Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas

Amanda Briars and Jack Devlin's book



Suddenly You

by Lisa Kleypas

Book Blurb:

She was unmarried, untouched and almost thirty, but novelist Amanda Briars wasn't about to greet her next birthday without making love to a man. When he appeared at her door, she believed he was her gift to herself, hired for one night of passion. Unforgettably handsome, irresistibly virile, he tempted her in ways she never thought possible, but something stopped him from completely fulfilling her dream.

Jack Devlin's determination to possess Amanda became greater when she discovered his true identity. But gently bred Amanda craved respectability more than she admitted, while Jack, the cast-off son of a nobleman and London's most notorious businessman, refused to live by society's rules. Yet when fate conspired for them to marry, their worlds collided with a passionate force neither had expected. . . but both soon craved.

Suddenly You opens with one of the best paragraphs I have read in a long time. (here)  The good and gentle Miss Amanda Briars was sitting with the scandalous Madam, Gemma Bradshaw*  trying to determine what sort of man she wishes to purchase for her 30th birthday...to loose her virginity to. And there you have it. That is how Suddenly You grabbed me and didn't let go until "The End".  
*One quick mention about the brothel owner Gemma Bradshaw is that she is a carry over figure from the Bow Street Runners book, "Worth Any Price". It was a delight to read about her again. 

The thing is, as much as I loved the opening paragraph, it gets even more delicious. Exactly how Amanda and Jack meet each other will probably go down in my books as one of the best first meetings ever. It was my favourite part of the entire book. 

Suddenly You is a stand alone book (not part of a series) that is not based around a Duke, Earl or even a Baron. Jack Devlin is a savvy business man in the publishing industry and Amanda is a best seller author who can financially support herself. It was such a breath of fresh air to read about a woman who was not dictated to marry, forced by her family to marry or was tricked to marry. With the exception of never experiencing a man in her bed, she seemed quite content with her life. 
But having said that, Amanda did have a low self esteem issue and that is one part of her personality that was annoying to read about over and over again. Even though she was characterized as having frizzy hair, short legs and a rounder body I do think that her self esteem issues stemmed more from the lack of social experience with men. For her early "coming out" years and then the following subsequent years afterwards, she was the sole caretaker of ailing parents living far from London society. 

Jack was an easy character to understand. As a reader you understood his drive and ambitions. He was not a careless rake that had bedded a lot of ladies. (another excellent character bonus) Jack was a determined man that wanted to build a publishing empire and Amanda was the one thing that softened him. I adored how the pair carried on and bantered. Highly enjoyable. 

With neither character overly fond of marriage, the conflict of the story was centered around that wedded flaw. At times it was a bit frustrating with the lack of communication between the couple but I could easily overlook that since that was the main conflict of the story. Amanda and Jack did not have an easy time of coming together as a couple and even afterwards they still continued to experience ups and downs. I loved how everything about their lives finally came together. 

Teasers: male prostitute selection, lots of blushing, memorable carriage ride, historical cradle robbing *giggles*