Married by Morning by Lisa Kleypas

Married By Morning is the fourth book in Lisa Kleypas’ latest series about the Hathaway family.  As we expect, this book deals with Leo and Catherine’s story.  At the end of  Tempt Me at Twilight we find Leo ad Catherine kissing in the back garden, a result of Leo’s sudden bout of jealousy over a scene witnessed between her and Harry Rutledge.

For those of you who have been reading this particular series, will remember that Leo has been through a rough time.  He has lost his childhood love to Scarlet Fever and then proceeds to try to lose himself in all manner of debaucheries.  When his sister Win goes to France to the clinic, he accompanies her and finally finds some of the peace he has been searching for.  He is able to go on with his life, but is determined never to fall in love again.  He is a sardonic fellow with a public side that is the care-free man about town dabbling in architecture, and the private, lovable brother that lives to irritate his sisters, and especially their governess/companion, Catherine Marks.

Catherine has a mysterious past that has left her with nightmares.  What we realize at the end of the previous novel in this series is that she is the half-brother of Harry Rutledge who is now Leo’s sister Poppy’s husband and hotelier in London.  Harry rescued her from something in the past and has settled enough money on her so that she need not ever work again.  She has chosen to take the job of governess/companion but something about Leo always sets her hair on fire!!  He baits her and she responds!

We find out at the beginning of this book that Leo must marry and produce an heir within a year or the family will lose Ramsay Manor – the house that they have all worked so hard to restore. To help Leo, his sisters plan a ball to introduce him to all the unmarried ladies in the area.  Meanwhile, Leo and “Marks” as he calls Catherine, head over to check out the ruins of the old manor and Leo is injured when he falls through the roof.  He sees how strong Catherine really is when she saves him.

I won’t go ahead and give away the story-line; I’ll leave it for you to read yourself.  I enjoyed the pacing of this book as I enjoyed the others of this series.  I delighted in the interaction between Leo and “Marks” both in the other books as well as this one.  I was fascinated to see where Lisa Kleypas would allow them to go in this book.   Again, I turned the pages desperate to get to the next page or the end of the chapter, or the end of the book.  I did not notice the passage of time as I cheered for Leo as he courted Catherine.  I appreciated the little additions that were added to the story, such as the “character” of Dodger that was written so vividly.  As was stated in Booklist: “Superbly nuanced characters, simmering chemistry, and wicked wit.”  Certainly one of my favorite authors and this book makes the keeper list!

For more information on upcoming books check out Lisa Kleypas’s website.