A Lady’s Guide to Improper Behavior
B+

A Lady’s Guide to Improper Behavior is Suzanne Enoch‘s follow up to The Care and Taming a Rougue and the second book in her The Adventurers’ Club series.

I had a hard time getting into the book at the start. Initially, I found the characters boring. Theresa is a proper lady with a lot of suitors. Bartholomew, aka Tolly, is a wounded soldier from India. The verbal exchange between them at the start showed promise but then, they went back to their old self. But when their backgrounds unraveled, I started liking them. There’s a reason why Theresa acts that way. But when it comes to Tolly, she throws away all the rules in her guide. She started courting him, telling him that she likes to dance and take carriage rides, and visiting him at his brother’s home. Tolly, on the other hand, also falls for Tess and even going as far as stripping away his surly self, going to a doctor to mend his broken leg and going to soirees and balls just to get a glimpse of her. But then the East India Company gets in their way, trying to destroy Tolly’s reputation by proclaiming that the Thugee attack Tolly and his men suffered were just rumors. Tolly tries to find a way to clean his reputation before publicly declaring for Tess. Tess helps him out to come up with a plan and also in the end rescues him from Lord Hadderly and the East India Company.

The boring characters that I found at the start were the ones that made me like this read a lot. Tess isn’t your typical proper lady and definitely not a damsel in distress type. You could also say that she’s more the knight in shining armor and Tolly would be the damsel in distress. That’s a different take for a hero and heroine. Also, I remember hating the first book in the Adventurers’ Club series, The Care and Taming of a Rogue, just because of its heroine. I remember hating Philippa a lot. So I was glad that this time I liked Tess and thus liked the book too. I also liked a few of the secondary characters from Tolly’s ex-military valet, Lackaby, to Tess’ brother and grandmother, and of course to the Duke of Sommerset. I’m hoping that one of these days, one of the books Enoch will publish under the Adventurers’ Club series, would be a book dedicated to His Grace.

Married By Morning (A-)
Lisa Kleypas

Married By Morning is the fourth book in the series. It’s the story between the Hathaway governess, Catherine Marks, and the only Hathaway man in the family, Leo, Lord Ramsay. Leo needs to find a wife and sire an heir within a year or else the Hathaway family will be booted out of the Ramsay. Though Leo was reluctant to marry anyone at first, he eventually sets his eyes on Catherine Marks.

From the previous books, Seduce Me At Sunrise and Tempt Me At Twilight, the chemistry and banters between these two were funny. It was great to see Kleypas integrate that into this book. Though early on, we get to see them develop from rivals to two people realizing their attraction to one another, the bickering between them isn’t lost and that’s what makes this two special.

In this book, we also get to see Mark’s background. A lot of the books in the romance genre usually has the hero as the tortured soul that needs saving by the heroine. Though Leo previously qualifies under this description especially in the first Hathaway book, Mine Til Midnight, he was able to slightly conquer it in the succeeding books. And in this one, one of the reasons that makes this book pretty great was instead of the hero being overcome with his past, the heroine was the one who was still trapped in her past. But with Leo’s insisting presence and unflagging love, Marks eventually succumbs and they both live happily ever after.

This book proves once again why I really like Lisa Kleypas. It’s a light and easy read with two great main characters with sizzling chemistry, a thieving ferret to the rescue and kissing quizzes that kept me giggling. It doesn’t topple Tempt Me At Twilight on the top of my Hathaway series list but it really comes a close second.

And right after finishing reading that, I immediately read the fifth and final Hathaway book, Love in the Afternoon. Lisa Kleypas, back-to-back.

Love in the Afternoon (A-/B+)
Lisa Kleypas

Love in the Afternoon is the story of the youngest Hathaway sibling, Beatrix, and the newly returned soldier, Captain Christopher Phelan. Christopher is a war hero and during those tumultuous days of him trapped in battle for England, the thing that kept him going were letters from Prudence. In truth though, these letters were sent by Beatrix penning her friend’s name instead of hers since she remembers Christopher’s negative comments about her. And through these letters their relationship develops. But when Christopher returns to England, the real identity of the letter’s authors baffles him.

