement for Sara is a perfect example. Sara was supposed to be smart but she didn't make the smartest choices. I realize that her society didn't give women opportunities to do very many things outside of the home, but she put herself in very dangerous situations. Romance novels are supposed to be fantasy, but her behavior was too much of one for the time period. I also felt like the storyline with Joyce was overdone and over-dramatic. In the end, I wasn't impressed. I will still read more of Kleypas, though. ( )

Loved. It. So much aaaaangst! And I LOVED Deric! And Sara! This was the perfect book to get sucked into on my afternoon off. (4.5 stars)

Originally read in May 2011. Re-read in May 2015 made me take it off the angst shelf and drop it down to 3.5 stars. Maybe it's because I've not read Kleypas in a while and the characters are less familiar, or just that I have difference opinions on historical romance than I did when I first started reading it, but while I liked it, it was not as amazing as I seemed to think the first time. (3.5 stars) ( )