Cut from the Same Cloth

A A Charming story that is clean, smart, witty, and very well written. Hope to have more books from the author.

With her family's finances in ruins, Lady Elizabeth Hampton (Izzie) knows there's only one possible answer. She must marry, and marry well enough to pay off the debts and secure a future for her younger sister and twin brother. The fact that her affluent objectives have disturbing habits like bad poetry, lack of backbone, and male corsets must not be allowed to disuade her. For certain, she can't let Valen, Lord St. Cleve, the man who welcomes her brother and himself into his London home, win her heart. He may be handsome, but his limited estate would do nothing to rescue her family. Valen can't understand the fascination Izzie holds for him. She's snooty, exactly like the aristocrats he holds in such contempt, obsessed with money, and too abrupt with her sharp wit. That he finds himself obsessing over her can only mean that he finds her completely horrible. Yet, there is something about her that he finds quite compelling. That initial attraction is enough for Valen's aunt Honore to work with. Honore, being from the pre-Regency generation, doesn't mind putting aside proprieties in order to set a relationship in the right direction and she knows that Valen needs a woman who can be his equal, stand up to his occasionally overbearing ways and break him of his certainty. And when Honore is on the warpath, nothing can get in the way. Certainly not Valen and Izzie's continual attempts to persuade themselves that the attraction doesn't exist. But England has worse enemies than aristocratic indulgencies--including an evil French spy--a spy intent on destroying both England and the growing feelings between Izzie and Valen. Author Katheleen Baldwin delivers a funny and clever comedy of manners and misunderstanding. Valen is the perfect angry hero and Izzie just the woman to tame him. The sewing motif running through the story adds a bit of spice to the humor and plays a role in the plot and character development as well. Fans of the regency romance will definitely find CUT FROM THE SAME CLOTH a perfect fit.

Elizabeth "Izzie" Hampton is searching for a husband. But she has only her beauty to recommend her. Using her exquisite fashion sense, she creates gowns that attract the eyes and dazzles the senses. The only fly in the ointment is her brother's friend, Lord St. Cleve "Valen". For some boorish, unknown reason he begins to figure out ways to humiliate her in society. He even arrives at a society function in outrageous apparel that matches her dress! Elizabeth refuses to let him stamp her down. She is doing what she feels she must. Valen finds the snobbish ways of the London society to be disgusting. After watching his grandfather making his mother's life miserable, he likes nothing more than to make fun at the Ton and all that they stand for. He believes Elizabeth to be the biggest snob of them all. Yet he cannot help but be attracted to her. Does not matter since his purse is not deep enough for her. He spies on what she purchases in order to match her dress and humiliate her. But then his spying ends up getting a shop keeper killed and Elizabeth almost strangled to death, right before his eyes. A man Valen (as "Red Hawk") has hunted for a long time believes Elizabeth is bait to lure him into one of Valen's traps. Knowing what the man has done to others, Valen is determined to sweep Elizabeth to safety. Only, in doing so, he learns that there is more to Elizabeth than he saw at first. ***** I must admit that I found Elizabeth to be too arrogant at the beginning. However, I soon understood why she had to be that way. The author, Kathleen Baldwin, did an excellent job in letting me (as the reader) see and understand why both main characters acted the way they did. I certainly did not believe the two would suit. Shows how wrong I am! With subtle pen strokes Kathleen Baldwin mixes threads consisting of romance, believable characters with realistic traits, humor, and a bit of danger to create a wondrous painting that will linger in your mind's eye long after you finish the story. Terrific! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This book was a lot of fun. I started reading it without consulting the back cover, and was quite tickled when the premise of the story was revealed. Very clever. Valen, Lord St. Cleve was likable from the beginning. Who can resist a hunky guy who's visiting his ailing father? Elizabeth Hampton wasn't introduced in such a glowing light, but as I learned her story, she grew on me, too. Their relationship is based on pure chemistry but develops into a story of true love. The book was filled with lots of emotion and sexual tension. Big recommendation to all my romance friends.