Rating: 
Summary: My first, but certainly not my last
Review: This was the first novel by Lisa Kleypas I ever read. I was immediately a fan of her writing. It had a fresh quality that I've found lacking in some of the recent books I've read by my favorite authors. I was instantly drawn to the fact that the female protagonist doesn't hide behind the limitations of "polite society". It was refreshing to see an independent woman going after what she wanted, despite the disastrous results that could occur. Intermingled in the complex background of histories, vulnerabilities and past experiences is a passionate story. The entire book has a sensuous quality that draws the reader in, leaving you wondering when the estranged lovers will meet again. After you've read this page turner, be sure to seek out Ms. Kleypas' many other novels to enjoy as well. You won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: What can I say but...sigh...
Review: I do adore this author's books and this one just shot to the top spot on my Lisa Kleypas shelf! I love the hotter quality of this book and the characters are still people you can relate to or wish you could be more like. I closed this book with a sigh and I know I will go back and read it again someday.
Rating: 
Summary: A good romance!
Review: This is one of the few good romances I have read in a long time.
Definitely one of Ms Kleypas's more sensual works.
Even though the plot and everything was good, I found that the novel was strangely lacking in depth, due to which I enjoyed the book immensely while I was reading it, but after a couple of weeks I realised that nothing in the book was memorable, other than the steamy scenes.
Still, all said and done, it was better than some of the boring stuff I have read lately.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but...
Review: This book left something to be desired. This is the first book I've read by this author. While the characters were very enjoyable, and the circumstances of their first meeting were original and fun, for one thing, I felt like all of the minute things that they were hiding from each other, while getting to know one another, left the reader too much in the dark also. Which left me with the feeling that I really didn't grasp their true characters. And I should have, considering the story was the couple.
Maybe that was the writer's intent, because the relationship was the book, therefore the only intrigue that existed. Other than having sex with each other (which seemed to me to be 80% of the book), they went to a couple of social gatherings and worked. In a way I guess it's better than having to read through text that's redundant, too descriptive or just isn't relevant to the story. But, then again, I like books that have more elements, such as outside threats to the characters, a bit of a mystery intertwined, ect'When the story is left only to stupid circumstances or misunderstandings, I feel like I wasted my time.
I love romance novels. Julie Garwood and Amanda Quick are my favorite authors. I've also stumbled upon a couple new ones, Gaelen Foley and Liz Carlyle. While the relationships are progressing between their couples, you learn their pasts, enjoy their battles of wit, and become totally involved with the mystery and adventures the characters go thru together. This book seemed to me to be what some would describe as fluff.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Story By A Great Author!!!
Review: Suddenly You is a sensual romance from Lisa Kleypas that is wonderful to read and entertaining as well. This is a touching story of a 29 year old spinster who wants to experience passion before she turns 30. Jack Devlin is her birthday present to herself. Jack is a handsome and irrestible man that she wants to make her dream come true. Jack wants more then just to awaken her passion. This is a touching story of how two people can come together and make each others dream come true. If you love Lisa Kleypas you will love her newest book!
Rating:
Summary: Deliciously Wicked!!
Review: Suddenly You is the story of Amanda Briars, a bluestocking spinster, who is about to turn 30. Amanda seeks to give herself the ultimate birthday present-a night of unbridled passion. Little does she know that her life is about to be turned upside down!! She meets Jack, who she believes is the prostitute come to divest her of her virginity. This ironic event becomes the foundation for a sensually rich and passionate love story that causes a woman to discover the side of herself she never knew existed. Jack continues the line of Kleypas heroes who overcome horrific childhoods and build themselves into powerful, intimidating men. Amanda and Jack complement each other in ways the other could never imagine!! Suddenly You is very intense sexually, as Jack introduces Amanda to the pleasures of the flesh, and, eventually, the pleasures of the heart. There is also the allure of the Older Woman/Younger man syndrome, which serves to make the passion here that much hotter. ... I think Ms. Kleypas' use of the blatant sensuality was done to shock and indulge the senses. After all, romance is nothing else if not an indulgence of fantasy!! I must say I was intrigued by the honest and raw power of the love scenes. That is what creates the magical relationship between Amanda and Jack. This book is definitely a 5. Ms. Kleypas' writing continues to expand and develop into the best in recent history.
