"Smooth Talking Stranger"
By: Lisa Kleypas
Jack Travis leads the uncomplicated life of a millionaire Texas playboy. He makes no commitments, he loves many women, he lives for pleasure. But no one has ever truly touched his heart or soul. Until one day, a woman appears on his doorstep with fury on her face and a baby in her arms. It seems Jack is the father and this woman is the baby’s aunt. The real mother has abandoned the child to her more responsible sister. And now, Jack is being called upon to take responsibility for the first time in his life. With delicious romantic tension, characters so real they walk onto the page and into your heart, Lisa Kleypas delivers the kind of novel that makes you laugh, love; cry and cheer.
Lisa Kleypas is one of those authors for me that when she's on, she's fire hot...but when she is a little off her game, she loses me. "Smooth Talking Stranger" is Kleypas at her best, with a wonderful romance, great characters, strong women and a pretty awesome hero.
Jack Travis is the brother of Gage Travis, the hero of "Sugar Daddy." Jack is a son of a millionaire, owns his own business, and isn't used to anyone telling him what to do or telling him no. He meets Ella Varner, our heroine, when she accuses him of fathering her sister's baby. When its proven that he isn't, Jack sets out to help Ella out with this brand new baby she has kind of inherited.
Characterization is so important, and I think that its something Kleypas shines at. Writing a character so well that you can know she is going to do next or how she will feel is something pretty unique and wonderful. The romance was wonderful, no doubt about that, but it was so fun to see Ella come out of her shell. She was reserved and knew everything when she arrived in town, and it was interesting to see her character develop. The characters are real too. If your sister is a druggie who doesn't take care of her child, what do you do? Your mad but you help - which is what Ella did superbly in this novel.
"Smooth Talking Stranger," is a wonderful romance, that should be an example of what is great about romance today. The only gripe I have is that Kleypas isn't going to write any more in this series, leaving the youngest brother without his own story. A uniquely written contemporary romance that leaves you wanting more! What else can you ask for? Really?
Book Details
Publisher: St. Martins Publications
Date of Publication: March 31, 2009
# of Pages: 352
ISBN: 978-0312351663
I think it's a huge mistake not to write / release any more books in this series. What a disappointment :-(. I loved all three books to pieces. Awesome review!
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