STRANGER IN MY ARMS Author: Lisa Kleypas ISBN: 9780380781454 3/2011 HISTORICAL (REPRINT) Publisher: AVON
Lisa Kleypas is a staple in historical romance. It's nearly impossible to browse the romance section of any book provider without one of her titles catching your eye. A usual favorite, STRANGER IN MY ARMS was shockingly less enjoyable than many of her other novels. There was a lot done right with the story when looked at it from a distance, but when you really dive in and look closer, you start to notice cracks. It truly pains me to give one of my favorite authors anything less than a Top Pick Read, but STRANGER IN MY ARMS just didn't make the cut. One of my biggest issues with this book is that in it, Hunter, the hero, was using blackmail for sexual favors. While most of it was just asking for kisses but promising to take more, when it comes to light that the heroine, Lara, deals with an intense fear of intercourse, what would seem like pushy flirtation becomes borderline abuse. In fact, the first time Lara and Hunter had sex, it was agreed upon that she would give herself to him in exchange for help with an orphanage that she was personally vested in. At the last second, Hunter backed out, but it almost felt like he was only playing the pity card, knowing that kindhearted Lara was sure to give in. Also bothersome was Lara's extreme overreaction when the truth came out about Hunter. As in most romances, rather than talk things out like adults, she flipped out, and it wasn't until after she realized that her life was fairly horrible without Hunter around that she understood her mistake and worked to fix it. The chemistry between them felt too forced and uneasy, with Hunter coming off as lecherous more often than romantic. Also awkward was that Lara adopted a little boy into the household, but he seemed to just be there to prove how giving Lara was. All negatives aside, this is not a terrible book. The big redeeming feature of the story that kept STRANGER IN MY ARMS at a Four Rose Read was the subplot with Rachel, Lara's sister, and her abusive husband. It was when Lara stepped up for her sibling that the real strength of her character shined. When she was ready to load a dueling pistol and kill her brother-in-law for battering her family, I cheered her on for taking the initiative, despite the risks. Hunter also managed to step up when he acted the part of a man with honor and rescued Rachel from her household after a nearly fatal beating, then defended her and Lara when Rachel's husband came to collect. Still, he had to be coerced several times before giving in to Lara's pleading, which was hard to swallow, even if the scenario played out with the realistic viewpoints of the matter in history. There was also another set of villains, the greedy and gaudy Janet and Arthur, that were described with so many stereotypical vices that they seemed more comical than menacing. There were far too many tropes used in this story, making it feel like a mash-up of stereotypes and cliches, so that the usual fresh feel of Lisa Kleypas' writing was lacking. It pains me to give anything Ms. Kleypas writes a rating less than perfect, but I'm afraid that's what STRANGER IN MY ARMS is. It is worth a read for a waiting room, but definitely not keeper shelf material. Sunny Lore |
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