Stranger in My Arms

Can you ever really know the man you love?

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1. STRANGER IN MY ARMS by Lisa Kleypas

SYNOPSIS

“Lady Hawksworth, your husband is not dead...”

With those words, Lara’s life turned upside down. Hunter, Earl of Hawksworth, had been lost at sea. Or so she’d been told. Their unhappy marriage—with its cold caresses and passionless kisses—was over. But now a powerful, virile man stood before her, telling secrets only a husband could know, and vowing she would once again be his wife in every way. While Lara couldn’t deny that this man with the smoldering dark eyes resembled Hunter, he was attentive and loving in ways he never was before. Soon she desperately wanted to believe, with every beat of her heart, that this stranger was truly her husband. But had this rake reformed—or was Lara being seduced by a cunning stranger?

BOOK REVIEW

Stranger in My Arms by Lisa Kleypas was the very first standalone from her impressive backlist I read. Unfortunately, I was not a huge fan of it. I usually try to stay away from giving spoilers but here, I just must do it in order to prove my point and just vent…

The book started off with the family solicitor announcing that Lara Hawksworth’s presumably dead husband, Hunter, the Earl of Hawksworth was actually very much alive. Apparently, the Earl was the sole survivor of the shipwreck somewhere between England and India, and all this time had been coming to his senses and gaining strength to return back to his devoted wife.

The marriage between him and Lara however, was an arranged one and not based on love (since Hunter had never tended to her feelings or even undiscovered desires, preferring to be in a rather scandalous relationship with his side-piece). This unfortunate fact (plus, absence of children) had left Lara hurt with a stronghold of a broken heart, which resulted in endless charity endeavors.

Now, this charity thing was honorable and what not. But in a weird twist, it quickly became super annoying after a while. When Lara flipped out because Hunter quite logically pointed out that she couldn’t adopt every single homeless orphan in England, I rolled my eyes and closed the book to simmer down a bit. Then I got back to reading, and she once again showed unreasonable and unexplainable feelings toward the boy who was with her for just a day… Now, I cannot possibly know that such a strong affection doesn’t exist, but it just felt unnatural and almost forced by the author.

Okay! Going back to the beginning and the return of Hunter.

Before turning down the lamp, Lara paused to take one last glance at her husband. He was like some magnificent slumbering beast, all his alertness and vitality temporarily banked, his claws sheathed. But on the morrow he would be back in his usual form, mocking, argumentative, charming... and he would resume his efforts to seduce her. What unnerved her was the realization that in some small way she was actually looking forward to it.

It was really hard for Lara to accept Hunter. After what she had experienced with her husband prior to his trip to India, it was understandable that she had some reservations, and would rather prefer to stay a widow. But the ‘new’ Earl of Hawksworth kept surprising her by showing all of his amazing changes and asking for a second chance.

“Coming to stand by her husband’s side, Lara touched his arm tentatively. “My lord,” she said gratefully. “Thank you for protecting my sister. Thank you.”
He shot her a gaze of hot black intensity. “Thank me in bed,” he said, barely audible.
Lara stared at him, startled. “Now?” she whispered, feeling her cheeks prickle with heat. Hunter didn’t reply, only continued to stare at her in that alarming way.

The sparks flew between Lara and Hunter. I absolutely loved how Hunter was doing his best to make up for his supposed indifference and other transgressions that had hurt his dear wife. I also greatly appreciated how Lisa Kleypas focused so much on all the little things that made Lara fall in love again with her ‘new’ husband despite her suspicion and misgivings.

Now, here comes the real reason I didn’t enjoy the book—Lady Hawksworth herself. Lara was too melodramatic, incredibly annoying, and extremely unreasonable. At first, I was kind of sympathetic and tried to keep my cool, waiting for the change that never occurred. The author kept shoving the infidelity and just in general, inconsiderate nature of Lara’s ‘initial’ Hunter in my face. And I was like—bitch, please, just get over it. But NO. Lara kept accusing Hunter, blaming, and bringing up the past again, again, and over again up until the very end of the book. At that point, I just couldn’t care less.

“I would become anyone, anything for you. I would lie, steal, beg, kill for you. I’m not sorry for what I did in the past few months. My life would have been nothing without them.”

I must say that Lisa Kleypas’s writing was amazing as usual. The woman knows how to create a beautiful love story. The plot was great, or at least, it had great potential. I was enthralled with ‘new’ Hunter and swooned over him time after time. But keeping in mind all the flaws I mentioned earlier, I would say that Stranger in My Arms was a miss.