Married by Morning (Hathaway Series) Book

Re-read Oct'2019:

I still love Leo Lord Ramsay and Dodger the ferret nearly steals the show! Still big 5++ stars!

Favorite quotes:

"You should know that I've always wanted you, Cat. I've had fantasies so wicked, it would send us both straight to hell if I told them to you. And the way I want you has nothing to do with the color of your hair, or the appalling fashions you wear." His hand passed gently over her head. "Catherine Marks, or whoever you are … I have the most profane desire to be in bed with you for … oh, weeks, at least … committing every mortal sin known to man. I'd like to do more than sketch you naked. I want to draw directly on you with feather and ink … flowers around your breasts, trails of stars down your thighs." He let his warm lips brush the edge of her ear. "I want to map your body, chart the north, south, east, and west of you. I would'" "Don't," she said, scarcely able to breathe. A rueful laugh escaped him. "I told you. Straight to hell."

Leo stared back at her with a mixture of wary amusement and growing heat. He could no longer deny that he found nothing in the world more entertaining than talking to her. Or just being near her. Cantankerous, stubborn, fascinating creature … completely unlike his past lovers. And at times like this, she had all the cuddlesome appeal of a feral hedgehog. But she challenged him, met him as an equal, in a way that no other woman ever had. He wanted her beyond reason.

"We all knew there was a reason behind the animosity between you," Poppy said. "But we could never agree on what it was. Beatrix was right, of course." "About what?" "That you and Leo were like a pair of ferrets, a bit rough-and-tumble in courtship."

"Please come to me, Cat, because there's no surviving you. You don't have to love me back. You don't have to be mine. Just let me be yours."


Original read/review Jun'2010:

5++ stars - Historical Romance

Oh Leo, Lord Ramsay, you devastatingly handsome, fiendishly charming, hysterically witty, and devilishly wicked man...keeping me up until the wee hours of the morning to finish reading your story rather than for the total ravishment and thorough tupping that I would have preferred from you!

I've loved every romance thus far in the ongoing, enchanting saga of the unconventional Hathaway family, Cam's and Amelia's spirited courtship in Mine Till Midnight, Kev's and Win's emotional journey in Seduce Me at Sunrise, and Harry's and Poppy's tentative discovery of love in Tempt Me at Twilight, but Leo, Lord Ramsay's and Catherine's volatile, yet tender transition from bitter rivals to passionate lovers in the charming Married By Morning might just be my favorite of the series.

This is Kleypas at her most brilliant best...it's utterly fantastic, flat-out phenomenal, sigh-worthy amazing, thoroughly romantic, and riveting from beginning to end. I loooved it and just couldn't get enough of sinfully sexy, sweet scapegrace Leo, Lord Ramsay, who's one of my all-time favorite Kleypas heroes.

I won't go into the plot since the book description and some great reviews here on GR already summed it up nicely. I will say that Leo and Catherine, another powerhouse Kleypas couple, are absolute magic together and it's a wonderful romance not to be missed. Leo is infectiously funny, amusing, and arousing, and I swear, it seemed like almost everything he says is quotable. Strong-willed, prickly, independent, stoic spinster Catherine might be his total opposite, but they're also a perfect match. And throw a cunning, mischievous, fun-loving ferret named Dodger into the mix, and you've got a real winner!

It's a lushly romantic read with remarkable, superbly crafted, and wonderfully alluring characters, an intriguing, unforgettable story, strong emotional depth, witty banter, laugh out loud humor, erotic sexual tension, and steamy passion that's all blended together beautifully and perfectly paced.

Lisa Kleypas writes the most splendid, compelling, and lusciously sensual romances that always steal my heart and leave me breathless with pure rapture over the sheer wonderment of falling in love, and Married By Morning is another treasure for my keeper shelf! If you're a fan of Kleypas and/or historical romance and haven't yet read the delightful Wallflowers and Hathaways series, then what on earth are you waiting for?! Big, exuberant 5 stars!