After the Kiss: The Notorious Gentlemen

Normally, I stick to historical fiction, but these days it's become harder and harder to find good historical fiction with romantic elements or romantic endings. Tracy Chevalier did a good job in A Girl With a Pearl Earring, and I very much enjoyed Michelle Moran's Nefertiti. But now I'm branching out into historical romance, and I am very glad I've decided to do so. After the Kiss is only my fifth romance novel, and I enjoyed it immensely. The real story begins with Lady Isabel discovering Sullivan Waring in the process of stealing from her home. To keep her from screaming, Sullivan kisses her, but Lady Isabel manages to grab his mask and later discover his identity. The characters are well drawn, the romance is full of tension, and the historical setting is spot-on. Highly recommended.

Like another reviewer, I too had been disappointed with Ms. Enoch's recent historicals (see my reviews on Sins of a Duke and Something Sinful). However, being an equestrienne with a love of Regency romances, the basic premise certainly piqued my interest. I thought Isabel's (or Tibby's, as she's frequently called) character was well developed and the majority of her actions made sense from that perspective. So often, romance heroines are inconsistent and leave readers scratching their heads. Isabel's motivations for her actions were always in tune with her character, which can be especially difficult when writing a character who undergoes such a drastic shift in personality and beliefs during the course of a novel. Isabel shifts from a sheltered, spoiled princess to a more mature, worldly woman in the course of 384 pages. Throughout it all, she remains likable, as Enoch gives us plenty of indication as to why Isabel acts and thinks as she does. By allowing us to understand her, we are able to like her better. Sullivan too is a character who develops over the course of the novel, going from a scorned, bitter son bent on revenge to a man who is capable of loving the very sort of girl he was determined to hate. What might have started out as a desire to see one of Society's princess fall from grace morphed into something else as he saw that she too had vulnerabilities and she too was at the mercy of Society's mercurial temperaments. The secret, forbidden courtship of Isabel and Sullivan also made things enjoyable. Both knew what they were doing would be seen as wrong (which of course made it all the more delicious) but the attraction between them was simply too strong. This is a common device, I'll grant you, but in After the Kiss, you really believe that their attraction cannot be denied. What's more, both characters understand that what their doing is wrong and that there will be consequences, causing a realistic amount of hesitation and thought on the part of each. So often, characters leap into romance without a thought as to what their friends and family might think, which, I'm sorry to say, just isn't how real life works. Finally, as with most of Ms. Enoch's novels, the secondary characters are not just a distraction but truly enhance the novel. Tibby's family, her friends/enemies, even the requisite 'villain' all helped to both move the plot forward as well as present obstacles which forced Isabel and Sullivan to make choices that furthered their growth. This novel is truly an exercise in character development. Sullivan and Isabel are dynamic characters whose actions ring true with whatever the current state of their personalities is, a rare thing in the modern romance novel. I highly recommend this novel, both for those who have never read Suzanne Enoch and need an introduction and for those who have been longtime fans recently disappointed by her latest historical fare.

After disappointment in some of Ms. Enoch's more recent historicals, I'm so glad to have read this book. This book is definitely a keeper for me and worth every penny! This book is about a bastard son, Sullivan Waring, who is a famous horsebreeder and also secretly a thief of paintings, or rather someone who is reclaiming paintings which originally belonged to his late mother and sold without his permission. Sullivan meets Lady Isabel Chalsey during one of his nightly painting retrievals and in order to silence her, he kisses her. That kiss begins everything... Initially reading this synopsis, I was a bit skeptical about the believability of this story. I mean, seriously, who kisses a thief in the middle of the night in their house? There are a lot of elements in this story that another author might have made less believable and made me roll my eyes at, but Ms. Enoch unravels the story so wonderfully and realistically that the jaded historical romance reader part of myself just disappeared while I was reading this book. Not only is the story engaging, but I loved everything in-between! I absolutely loved the subtleties. The subtle humorous comments within the dialogue and narration were a delight! Nothing was over the top. I loved that the author didn't accommodate for the lowest common denominator when writing this book. Although this isn't the most complicated of books, not everything was simple, like some historicals I've read. This book has depth and realism. I love that when Isabel is slightly shunned by the ton, the author portrays the issue a little bit more realistically than other authors have. Isabel doesn't quickly wave away the consequences and reaction of the ton. Although there have been heroines in other books which have and have been made to seem stronger for it, I like that Isabel doesn't. She's human and not infallible. She's real and multi-dimensional. She stops and considers everything. She knows she has something to lose that is significant to her because she's been raised a certain way. Which one should she sacrifice? I also enjoyed reading about the development of Isabel and Sullivan's relationship. Of course, there was the initial attraction, but there needed to be something more between them to build and Ms. Enoch does that incredibly well...and at a good pace. And it isn't just lust! There's flirtation, trust, suspicion, and everything in between! And...in their thoughts, they admit to the attraction and there is nothing coy about it! I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate it when characters feign ignorance or avoid their feelings for each other when it is clearly there. These two know they are attracted to each other and maybe it takes one of them a little longer to figure it out, but once they do, it's openly admitted and no one is trying to pretend something's not there. It's refreshing! I even loved the secondary characters, the villians...everyone. They all played their parts w

A year after being shot as an officer serving in the Peninsular War; highly regarded horse breeder Sullivan Waring lives a secret life. During the day the Ton admires his work with horses; at night they treat him with contempt. He does not care how they feel; instead he wants what was stolen from him; so in the evening he sneaks into the homes of the affluent to take back his late mother's paintings. However Lady Isabel Chalsey catches the notorious Mayfair Marauder in the act of thieving. He is stunned by her beauty and cannot stop himself from taking a kiss; he is further shocked when she demands he train a horse for her use or she will expose him. As he falls in love, he prepares a mare for Isabel while helping her overcome her fear of horses; but may not be able to overcome his own dark secrets that eat at his soul. The first Notorious Gentlemen tale (Sully's Peninsular War buddies to follow) is a terrific Regency romantic mystery that hooks readers when the heroine going for a late snack catches the notorious gentleman removing a portrait from the wall. The story line never slows down as Lady Isabel "blackmails" the thief after a witty exchange. Readers will enjoy their antics AFTER THE KISS as Suzanne Enoch provides a superb opening act. Harriet Klausner

This was a very enjoyable book to read. It isn't the same old storyline ("does he really love me?...I can't be happy and know he really loves me until I hear those three words."...none of that, thank goodness!) and the hero and heroine aren't typical. I initially thought they would be and that the heroine was going to get on my nerves, but she didn't. I finished this book also hoping for and looking forward to more stories of the secondary characters. I don't know how to describe it but this book just had a different "feel" to it that really made me like it. Great read!! I realize this is the first review and some might be looking for a synopsis but I hate writing those because I'm always afraid of giving away a spoiler and I don't want to take away any part of the story for anyone. I'll just say it really shows what people feel and go through with forbidden love, and it's worth reading!