Rating:
Summary: lacks substance
Review: This is the story of writer Amanda Briars and publishing tycoon Jack Devlin. The story begins with Amanda soliciting a male prostitute to "service" her on her thirtieth birthday. This is what attracted me to this story, the fact that the heroine was daring enough to do something like this. However, after that promising beginning the story veers off into a series of sexual encounters between a not so perfect Miss Amanda and the delectable Mr. Devlin. Somehow these two find time to get to know each other while engaging in toe curling sex and they manage to even fall in love. How? I wasnt sure since there was virtually no dialogue or interaction between the two aside from the bed variety.There was no substance to the story, no depth of feeling. Can great sex cause you to fall irrevocably in love? Maybe, but passion eventually fizzles and then what? The reason I gave it three stars is because I did enjoy it somewhat and of course no one can write steamier love scenes than Ms. Kleypas. However, if you're looking for depth in romance, witty dialogue and romantic tension I suggest you read Ms. Kleypas earlier works.
Rating: 
Summary: Yummy!
Review: Heroine: self-described as voluptuous on her good days, plump on the rest I'm a sucker for Historical romances, particularly if they have a British or Celtic setting. Show me a book cover with a brawny man in a kilt or a suit of armor, and I'll show you my wallet. :^) This particular story takes place in London during those years between the end of the Regency period and the beginning of the Victorian era. There are no kilts unfortunately, but at least our hero, Jack Devlin, is half-Irish and a devilishly handsome man with a dark and mysterious past. Our heroine is virginal old maid Amanda Briars, a novelist who lives alone after having cared for her ailing parents during their last years. Normally when in her right mind, she's a pattern-card of propriety. Her impending birthday however, has her feeling less than her usual self. She does the unthinkable and approaches a notorious madam in order to procure 'company' for her 30th birthday. On the appointed night she opens the door to find the devastatingly gorgeous Jack standing before her, never suspecting the real reason for his being there. What worked for me:
More than anything, I loved reading about a heroine I could relate to attitude and shape-wise. She sounds to be as short and round as I am, yet the author never portrays her as frumpy and dumpy unless it's from Amanda's own viewpoint. Some of the wonderfully descriptive phrases Ms. Kleypas used to portray Amanda: ripe, like a hothouse peach; plump, perfectly so; abundant. Another thing about Amanda that I liked was the fact that she always seemed to be cold. It just made her seem that much more real to me, that she had that particular quirk. (And yes, this too is something I can relate to.) I adored the way Jack went after Amanda; desirous of her extremely curvaceous body, yes, but also drawn to her keen intellect and sharp wit. Their banter was enjoyable, and their love scenes were wonderful; very sensual, but tastefully done rather than becoming all-out erotica. Still, I was grateful that I had the A/C on as I was reading some of those passages. What didn't work for me:
There were times that the standard romantic fiction 'formula' showed through in the writing, and that jolted me a bit: Insert hero's devastating past here, add heroine's introspection here, time for the forced marriage, etc etc. I understand with a name like "Briars" that virginal Amanda would be 'prickly,' but for me there was a bit too much missishness in her character and it slowed down the story for the sake of creating friction between hero and heroine. I also had some trouble understanding how she wrote books that were on the fringe of acceptable when she had never been with a man. True, the books were meant to show what deep-down she wished to experience, but how could she express these ideas if she really didn't understand what she was missing? Overall:
A good read. There were some interesting twists in the plotline, particularly how Jack and Amanda came to meet, as well as the ensuing problems from that first meeting. In my opinion "Suddenly You" is worth keeping for those days I feel plump rather than voluptuous and need to hear a handsome man raving about luscious curves. :^) If you liked "Suddenly You" you might also enjoy "The Bride and the Beast", "The Accidental Bride", or "The Fire-Flower".
