When Strangers Marry Book

I don't know what to say about this book. Honestly, it annoyed me more than anything. I found the hero, Max, to be sexy and refreshing since he wasn't constantly ordering his new bride around, but he could also be dismissive and secretive. Overall, I understood his fear and reluctance with Lysette, but both characters suffered what I like to call Kleypasitis...to a severe degree. A lot of misunderstandings and miscommunications and deceit and manipulation and just...*sigh*. I couldn't help but note the parallels between this story and Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, which itself is an homage to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, but Bronte and du Maurier were both superior writers and were much more capable of pulling off the tortured love-unfulfilled longing-intrigue trifecta than Ms. Kleypas. Clearly, Kleypas tried, but failed to elicit from me any real interest or love for this story. I've read a lot of Kleypas' work lately, and I'm noticing a rather unappealing trait that is common among all of her heroines; their portrayal as strong and independent masks an almost bitter undercurrent of insecurity and misplaced pride. Any woman truly capable of strength and independence is also capable of recognizing the need to occasionally lean on others, to swallow her pride and ask for help, to communicate with those around her to gain a better understanding of her situation. Kleypas' heroines, on the other hand, are often volatile, unbending, and tempestuous. They remind me not of capable, intelligent women, but of spoiled, terrified children.

It's a very depressing realization, as I truly enjoy Ms. Kleypas' writing in spite of her tendency to write truly irritating and insulting females.