NOVEL REVIEW: MINE TILL MIDNIGHT BY LISA KLEYPAS

Eiyo Fadneiras,

Welcome back to Fadima Mooneira. Today, I want to share my review of a novel I finished reading last two weeks. The novel is titled Married By Morning (MBM). And it is written by Lisa Kleypas. First, let's check out Lisa Kleypas' bio...

ABOUT LISA KLEYPAS

My favorite historical romance author now ~ Lisa Kleypas (Image: frolic.media.com)

Lisa Kleypas is an American author. She is one of the A-list historical romance authors besides Julia Quinn and Tessa Dare.  19 of her novels has won the RITA (Romance Writer Of America) Award. Most of her novels are bestsellers and have been translated into 14 different languages. Kleypas lives in Washington, America with her husband and two children.

ABOUT MARRIED BY MORNING

Married By Morning (MBM) is the fourth book in Lisa Kleypas’ Hathaway series. This historical romance belongs to the eldest Hathaway sibling, Leo, and his love interest, Catherine Marks.

In Tempt Me At Twilight (the third book in the Hathaway series), Kleypas already hint us that something was going on between Leo and Catherine. Catherine was the governess and companion to the two youngest Hathaway sisters, Poppy and Beatrix. Catherine was also Harry Rutledge's (the hero in Tempt Me At Twilight, and Poppy Hathaway's husband) half-sister.

In Seduce Me At Sunrise and Tempt Me At Twilight, Leo and Catherine were like a cat and a dog. They liked to quarrel and argue with each other. In MBM, their quarreling and arguing suddenly spark a mutual attraction.

In the fifth chapter, Leo found out that the Ramsay House was not 100% his. So to save his family's house, Leo must get married and produce an heir within one year. So Leo’s family organized a ball for him at the Ramsay House. During the ball, he was introduced to many eligible young women. But none of them attracted him. Leo was only attracted to Catherine. And at the same time, an unexpected guest appeared at the ball. The guest's name was Lord Latimer.

Lord Latimer was Catherine’s nightmare. He was the person that Catherine had been hiding from. The next day after the ball, Catherine left the Ramsay House. The Hathaways were upset. Leo went to the train station to look for Catherine.

While they were traveling to London together, Leo learned something about Catherine’s past. She showed him her vulnerable side. Leo discovered that Catherine was not a femme fatale like she was in Seduce Me At Sunrise and Tempt Me At Twilight.

Catherine was once mentally abused by her evil aunt who owned a brothel business. Being mentally abused made Catherine vulnerable but yet tough, and had a hard time trusting people. Especially men. When Catherine was 15 years old, her Aunt forced her to become a prostitute for Lord Latimer. But Catherine doesn't want to become a prostitute. Thanks to Harry Rutledge, Catherine managed to escape Lord Latimer and her evil aunt. She was then sent to Aberdeen where she learned to become a governess.

After learning about Catherine's past, Leo swore to protect the love of his life. He teamed up with Harry Rutledge to protect Catherine. 

Will Leo be able to protect Catherine? And will she open her heart for him?

MY REVIEW OF MARRIED BY MORNING

My illustration of Leo Hathaway & Catherine Marks (Image: My Artstagram @fmooneira_art)

Overall, I think MBM is a beautiful romance novel.  I like the way Kleypas twists the ‘enemies-to-lovers cliche in this novel. Before MBM, Leo and Catherine were enemies. They liked to quarrel and argue with each other. Kleypas interestingly twists the cliche by portraying Catherine as a different person in MBM and revealing the character's backstory to her readers. This novel has a lot of elements of surprises and unpredictable moments. So it is more than just a romantic novel.

The character Catherine Marks was quite a femme fatale in the Hathaways' second and third book. Catherine was a very tough and fierce woman when she was introduced in the second Hathaway series. Before reading MBM, I can't predict that Catherine had a dark past and she was very vulnerable to it.

Besides Catherine, reading MBM also makes me see a different side of Leo Hathaway. Before MBM, Kleypas already featured Leo in  Mine Till Midnight, Seduce Me At Sunrise, and Tempt Me At Twilight. Leo has always been a childish and selfish man. Seriously, I never like Leo’s character before I read MBM. But Leo also had a sad past. And he overcomes it in MBM. To me, that's wonderful.

In MBM, Kleypas portrays Leo as a very caring, loving, romantic, and protective man. And to be honest, I never like Leo's character before I read MBM. But after reading MBM, I fall in love with Leo. Leo is so sweet in MBM.  I like the way Leo shows his love for Catherine. He loves her dearly with all his heart.

From enemies to lovers. One of Leo and Catherine's romantic scenes in Married By Morning (Image: My Artstgram @fmooneira_art)

I also like the way Kleypas portrays Harry and Catherine's brother and sister's relationship in MBM. In Tempt Me At Twilight, Kleypas already makes Harry a romantic and charming hero. And in MBM, Kleypas portrays Harry as a responsible big brother. Kleypas never fails to make readers fall in love with Harry Rutledge again and again. This makes me fall in love more with Harry’s character.

Besides Harry and Catherine's brother and sister relationship, I also like the way Kleypas portrays Leo and Harry's friendship in this novel. In Tempt Me At Twilight, Leo has always been prejudiced against his brother-in-law. Leo always thought that Harry is not good enough for his sister, Poppy. And in MBM, Leo wants to marry Harry’s sister. So he has to learn more about Harry as well.

Last but not least,  I rate this novel 10/10. I just love it so much and might repeat reading it again one day. I would highly recommend this novel to those who are into the historical romance genre. But I’m also going to be honest here that this novel has five romantic sex scenes. So it is not suitable for those who are under 18. Sorry teenagers ^_^

Ok, so this is my review of Lisa Kleypas' Married By Morning? Has anyone read Married By Morning? If yes, what are your opinions of this novel?

Ok, this is all for now. Thank you for reading. See you guys again in my next post.

XoXo,

Fadima Mooneira ^_^

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