Secrets of a Summer Night (The Wallflowers, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lisa Kleypas (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 26, 2004

Four young ladies enter London society with one common goal: they must use their feminine wit and wiles to find a husband.So a daring husband-hunting scheme is born.

Annabelle Peyton, determined to save her family from disaster, decides to use her beauty and wit to tempt a suitable nobleman into making an offer of marriage. But Annabelle's most intriguing—and persistent—admirer, wealthy, powerful Simon Hunt, has made it clear that while he will introduce her to irresistible pleasure he will not offer marriage. Annabelle is determined to resist his unthinkable proposition . . . but it is impossible in the face of such skillful seduction.

Her friends, looking to help, conspire to entice a more suitable gentleman to offer for Annabelle, for only then will she be safe from Simon—and her own longings. But on one summer night, Annabelle succumbs to Simon's passionate embrace and tempting kisses . . . and she discovers that love is the most dangerous game of all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Deftly evoking not only the romantic tension between hero and heroine but also the conflicts and challenges of the Victorian era, this superb romance from Kleypas launches her new series centered on the Wallflowers, four young ladies who are sick of being snubbed and overlooked by London's bachelors and who have banded together to find themselves husbands. Beautiful Annabelle Peyton represents Old World aristocracy; she's genteel but impoverished and desperately trying to maintain the appearance of wealth. Commoner Simon Hunt, on the other hand, is a brash, ambitious entrepreneur who has made a fortune investing in industry and railroads and is only marginally accepted by society. As Annabelle attempts to trap a moneyed aristocrat into marriage—with the help of her vivacious fellow Wallflowers, of course—Simon boldly pursues her, first with the desire to make her his mistress and then with far more noble intentions. The scenes involving Annabelle and the three other Wallflowers—two impudent American girls and a shy, stuttering English heiress—are almost as enjoyable as the ones in which Annabelle and Simon try to outmaneuver each other. The protagonists inevitably wind up at the altar, but their story doesn't end there. Kleypas delves deeper, touching on Annabelle's changing mindset (specifically, her growing admiration of Simon's working-class roots and her acceptance of everything he stands for) and Simon's insecurity over taking her away from polite society. By turns amusing, sensual and sober, but always compelling, this is a first-rate offering from a truly talented storyteller.
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Review

Deftly evoking not only the romantic tension between hero and heroine but also the conflicts and challenges of the Victorian era, this superb romance from Kleypas launches her new series centered on the Wallflowers . . . --Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (October 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060091290
• ISBN-13: 978-0060091293
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (209 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,022 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lisa Kleypas graduated from Wellesley College with a political science degree. She is a RITA award winning author of both historical romance and contemporary women's fiction. Her novels are published in fourteen different languages and are bestsellers all over the world. She lives in Washington State with her husband Gregory and their two children.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#19 in Books > Romance > Historical

#23 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Historical Romance

#19 in Books > Romance > Historical

#23 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Romance > Historical Romance

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unputdownable! November 5, 2004

By L. G. Schilling

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Simon Hunt is a self made millionaire. But his millions can't buy him a place in the upper tiers of British society. He, and the growing number of self made commoners, are looked down upon by the aristocracy and thought of as opportunists and social climbers. Simon is only barely tolerated in "polite" society because of his friendship with the estimable Lord Westcliff (the hero of the next book in the series) and because the crumbling aristocracy can't ignore his millions try as they might. Simon doesn't care less about his pariah status in the upper circles since he disdains their boring parties and inane conversation. Only one thing keeps Simon from swearing off balls and soirees altogether and her name is Annabelle Peyton.

Annabelle and her family are in desperate straits. They are living in genteel poverty and desperately trying to keep head above water. The obvious solution out of their predicament is for Annabelle to marry a peer, however, her chances of getting a proposal are virtually zero due to her lack of a dowry. As her fourth season draws to a close, Annabelle knows that it has to be now or never. To that end, she meets a group of fellow wallflowers and they strike up a friendship centered around their immediate need to catch husbands. They concoct a plan to help Annabelle trap a peer into marriage during a house party. But Annabelle's confidence and her plans are shaken by the presence of Simon Hunt. Annabelle cant't forget the day she allowed him to kiss her and she can't forgive him for making her like it. Simon makes it clear that he has only wanted one thing from Annabelle ever since that day and she will not yield regardless of his wealth or his handsome looks. As the days go by and she gets to know the real Simon and she can't help but be attracted by this tender, sweet and oh so sexy man. However, she musn't forget not only that Simon only wants her for his mistress but the fact that he is not a peer. Even if he proposed marriage she couldn't bring herself to marry a commoner since as far as she is concerned it would be social suicide.