Of all the Hathaway siblings, Beatrix is probably my most favorite. I love her, her love of animals, her caring personality, her perceptiveness and her charm. Ever since Seduce Me At Sunrise, I have been looking forward to her book. I seriously thought hers would be the fourth instead of the last one. Maybe because I love her so much that I had high expectations of this book. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I still like the book a lot, but there just seems to be something missing.

The book started nicely for me. I liked reading the letters that Beatrix and Christopher exchanged. With the start of these letters, you could see how their relationship and love for each other developed. I think at first, Christopher’s initial letter tugged at Beatrix’ instinct to fix or heal. Beatrix has been healing animals ever since that when she read Christopher’s letter, she knew that she should write back to him and help him in overcoming his depression during the war. Later when he arrived back at England, he had post-traumatic stress disorder that hindered him in getting back to his normal pre-war life. He had assumed that the Prudence he had been exchanging letters with will be his guiding light on his life once that he’s back. But when he finally meets Prudence, it wasn’t the same girl he was writing letters to. Events happened and he later discovers that Beatrix is the girl that had saved him.

From the discovery until the end of the book, it felt for me that everything was crammed into the remaining pages. Or maybe there were just some really minor things that I wish was at least tackled. For one, even if it might be due to PTSD, I didn’t like the fact that Christopher was unconsciously trying to create a gap between him and Beatrix. Beatrix was ready to give all to him but he’s always trying to hold a part of himself back. At least that got resolved in the end as it should be. Also, I would have liked it better if there was a resolution with the relationship between Christopher and his mother. His mother moved out. Yes, she’s happier with her family but what about her only remaining living son? Also, being the finisher to a series, I was hoping to see more of the other Hathaways. Sadly, Win and Kev, Poppy and Harry were almost non-existent except for a mention and one-liner dialogues here and there. Lastly, I like Matthew Bennett a lot. I wish Kleypas saved him for a better book than just saying that he met Audrey and they somehow clicked. There was a lot of potential there that now won’t be explored.

In the end though even with those small gripes, it still is an adorable book. Engaging characters. Great story. And I absolutely love Albert. We had Dodger the ferret in MBM and now we have a dog that gets honored and was presented with his own honorary collar by the Queen herself.

Now that the series is done, ranking the Hathaway series, I would say that Tempt Me At Twilight is still my most favorite. Followed by Married by Morning and really closely followed by Love in the Afternoon. Then by both Seduce Me At Sunrise and Mine Til Midnight. I wonder what’s next in Lisa Kleypas’ historical agenda. From the excerpt in the back of the book, it looks like her next one is a contemporary, which I don’t want to touch for the meantime. But nevertheless, I would definitely buy her next historical whatever series that is and whenever that will come out, which I hope will be soon.

( Beatrix Hathaway's What Animal Are You? Quiz )

I got Savitar last December 22, 2009. Been scouting the web for the best place to get it and PinoyPS recommended Mr. Dynamic at Virra Mall. They had 120G PS3 Slim Asian for PhP14, 700. That just includes one controller, and the necessary AV cables and power cords. I don’t know why I didn’t get the US version. I usually buy my discs from Amazon anyway. But the Asian is cheaper and that’s the deal clencher for me. XD That still doesn’t include the HDMI cable. And no games. So I got Little Big Planet, Assassin’s Creed II, Uncharted II and God of War Collection. PinoyPS has this buy and sell of games section and over the holidays I was able to expand my game collection to include Resident Evil 5, Assassin’s Creed and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Now only Batman: Arkham Asylum’s lacking on my immediate games wishlist. Also, I’m now ready for Final Fantasy XIII and God of War III come March! Wooohooo!

