This is my first Lisa Kleypas book! I know, I know, it’s part five of the Hathaway series, but it was on discount and it sounded good, so I got it anyway. I don’t mind spoilers in romance, to be honest (if they can be called spoilers, because HEA is a given).
And so here I am to tell you all about it.
The long story short is: While I enjoyed the premise, I felt like it resolved too easily. There was no conflict over the letters, no yearning and longing. The historical aspect also felt like set dressing since the Hathaways can pretty much do whatever they want and it doesn’t matter. The writing is okay, though, and the book is definitely not horrible, it just didn’t live up to my expectations.
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- My rating: 3⭐
- Heat level: there are a few steamy scenes, nothing too wild, but definitely explicit.
- Standalone or series? Last part of the Hathaway series; I read it as a standalone and it worked pretty well on its own, though obviously spoilers for the other parts in the series.
- Content warnings: Depictions of war and PTSD, death and dying, shooting, drinking.
- Page count: 350 pages
- Read if: You like epistolary elements in your books and don’t mind if your historical romances aren’t particularly accurate.
Thoughts & Feelings
I am a big fan of epistolary romance. If the two main leads communicate via letters, messages, comments, book margins, notes, whatever, I’m going to read it. So you can imagine my curiosity about Love in The Afternoon.
And the first part where the letters are is great! I do wish we got more of their reactions to the letters and slowly realizing that they’re falling in love; this part did feel a bit rushed. But, there were letters nevertheless, and I was so excited for when the hero would return and the yearning could commence.
Alas, it never quite worked out.
After Christopher comes back, he’s clearly not the same man he was before. He wants to be that man, though, and he wants the woman who wrote to him while he was at war. So he goes to London to pursue her.
What I expected was that he would return and Beatrix would be forced to watch him go after another woman, a friend she didn’t want to hurt. And for Christopher to be miserable with Prudence and slowly falling for Beatrix but feeling bad about it all the while because didn’t Prudence write all those lovely letters? And for Prudence to grow and change and fall for someone else maybe, but still keeping staunchly to the idea of this charming captain, because of who she is perceived to be. And so they would pass the season, all three in misery.
And then, near the end, the truth about the letters would be discovered, and all three would have to face the consequences. But all of them would end up happy.
Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Christopher spends the season in London with Prudence while Beatrix stays back home. She never has to see them together. Prudence remains shallow.
And on top of that, Beatrix and Christopher have already met and already there are sparks flying from physical attraction, which is not what I thought this would be. I thought that Christopher, once a shallow, arrogant man, would now fall for Beatrix without any concern for her looks.
After the season ends, Christopher finds out that Prudence didn’t write the letters, but still asks her to marry him (?) because he wants revenge (?). Beatrix wants to keep it a secret but is very obvious and careless about it, so he figures it out easily and there’s no big drama — they kiss and admit their feelings. But there’s still like 40% of the book left.
What could happen, you’d ask? Well, then Beatrix mothers Christopher and pesters him into marriage, then there’s a long, boring section where they actually get married, and then oh no, not all is happy, and then Christopher’s friend from war with heavy PTSD tries to murder him, but he’s saved by the power of friendship. The end.
So the best thing about the book — the letters and all the longing and drama they could cause — get resolved in the first 40% and then everything is boring and dull.
I really mourned the book that could have been.
And then there’s the fact that the historical aspect of this novel is very much just set dressing. There are no barriers at all; Beatrix frequently walks around in breeches, even outside her home, she goes to Christopher’s house unchaperoned, speaks to him freely, they even go to be alone while at a ball, and no harm done.
Which, all told, puts Lisa Kleypas’ books in the same sort of box as Tessa Dare — fun, but ultimately not that historical or deep, if you get what I mean. Historical accuracy aside, there are no long conversations, stolen glances, tender moments, quiet confessions. He’s horny, she’s horny and voila.
Maybe it’s my mistake for expecting something more? Is this marketed as a slow burn? If it is, it isn’t much of one.
Now, I know that everyone has their own definition of a slow burn, but if the hero and heroine acknowledge their feelings and kiss in the first 50%, that’s not a slow burn for me. Ideally, they wouldn’t do that until at least 80% of the book. And the will they-won’t they would continue until the very end.
Beatrix’ characterisation is so inconsistent as well. Sometimes she’s the shy, socially awkward girl, but then she turns around and can charm practically anyone, even an old, grumpy duke. And Prudence is given no further thought, no characterisation at all. This book insists on her being shallow and never growing past it, which is sad and could have been done much better.
In the end, this book ended up being as shallow as it claimed Prudence was.
And while I don’t enjoy how the Hathaways just do whatever they want with no consequences, I did like the scenes with the family. The writing is also okay, so it might just be that the story didn’t sit well with me; I’m definitely interested in trying other books from this author, especially stuff like Devil in Winter, which are pretty much universally beloved from what I’ve seen. Maybe I just missed something with this one.
What did you think of Love in the Afternoon? Did you enjoy it? If you have any recommendations like what I described (letters, longing, slow burn, etc.), please feel free to leave them in the comments below!
