Then Came You (Avon Historical Romance)

Loved this story. It will definitely be one that I will read over and over. The love Alex and Lily share is so tender and endless.

Lawless Lily is a delightful and vivacious contradiction to the usual heroines. She is not for one minute bashful, blushing, or naive. She works the fellas around her pinky finger and shocks the matrons of the ton. She is tolerated because her antics are so amusing but if they only knew about her past...maybe they woudn't. Alex, Lord Raiford is a man sealed off from love by loss. When his fiance died the part of him that was light and winsome was sealed tightly leaving only an impervious shell that he keeps him safe. Nothing would crack his wall of safety or his steely heart so when the realization that he must indeed marry he chooses a safe, pretty, English doll to foist his upcoming heirs upon. Just so happens that this doll is Lawless Lilly's sister. Lily realizes that Raiford is a complete beast and will not do for her gentle sister and sets out to sabotage this union. Sparks and tempers fly immediately. Raiford is not only threatened by her...he is shaken to his very safe little core. This book is a masterpiece. I can't get enough of Kleypas. You know that she really loved these two characters just by reading the effort she put into them. It is a constant, edge of your seat, smouldering romance fest that won't disappoint you. Your still reading this??? You should be reading the book....hit the "Add to cart" button right now.

In London's haute ton, no other woman is more admired than the fearless, headstrong and strikingly beautiful Lily Lawson. Finding great amusement in being unconventional and improper, she is notorious for her outrageous antics and colorful vocabulary, earning her the nickname "Lawless Lily". Whereas other women would have been condemned for such behavior and cut off from the society, Lily gets away with it. Men find her all the more desirable because of her uniqueness, while women are secretly envious of her. To everyone, Lily is a happy-go-lucky who doesn't seem to have a care for the world. Yet behind closed doors, she secretly harbors pain over her estrangement to her family, and her agony over her missing daughter, Nicole, whom she has kept a secret. As the Earl of Wolverton, Alex Raiford is one of the wealthiest and most influential aristocrats in England. Since the death of his parents, he has lived a very responsible life looking after his younger brother, Henry. Reserved and private, he has lived a tormented life ever since he lost his fiancée, Caroline, in a hunting accident two years before. For fear of losing his heart once again, he picks a meek and docile lady for his bride - none other Penelope, Lily's sister. But when Penelope's true love, Zachary, approaches Lily seeking her help in preventing the marriage, Lily fears for her sister's life hearing how cruel and mean Alex is supposed to be. So she vows to do everything in her power to make sure that Penelope and Zachary end up together. And as she set out to stop the wedding, she realizes that she's never had so much fun in provoking a man. Meanwhile, Lord Raiford finds himself fascinated by Lily and the puzzle that she presents him, much to his chagrin. While always in control of himself and everything around him, he finds himself unable to do so when around Lily, the most distracting woman he had ever met. Before he could stop it, he finds himself developing feelings for her, wanting to protect and take care of her. And for once in his responsible life, he decides to follow his heart and make Lily his. THEN CAME YOU is a story of two people who are both trying to escape from grief; Alex over the death of his fiancée, while Lily is trying to get her daughter back, who for all she knows might no longer even be alive. And it is this secret that she knows could possibly tear them apart, a possibility that tears at her guts for Alex is the only man who has ever given her happiness. With a great storyline and wonderful characters, this is a very witty and exciting novel, backed up by great secondary characters (notably Derek Craven, Henry Raiford and even Burton, the butler). I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between Lily and Alex and I loved the scene at Craven's when Alex places a wager against a night with Lily. It was so exciting to read! Another great addition to this is Derek Craven. His part in this book is sure to pull at your heartstrings and will make you wish that he f

