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My Review:Title: Mine Till Midnight
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Series: The Hathaways #1
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: October 2, 2007
Format: ebook
Pages: 384
Genres: Historical Romance
Source: Overdrive
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2023 Backlist Reader Challenge, Lenoreo's 2023 Diversity Reading Challenge
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My rating:
Blurb:In Mine Till Midnight, no-nonsense Miss Amelia Hathaway has no time for romance--but she can’t resist matching wits with a sexy former card sharp named Cam Rohan.
After inheriting a country estate, the Hathaway siblings are trying to recover from their troubled past and make a new start. As the family struggles with unforeseen problems, Cam Rohan keeps stepping in to help . . . and Amelia realizes the unpredictable charmer is actually a man she can rely on. During a night of blazing passion, the freedom-loving Cam makes it clear he’s willing to make any sacrifice for the woman who’s stolen his heart. But before they can plan a life together, they’re confronted by an enemy who’s bent on destroying the Hathaway family . . . all to keep them from discovering a centuries-old secret that could change their lives.
4 stars — Man I love Ms. Kleypas. Her historicals are always just so easy for me to read and fall in love with the characters. I mean, yes, I love some more than others. But this one definitely hit the right buttons for me.
I remember being extremely intrigued by Cam Rohan in the Devil in Winter, and I absolutely love that he got his own HEA. He’s such a different historical hero from what I’ve grown used to. I kind of loved that this story didn’t surround titled men, and was only adjacent to the ton and all that.
I loved that Cam maintained a bit of that rough edge to him…in the sense that he balked at society’s expectations and rules, but still played along enough to get by. I appreciated seeing the relationships that we had seen him develop with the characters from The Wallflowers series still persist. It was hard to see him, and the Roma people in general, so looked down upon. It was a glimpse into the racism and cultural persecution they were (and are) faced with because they choose a different lifestyle. I appreciated the few times when Cam challenged others views on what is important in life, though I will admit that I kind of wish Cam had been able to find more balance between the two worlds in the end.
Amelia was a different historical heroine herself. She’s in that gentlewoman category between the titled and the working class. I still find the whole social structure of that time period so bizarre…it’s not something that actually attracts me, it’s more just a norm of historical romance that I accept. She could be extremely overbearing with her family, and independent and stubborn to a fault. But those qualities at least came from a place of caring — you could genuinely tell how important her family was to her. I did appreciate her struggles with reconciling how to accept love and a husband with giving up freedoms. I don’t know if it was completely resolved by the end, but I thought the author did the best she could with the time period.
The romance had its ups and downs for me. I appreciated their instant fascination with one another, and definitely felt chemistry between them. I was a bit put off occasionally with the liberties that Cam took. I think it was supposed to be because of his Rom nature, but it rode that line a bit close for my liking. On the other hand, I hate to admit it, but it felt like a good match for Amelia’s stubbornness and pride. So the things I loved I loved, but I’m still on the fence.
I kind of saw a bit of where the Leo stuff was going, and I’m…conflicted about it. He really wasn’t very endearing at all, and the author’s got a long way to go there.
All in all this felt very much like the first book in the Ravenels series where I’m very intrigued by the family and the characters, but I can also tell that there may be others I will enjoy even more.
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