Rating:
Summary: Ab Fab except for 2 yecchy love scenes
Review: Suddenly You is such a wonderful and original story, that I really wanted to give it five stars and I would have if the flaw had not been so, well, yecchy. (More on that later.)
In Victorian London, Amanda is a published author, about to turn 30 years old. She had spent her youth nursing first her dying mother, then her dying father, while her sisters married and had families. When she is finally free from family obligations, she moves to London to pursue her writing career and make a life for herself different than her small hometown could offer. She is missing one thing, however, - a man in her life. Gut instinct tells her that the respectable but dull marriages of her sisters are not for her and besides at thirty, who would be interested in a dried up spinster? Wanting to experience sex, she takes the daring step of visiting a madam and asking her to procure a man for her 30th birthday. The madam, in a matchmaking fit, decides to send young publisher Jack Devlin to her house on that night - Jack thinks he is going there to discuss a business matter. He quickly realizes that Amanda is expecting him to perform sexually and up to a point, he is happy to oblige and then leaves with a mostly-satisfied Amanda none the wiser about his identity. Of course, she eventually finds out and is mortified, especially when she learns he has purchased her first novel, long moldering with the original publisher, and she will have to work with him to edit the book. Eventually they succumb to the sexual attraction between them and fall in love. In one of the many realistic scenes in this bok, when Amanda learns that gossip about their affair has begun she realizes she must end it because she cannot live with the consequences of the gossip. At the same time, a very nice gentleman of their class becomes interested in Amanda and offers marriage. Amanda intends to accept it, especially when she discovers that she is pregnant with Jack's child. Her honorable fiance tells Jack of the baby because he feels he has a right to know and Jack and Amanda do marry. Although Jack is very quick to tell Amanda that he loves her after the marriage (almost too quick - I was wondering if I had inadvertently skipped a page), not all is well as there are minor problems to resolve and most importantly, Amanda miscarries the baby. Ah well, it is a romance and so all is well and they live happily ever after, not only personally but professionally.
One of the wonderful aspects of this story is that it is clear that Amanda and Jack are a good match - they have much in common and can work together, so you can see how a relationship would last between them, unlike so many other characters in historical romance who seem to have nothing in common beyond the bed sheets. There were no "evil-for-no-apparent-reason" characters to move the plot along, "just" a great character-driven story. The characters were well-fleshed out, in Jack's case partly through the use of secondary characters telling his story. It would have been very easy to have Jack be one of those oh-so-typical dark and tormented males of romantic fiction given his upbringing, but Kleypas resisted that trite tempation. Kleypas skillfully weaves scads of historical information and character development into an original plot, which kept me engaged to the very end. I wish more authors would write about groups other than the nobility, especially if they can imitate Kleypas, who so handily mixes historical background into the story without sounding like she plagiarized from a history textbook.
Now, for what I considered the yucky part. All in all, the love scenes were well written, erotic and exciting. However, there were two scenes that I could have really lived without - one "alternative orifice" scene involving Jack's finger and the final love scene after Amanda's miscarriage when Jack inserts raspberries where no raspberries have gone before. I know it takes all kinds and romantic fiction authors today seems to be trying to write something "new" in their sex scenes, but those were two sexual "options" that made me want to cross my legs - so only 4 stars instead of 5.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing Left Out
Review: Suddenly You is about a very independent women named Amanda and an eager, ambitious, go getter named Jack, they both knew what they wanted and went after it. The relationship between Amanda and Jack was exciting, they both learned from each other and got what they wanted from each other. The story told the history of Amanda and Jack and how they ended up at the points in their lives and that is why I liked the Book, it left no questions unanswered. I think that the fact the book was well written and I didn't feel that I was left wondering, who, what, when, why, and how made it enjoyable to read.
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