Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful work!!
Review: With Sommersby undertones, Stranger in My Arms is a wonderful love story full of suspense and passion until the very end. The story of Lara and Hunter is so powerful, I almost cried at some point. Although Lara appears to be a cold fish, she is really a passionate, selfless woman who loves and cares for others deeply to fill the void of love and children missing in her life. "Hunter" appears and introduces her to a love and passion so deep that the reader won't care whether he is her long-lost husband or not. Hunter helps to teach Lara that real love doesn't hurt, ridicule or deride. He teaches her the beauty of giving your heart, mind, and body to someone. Although you know where the plot is going, you will still find yourself surprised with the "Kleypas twist" at the end. I give this book 4 stars because I think Ms. Kleypas is a brilliant author. And, in the midst of reading an outstanding love story, there is always some social commentary to generate debate and stimulate the conscience.
Rating: 
Summary: I'LL CHERISH THIS EXTRAORDINARY BOOK 'TILL MY DYING DAY !!!!
Review: I luuuv Lisa Kleypas to pieces. I've read & kept all 16 of her novels. Everytime I finish 1, I'd sigh & think this is her best. Then I'd consume another & say she's outdone herself once again. Before I encountered SIMA, my favorites were Love, Come To Me, Forever My Love, Midnight Angel & Somewhere I'll find you, but this 1 takes the cake. It has the most romantic story & compelling characters ever penned (right up there alongside Lucia Grahame's The Painted Lady). U can't compare Jodie Foster - Richard Gere's corpse & corpse chemistry (in Sommersby) to Hunter & Lara's intense sexual tension. Meet Hunter, the lustiest & sexiest man alive (oh well in romance fiction anyway) that'll make U swoon (have your smelling salts handy). In my biased opinion, he's the most exceptional, unforgettable, adorable, fascinating, passionate, gentle, loving, charming, dashing, wondrous, sensual hero ever created (did I leave anything out ? =P). Lara, a burned heroine with a heart of gold!, was reduced to a mixed state of confusion, misery & sexual daze whenever Hunter was in the vicinity. She's understandably frigid after the painful beddings she endured from her insensitive husband in the past. She resented the fact that just when she had her independence, here comes her long-lost husband to wreak havoc on her life. Lara desperately wanted to believe that Hunter's really a changed man -as he claimed to be- who'd never hurt her again (in & out of bed) & not a chameleon. Hunter was hopelessly entranced by his wife & tried his damnedest to convince her that somehow a second chance was being given to them to rediscover love & trust. Like Lara, I also fell in love with Hunter more with every page I devoured (done 'bout 101 times already), for his unwavering determination to break down her barricade & ice-melting ways to weaken her senses. Hats off to Lara too for not giving in too easily. She panicked at the thought of fulfilling her bargain to make love to her hu!sband after midnight. She put her desperate plan to divert Hunter's amorous attentions into gear by inviting Hunter's former mistress to the ball. Her outrageous scheme backfired & pushed an enraged Hunter over the edge. He finally took matters into his own hands & my oh my... that scalding HOT stairwell scene & the ones that followed were nuthin' short of breathtaking (gulp !) & guaranteed to curl your hair, toes & fingers (yes, really). Ms. Kleypas has really brought her trademark erotic scenes 100 notches higher here. The dramatic chapters at the end were heartsplitting & what a beautiful ending (sniff) !. Words can't do justice to what U'd feel when U finally put this sensational classic down on your bedside table. I never wanted the pages to end then & there. I'd be the happiest woman on earth if Ms. Kleypas'd be so kind as to include Hunter & Lara in 1 of her upcoming books (wistful sigh) !
Rating:
Summary: This book was awesome!
Review: It was suspenseful, exciting, and sexy. What more could you ask for in a romance novel?! This is my favorite Lisa Kleypas novel so far... The hero and heroine in this novel were so well developed. I really, really enjoyed it. I highly recommend this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable but with problems
Review: Lady Lara Hawksworth has spent the year following her husband's death becoming a better person and leading her own life. She hasn't missed the cold, hard man who never cared for her. So when she is informed that he is alive, her world collapses around her. And when she meets him and he is the same, yet different... wanting her, kind to her... she wonders if it would be wrong to fall in love with the new Lord Hunter Hawksworth. Especially if he isn't really her husband. Lisa Kleypas has a real talent for writing hot, sexy stories about people who are a bit more "normal" than the ordinary hero and heroine of a romance. Lara and Hunter are both very likeable characters with flaws and secrets. And she's also done an amazing job because the majority of this book has to be in Lara's POV to keep the secret if Hunter is or isn't who he says he is. Yet, I did tire of Lara's avoidance of sex and her sometimes manipulative ways toward Hunter. Still, an enjoyable book.
Rating:
Summary: KLEYPAS IS BRILLIANT!