( Open sesame! )

001. Sherlock Holmes | Jan 08, 2010 | B+
002. Enchanted | Jan 09, 2010 | A | Re-watch
003. Sherlock Holmes | Jan 17, 2010 | A- | Re-watch
004. The Princess and the Frog | Jan 19, 2010 | A
005. New York I Love You | Jan 22, 2010 | B
006. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | Jan 25, 2010 | B+
007. The Princess and the Frog | Feb 05, 2010 | B+ | Re-watch
008. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | Feb 12, 2010 | B+
009. Alice in Wonderland | Mar 05, 2010 | B+
010. How to Train Your Dragon | Mar 22, 2010 | B+
011. Enchanted | Apr 03, 2010 | A- | Re-watch
012. Tooth Fairy | Apr 07, 2010 | B-
013. Clash of the Titans (2010) | Apr 08, 2010 | B-
014. Mean Girls | Apr 14, 2010 | B+ | Re-watch
015. The Swan Princess | Apr 15, 2010 | B+
016. Date Night | Apr 16, 2010 | B+
017. Kick-Ass | Apr 16, 2010 | B+
018. The Losers | Apr 26, 2010 | B+
019. Iron Man 2 | Apr 30, 2010 | A-
020. Tommy Boy | May 02, 2010 | B-
021. Iron Man 2 | May 10, 2010 | A- | Re-watch
022. When in Rome | Jun 01, 2010 | B+
023. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time | Jun 02, 2010 | B+
024. Toy Story 3 | Jun 17, 2010 | A
025. The Karate Kid (2010) | Jun 24, 2010 | B
026. The A-Team (2010) | Jun 28, 2010 | B+
027. Toy Story 3 | Jun 30, 2010 | A | Re-watch
028. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse | Jul 01, 2010 | B+
029. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone | Jul 02, 2010 | B+
030. Just Friends | Jul 12, 2010 | B+ | Re-watch
031. Batman: Under the Red Hood | Jul 13, 2010 | B+
032. Sorcerer’s Apprentice | Jul 19, 2010 | B+
033. Inception | Jul 19, 2010 | A-

001. The Battle of the Labyrinth (Rick Riordan) | Jan 08, 2010 | B+
002. Serpent Prince (Elizabeth Hoyt) | Jan 20, 2010 | B-
003. Missing in Death (Lost) (J.D. Robb) | Jan 22, 2010 | B +
004. The Last Olympian (Rick Riordan) | Feb 12, 2010 | B+
005. Born of Fire (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Feb 23, 2010 | B+
006. Born of Ice (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Feb 26, 2010 | B+
007. Let Sleeping Rogues Lie (Sabrina Jeffries) | Mar 03, 2010 | B+B
008. Don’t Bargain with the Devil (Sabrina Jeffries) | Mar 07, 2010 | B+B
009. Wed Him Before You Bed Him (Sabrina Jeffries) | Mar 12, 2010 | B+
010. Never Seduce a Scoundrel (Sabrina Jeffries) | Mar 15, 2010| B+
011. Beware A Scot’s Revenge (Sabrina Jeffries) | Mar 25, 2010 | B+
012. The Truth About Lord Stoneville (Sabrina Jeffries) | Mar 30, 2010 | B+
013. My Wicked Marquess (Gaelen Foley) | Apr 03, 2010 | B+
014. The Care and Taming of a Rogue (Suzanne Enoch) | Apr 10, 2010 | B-
015. By Love Undone (Suzanne Enoch) | Apr 20, 2010 | B+
016. Taming of Rafe (Suzanne Enoch) | Apr 27, 2010 | B+ | Re-read
017. The Bride (Julie Garwood) | May 01, 2010 | A+ | Re-read
018. Gentle Warrior (Julie Garwood) | May 11, 2010 | B+ | Re-read
019. Kindred in Death (J.D. Robb) | May 22, 2010 | B
020. Infinity (Sherrilyn Kenyon) | Jun 03, 2010 | B+
021. The Prize (Julie Garwood) | Jun 12, 2010 | A+ | Re-read
022. Saving Grace (Julie Garwood) | Jun 22, 2010 | A+ | Re-read
023. Ten Things I Love About You (Julia Quinn) | Jun 27, 2010 | B+
024. A Notorious Love (Sabrina Jeffries) | Jul 22, 2010 | B
025. Married By Morning (Lisa Kleypas) | Jul 25, 2010 | A-
026. Love In The Afternoon (Lisa Kleypas) | Jul 28, 2010 | A-
027. A Lady’s Guide to Improper Behavior (Suzanne Enoch) | Aug 09, 2010 | B+