For his part, Simon is determined to make Annabelle see him for who he is instead of his lack of a social pedigree. At first he set out to charm and disarm her with the goal of making her his mistress. However, Simon didn't count on falling head over heels in love and while she is responsive to his kisses he knows that his feelings aren't reciprocated. So, Simon sets out to change matters and make Annabelle his body and soul.

After finishing this book I have decided that Lisa Kleypas is virtually unbeatable in the hero department. Her heroes are an incredibly potent mix of tender, loving, sexy, arrogant bad boys that I simply can't resist and Simon is no exception. I also have to commend the author for pushing the envelope with Annabelle. She is unapologetically selfish and mercenary and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She clearly wants to marry a peer not only for the well being of her mother and brother but also for her own well being. She makes no bones about wanting to be part of high society and having money and servants. So, if you are looking for a self sacrificing heroine who will put herself through hell for the sake of others you won't find her here. I admit Annabelle is a little hard to like but I found her refreshingly real and so she won me over by the end. The love story is heart clutchingly romantic and the love scenes are incredibly tender and of course this being a Kleypa's book they are also very hot. All in all this is a hell of a story and I highly recommend it.

56 of 63 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad.... December 1, 2004

By Renee

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I nearly didn't buy this book because the reviews on this site were so lukewarm, but as a fan of Kleypas's I couldn't pass it up. I actually read this title in little over a day. It held my interest and didn't strike me as having been written by someone who was on automatic pilot. I don't think it is Lisa's best. (The best was "Suddenly You," in my humble opinion.) But I very much liked the hero and the heroine. The heroine did not strike me as money-grubbing, just someone who knew what she wanted and set her sights to get it. She wasn't dishonest and the hero knew from the get-go that money and living comfortably was not insignificant to her. In fact he seemed to appreciate this quality in her and be amused by it. I don't know how this makes her different from any of the other people in her society. And she became very open-minded about people of the working class of which the hero was once apart; so, if she was at one point snobby, she got over it.

As for steaminess, I thought the book was actually a little less steamy than some of Kleypas's other books, but still hot. This is not great Kleypas, but it is good Kleypas. And I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

72 of 91 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not up to her usual standards October 29, 2004

By ellejir

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This is the first book in a new series by Lisa Kleypas about a group of four "Wallflowers" in England in the 1840's, and, quite frankly, it bodes poorly for the rest of the series. I found the story, characterization and particularly the *romance* in "Secrets of A Summer Night" to be very flat. The heroine in the book is Annabelle Peyton, an upperclass girl who has fallen on financial hard times since the death of her father. Annabelle is essentially a female fortune-hunter. She has spent four seasons in London trying to land a wealthy peer as a husband with no luck. This despite the fact that she is drop-dead beautiful, well-bred and reasonably intelligent. No one will have anything to do with her (well, anything respectable anyways) because she has no dowry.
Simon Hunt is the son of a butcher who has managed to become insanely wealthy through investing in railroads. He is also surprisingly well-educated (and, of course, virilely handsome and brawny.) He has been lusting after Annabelle for years, but for some reason wants to make her his mistress, not his wife. Our hero and heroine are thrown together at a house party given by Lord Westcliff (the brother from "Again the Magic") where Annabelle is stalking Lord Kendall, a mild-mannered member of the peerage with an interest in botany.
I like character-driven romance and this is an area where Lisa Kleypas usually excels; however, I felt that the characters of the hero and heroine in this story were never more than superficially developed. Annabelle was described by Lord Westcliff as "shallow" and "self-absorbed" at one point in the book, and, quite frankly, he is not completely wrong. She is also a snob. Simon is an okay hero, but he seems only sketched in when compared with past Lisa Kleypas heros (especially of the "self-made man" variety).
The secondary characters of the "wallflowers" are an interesting element in the book--perhaps a bit *too* interesting. The characters of Lillian Bowman (the brash American heiress) and Lord Westcliff (the staid English Earl) are obviously heading for a firey collision later in the series and, even from the sidelines, they set off alot more sparks than Annabelle and Simon ever do.
In summary, "Secrets of a Summer Night" is a readable bit of fluff--not memorable and not up to LK's usual standards. For those who read historical romantic fiction only occasionally, I would definitely recommend skipping this one and trying "Dreaming of You" or "Lady Sophia's Lover", also by Lisa Kleypas.