Review: THEN CAME YOU, by Lisa Kleypas

Then Came You (in FictionDB)

A classic novel that introduces Derek Craven as a secondary character

Published: 1993

Genre: Historical Romance - 1820

My Rating: 3 stars

62 in AAR Top 100 List

Lily Lawson is a young lady with a very bizarre behaviour, just on the fringe of what society could accept. When her sister is bethroted to lord Alexander Raiford, Lily decides to save her from an unhappy marriage. What she doesn’t know it’s that –in the end- she will fall in love with Alex.

This is an ‘enemies to lovers’ story. Lily is the most attractive part of this couple. She can keep on smiling even when her heart is broken because her little daughter is not with her. Alex is more a stereotype –blond, handsome, noble & haughty. He’s still a kind of 80s heroe, as he kisses and touches Lily even if she does not allow him to do it. From my POV, he’s overshadowed by the vivacious Lily and –certainly- by the very attractive Derek Craven.

What things did I dislike in this book? Well, first the Spanish ambassador who is presented as a walking cliché of a lascivious Mediterranean. The good thing is that it prompted me to search who the real ambassador was, and I discovered an interesting story that has more to do with real History than this pseudo-historical fantasies that romance novels sometimes are.

And I have my doubts about Lily’s daughter story. I think it would have been more dramatically effective if that story had been told throughout the whole novel and not mainly at the end.

The long review of this book, in Spanish, can be found here.