A Wallflower Christmas - Hardcover

Kleypas, Lisa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312533780 ISBN 13: 9780312533786

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2008

Synopsis

The Wallflowers are four young ladies in London who banded together in their wild and wickedly wonderful searches for true love. Now happily married, they join together once again to help one of the world’s most notorious rogues realize that happiness might be right under the mistletoe.…

It’s Christmastime in London and Rafe Bowman has arrived from America for his arranged meeting with Natalie Blandford, the very proper and beautiful daughter of Lady and Lord Blandford. His chiseled good looks and imposing physique are sure to impress the lady in waiting and, if it weren’t for his shocking American ways and wild reputation, her hand would already be guaranteed. Before the courtship can begin, Rafe realizes he must learn the rules of London society. But when four former Wallflowers try their hand at matchmaking, no one knows what will happen. And winning a bride turns out to be more complicated than Rafe Bowman anticipated, especially for a man accustomed to getting anything he wants. However, Christmas works in the most unexpected ways, changing a cynic to a romantic and inspiring passion in the most timid of hearts. 

A Wallflower Christmas takes a trip to Victorian London, under the mistletoe, and on a journey of the heart. With her trademark charm, sensuality, and unforgettable characters, there’s no one like Lisa Kleypas to make you believe in the magic of Christmas.

About this title

About the Author

Lisa Kleypas is the RITA Award-winning author of many contemporary and historical romance novels, including the Hathaways series, Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor, and Love in the Afternoon. Her books are published in fourteen languages and are bestsellers all over the world. Kleypas graduated from Wellesley College and published her first novel at the age of 21. In 1985, she was named Miss Massachusetts in the Miss America competition. She lives in Washington with her husband and two children.

Reviews

American cad Rafe Bowman goes bride shopping in London and must choose between love and money in Kleypas's coy Christmas romance. Rafe is wealthy in his own right, but his grossly wealthy father demands he marry the uninteresting Lady Natalie. Rafe, naturally, falls in love with someone else: Natalie's commoner cousin, Hannah. As his courtship of Natalie progresses, Rafe keeps returning to Hannah, who rejects his courtship because she thinks he is destined to marry her cousin. As Christmas draws closer, Rafe must choose between the woman he is falling in love with and his father's fortune. Throughout, veteran romancier Kleypas gracefully balances Regency mores, light humor and a dash of Christmas magic, and even if Rafe and Hannah hew too closely to genre archetypes, the book passes muster as a holiday bonbon. (Oct.)
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PROLOGUE

Once there were four young ladies who sat at the side of every ball, soiree, and party during the London season. Waiting night after night in a row of chairs, the wall- flowers eventually struck up a conversation. They realized that although they were in competition for the same group of gentlemen, there was more to be gained from being friends rather than adversaries. And even more than that, they liked one another. They decided to band together to find husbands, starting with the oldest, Annabelle, and working down to the youngest, Daisy.

Annabelle was unquestionably the most beautiful wallflower, but she was virtually penniless, which put her at the greatest disadvantage. Although most London

bachelors hoped for a wife with a pretty face, they usually settled for one with a handsome dowry.

Evie was unconventionally attractive, with flaming hair and abundant freckles. It was well- known that someday she would inherit a fortune from her father. However, her father was a common- born ex- boxer who owned a gambling club, and such a disreputable background was a difficult obstacle for a young lady to surmount. Even worse, Evie was cripplingly shy and had a stammer. Any man who tried to talk to her would later describe the encounter as an act of torture.

Lillian and Daisy were sisters from New York. Their family, the Bowmans, were astonishingly, vulgarly, almost unimaginably wealthy, having made their fortune with a soap manufacturing business. They had no good blood, no manners, and no social patrons. Lillian was a fiercely loving friend, but also strong- willed and bossy. And Daisy was a dreamer who often fretted that real life was never quite as interesting as the novels she read so voraciously.

As the wallflowers helped one another navigate the perils of London society, and consoled and supported one another through very real dangers, sorrows, and joys, they each found a husband, and no one referred to them as wallflowers anymore.

In every social season, however, there was no shortage of new wallflowers. (Then, as now, there were always girls who were overlooked and ignored by gentlemen who really should have known better.)

But then there was the Christmas when Rafe Bowman, Lillian and Daisy’s oldest brother, came to En gland. After that, life for one London wallflower would never be the same. . . .

Excerpted from A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

Copyright 2008 by Lisa Kleypas

Published in 2008 by St. Martin's Press

All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312533780
• ISBN 13: 9780312533786
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224