In this most excellent read by Lisa Kleypas, you are introduced to one of her more endearing heroines. Lily Lawson, sometimes referred to as Lawless Lily is known as a true eccentric and outrageous young woman. She gambles, swears, rides astride in pink breeches and seems to delight in shocking escapades. She wasn't always that way but after being jilted at the altar by her fiancé and her subsequent escape to Italy --- what had once been termed adventurous behavior was now termed outrageous! When an old and dear friend Zachary, Lord Stamford comes to her pleading that she intervene for him to save her sister Penny from marrying the harsh and cold Lord Alex Raiford, Earl of Wolverton, she finds that she couldn't refuse his request and travels to investigate herself how unsuitable a match this earl would be for her sister. Alex's impression of Lily was that she was no better than a demimonde - he'd heard the rumors of her association with the gamester, Derek Craven and her outrageous behavior only reinforced his opinion. The fact that he was seriously attracted to her only further enraged him as he saw through her charade in attempting to bring Zachary, the man her sister Penny was secretly in love with back together. After Lily successfully engineered her sisters elopement she knew that Alex would be out to punish her, but she never dreamed that the punishment would be so satisfyingly sensual!I first read THEN CAME YOU some years back and even knowing the story, I thoroughly enjoyed every single dialog and sensually sizzling scene all over again! Lily, is a heroine that will both shock you with her antics and tug at your heartstrings with her hidden heartbreak of losing her daughter. The secondary characters from her butler, to her good friend Derek Craven, and Alex's younger brother Harry are all carefully crafted to add depth and compassion to the story. The love Alex came to feel for Lily is the sort one can only dream of and he has been added to my list of my top ten heros! This is an extremely difficult book to put down, as for the second time around with this reissue, Lisa Kleypas will delight her readers again!

Lovely Lily Lawson was jilted as a young debutante because she was too intelligent, too independent, too much of everything to ever fit the description of a demure, passive Regency deb. She did attempt an obedient, maidenly facade with her fiance, but her bubbly nature bubbled over, and she lost him. Brokenhearted, she left England with her wealthy maiden Aunt Sally to travel on the Continent. While in Italy, Lily was seduced by an Italian scoundrel. After a regrettable night of painful, humiliating and totally passionless sex, she vowed off men and sex as an impediment to her life, as she would live it. Then she discovered that she carried a bambino - a souvenir from her Italian stallion. Her aunt, from whom she must have inherited most of her gene pool, was delighted and reassured Lily that they would live their lives in a villa in Italy - a perfect family of three.Complications arose after the beautiful baby, Nicole, was born. Aunt Sally died, Nicole was kidnapped, Lily was blackmailed for lots of money to insure the safety of her daughter, and she had to return to London to be able to make the money she needed. Now, Lily gambles, almost nightly, at her Cockney friend's infamous gambling club, the only woman permitted to do so - and has a seemingly endless lucky streak. She is called Lawless Lily for her reckless ways; wildly riding in breeches to the hunt, drinking, cardplaying, etc. Ironically she is supposed to have had many lovers - in truth, there has been only one, once...and that was plenty for her.Lily's younger sister Penelope is engaged to marry the arrogant Earl of Wolverton, in a loveless, arranged match. Lily, determined to save her sister so she can marry the man she loves, marches to the rescue...and the many and varied clashes between our heroine and the arrogant, but sizzlingly hot and handsome Earl begin. He matches her every move, but she won't play submissive to his dominant alpha male behavior. So he tries tenderness, kindness, soft sensuality...Wow!~! So...Does she change her mind about men? You have to read the book.This book and its sequel "Dreaming Of You" are two of my favorite Lisa Kleypas novels. The storylines are intriguing, the characters are 3-dimensional and complex, the humor is laugh-out-loudable, and the sex is super steamy and very loving. What more could a reader want? Ms. Kleypas does it again!

I read Dreaming of You first without knowing it was the sequel to Then Came You. Nevertheless, this was an excellent read. Lily a spitfire schemes to break up the engagement of her sister Penny to Lord Alex Raiford, Earl of Wolverton. While he is not in love with Penny, he feels she is a good match for him as he lost the woman he was first engaged to in a hunting accident. Penny too meek, would not be as adventerous. His first impression of Lily is that she is a woman with many lovers as she acts quite the coquette. She visits his home where her sister and family are with the intention of getting her sister back with Zachary, the man her sister truly loves. Alex and Lily dislike each other but cannot fight the attraction. Both knowing and losing a loved one they have something in common. This is a great story about a man trying to get over his fiance and a woman not willing to trust this man with her secrets. A difficult book to put down. Lisa Kleypas does not disappoint her readers with this one. Men like Alex are the type you will never forget. His love for Lily was something to sigh over.