Where Dreams Begin By Lisa Kleypas

4 out of 5 stars

Cut to the Chase:

While this is far from my favorite Lisa Kleypas, it is a solid, very enjoyable read -- it’s got the self made man she’s so good at creating. The man who doesn’t belong amongst the aristocracy because he’s bought his way in, and will never feel completely comfortable, as well as the well bred English rose of a heroine he’s trying to woo. What keeps this from being a more highly-rated read is that the heroine just isn’t as likeable as usual... it’s got a great hero, wonderful side characters, steamy, believable attraction, but a meh heroine it’s all built upon.

Greater Detail:

The book starts off very promisingly -- Lady Holly Taylor is a proper lady who’s just now out of mourning. She’s prim, proper, and still in love with her deceased husband. She had a wonderful marriage and is now committed to raising her daughter.

She meets Zachary Bronson, who’s a pugilist turned self-made uber-wealthy entrepreneur. He’s used to not fitting in with the wealthy ton, and he’s accepted the fact that in some ways, he'll never be welcomed (though his money will be). He’s instantly (almost absurdly) attracted to Lady Holly, and hires her as a kind rules/proprietary tutor for himself and his family (his high-strung sister, his mother). He offers an absurd amount of money (for Holly and in a trust for her daughter), and she agrees...

It’s a very agreeable setup.

You can tell, right away, that he’s the exciting, raw-power male contrasted against her rule-abiding, more slightly washed out former husband (proper, but unspectacular). The side characters, Zachary’s sister, Zachary’s mother, Lady Holly’s (and her former husband’s) friend Vardon, Lord Ravenhill (totally deserves his own story one day)... all fun, all great additions to the story.

And Zachary is a drool-worthy hero. You just kind of wish he’d been paired with a slightly spunkier heroine? Her reticence, her fear of falling in love again, are all well done, she just feels muted by her grief, and though it’s a nice happy ending, it’s well-written and still very good, it doesn't have the special magical something that many Kleypas novels have.

Comparisons to Other Authors:

Lisa Kleypas is a best-selling author, and though she has focused more recently on modern romance, she is one of the queens of the historical romance genre. Compared to Stephanie Laurens, Kleypas tends to have more individualized characters, and a better supporting cast, but less sensual/erotic love scenes. Compared to Courtney Milan, another person whose individual plots are really different, Kleypas focuses far more on having an entire cast, as opposed to keeping the camera lens on the main two. She’s also great at exploring a particular topic or setting – some of her books happen in gambling clubs, others in the theatre, and others feature protagonists who are deeply aware of social/political issues, helping to really establish you in the setting/time period in a way that not all historical romance authors can.  She’s less funny and her characters and scenarios are less light-hearted than Julia Quinn’s, but her characters tend to have a greater degree of physical attraction/sensuality compared to Quinn’s.