September 22nd 2009 | St. Martin's Paperbacks
Source: Library
He was everything she'd sworn to avoid.The hate to love trope is one of my all time favorites in any genre and when I learned that it was the premise for Poppy Hathaway's story, I was beyond excited. As I read this book, I found myself connecting to Poppy in a way I hadn't with Amelia and Win. Even though I am very maternal, there was so much about Poppy I saw in myself: spouting random facts when it's not appropriate, exploring new inventions and having a deep love and appreciation for knowledge of all kinds.
Poppy Hathaway loves her unconventional family, though she longs for normalcy. Then fate leads to a meeting with Harry Rutledge, an enigmatic hotel owner and inventor with wealth, power, and a dangerous hidden life. When their flirtation compromises her own reputation, Poppy shocks everyone by accepting his proposal—only to find that her new husband offers his passion, but not his trust.
And she was everything he needed.
Harry was willing to do anything to win Poppy—except to open his heart. All his life, he has held the world at arm’s length…but the sharp, beguiling Poppy demands to be his wife in every way that matters. Still, as desire grows between them, an enemy lurks in the shadows. Now if Harry wants to keep Poppy by his side, he must forge a true union of body and soul, once and for all...
From the moment she meets Harry Rutledge, I was taken in. By this beautiful, awkward girl and this closed off yet charming man. I loved that from the beginning, Harry loves Poppy's mind and her imagination and her thirst for knowledge. He never looks down at her unlike others in society. Harry challenges Poppy to think even more and allow herself to explore to her hearts content. Poppy, in tern, forces Harry to examine what he wants for their future and how he might need to change to get there. This change, which he isn't happy about in the beginning, is not a negative aspect of their love but something so incredibly positive.
In the trademark way, Lisa Kleypas puts the Hathaway siblings front and center in this story and we see how much they love Poppy. The contrast to the loving, caring environment Poppy was raised (and still lives in) contrasted to the harsh childhood that Harry had was exceptional. I loved that Poppy and the Hathaways saw through Harry that their family, different as they are among the peers, is not the kind of family everyone is lucky to have.
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