Book Review: Secrets of a Summer Night

Title: Secrets of a Summer Night

Author: Lisa Kleypas

Publisher: Avon

Year: 2004

Pages: 375

Genre: Historical Romance

Rating: 4 stars

One sentence summary: Four friends living in Victorian England band together in their search to find husbands, with Annabelle Peyton the first

A full synopsis of this book can be found on Goodreads.

Spoiler Level: Low-High

I almost feel guilty rating a historical romance so high but I can't deny that I really enjoyed reading this. Obviously this is no literary masterpiece, but in the realm of cheesy romance, this was great. This series follows four friends, self named the Wallflowers, who join forces to find themselves husbands. Set in Victorian England and filled with ridiculous scenarios and brooding love interests, this story is pretty conventional. But I tore through these pages because it was so damn fun. The main characters, Annabelle and Simon, were the classic spirited female and bad boy with a heart of gold. At times Annabelle irritated me with her obvious disdain for the lower class, but she learned from her mistakes and was a pretty charming heroine. The romance was steamy, the hero was both sexy and sweet, etc. But what I really liked was the female friendship between the Wallflowers, who were silly yet endearing in their own ways. The writing was pretty standard, but Kleypas' research into Victorian England was really interesting. As a lover of all things Victorian, it's no shock that romances set in this era are my favourite. But I was surprised to see the level of detail and attention the author gives to explanations of class and industrialization. Specifically, the hero is a wealthy financial guy investing in the growing locomotive industry, rather than an aristocrat. These details by no means overwhelm the romance but they do add a different layer that I quite enjoyed. The plot was again, standard. Boy pursues girl, she wears fancy dresses and goes to parties, misunderstandings, making out behind closed curtains, denying feelings, marriage etc. But it's a formula I like. The difference in this story was that instead of a marriage proposal being the climax and resolution of the story, we actually get to see Annabelle and Simon's life during marriage. This somewhat took the tension out of the relationship because they were already together, and it extended just a little too long for me. But throwing in some action at the end and exploring some tender feelings made the ending satisfactory. If you like historical romances, you'll enjoy this one. It's easy and fun and sexy. It's not dramatically different from others in the genre but this is a formula that works for me.