Review: I could not believe some of the bad reviews i have been reading!"STRANGER IN MY ARMS"is the beautiful story of a woman who learns to trust a man through his love.I have not yet read a Lisa Kleypas book that deserves a bad review.The characters of Lara and Hunter are wonderful!Hunter adores Lara,and is willing to give her as much time and space as she needs,to release her fears. If you like your men gentle but masculine,tender but passionate,then this is for you.Other Kleypas books that i can recomend...."THEN CAME YOU","DREAMING OF YOU","SOMEWHERE I'LL FIND YOU" AND "BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE",in that order!Don't worry about the bad reviews.They aren't worth the space that they're printed on!
Rating:
Summary: Anticipation
Review: Certainly the best part of this Kleypas novel is the anticipation of wanting to know if Hunter is actually Hunter or not; with this premise as the central part of the story, the novel holds the reader's interest. The character of Larissa (Lara) is not one of Kleypas's better written women, but Hunter is riveting. The subplot of Lara's sister and her abusive relationship is rather harsh and, to be honest, realistic for a romance novel; it will definitely either make or break the novel's enjoyment for readers.
Rating:
Summary: can't put it down...
Review: This is one of those romance books you just can't put down. The characters bounced off well and the story line was also interesting. This was my first book I've read of Ms. Kleypas and it wont' be my last. I loved her style of writing and I recommend this book even if it didn't end the way I wanted to...
Rating:
Summary: Stand by a Loving and Faithful Man !!
Review: Writing this review is very difficult, for to write the story's essence would be to give away plot spoilers. So, I will resist the temptation to ruin the novel for another reader. The talented Lisa Kleypas always writes her male and female characters as clever, sensual, and very straight forward. These qualities support the winning Kleypas formula. Yet, in this book her female character, Larissa Crossland, the Countess of Hawksworth is simply a bonehead. Her attitude -- "Woe is Larissa". Once married to the loathsome Earl of Hawksworth, Larissa felt no remorse when he died. However, the earl, Hunter
Crossland, has returned, and Larissa is none too pleased. After all, his resurrection will undoubtedly ruin her freedom. The reader soon learns the man that has returned to Larissa is not the man to whom she was once married. This current husband is kind, loving, and very considerate, and now the question looms. Is this man an imposter or has Hunter simply changed for the better? Of course, the reader has the answer well in advance to Larissa's awareness. Onto the plot's pivot. Sadly, the reader begins to detect, that our heroine is nothing short of a skilled manipulator. Larissa devises ways to get what she wants. She teases the earl with her body, promising kisses and further physical discoveries, in return, for his political and monetary favors. All the while, whimpering, over the fact, her husband was once a horrid lover, and therefore, she does not want to endure another round in the marriage bed. Alas, this is the same woman who prides herself on her caring docile nature. Giving hope and kindness to the destitute of the land, but to the man who is only gentle and loving toward her, this protesting wife is harsh and thoughtless. Yet, this is a romance book and the idea of the story is to get Larissa to fall in love with Hunter. She begins to realize he is a wonderful man, kind to the orphan boy they have taken in, kind to her wounded sister, kind to the household staff, and exceedingly kind and devoted to her. Larissa's ice shield begins to melt, and slowly she sees Hunter as a friend and lover. Finally, the story blooms with love and all is well. Oh, no it is not! Chapter 18 surfaces and with it the realization of what a nitwit Larissa truly is. This heroine sets forth to accomplish the most foolish thing this reader has ever perceived in romance reading. STOP. I will not give it away. Nevertheless, let us just say; Larissa's deed is so frustrating; I wanted to hurl the book across the room. Of course, contentment is found in the end, but to get through chapters 18-21 is a burden. If you have never read a Lisa Kleypas novel, please, please start with "Where Dreams Begin" and appreciate this author's immeasurable romantic talent. Grace Atkinson, Ontario - Canada.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a winner from Lisa Kleypas
Review: This does not work at all. There were too many loopholes in the storyline. I'll admit that the first few chapters got me hook on, because I wanted to know whether Hunter was really Hunter. But as I read on, the goodness oozing out of Lara was too much for me to take. Is it to much to ask for a 'heroine' to be more realistic? Lara cares for orphan, nothing wrong with that, but why does Lisa Kleypas potray her to be such a saint. It almost detered me from completing the book. Dreaming of you will always remain as my favourite book of all historical romance. But I am sorely disappointed in this book. The half answered questions in the ending and the sweetness of Lara almost flinging the book far far away from me.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing to say the least!!!
Review: The premise of the story was good, however, the development of the characters as well as the situation culminating to the revelation of who really Hunter, Earl of Hawksworth is, was quite lacking. Lara's/Larissa's character was also so unlike Ms. Kleypas other heroines. Lara is colorless,insipid and so indicisive. Overall, it was disappointing.
| 
