87 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reckless, Willful Lady Plus Alpha Male = Hot Romance!, June 6, 2003
Lovely Lily Lawson was jilted as a young debutante because she was too intelligent, too independent, too much of everything to ever fit the description of a demure, passive Regency deb. She did attempt an obedient, maidenly facade with her fiance, but her bubbly nature bubbled over, and she lost him. Brokenhearted, she left England with her wealthy maiden Aunt Sally to travel on the Continent. While in Italy, Lily was seduced by an Italian scoundrel. After a regrettable night of painful, humiliating and totally passionless sex, she vowed off men and sex as an impediment to her life, as she would live it. Then she discovered that she carried a bambino - a souvenir from her Italian stallion. Her aunt, from whom she must have inherited most of her gene pool, was delighted and reassured Lily that they would live their lives in a villa in Italy - a perfect family of three.
Complications arose after the beautiful baby, Nicole, was born. Aunt Sally died, Nicole was kidnapped, Lily was blackmailed for lots of money to insure the safety of her daughter, and she had to return to London to be able to make the money she needed. Now, Lily gambles, almost nightly, at her Cockney friend's infamous gambling club, the only woman permitted to do so - and has a seemingly endless lucky streak. She is called Lawless Lily for her reckless ways; wildly riding in breeches to the hunt, drinking, cardplaying, etc. Ironically she is supposed to have had many lovers - in truth, there has been only one, once...and that was plenty for her.
Lily's younger sister Penelope is engaged to marry the arrogant Earl of Wolverton, in a loveless, arranged match. Lily, determined to save her sister so she can marry the man she loves, marches to the rescue...and the many and varied clashes between our heroine and the arrogant, but sizzlingly hot and handsome Earl begin. He matches her every move, but she won't play submissive to his dominant alpha male behavior. So he tries tenderness, kindness, soft sensuality...Wow!~! So...Does she change her mind about men? You have to read the book.
This book and its sequel "Dreaming Of You" are two of my favorite Lisa Kleypas novels. The storylines are intriguing, the characters are 3-dimensional and complex, the humor is laugh-out-loudable, and the sex is super steamy and very loving. What more could a reader want? Ms. Kleypas does it again!
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Winner, May 22, 2000
By A Customer
I read Dreaming of You first without knowing it was the sequel to Then Came You. Nevertheless, this was an excellent read. Lily a spitfire schemes to break up the engagement of her sister Penny to Lord Alex Raiford, Earl of Wolverton. While he is not in love with Penny, he feels she is a good match for him as he lost the woman he was first engaged to in a hunting accident. Penny too meek, would not be as adventerous. His first impression of Lily is that she is a woman with many lovers as she acts quite the coquette. She visits his home where her sister and family are with the intention of getting her sister back with Zachary, the man her sister truly loves. Alex and Lily dislike each other but cannot fight the attraction. Both knowing and losing a loved one they have something in common. This is a great story about a man trying to get over his fiance and a woman not willing to trust this man with her secrets. A difficult book to put down. Lisa Kleypas does not disappoint her readers with this one. Men like Alex are the type you will never forget. His love for Lily was something to sigh over.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still Sizzles the Second Time Around!!!, November 20, 2003
In this most excellent read by Lisa Kleypas, you are introduced to one of her more endearing heroines. Lily Lawson, sometimes referred to as Lawless Lily is known as a true eccentric and outrageous young woman. She gambles, swears, rides astride in pink breeches and seems to delight in shocking escapades. She wasn't always that way but after being jilted at the altar by her fiancé and her subsequent escape to Italy --- what had once been termed adventurous behavior was now termed outrageous! When an old and dear friend Zachary, Lord Stamford comes to her pleading that she intervene for him to save her sister Penny from marrying the harsh and cold Lord Alex Raiford, Earl of Wolverton, she finds that she couldn't refuse his request and travels to investigate herself how unsuitable a match this earl would be for her sister.
Alex's impression of Lily was that she was no better than a demimonde - he'd heard the rumors of her association with the gamester, Derek Craven and her outrageous behavior only reinforced his opinion. The fact that he was seriously attracted to her only further enraged him as he saw through her charade in attempting to bring Zachary, the man her sister Penny was secretly in love with back together. After Lily successfully engineered her sisters elopement she knew that Alex would be out to punish her, but she never dreamed that the punishment would be so satisfyingly sensual!
I first read THEN CAME YOU some years back and even knowing the story, I thoroughly enjoyed every single dialog and sensually sizzling scene all over again! Lily, is a heroine that will both shock you with her antics and tug at your heartstrings with her hidden heartbreak of losing her daughter. The secondary characters from her butler, to her good friend Derek Craven, and Alex's younger brother Harry are all carefully crafted to add depth and compassion to the story. The love Alex came to feel for Lily is the sort one can only dream of and he has been added to my list of my top ten heros! This is an extremely difficult book to put down, as for the second time around with this reissue, Lisa Kleypas will delight her readers again!
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