Tempt Me at Twilight: A Novel: Hathaways, Book 3

Tempt Me at Twilight is another wonderful addition to the Hathaways universe. This story focuses on Poppy, one of the quirky younger sisters in the quirky Hathaway family. Poppy is fun and intelligent and inquisitive ... and she is in love. She is in love with a young man who has been dragging his feet about telling his father about their relationship. Poppy is patient, though, and she is willing to wait awhile to find her happily ever after. A big, gigantic wrench is thrown in her life plans when she accidentally encounters Harry Rutledge, an enigmatic hotel owner who has a hobby of inventive fun and unique contraptions. Harry decides that he wants Poppy, and he will do whatever it takes to have her. Notice that I used the word "wants", not "loves." This becomes a bit of a problem as Harry goes about grabbing Poppy from her life path and pushing her into his. One practically manufactured compromising situation, and Poppy finds herself married to Harry. And this marriage does not start out well at all. Poppy finds out exactly how Harry manipulated things in order to get his way and "acquire" Poppy as a wife, and she is FURIOUS. Starting out your marriage with the inability to trust your spouse does not foretell good times ahead. This is the story of their path to a happily ever after.My thoughts:I LOVED Poppy's character so much. She is smart, and she usually says whatever comes into her head. This makes her odd according to social customs, but as a main character for a novel I think that this makes her wonderful. Her natural inquisitiveness is attractive to Harry who has never encountered anyone just like her. He is immediately pulled to her. She has the right degree of intelligence and fire to tame Harry's cold and calculating side. As the hotel housekeeper remarks, Poppy is probably the only person who can tame him. There is danger in creating a quirky character such as Poppy that an author can go too far and end up creating a caricature, a person who is too quirky to be believable. Lisa Kleypas manages to keep Poppy real and interesting and strong. Loved her! And I loved her family as well. They are still the odd, quirky Hathaway bunch that I love. In this one Leo comes into the forefront in many ways, and I learned to love him more as a character.I liked Harry as well ... sort of. He really was fairly cold in many ways, treating people as possessions, keeping them at arms length and never allowing himself to fall in love with them. This could be infuriating at times. There were just enough glimpses into his past and the vulnerable man underneath the cold exterior to keep me from hating him. My one concern about him is how quickly he transformed at the end. This is a common problem in books such as these where a tortured hero magically transforms in only a few days. Harry has a lot to overcome. His parents were total losers, and he has suffered his entire life because of them. After understanding his past you can understand his present, but I still felt like there needed to be more time devoted to his transformation. Still, I did root for him to happily end up with Poppy. His methods totally sucked at times, but his heart was in the right place, whether he chose to acknowledge it or not. And I have to say that the initial bedroom encounters between Poppy and Harry after the wedding made me pretty uncomfortable. Poppy was flaming angry at Harry and did not want to be with him, but she felt some degree of responsibility to him since they were now married. Harry didn't force her to do anything, but still, it seemed very icky to me. I don't know how to explain it. Everything works out in the end, but those initial encounters were not the glowing experiences I am used to reading about in these sorts of books.The story was a good one for the most part. I was kept interested through the end, and I read the entire book in a little more than a day. I did think that the drama at the very end was a bit over the top. Simply having Harry and Poppy learn to love and trust one another was a good enough story. I didn't think that the big soap opera at the end added much to the story at all. But I have come to see in the Lisa Kleypas novels from The Hathaways series and The Wallflowers series that there is always, always some giant melodrama at the end of the books before the happily ever after. It is part of their charm for me, so I don't mind too much.So this is a great addition to this wonderful series. After the ending of this one I can't wait to read Leo's story in the next book. I have a feeling that it will be great!

