Mine Till Midnight
Title: Mine Till Midnight
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: 384 (Mass Market Paperback)
It's oddly appropriate that I chose an historical romance in order to get back into the swing of things as far as reviews go. Why is that, you ask? Well, let me give you a little bit of back story.
Back in junior high and high school, when I first came to love the romance genre, I was addicted to historical romances. I'm talking Johanna Lindsey, Virginia Henley, Kathleen E. Woodiwess, Jude Deveraux and Christina Dodd's Governess series. I would devour historical romances like nobody's business. And then, towards the end of high school, I discovered Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I'd begun to tire of historical romances and weak heroines who fell in love with men who essentially raped them.
So since high school, I think I've read maybe five historical romances. And that's a really big maybe.
But then I kept hearing all these good things about Mine Till Midnight. Everyone over at the Smart Bitches kept talking about it. And that gorgeous cover kept catching my eye every single time I went to the bookstore. Finally, I gave in, bought it, and subsequently had a very hard time putting it down. In fact, I was almost late to church one morning because I was so deeply engrossed in this book.
The most compelling aspect of this book, for me, was the fact that the hero and heroine--Cam Rohan and Amelia Hathaway, respectively--were both unconventional historical romance protagonists. Cam is half Gypsy, half Irish, and has been living a non-Gypsy life for years. Amelia is a spinster, the second oldest of five. Both of her parents are dead, and her older brother has just inherited a title that has elevated the Hathaways to the aristocracy despite their lack of wealth. Amelia's intelligent, independent, strong-willed and outspoken. She's also the responsible one in the family, and has found herself stuck in the position of caring for her wastrel brother, a sister still frail from her bout with scarlet fever, and two teenage sisters. Merripen, their "adopted" gypsy brother, helps as much as he can.
In a desperate attempt to get her brother away from London and the tempations that dwell there (mainly whores and opium), she sells their family home and they move to the estate that comes along with the title. Little does she know the house is in serious disrepair, infested with bees (of which she's deathly afraid), and almost inhabitable. Slowly, the family begins to make the house livable.
Meanwhile, Cam is visiting friends at a nearby estate, and when the family is invited to dine with them Amelia and Cam come face to face for the second time (the first was in London, when Amelia went to the club Cam works at to retrieve her brother, and after which he kissed her). They're drawn to each other, even though Amelia (of course) resists. She's done with love, having been cheated on by her former fiance.
Event after event throws the two together, and when the Hathaways' house catches on fire, the family is invited to stay with Cam's friends nearby. Of course, being in such close proximity is more tempation than either Cam or Amelia can bear, and they begin an affair that's hot not only because of the scandal it could cause, but also because, well, it's freaking hot.
Cam and Amelia eventually fall in love, and Cam decides to settle down and embrace the "ganjo" (meaning "white") life in order to be with Amelia.
Throughout the book, the interplay between the two characters is filled with tension. The dialogue is snappy and realistic, and Cam's one of those heroes that manages to be both alpha and beta. He's strong and a bit wild, yet intelligent, intuitive and just a little vulnerable. Despite the fact that his description alone conjures the image of a very attractive man in one's mind, his personality only serves to make him even more attractive. If he were real, I have no doubt he would be considered sexy by many a woman. Amelia's very likeable and never once comes across as weak. In fact, she has a very hard time being vulnerable and leaning on anyone.
Needless to say, the characters drew me in. Even the secondary characters were fleshed out and interesting, from frail Win to stoic Merripen and their blossoming romance (I'm guessing the second Hathaway book will be their story--at least, I'm hoping it is, because I really liked Win and Merripen), to sad Leo, to Poppy to the delightful Beatrix who takes in a lizard as a pet. They're an interesting, dysfunctional family that I for one could definitely relate to (even if the time periods are completely different).
Kleypas' writing is good. Really good. It's fast-paced, packed with tension, emotion and humor, not to mention sensuality. The setting is rich, the characters fully fleshed out and interesting, and I had a really hard time putting this book down. Thus, I immediately went out and bought three more of her novels and promptly began Suddenly You, which is up next for review (didn't mean to rhyme).
I give it:
