Romance Rewind: Travises by Lisa Kleypas

Romance Rewind: Trailing the Travises

It would be a travisty (haha, see what I did there! *pats self on back*) if you haven't read this excellent series by Lisa Kleypas. This was her first venture in to contemporary romance after writing many many amazing Historical Romances, some of the best in the genre in fact, and we are pleased to say we thought it a resounding success! If you haven't read this series here is the reading order and one of our favourite quotes from each each to entice you!

Book 1- Sugar Daddy

“The span of three or four minutes is pretty insignificant in the scheme of things. People lose hundreds of minutes everyday, squandering them on trivial things. But sometimes in those fragments of time, something can happen you'll remember the rest of your life.”

Book 2- Blue-Eyed Devil

"I no longer believed in the idea of soul mates, or love at first sight. But I was beginning to believe that a very few times in your life, if you were lucky, you might meet someone who was exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because you were, but because your combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together.”

Book 3- Smooth Talking Stranger

“One glance and I knew exactly who and what he was. The classic alpha male, the kind who had spurred evolution forward about five million years ago by nailing every female in sight. They charmed, seduced, and behaved like bastards, and yet women were biologically incapable of resisting their magic DNA.”

I actually used the UK covers to show this series as I think they are so much prettier! I hope we have tempted you to give this trilogy a try!

Review: Smooth-Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas

MARRY ME, JACK TRAVIS!

It’s official now. I’m adding Jack Travis to my harem! There are now FIVE of LK’s heroes on that list, including Kev, St. Vincent, Craven and McKenna. Wow, talk about hot heroes!

Jack Travis is the ideal man. Throughout this entire book, I was hoping to find one flaw in his character and despite his bed-hopping past, I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with this guy! What I love about him the most is the fact that he doesn’t do things half-measure. He’s an all-or-nothing kind of guy, even when it comes to love. I loved that he pushed Ella to her limits, stepping on her toes when she started to shy away. He didn’t allow Ella to go through tough times without him there for a shoulder to cry on. He was always up-front and direct, never allowing his feelings to go unnoticed. He knew what he wanted and he took it.

Ella Varner is probably my favourite heroine out of the entire series. I thought she was sensible in her actions, especially when dealing with a sister who isn’t exactly in the right place at the moment. She was patient and kind with Luke. And most of all, she never allowed Jack Travis to use her. What worked between them was the fact that Ella wasn’t trying to impress Jack with her charm or beauty. She was trying to get her priorities straight and she was perhaps the only woman who hasn’t ever taken an interest in the gorgeous Jack Travis.

I loved how their relationship developed. There were sooo many instances where LK spent the time to make sure she got their chemistry right and I thought she did a wonderful job with this blooming relationship. And her little snippets of Miss Independent were quite good too. It’s no wonder she writes such great romances, she gives great relationship advice!

I thought I could get through this book without tearing up. I almost did, except the last 20 pages got me and I may have teared up towards the end. LK always does this to me! You make me look like a ninny!

Nevertheless, Smooth-Talking Stranger was, in my opinion, the best of the series. It had everything I wanted in a contemporary romance and more, making it a definite favourite for years to come.



Review: Blue-Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas

Her name is Haven. But it’s her last name that gets her noticed. Being the only girl in a family of men can be tough sometimes. With three overprotective brothers plus a meddling father, Haven has a difficult time finding a guy who can stand up to her family name, let alone her family. Haven falls in love quickly with a man who she thinks she knows. But, in the end, being married to Nick isn’t what she thought it would be.

Blue-Eyed Devil made me bawl like a baby. I’m not ashamed to admit it because it was such a rollercoaster ride. The events of this book shocked me and I couldn’t help but sympathize and go through various emotions. It was this part that seriously broke my heart:

His arms closed around me tentatively, unlike his usual firm grip, and I realized he was trying to keep from hurting me. I felt the trembling beneath his stillness.
Overwhelmed with relief I laid my good cheek on his shoulder.
“Gage,” I whispered. “Love you more than anybody.”
He had to clear his throat before he could speak. “Love you too, baby girl.”

Haven was an amazing character. I loved her strength and courage throughout this entire book. Writing her character must have been difficult. Kleypas had to make her vulnerable and show her fear without making her become a spineless woman. In the end, I thought Haven still possessed that fire she had before she was with Nick and perhaps even more so when she was with Hardy.

Hardy Cates is pure, undiluted lust. He’s just so masculine and sexually potent, it was no wonder Haven pounced on him when she got the chance! I don’t blame her. I liked that Kleypas kept his hell-rising personality. She’s good in that she doesn’t suddenly change a character’s personality now that he’s the hero of the book. Hardy is ambitious and he would do anything in his power to achieve what he wants, even it means selling people out. Kleypas didn’t erase his determination in this book and I’m glad for it. In fact, I think it made Hardy even more appealing, more sexy if that was even possible. The fact that she was so keen on having Haven, no questions asked, was a turn-on. Is it just me or does anyone else think that Kleypas writes the best heroes?

I’m not sure if it’s the change in genre or if it’s the hero’s personality, but I find the sex scenes in her contemporary series a lot hotter than in her historical romance novels. My palms got sweaty a couple of times while reading this!

A few friends have mentioned their everlasting love for this book, being one of their all-time favourites and I think that Blue-Eyed Devil will be one of those books on my keeper shelf that will be bent and ripped from so many rereads. It was that good! I always fall in love with Kleypas’ books and this one was no exception.

Review: Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas

Despite being forewarned that this wasn’t exactly a contemporary romance, I was still surprised to read that Sugar Daddy was more of a women’s fiction read. It was a heartfelt coming-of-age story involving one of the best heroines I’ve read in a long time. Liberty Jones wasn’t born into a lavish life. She lived with her mother in a trailer park with her useless boyfriend in a place where being half-Mexican wasn’t entirely accepted. But despite being dealt bad cards, Liberty has an inner strength that allows her to persevere through the tough times. Sugar Daddy starts off with Liberty at a very young age and while I didn’t see why we needed to read about her growth from so early on, it made sense in the end. I never should have doubted Kleypas and her contemporary writing skills. I approached this book with a little skepticism but after flipping that last page, I am a firm believer in her skill as a writer. Whether she writes historicals or contemporary novels, Kleypas shines!

I made the HUGE mistake of reading the blurb for Blue-Eyed Devil about halfway through this read and I was kicking myself for that mistake! Whatever you do, DO NOT READ THE BLURB because although I fully believe that Liberty ends up with who she is supposed to be with, I was still surprised at the results.

I don’t usually enjoy first person narration, but there’s something about Liberty that you can’t help but like. It might be her charming personality or maturity level for such a young woman. It could be the fact that she sacrifices so much of her youth to care for her little sister, Carrington. Or perhaps it’s the fact that despite her unlucky times, Liberty never complains about her life. She has moments of weakness where she breaks down and sobs, but that makes me love her all the more. I can’t think of another book where the heroine deserves a happy ending as much as Liberty.

I won’t divulge too much about Liberty’s love life, but I have to mention the love scenes. Kleypas usually keeps her sex scene pretty tame, where less is more. But there are a couple scenes in this book that were steamy as hell! It wasn’t that she became suddenly explicit in her work. I think it was the way she wrote Liberty’s yearning, exploring a side of Liberty where she lets herself fall into the arms of this man, trusting him to catch her, to take care of her. It was the fact that Liberty’s love shone through that made this scene one of the steamiest sex scenes I’ve read in a long time. It was perfect.

Having now read the blurb for Blue-Eyed Devil, I cannot wait to read the next book! Kleypas continues to reach into my heart and mind, teaching me that extraordinary things can happen to ordinary people. You just have to recognize it.

Favourite Quote:

"I know without a doubt this man loves me for exactly who I am. No conditions, no limits. That’s a miracle too. In fact, every day is filled with ordinary miracles. You don’t have to look far to find them."