TITLE: Tempt Me at TwilightAUTHOR: Lisa KleypasSERIES: Hathaways, Book 3SETTING: Victorian, London and HampshireTHEMES/TROPES: “heartless” hero, entrepreneur/self-made man, coerced marriageOVERVIEW:Poppy Hathaway, fourth child of an unconventional family, just wants a normal, quiet life. The dream seems within reach as her relationship with a viscount’s son grows, but there are a few problems. First, his father doesn’t approve. Second, the mysteriously hotelier, Harry Rutledge, has decided that he wants Poppy for himself. And Harry Rutledge gets what he wants.With a sharp mind, an isolated childhood, and a ruthless drive, Harry is not well-equipped to provide Poppy with the sweet affection and close companionship she’s always desired, but he’s not about to give up on what he wants. While Harry learns to navigate Poppy’s strong will and her zany, protective family, Poppy learns to see beneath the many masks he wears.PROS:Harry is probably my favorite thing about this book. Not only does he fall into the category of heartless, careless, need-to-be-reformed heroes that I love, but he’s also subtly developed. Early in the story, there are plenty of moments where he’s being an outright villain, and then there’s just a hint of proper feeling in him. Poppy is also a delightful character; she’s sweet, loving, reasonable, and patient without being weak. She pairs perfectly with Harry because she’s so willing to love and to teach him to love, and she has the will to show him he can’t just have his way all the time.The progression of sex in their relationship is also written well to reflect where they’re at emotionally, particularly in terms of trust. And even when the scene ends in frustration, there’s no lack of sexiness. At the same time, there were moments where the question of consent made me a little uncomfortable, but it makes sense for the characters and time period.The supporting cast is also top-notch. The hotel staff are a lot of fun, with plenty of hilarious observations about Harry and his marriage. Poppy’s family are even better (as one might expect since they’re the main characters of the series’ other books). Poppy’s brother, Leo, is particularly hilarious (and lovable) in this book, which made me really glad that I wasn’t reading these books when they originally came out because I’m so happy to move on to Leo’s story right away.CONS:I can’t think of much I disliked about this book, and those are only slight.Harry’s character development feels a bit quick, but I put that down to the nature of the genre, where most love stories go from zero to sixty in a matter of weeks.The plot could have had a little more interest, but it was solid. I was getting close to the end of the book, thinking that the plot was lacking a little when I reached another bit of plot intrigue that finishes the story off well. Having a more intense heroine up against Harry could have created more drama and intrigue, but the story wouldn’t have been as sweet or believable.RATINGS:Writing: 5/5 Always great from Lisa Kleypas.Characters: 5/5 Well-rounded and well-developed.Plot: 4/5 Solid, but not as dramatic as expected.Setting: 5/5 Kleypas writes in great historical detail.Romance: 5/5 A sweet redemption story.Sexiness: 4/5 Matches emotional story well.Humor: 5/5 Omnipresent humor, especially when Leo comes in.Average: 4.71 Well-Written Characters, Sweet RomanceOTHER INFO: This is the third book in Lisa Kleypas’ Hathaway series, which stars one of the five Hathaway siblings in each book. The preceding two books are the stories of Poppy’s older sisters, Amelia and Win, and their husbands, Cam and Merripen, all of whom we see in this book. Cam appears previously in Kleypas’ Wallflowers series, and the first book in the series sees quite a bit of some of the leads from the Wallflowers (though none of them appear in this book). This story includes a lot of setup for the following book in the series, which stars Leo and the Hathaway governess, Catherine Marks.

This is my zillionth re-read of Tempt me at Twilight and it remains one of my favourites in the Hathaways series, the backstory for this one was compelling even if the tone is different to what comes before and after this book. The relationship within the Hathaways family felt real and was lovely to see, they’re one family I always love going back to.Poppy as a heroine was a lovely blend of witty, intelligence and kindness. Harry I also overall liked as a hero within the book, he’s more of an anti-hero/villain than a hero, and does a number of underhanded and manipulative things to ensure he gets what he craves – Poppy.Whilst I still love this book, there are a few issues I am now aware of that may peeve you off/or make you think that was quick, things that I couldn’t see as potently when I first read this book years and years ago:1) The tipping point in Poppy and Harry’s relationship does occur a tad too quickly – it needed to be teased out more.2) Harry is a douche when it comes to the wedding night even if he does stop, he threatens Poppy - ‘[…] Just remember that if you have any ideas about requesting an annulment, I’ll have you on your back and divested of your virginity before you can blink.’ Not the best way to get your wife on side.3) The redemption of Harry needed more layering and depth.Nevertheless, despite the above points I still love the book.

I am a great fan of Lisa Kleypas I have read and re-read all the Hathaway book and absolutely loved everyone fantastic books great caricatures in the books.I have all of Lisa Kleypas books absolutely love everyone she is one of the best authors of historical romance books. Even though I re-read her books I never get bored with them. I love reading a set of books about the same family because you get to know all the family. You will not be disappointed Highly recommended.

I loved this series from start to finish. I had no idea how Poppy's story was going to go and who she would fall for...and I loved it all. You won't be disappointed if you pick this up!

Another great Hathaway story... Poppy is adorable so sweet and feisty and Harry Rutledge, manipulative hotel magnate, is perfect for her... Full of passion and some great emotional scenes as the two of them try to navigate a marriage built on Harry's treachery.

Love these books. Read them many years ago on loan from the library and decided to purchase them so I can read them whenever I want to. Lisa is one on my favourite authors!